First I have to say we were so surprised at Delaware and what a delight it was to discover it! We expected it to be all urban, but it was very rural. It was like an escape into the comfortable past! Dover was full of old, lovely homes and buildings. Don was delighted with the peach festival as were many others of our group.

It's hard to put a reunion experience into words. Mike Buchanan said it best about the first one that he and I attended: "An Itazuke reunion is a healing." By the time you get to our age we've all had tough times and we need the healing! It's so wonderful to have ROOTS! Most of us never had any roots and, although it's hard to put our fingers on the fact that it's what we miss, it's so obvious when we get to a reunion and start soaking each other up like sponges. We hug total strangers just because we went to the same school. Actually, we aren't strangers; we just never met before! Only we understand that, but we get it and we cling to it!

I go to reunions and LOVE to see Fran Wolf Nakabayashi and her guest, Charlie Akers! I never knew them in Japan, but they are treasured friends, now! The same with Gary Whitely and his wife, Teri. I missed all the ones who couldn't be there, but I can't imagine having a better time.

Louise Boling was at the reunion for the first time for most of us, I think. She and Joe were married years ago, but divorced for many years. Anyway, most of us didn't know her until this reunion, but it was like we've always known her. She is truly the completion of Joe, and we all loved her. I am amazed at the spouses (including mine) who not only tolerate all the love we all have for each other but seem to get caught up in it, too.

With each reunion I grow closer and closer to everyone! I can't imagine that it only happens this way for me, but I must be a grammy to everyone because everyone feels like family when they come in! Bob Winstead brought his daughter, Canela, and his son, Kyle. They were awesome. Kyle was the best sport in the world and the most positive, polite, and loveable guy! You know the saying: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take but rather by the moments that take your breath away." Kyle is responsible for some of those moments in my life. What a treasure from this reunion!

Another treasure was time spent with Wanda Maderas Fulton and Ernie Perkins and their spouses. I have migraines and faulty knees and back, but I stand amazed at these folks with Parkinson's who dance circles around me! They have learned how to make their lives count and they are a joy to be around. Their spouses are amazing to me and I love to be around them all.

Vegas was the first reunion for me and the class of '66 was among the younger ones there. As we continue to search and find more even younger ones, it feels like they are KIDS. It's like all of us are kids, though. There are the big kids and the little kids and lots of us are getting gray, but none of us own up to being old. We're about 16 at a reunion. It's way fun, though, when the classes of 68-72 show up in big numbers. They wiped out the class of '66 in attendance this year; we were way off and they are growing in numbers. I don't know the numbers, exactly, but I think it was the class of '69 that beat us. They are real cut ups.

Robert Snyder and Paul Spivey picked up Terry Miller, all from the class of '69! Those guys and their wives are a great addition to the reunion core group, I think. I caught them in pictures at the KC reunion and they always pop up on my screensaver, so it's sure good to get to know them a little better at each reunion. We all missed Mark Roberts; darn, I thought he'd be there after KC!

Speaking of the KC reunion; where were John and Laura O'Brien??? They were obviously missing! Actually, they had complications they couldn't get out of the way for this reunion. They both have health issues and their dog joined in with some issues, as well as some maintenance on the house I think. Their plate just got to full to make it. I thought I might have to be sick and let the next person in line do the business meeting, but Jack Eckrem assured me he wouldn't let anyone lynch me for fouling up. Nobody even complained. In fact Ron Hooper's wife liked my counting of the votes. ("That's a lot.") I guess nobody wanted to complain because they knew the positions are always up for grabs. Thanks to everyone for being patient with me.

At the Kansas City reunion Billy Day was one of the musicians from amongst us who played at the Saturday night dance. This year, Billy was a hit on the dance floor. I think he was able to manage a dance or two without the wheel chair, but we were all really touched when he and Wanda Maderas Fulton danced WITH the wheel chair. Wanda was dancing the whole weekend. She has found that keeping on the move is best for handling her Parkinson's, so she just keeps moving; if not dancing, then swimming. She and Billy went to the prom together at Itazuke, so the dance was a special time for them. Billy is recovering with experimental drugs, hope and prayer from renal cancer. He was determined to make this reunion and it was such an honor to be in the group of people that meant that much to him. Another breath taking moment . . . or several!

This reunion was a special treasure to me because my sister and her husband came! They have never been to a reunion, and it was so special to me to share it with them. We came together in the car and we shared a room. It was nearly like old times when we grew up together, except we got along the whole time! We didn't draw any lines in the room or car and nobody threatened to pinch our head off and tell God we died. Ruthie and I giggled most of the time. Her health had been very questionable with MS and complications, but true to form, the reunion was like a healing to her. She did beautifully, with NO problems the whole time. She met Phil at Itazuke, so he's almost like an alumni; he knew all the stuff that makes us all tick. I knew they'd enjoy a reunion if I could ever get them to go, but HE WAS her Itazuke and he lives with her, so she was never very inclined to go before. Plus they were always tied down to their business, but with that sold, the timing was right. I think they'll go to Vegas next time; they may have caught the fever. I hope so. Gwen Taylor Nash being at the reunion was a real attraction for Ruthie; they cheered together for the Medics at Itazuke; Gwen even remembered a cheer!

The quilts. They were too awesome! I am a quilt lover from birth, but these were so special. Jean and Carol outdid themselves on these quilts. (Jean has already nearly finished the first square of the next quilt for the Vegas auction!) Jean had traced every image from all the reunion t-shirts that she had and then embroidered every bit of them. THEN she sewed the squares together and quilted the whole thing. It was AWESOME. Carol produced hers differently, but it was gorgeous. She had transferred t-shirt designs and pictures from a beautiful calendar to fabric, and then put it together into a quilt. She touched it up with beautiful embroidered corners of carp, geishas, sumo wrestlers, etc. Those quilts were so full of meaning. The people who won the bids for them were so proud and the ones who weren't prepared to keep bidding were disappointed, but will go home and save up for the Vegas auction, I'll bet. I have quilts galore and every wall covered, or I'd be in there bidding with them. Those quilts were certainly to die for . . . and responsible for some more moments that took away my breath!

I never met Cammie Laird or Louellen Matthews (class of 70) until this reunion. Louellen registered and asked if Cammie was there. In just a few minutes Cammie came in and registered. I asked if she'd seen Louellen yet and she said, "No! Is she here, already?" It was my thrill to walk her into the room where Louellen was looking at the quilts and see if she could pick her out of the group. What fun it is to share those moments when friends meet after so many years. Those girls look GREAT, BTW! If they are class of 70 they must be 54-ish! Wow, they look great!!! It's the same with Bob and Yvette Swaney from 70 and 72. They just look like kids, but Bob gave me his business card, and he's some big muckity muck. It doesn't show on him at all; he's just bright eyed and smiling like a kid. I guess he knows how to get serious at work, huh? Bob Clark and his wife, Diana, live right down the street (In Oklahoma). We get together fairly often, but we never have fun like we do at a reunion! Over Memorial Day weekend, Susan Parks Tarter came and we had a mini-reunion, but we were all so glad to get together again in Dover. Like I keep saying; there's just never enough time together! Bob picked up Terri Lamb and Cindy Day at the airport; Bob is always pulling us out of whatever webs we weave! This reunion was special, too, because Susan's little sister, Barb, was there. She's the little sister, but she's a real grown up. That's always hard to really grasp . . . that the little kids grow up, too!

There were reunion old favorites like Rodney Miyatake; if he can't some sometime, we'll just have to call off the reunion. I can't imagine one without Rodney! And Jack and Angela Eckrem! They are really fun, but they lend stability to the whole event. There's Ted and Pat Pfeiffer, who never miss. Ted never misses an opportunity to be crazy and Pat never lets it bother her. I missed Ted's sister Oida, but I cut the neck out of my shirts in her memory (she taught me that, and I sure breath better). Speaking of old favorites, Ann and Jim Nelson and I were missing Jerry and Sid Grant; anyone heard from them?

Linda and Nancy Pearl were there with hugs smiles, and one of them brought a Mt. Aso key chain for the auction, which I happily won! I treasure memories of the trip to Mt. Aso, and now I'll remember Linda and Nancy as I treasure this little memento. I didn't know them at Itazuke, but their reputation makes me love them as the rest of the classes of 68 and 70 do.

It was sure good to have Pauline Sorell Rose and Cheryl Croney Lewis! They helped to kill the fear that once someone plans a reunion they disappear! It seems to happen a lot, so it was sure good to have them be there. I guess it helps to have a reunion close to home, sometimes? Of course we were close to lots of people who didn't come. Go figure! Being close drew Ronnie Castille and his wife, Susie, too. Ronnie was at the Vegas reunion back in the '80's. He was a real hoot at the auction; he was good to start the bid on lots of slow movers, and he was sweet to buy one of the quilts for his wife. I wouldn't have missed the auction for anything. It's too fun to watch the chemistry and hear the side remarks. Anybody remember when Rodney Miyatake bought the yearbook at the Seattle reunion? The coolie hats brought great auction comments this time and a memory I'll never forget of Joe wearing one as he auctioned it!

Marty Hobbs won the other quilt at the auction. She was so determined to get it. I hear she'd won some money at the casino, so that had to help her determination! Marty is part of that 'Brady Bunch.' That bunch really hangs tight and it's so cool to watch the camaraderie between them. Cindy and Billy Day, Terri Lamb, Ron Hooper, Ken Kee, Marty Hobbs; that bunch. I think they learned that behavior on the Brady bus. :) When they get together it's all hilarious laughter and whooping.

Ken Kee was up late 'chaperoning' with me on Friday night. That was the night with all the action. He talked to the Scarpa brothers, then he was out there with us when the fire trucks came. I think that group was Teri and Gary Whitely, Susan and Barb Parks, Ken and I. We never figured out why the fire trucks came; something going on in the bar, but we were outside just hanging out while some smokers smoked and the rest of us waited for Bob and Diana Clark to get there from Bob picking up Diana in Philadelphia. Any excuse will do for me to not go to bed at the reunion; I'm so afraid I'll miss something. Then AFTER we all went to bed a big old fight broke out just below my window. That was a group OTHER than us and there were 4 police cars that rushed in for that encounter. Never a dull moment! Lots of people didn't have a window, so I was glad to have a window so I could look out and see what was going down . . . and that it was THEM and NOT US!

Jean sent the rough draft of the memory book to me to proof; I caught a couple of goofs, but whatever we got wrong I hope folks will forgive. It's a joy to have that book to help jog these memories. Susan Parks Tartar sent some great candid shots for the memory book; she managed to miss the photography session Saturday night, though. I hope Jean will be able to get one of her for the book. Jean's son, Brian Mincy, did a GREAT job with the photography! Both Jean's sons contributed to this reunion in a big way. I didn't get to meet the other one, but he brought in a case of Japanese lemonade for the auction. Anyway, the memory book should be printed and out by the middle of September. That'll help to keep the memories hot. The next reunion is in VEGAS! Carol and Gene Scavetta are planning it; I'm sure they'll get more folks from the area to help, so that it won't be such a big job. Steve and Debbie Rhoden said they'd help Fran Wolf do the next one in Nashville, so we'll hope to convince her to do it. That sounds like a good plan to me. One last observation: Bob and Nancy Trainor brought two of their grandkids with them. They were big enough to entertain themselves and I would think it's a good time for all to share old times and build new memories to treasure. I remember when I used to go spend time in the summer at my grandparents' house . . . our grandkids can remember going to reunions with us. I thought it was cool. (Probably the kids thought it was hokey, but I hope they enjoyed it.) Cobra hugs, Mary Jo (Hodge) '66 Shnell

Photos from Dover