TTThis is the speech I had intended to give had we been able to get the Woody’s public address system to function at a level above that which supports one-syllable words. All is not lost, at least this way I can include some links for some of the more obscure references.
In his iconic 1970’s song considering the seminal moments in his life, Paul Simon thinks “back on all the crap I learned in High School,” and in wanting to preserve the better memories of those days, he pleads “don’t take my Kodachrome away” referencing an obvious metaphor for preserving memory.
Dateline June 22, 2009: ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it will retire KODACHROME Color Film this year, concluding its 74-year run as a photography icon.
Welcome Wylie E. Groves class of 1979.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are so old, that even the pop songs most appropriate as soundtracks for our reunion are technically obsolete.
Oh well, at least we’ll always have “Me and Julio Down by the School Yard.”
I want to start formally by thanking a few people without whom this fine evening would not be possible:
· Monica Tysell-Inchaustegui who was the main organizer of the event.
· Earl McHugh who, among many other countless tasks, set up and ran the website (groves1979.com). This was a tremendous amount of work, not the least of which was responding to all my emails (“Earl, we need to tell people about the photographer; Earl we need to talk about a dress code; Earl, I found a typo.”).
· Lori Friesner, who helped with logistics, the printed program and putting together the classmate memorial plaque.
· Gale Law-Hirs for her archival prowess in helping us re-construct the history of the Groves class of 1979.
· Jenny (Mrs. Earl) McHugh, Wally Carter and Bill Eagan (non-classmates) who did yeoman’s work at the check-in table tonight.
I would also like to especially thank Scott and Sally Tyler for graciously hosting the “pre-party” yesterday. It was a great way to kick off the week-end.
And of course, finally, thanks to everybody who made the effort to be here.
30 years is a long time and a lot has changed…
A member of the greater class of 1979 now runs the country. So I guess we have officially come of age. Although another member of our greater class this year also played professional hockey for the Detroit Red Wings, so also we must still have something left in the tank. It is quite the arc we ride at this moment in time.
But it’s good to know that a few things have remained relatively stable…
Peter Frampton is appearing in town tonight. I know of at least one classmate who has tickets. So, all is right with the world. Now, Frampton is playing at Meadowbrook, but that’s close enough to where he would have been 30 years ago, a few miles up I-75 at, what used to be known as Pine Knob. Now, that’s a Palace Entertainment property folks, so don’t go blaming Amy for calling it DTE Energy Center.
You can still tune into the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon in a couple of weeks. Of course, it’s come down a few notches its network TV perch so be sure to check your local community access listings if you want to see Charo, Gallagher or maybe that new Carrot Top fellow all the kids are talking about. This year, will be the first in 41 years without Ed McMahon, however. In yet another indication of just how long 30 years is. The replacement of Ed’s longtime gig with Johnny Carson was itself replaced this year by Conan O’Brien.
In local media, there have been a couple near misses in terms of high school hangers-on after 30 years. Arthur Penhallow was still saying “Baby” earlier this year until finally leaving WRIF in a contract dispute. Jim Johnson (long since departed from “Dick the Bruiser”) left the air just last year. I guess he finally fell off the bottom of the radio dial after moving to lower station numbers every five to ten years. However, you can still catch W4’s 1979 morning man Howard Stern if you own a satellite radio, at least until his contract runs out next year.
It only gets better.
Next year, for those of you born in 1960, let me be the first to inform you that you will receive a special gift via the USPS on the occasion of making it through your first half century - your very own AARP membership card – so get ready for those early bird specials at Bill Knapp’s.
Enjoy the rest of the evening and see you in 10 years when we once again crawl through this strange high school reunion portal into our own personal Michael Apted film.
Russell Levine
August 22, 2009