Reunion II by Paul D. Gallego

The time has past now twenty (*forty) years,

Since first were heard those graduation cheers.

And now this day we do reflect,

The course in life we did select.

But first the roll, the names we'll call,

I will begin with Diana Sandoval.

Araceli, Iris, and Sandra Sanchez,

Rafa, Richard, and Roxella Perez,

Julio, Linda, and Roberto Martinez,

Tony, Tere, and Berta Ramirez,

Leo, Norma, and Lourdes Lopez,

Higinio, Reynaldo, and Ricardo Gonzalez,

Melba, Terry, and Patsy Gutierrez,

Flores, Fuentes, Gallego, and Gamez,

Elsa, Frank, and Mario Barrera,

Diana, Estella, and Mark Guerra,

Jose, Eddie, and Roberto Gutierrez,

Hastings, Henry, Jimenez, and Juarez,

Levy and Leyva, Lopez and Lerma,

Garcia and Garza, Grimsley and Guerra,

Janie, Cindy, Minnie and Nora,

Kathy, Pedro, Magda, and Dora,

Neto, Beto, Herbie, and Freddie,

Becky, Paul, Patricia, and Eddie,

Mary Helen, Mary Ann, Magdalena,

Mary Lou, Mary Jane, Maricela,

Sandra, Gilda, Glenn, and Selma,

Sylvia, Gloria, Carmen, and Thelma,

Dewey, David, Ricardo, and Danny,

Elvia, Norma, Arnulfo, and Annie,

Wanda, Marina, Olga, and Letty,

Raquel, Gladys, Hilda, and Betty,

Gayle, Victor, Elda, and Alberto,

Cris, Cordy, Joe, and Roberto,

Josefa, Julio, Debbie, and Alicia,

Chester, John, Rene, and Leticia,

Carmen, Tony, Frank, and Isaura,

Victoria, Vivian, Edgar, and Laura,

Yolanda, Javier, Arturo, and Rosalinda,

Mike, Roberta, Ernie, and Herlinda,

Jesse, Blanca, Bobby, and Mando,

Barbara, Otilia, Jean, and Rolando,

Erasmo, Abe, James, and Gary,

Alma, Ray, Jesus, and Mary,

Lamar, George, Stephanie, and Barry,

Rosendo, Grizelda, Gilbert, and Larry,

Alice, Cynthia, Dennis, and Juanita,

Jorge, Lupe, Maureen, and San Juanita,

Judy, Irene, Lydia, and Ronnie,

Tom, Linda, Katy, and Connie,

Roel, Carlos, Rosa, and Billie,

Ramiro, Eliza, Jimmy, and Lily,

Gina, Stella, Ruben, and Nick,

Achilles, Virginia, Ricky, and Dick.

We certainly tried to name one and all,

We ask for your pardon if your name we not call.

Let us get on with events of the day,

We'll try and present them in the best way.

Let us take some time to reminisce,

Of the happy moments that we miss.

Salinas' hair was always in place,

Even when Beulah hit the Air Base.

The English aroma we'll never forget,

Mrs. Lockey's perfume, Royal Secret.

The smell of the doughnuts, the noise of the jet,

The moments in class, the friends that we met.

Geometry, Algebra, Trig, and Miss Theta,

Biology, Chemistry with Mr. Reyna.

With Senorita Ramirez Spanish we took,

With Brady and Hagy the students did cook.

English, Spanish, Latin, and French,

History, Typing, and Auto Shop wrench.

In the good ole days we had a bonfire,

It was the symbol of our burning desire.

Our bonfire Martin High burned down,

A sleeping giant is what they found.

They thought our spirit it would rend,

In less than a day we built it again.

The wood we collected from points near and far,

We loaded in trucks or daddy's new car.

We painted the town green and gold.

The "72" was nice, big, and bold.

We know who you are, we know what you did,

That night at Martin in shadows you hid.

You painted the school in thick, bold green.

The word "NIXON" was everywhere seen.

We won the Big Game thirteen to six,

Our mascot, the Mustang, we had to re-fix.

Their mascot, the Tiger, it did disappear,

The person who took it has never been clear.

We'll never forget the Powder Puff crew,

And all the maps in History we drew.

The Golden Spurs, the Horse and high kicks,

Goldings, Denny's, and Wizard Wicks.

The Drama Club plays, the band and the flicks,

Theme paper, notebooks, and nineteen cent Bics.

There was also the school bus out-of-town trips,

The football games, pep rallies, and cheerleader flips.

The frito pies that the Spurs did make,

The wrath and anger of Kramer did take.

The Brass Buttons wore plaid jackets, gold skirts,

The ROTC cadets had starch in their shirts.

The ROTC Sponsors had very nice boots,

The DECA members wore very nice suits.

PASF was spreading goodwill,

So many members two buses could fill.

The Future Farmers bred steers and sheep,

The pride and honor in Nixon did keep.

In Civics we all had Coach Albert Ochoa,

In History we studied Cortes and Balboa.

The Band they all studied with Mr. Bueno,

The jokes that were cracked were better than Leno.

Hot pants and mini skirts were fashion they say,

If your skirt was too short it could ruin your day.

Blue jeans for girls broke every rule,

Platform shoes had girls limping in school.

We went to Jett Bowl for the pinball machines,

Before it was fashion, we wore faded jeans.

Our high school paper, the Pony Express,

The reporters did things we'll never confess.

There was no mall for our recreation,

So we went across for our potation.

Lone Star, Pearl, and Schlitz were the beers,

We had to drink up to silence our peers.

Oh, how our money we did spend,

At Munich's first, then Lion's Den.

Zombies were drinks that put you away,

The next thing you knew, it was the next day.

Remember drinking so much that you got sick,

Then praying to God that drinking you'd kick,

If only He would stop the bed from spinning,

You would do His will and stop sinning,

But there you were drinking again,

On the very next weekend.

We went to the school of hard knocks,

We never had food like bagels and lox.

Tortillas, rice and beans were our diet,

Your mother would tell you, "eat and be quiet."

Dairy Kreme, Farmer's Grill, and Tumble Inn,

Oriental Kitchen, Western Grill, and the Go-Go Inn,

These were the places that we would go to eat,

Spend some time or a girlfriend meet.

We'd always let the girls order first,

And hope there was money left to quench our thirst.

If we wanted to party, we'd go out to ranches,

Or call Roberto Ramos, whom we knew as Branches.

We were walking volcanoes of human hormones,

Our parents were yelling to get off their phones.

The girls that we called and asked for a date,

The hurt and rejection did alter our fate.

It seemed like all the good girls were taken,

But we kept on trying our confidence not shaken.

For love and affection we were in a rush,

It seemed every day we had a new crush.

What we were asking was not very much,

All that we wanted was a little touch. (Yeah, right.)

We heard through the grapevine who broke up,

And we asked our friends to set us up.

There was a fairy tale in each young heart,

It didn't take much for love to start.

Love was to us a grand frustration,

But we certainly loved the anticipation.

The girlfriends and boyfriends that we dated,

Our memories of Love have not quite faded.

It's always a pleasure and joy to recall,

The special moments that on us befall.

Remember trying to find a good place to park,

Way out in the boonies, at the lake, in the dark,

Then rushing home after a hot date,

And getting grounded for being late.

We had our moms worried half the night,

We were wild and crazy but we turned out all right.

Yes, times were hard and times were rough,

But we survived because we were tough,

Or was it luck that helped us through,

It must have been God's vigil over you.

Eight persons in a car we often did pack,

Or we went to Marty’s to catch a quick snack.

On Halloween Night we all went out,

The egging and yelling, and wandering about.

Who can forget Steven Levy on a boat,

Crossing the Delaware on a parade float.

Our Valedictorian was Diana Liner,

In the state of North Dakota you can find her.

Alicia Velasquez was Homecoming Queen,

The Nixon girls were the finest ever seen.

When we were in school the music was great,

So many stars suffered a sad fate.

Mama Cass, Morrison, and Hendrix all died,

Janis, Elvis, and Croce’s passing we cried.

There was Sonny and the Sunliners, Saffron Mist,

Sangre Mexicana followers too long to list.

The Stones, Beatles, Troggs, and the Doors,

The Who, The Monkees, Santana, and Commodores.

Gary Puckett, Herman Hermits, Turtles, and Bread,

Roy Orbison, Raiders, Eagles, and Grateful Dead.

Grand Funk and Led Zepplin were heavy metal,

Karen Carpenter was soft as a rose petal.

The Temptations, Miracles, and the sound of Motown,

The songs that did move us, “The Tears of a Clown”.

Johnny Cash, Charlie Pride, and Tanya Tucker,

Sang of love, the rain, your truck and your mother.

The cumbias, the polkas, and that Mexican beat,

Kept us dancing all night, put sores on our feet.

Everything now is a remake or imitated,

But the music of our era cannot be duplicated.

There was Paul McCartney playing bass,

“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”,

There was “Hang On Sloopy” and “Oh Sweet Pea”,

“You Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” and “Dizzy”.

“Rockin’ Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu”,

“Hold Me”, “Oh Girl”, and “Love Is Blue”,

There was “Good Vibrations”, “Precious and Few”.

Those were the songs that moved and swayed,

Those were the songs with our hearts played.

The music of our era is now known as classic,

Because everything today sounds so plastic.

Remember “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”,

Today, “I Want Your Sex” sings the band.

Oh how our class did love to party,

Even now as we approach forty (*our fortieth).

The graduation speech I do not quite recall,

It had something to do with the end of it all.

At graduation for one moment our parents were proud,

When we grabbed our diploma our family got loud.

Our senior year it seemed like it flew,

Now is our chance for our friendship to renew.

Remember this time that we now spend,

I ask that your ears you continue to lend.

Remember Doctor Zekow, La Mano Pachona,

La Coneja,  La Pulga, Pechuga, y La Chona.

Pini and Pichi so many nicknames,

Even our class president was known as Dick Sames.

Pontiac, Buick, Ford, and Chevy,

Remember a dime for the bridge levy.

Remember when we lived with only one bridge,

And it took you two hours to defrost your fridge.

Remember the Ursuline and St. Joe dances,

They give us dreams of sweet romances.

Dancing fast would get your blood flowing right,

Then you’d be ready to dance good, slow, and tight.

To dance real close you had to smell nice,

English Leather, Brut, Hi Karate, Old Spice.

Remember eight tracks and CB’s,

Now it is Laser Discs and CD’s.

Remember the sodas Bimbo, Fresca, and Wink,

And how Saturday we’d skate at the rink.

Remember when things were regular size,

Now everything’s mini and double in price.

Remember when streaking was in fad,

And reading a magazine called “MAD”.

Remember peace signs, flower children, and civil rights,

Acid Rock, psychedelic paint, and Muhammed Ali fights.

Remember when gas was thirty-five cents,

And with less than a buck get two packs of Kents.

Green and Gold stamps they don’t give anymore,

Don’t ask for assistance when you go to the store.

Six hamburgers for a dollar a family could feed,

Six bucks for a hamburger your family now plead.

Remember the attendants at the gas station did jump,

And now at the station your own gas you must pump.

Everyone drives a rice-burning car,

Where’s the man who wears the Texaco star,

Remember the Mustang, TransAm, and GTO.

The Charger, Challenger, and the Camaro,

The Four Forty V-8 really had go,

Now it’s four cylinders cars like the Yugo.

They don’t build cars like tanks anymore,

They’re so small you can’t get in the door.

Remember the Bordertown, Tower, and Fiesta Drive Inn,

The Tivoli, Plaza, and the Royal we have all been.

“Love Story”, “The Exorcist”, and “Easy Rider”,

Helped open our eyes to life much wider.

“Play Misty for Me” was like “Fatal Attraction”,

And Clint Eastwood was our man of action.

Our heroes were varied, our heroes were many,

In the days you could but something with a penny.

We only had two channels to choose,

The TV reception we often did lose.

Until Vumore put in the cable,

Then our reception was more stable.

There was the fiery horse with the speed of light,

And “Have Gun Will Travel” if the price was right.

When we were growing up, Cowboys were heroes,

The ones of today have turned out big zeroes.

There was “Bonanza”, “Rawhide”, and “Wagon Train”,

“The Lone Ranger”, Roy Rogers, and John Wayne.

“Gunsmoke”, Palladin, Kwai Chang Caine,

“Wanted Dead or Alive”, and Lucas McCain.

The guys all wanted to be like James Bond,

Of Double (007) Seven we were so fond.

Remember Lee Trevino, The Super Mex,

In the good ole days before “safe sex”.

In ’72 Raquel Welch was our screen love,

And Pete Rose won another gold glove.

No McDonald’s, Burger King, nor Wendy’s for us,

Whataburger or Glass Kitchen was the big fuss.

Our music, our time, “American Pie”,

The soldiers in Nam, so many did die.

Cambodia and Laos the battles, the story,

In Vietnam there was no call to glory.

The President was known as “Tricky Dick”,

At Watergate there was a lock to pick.

Star Trek was Kirk, Bones, and Spock,

In ’72 the Enterprise hit dry dock.

Saturday Night Live is not quite as good,

Today you must beware of the Boyz in the Hood.

We shopped at Woolco, Munden’s, and Perry’s,

We went off to school, LJC, Texas, St. Mary’s.

Times are a-changing we hope for the better,

Computers and faxes, no need for a letter.

Today everything can give you a disease,

And you have to beware of the African bees.

The air, the water, and the chemical spills,

You read the newspaper it gives you chills.

We are all caught in life’s many mazes,

That bring us frustrations and wrinkle our faces.

We’ve put on some pounds, or lost some hair,

Time is not kind, life is not fair.

It does not matter how successful you are,

Or if you are driving a big fancy car.

The secret to life and happiness,

Is not in the earthly things we possess.

Make the most of your life of what there is,

Make the most of your time with the ones you will miss.

When you are gone and your story is told,

What will be said, what can we hold?

Why were we called here on earth?

What can we say our life is worth?

What matters is love, friendship, and class,

For everything else will certainly pass.

There are certain things we wish would not end,

Like the love that we have for a very good friend.

There’s so much to say, where can one stop,

Just never give up, reach for the top.

Some of our friends have gone to a higher reward,

We hope they are in the presence of the Lord.

Here’s to their reunion in Heaven together,

Look after us in times of bad weather.

After twenty (*forty*) years, tis time to make amends,

With all those you could not call friends.

After tonight we’ll be leaves in the wind,

Don’t ever forget this place that you’ve been.

I hope that you find joy in each day,

And that misery does not pass your way.

The time has come for me to go,

I hope your spirit will continue to grow.

Our hope, our dreams, our life, and our spirit,

J. W. Nixon, our life we did live it.

We look to the future, don’t dwell on the past,

Another ten years will be on us fast.

Our Family and Friendship by God we’ve been blessed,

Until our next reunion, we wish you the best.

Written by Paul David Gallego