Intertwingularity

When I look back at the pictures of us from 1980, 1981, and 1982 I am flooded with wonderful memories of life well lived. As the likes of the internet and facebook unravel the neat comparmentalization of the periods of time in my life, I find myself most drawn to this period of time for a number of reasons.

The music was really good. Well, mostly that's true. The friendships forged at Bronco Junction were very special. Again, mostly that's true.

The atmosphere created by too little adult supervision of children who in their "normal" environment lived generally under close scruitny of over protective parents and a society that viewed childhood asthma as a handicap is something Matthew Mintz and I have discussed. I think there is something special here, but I think all children who go to camp gain the benefit of living in an environment where they must take greater responsibility for their choices, precisely because there can never be enough adult supervision at summer camp. The economics don't work.

So, I'm left wondering if part of my fascination is in part driven by the incompleteness of our last experience together.

There was always supposed to be a next summer. Part of me is still waiting for it.

I cried a lot when my mom told me there wouldn't be a 1983. I can't imagine how John France must have felt. To go on his honeymoon and come back to find his camp closed.

There are those nagging questions I have never resolved: like what is Randy (Qualls) doing now? What happened to the property? I read that it was vandalized.

Then there are things I wish I didn't know. The same technology that brought us together again virtually gave me the news that Jeff Meadows is in prison for murdering someone. I find myself not knowing if I should write him or not.

The music quest I launched the other day floods me with other wonderful memories.

A long way of saying:

Thank you for the wonderful memories.

We really ought to find a way to get together next summer. Perhaps we could all meet at Camp...

The Play List ( so far )

Here's what we have so far:

Song	Artist	Link
The Best Of Times	Styx
Elvira	The Oak Ridge Boys
September	Earth, Wind & Fire
Just What I Needed	The Cars
MacArthur Park	Donna Summer
Brick House	The Commodores
You May Be Right	Billy Joel
My Best Friend's Girl	The Cars
Bette Davis Eyes	Kim Carnes
Shining Star	Earth, Wind & Fire
Urgent	Foreigner
Juke Box Hero	Foreigner
Come Sail Away	Styx
Rock With You	Michael Jackson
Three Times a Lady	The Commodores
Get the Funk out Ma Face	The Brothers Johnson
You Dropped a Bomb on Me	The Gap Band
Stairway to Heaven	Led Zeppelin
Last Dance	Donna Summer

-- Others? ---
Hello Again - The Cars

867-5309 / Jenny -Tommy Tutone

What else? So far I've heard back from Tim, John France, Tonya, and Cas

Ok, so I got this idea...

I wanted to see if we could collectively recreate a dance playlist from the Summer of 1981...

I know it ended with Stairway to Heaven and some where in the middle would have been Styx's Too Much Time on My Hands, but what else was there? Post replies and I'll see if I can't put together an iMix on the iTunes Music Store...

:-)

Alex

Todd Clay Reminder

Hi folks,

A quick reminder, Todd Clay would love to hear from folks. Unfortunately he doesn't have email.

You can call or write to him here:

Todd Clay
549 Heather Dr.
Dayton, OH 45405
(937) 278-5454

Cheers!

Alex

Spring Update from Matthew Mintz

Thanks Alex for prompting us to write.
My youngest daughter Natalie just turned 5 (photo below). Hard to believe our baby is going to kindergarten in the fall. We had a pirate and princess party. All the kids dressed up and there was a group that came and did a play involving all the kids. We did this at the community center that had a stage, so it worked out great.

From 2009-03 (Mar)-08

Work is busy as usual. However, it is always a nice break when Alex comes into DC and we have a chance to have a bite. We just had "Match Day" at our school, which is always exciting. All our senior students open up their envelopes at the same time and find out where they are going to be for the next 3-7 years of their lives.

The other thing that was somewhat exciting was being on the local news. I have done this a few times. Health care tends to be big in both the national and local news. Whenever they want a story, they usually go to the universities to get an "expert" opinion. If it's something to do about heart attacks, they ask one of our cardiologists. If it's something about brain surgery, they ask one of our neurosurgeons. When they are not really sure who to ask, they usually ask me.

The most recent piece was on electronic cigarettes. These are products made in China that are being touted as safe alternatives to smoking, but they are likely are not safe at all. What's even more scary is that they are being sold in the US, and the FDA hasn't really taken action.
I have posted the video below. For more info you can see my comments on my blog post Electronic Cigarettes

Hey Gang!

So, what is everyone up these days? Time for a report!

I Hope Everyone is Having a Great Summer!

Hi everybody. You all have been on my mind lately; especially after I had happy birthday notes from Stacey and Christina on facebook yesterday and an email from Tim earlier this week. It was so great hearing from you! I figured maybe I'd let everyone know what's been going on with me this summer and hopefully hear what all of you have been up to. At the end of June I went to Creation (http://www.creationfest.com/ne/). I was there for five days and worked crazy hours but did get to see some of my favorite musicians at night including my very favorite Chris Tomlin!

My brother and sister-in-law asked me to be godmother to my youngest nephew and of course I jumped at the opportunity so I headed to their house Sunday July 27th only to get a phone call when I got there to learn my office at church had been broken into and about $200 of our Relay for Life money had been stolen. A couple of people at church made donations to replace the stolen money but it was an upsetting experience. After the baptism was over I headed home since the Vacation Bible School we had put together started that night. We had a great time with the kids that week. We gave them some items to collect for some mission projects and a challange to bring in a certain amount and if they met the challenge they would be able to "slime" me and the Pastor. Needless to say, they met their challange and our last evening together those sweet kids I had spent the week with were circled around me chanting, "Slime her" at the top of their lungs. It was incredibly gross but they enjoyed it. I've been planning several more activities for them in the near future. They managed to bring back some memories earlier this summer when I had the younger youth group in to spend the night at church and heard them playing truth or dare when they thought I was sleeping. I was transported back in time and was suddenly 12 again and spending the summer in WV...

My next "major event" is Relay for Life (to raise money for the American Cancer Society to fight cancer). Our Relay weekend is September 5-6th and quickly approaching. I've had a Relay team for several years now but this year it has taken on a more special meaning since the woman I called my second mom passed away from cancer this past December.

I think that covers most of the highlights for me this summer - I hope all of you had a wonderful summer. I'd love to hear all about it.

Tonya