04/28/06 - NNHS Newsletter
Any Time at All

"Sometimes all a troubled person needs
is a shoulder to cry upon
or an understanding ear to listen."

- Lamar Cole
 

   Happy Belated Birthday to    Becky Braswell Branch ('65) of AR, who celebrated without us on Wednesday, and to 

  Brenda Davis English ('64) of KS

   Many happy returns to you both, Ladies!

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Happy-Birthday.html

You have more on your plate than anyone’s fair share in informing the NNHS alumni of ongoing activities past, present and future; not only with NNHS, but all the other Peninsula schools’ alumni who want to participate and be a part of such a stupendous website. How do you do what you do???? AND you do a fantastic job at it.

   Oh, that's very simple, Kenny!  I just don't do much of anything else!

Just wanted to let you know that    Becky (Braswell Branch - '65 - of AR) had a birthday yesterday 4/26; but she is not included in your list of b/ds. Of course you won’t tell her that I told you to add her name. J

   Oh, dear!  Oh, no, I wouldn't dream of telling her that you squealed!  (Pay no attention whatsoever to these lines, Becky!)

BTW, to avoid a payback, mine is 8/07.

   GIGGLES - head her off at the pass, right?  Okay, you're both happily added to the list now.  Thanks, Kenny!

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/Happy-Birthday.html

Enjoy your website so much,

Kenny Branch

Class of ‘62

   That's very gratifying to know!  Thanks so much, Kenny!

As one of the resident car guys I certainly remember curb feelers.   Joe (Madagan - '57 - of FL) mentioned Pep Boys on Jefferson Avenue, the home of all things screwed, bolted or glued to cars back then.  We actually had people buy them and then come to Pop's station and ask to have them installed.  Too challenging for some I guess.  If all of you remember we actually had to parallel park a car while the Virginia State Trooper was giving you the driving test.  Spinner hub caps were certainly popular.  Several Corvette models had true "knock-off" wheels, which many referred to as spinners.  The '62 Dodge Lancer had hubcaps that featured a large X type emblem on them and they soon began popping up on all the hot cars.  After investing in a set of Lancer hubcaps you had to go back to Pep Boys and buy locks that attached to the valve stems and required a special key to remove.  This was supposed to prevent the theft of the Lancer hubcaps, but often resulted in four valve stems being cut - so you lost your hub caps and had to repair all four tires.  The spinners were later followed by wire wheel type hub caps, a cheap copy of the true wire wheels found on European imports.  This all reminds me that I haven't been to Pep Boys lately so a trip is now in order.

   I knew that you'd have some good input for this one, Dave! 

   I added your remarks - and    Eva's (Ellis Madagan - '61 - of FL) - to the page:

http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com/our-old-cars.html

   Thanks, Dave!

Ah, yes, a Weird Al love song... kinda brings a tear to your eye, don't it? (yes, my English... but correct English just doesn't often work in tunes like this). I hope you are well ( I caught that)...

Jimmy

   I am reminded of once when my aunt Alice (Frix Booth - John Marshall HS - '27 - who was secretary to the Under Secretary of Defense at that time) turned to one of the chief Pentagon bigwigs to congratulate him on a job well done and said, "Ya done good!!!"

   Obviously a man of little humor and great unfamiliarity with the preciseness of Southern idioms, he answered curtly, "I believe you meant to say, 'I did well.'"

   Now that hardly packs the same wallop, does it?!?  SHEESH!

   Thanks, Sweetie!  And yes, I believe I'm beginning to get better, I hope......  Thanks so much!

  From Dee Hodges Bartram ('66) of VA - 04/11/06 - BUT ONLY JUST APPEARING TODAY!?! (WHERE DO THESE THINGS "VACATION", ANYWAY?!?):
 

The story    Jay Styles ('68 - of VA) passed along about seatbelts brought to mind all too clearly, the two brushes with serious injury and possibly death, that I had in August, 2005 and March 18, 2006.  In both accidents I was stopped for a stoplight.  In the first accident in August, 2005, I was driving a 2005 Chrysler 300C (we had purchased it in July) and my husband was in the passenger seat.  The young man stopped behind us suddenly noticed cars moving on his right (the thru lane had the green light) and thought we had the green light as well.  Instead of checking to see if I was moving, he hit the accelerator and slammed into the back of us.  Both my husband and I were thrown forward and then back.  Our heads hit the head rest but not very hard (the seatbelt kept that from happening).  Thank goodness I had both feet on the brake (just something I do) or I would have hit the car in front of me.  My husband and I suffered slight injuries from the whiplash.  We were stiff for a couple of days but, because of the seat belt, our injuries were minor. Since we have a collapsible bumper on the Chrysler, plus it had some scratches, the bumper had to be replaced.

On March 18, 2006 (two days before going on the 13 hour plane trip to Hawaii) I was once again stopped for a light on Victory Boulevard., which is an extremely busy roadway.     Terri McAfee Artman ('66 - of VA) was with me.  Terri had slid forward a little in her seat to reach down to get her purse.  I turned to say something to her as she was raising up when BOOM we were hit.  I was thrown forward, almost hitting the steering wheel, and then back and hit the headrest on the right side of my head and actually saw stars (my thumb prints are still in the steering wheel).  I can still see Terri raising up and beginning to slid back in the seat when suddenly we were hit and I could see her being thrown forward towards the dashboard and then back into the headrest.  If she had been not been raising up her head would have hit the dashboard and I don't think she would have survived.  Thank goodness for the seatbelt!   If not for that I firmly believe she would not be with us today.  She came so close to hitting the dashboard that it makes me sick to think about.  What caused this accident?  A young girl on her cell phone.  She claimed she was stopped and saw traffic moving so she hit the accelerator.  She admitted later that she was on her cell phone and wasn't paying attention.  She saw my car at the last minute and hit the brakes causing her car dip down and almost go under the Jeep.  I checked on Terri and called 911.  I got out of the car and told the young lady that she need to pay attention and stay off her phone while driving (she had the phone in her ear when she hit us and didn't get off of it for 15 minutes). After first telling the policeman that she was stopped, she later admitted that she was on her phone and not paying attention.  When she was telling her story to him she at first reached for the radio, then stopped abruptly and said she was talking on her phone and not paying attention.  Well, if the phone was in her left hand and she was reaching for the radio with the right - which hand was she driving with??  While talking to her I noticed that her front end of her new Honda Civic was totally crushed - radiator fluid leaking out, hood almost folded in the center, bumper off and left front light hanging off.  I was afraid to look at the Jeep, which has a trailer hitch attached,  but when I did, there was only one small, deep scratch on the bumper.  Hoorah for the big cars!

   YOWZERONI-RINI!!!  And y'all wonder why I don't drive!

   Thanks for sharing these very sobering tales, Dee!  We're certainly thankful y'all were protected from harm!

   I'm glad to hear you're enjoying everything!  It makes the extra effort worthwhile.  Thanks, Lady!

   Thanks, Wayne Honey - on both counts!   It is fun, isn't it?!?

  Patti Miller of NC and Dennis Ivey ('65)
of VA

Okay, I have no idea who this is, but it's a nice picture - and I love her jacket!

   Thanks, Dave! 

   Y'all take extra good care of each other!  TYPHOONS FOREVER!