Kenneth Davis

Birth Anniversary Greetings 
To 
Olivia Johnson (Kimble) & Alvin Howlett

     With the possible exception of the equator, everything begins somewhere. (C. S. Lewis)... The crescent moon is also called a waxing or waning moon because it has something to do with the new moon. On this day, 70 years ago, the moon was in a Waxing Crescent Phase. A Waxing Crescent is the first phase after the New Moon. Spiritually, the crescent moon stands for a positive change. Whenever you see the crescent moon, it means that something new is about to happen in your life. The waxing crescent is the phase where the moon is illuminated with a shard of light, showing that things have started to take root. The maternity ward of "The John Gaston Hospital" was illuminated with two shards of light, as new born babies began to take root spiritually, two positive changes, within the Johnson and Howlett families. 
     Celebrating a 70th birthday is an emotional time and an absolute blessing! You both are so much more than just a friend to us. You have been a guide, a philosopher and a mentor to many individuals... Here's wishing you a very happy 70th birthday! Wobbly knees, grey hair and fine lines are all signs of the marvelous life you have led so far. Just joking, you're too young for wobbly knees. Although most of us have some grey hair and a few fine lines, we do wish you many more years of blessings and adventure. Happy 70th!!! C.S. Lewis also stated; "We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito." We're grateful that both of you have been touched by his angels of grace and favor, over the last sixty-nine years.  
     On July 27, 2022, the moon will be 28.41 days old and in a Waning Crescent Phase. It takes 29.53 days for the moon to orbit the Earth and go through the lunar cycle of all 8 Moon phases. In the Waning Crescent  Phase, the moon’s illumination is growing smaller each day until the New Moon. The New Moon is up in the daytime sky. It rises and sets around the same time as the Sun, bringing it too close to the Sun’s glare to be seen with the naked eye. The illumination, for those of us who have accomplished the cherished milestone of 70 years, is also growing smaller each day. Our naked eyes, indicates we're along the edge where the illuminated portion of our lives begins to meet the dark side, where the craters and mountains have cast long shadows, making them easier to observe. Gleefully however, we'll anticipate the cycle of another 364 days to gratefully and graciously celebrate another birth anniversary. As we inhabit time, the crescent moon will continue to stand for a positive change. Whenever we see the crescent moon, it'll mean that something new is about to happen in our lives. While you celebrate today, or choose not to, my wish for you is that you experience a Darren Rahn type of day. The New Moon Phase begins on the 28th. Since the New Moon nights are dark, continue to "Rock The World" each day, as we look forward to the next cresent moon illumination. May we disregard the craters, mountains and the long shadows, of life's time line. Humans are amphibians - half spirit and half animal. As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. (C. S. Lewis)...enjoy your day...stay spiritually safe my friends...

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

     Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness. We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same. Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Whoever is happy will make others happy too. 

~Anne Frank~ 

IT'S TIME FOR

Kenneth Davis

     A new survey has been added to the website for your consideration and response. Highlighted on the far left side of the "Website Home Page", the survey is listed as "Just Joking Mondays". Underneath BTW ALUMNI EVENTS, it's just below the Alma Mater and Fight Song. Please click on the tab and take an opportunity to open and answer a three (3) question survey. The "Survey Results Visibility" has been set to "All Classmates". Everyone will be able to view collective group results but WILL NOT be able to view each Classmate's specific answers like Administrators can. Gratefully awaiting your replies....  

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

     We have birthdays and bar mitzvahs and funerals and weddings. And these ceremonies and rituals, I believe, really help us transition from one point to another. Every single one of us will have our life interrupted, whether it's by the ripcord of a diagnosis or some other kind of heartbreak or trauma that brings us to the floor. We need to find a way to live in the in-between place, managing whatever body and mind we currently have. 

~Suleika Jaouad~

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth,

I am still trippin on Throwback Thursday! $12.95 for leather shoes and 35 cents shipping. Those were the good ole days!

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

     The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated. This life is worth living, we can say, since it is what we make it. We have to live today by what truth we can get today and be ready tomorrow to call it falsehood. Action may not bring happiness but there is no happiness without action. Let everything you do be done as if it makes a difference.

~William James~ 

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY GREETINGS
TO 
FRED HODGES

     Happy Birth Anniversary to one of the few people, whose birthday we can remember, without a Facebook reminder.... It's an easy task, because every classmates birthday is listed on the website. Today, you may count your life by smiles, not tears. Count your age by your countless friends, not the years. July 30, 2022 has been designated as National Paperback Book Day. We all know that books have the magical ability to transport the reader to far away places and teach things you never knew before. And paperback books make it easy for you to read on the go. Books, both fiction and nonfiction, contain worlds of enlightenment. They allow us to explore new insights into all matters of life, death, and beyond. 
     A wittingly written preface, to an original hardback book, published on July 30, 1952, contained the following information... Based on the data published by the United Nations Population Division, an estimated 97,484,605 babies were born throughout the world in the year 1952. The estimated number of babies born on July 30, 1952 was 266,351. That’s equivalent to 185 babies every minute.... That preface introduces us to one of those babies, who  became known as Fred Hodges. Like us at an early age, Fred began composing text, for the publication of transcripts, which have become chapters written in "A Book of Life", that has remained in publication to this date. Usually, in the case of a new book, it is the hardcover edition that comes out first before the paperback edition. Publishers follow this principle only if they expect the sales of the book to be really high. Thanks to a "Supreme Publisher", Fred has absorbed daily receipts of mercy, combined with a diet of grace and favor. Such gratuities have been generating anticipated sales for three score and ten years. Fred, we're grateful to the "Supreme Publisher", for continuously blessing us with your presence. As your classmates, we're overjoyed to have been included in the estimated 97,484,605 babies born throughout the world in 1952. Aren't you glad we all weren't crying at the same time... 
     Using the metaphor of our birth year and a hardback book has allowed a quick review of the blessed journey we've traveled since our inception. As you celebrate today, or choose not to celebrate, I wish you a Keith Slattery type of day.  As mentioned above, the hardback book is published before any paperback. So for National Paperback Book Day, grab a book and head to your favorite reading spot to enjoy it. Prior to reading the preface, reflect upon the "Duality" of what has occurred since "Before The After", meaning July 30, 1952 through July 30, 2022. Enjoy your day and stay safe my friend....Remember who you really are today, know that you have the power to overcome anything you may be facing.....

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

     I have always said, that often the religion you were born with, becomes more important to you as you see the universality of truth. When the faith is strong enough, it is sufficient just to be. It's a journey towards simplicity, towards quietness, towards a kind of joy that is not in time. It's a journey that has taken us from primary identification with our body and our psyche, on to an identification with God, and ultimately beyond identification. 

~Ram Dass~

Be Grateful
Song by Walter Hawkins

God has not promised me sunshine
That's not the way it's supposed to be
But a little rain mixed with God's sunshine
A little pain, makes me appreciate the good times
Be grateful, be grateful
God desires to feel your longings
Every pain that you feel, He feels them
Just like you, but He can't afford to make you feel only good
Then you can't appreciate the good times
Be grateful, be grateful, be grateful
Because there's someone else who's worser than you, be grateful
Because there's someone else who'd love to be in your shoes
Be grateful, God said it would never, never forsake you
Be grateful
Songwriters: Walter Hawkins 

Kenneth Davis

Happy Birth Anniversary to Gwendolyn and Orva !

      Happy Birth Anniversary to Gwendolyn and Orva. Two "LMG Soul Jahs", who ever represented "The Lemoyne Gardens" well. Forget the past; look forward to the future, for the best things are yet to come. Life is hard as it is. Too many rough roads to travel. Too many chains to untangle. But no matter how cruel the world may be, life becomes less hard when you got a good friend. (Unknown).... Ralph Waldo Emerson once said; The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship. 
     Such reasoning was developed from our association and correlated research conducted. Your birthday numbers 7, 31, and 1952 have revealed that your Life Path number is 1. A life path number is a single digit number that provides information about you, your personality and life. It is the revelation that you search for your whole life. With this number, you may know your abilities, inner drives, and purpose you are born for. You may disagree, but your life path represents initiative, potential and singularity. You are a born leader. You insist on your right to make up your own mind; you demand freedom of thought and action. Regardless of your life path number, we've always believed in you throughout the years, and your spirit of initiative, potential and singularity became influential, representing a type of immortality among family and friends. The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time. Think where man's glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends. (William Butler Yeats) 
     Congratulations to you both, on your birth anniversary. Achieving milestones are definately worth it. Having poured a maximum amount of  blood, sweat, and tears into this lifetime, receiving the most bountiful blessings of grace, favor and mercy over the years, is sufficient for now. Being able to say my glory was I had such friends becomes immeasurable, for the reason that "No road is long with good company". (Turkish Proverb) As you celebrate today, or choose not to, I wish you a Boney James type of day. "Honestly", I think, like the moon, you'll both be "Up All Night". You're still young enough to pull off an all nighter....Never leave a friend behind. Friends are all we have to get us through this life–and they are the only things from this world that we could hope to see in the next. (Dean Koontz)...enjoy your day and stay safe my friends....

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

     Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time. What we anticipate seldom occurs: but what we least expect generally happens. The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes. Despair is the conclusion of fools. Never take anything for granted.

~Benjamin Disraeli~

Kenneth Davis

JUST JOKING MONDAYS

     Rushing up to a large airline’s ticket counter, a man gasped, “Miss, please help me. I have to get to Chicago in the worst way!” The clerk calmly pointed to her left and said, “Sir, that would be the airline next to us.”

~Ramona Frankum~

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

I didn't have to turn my head. I can read upside down as well.

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

     The burdens of childhood are as hard to bear as the crosses that weigh us down later in life, while the happinesses of childhood are tame compared with those of our maturer years. To keep the heart unwrinkled, to be hopeful, kindly, cheerful, reverent - that is to triumph over old age. 

~Thomas Bailey Aldrich~

Kenneth Davis

     Okay Estella, you got me on that one. I was just grinning, wondering if anyone would actually turn their head to the left and then smile to themselves. After all, it was "Just Joking Monday". I guess we'll never know. I recently saw this sign that had to be read sideways.

Question for you...are you ambidextrous too????

     Hey Margie! I found this image to be extremely interesting and wanted to share it with you. But don't get beside yourself....

     Many thanks to everyone who has completed the survey. Very positive responses and suggestions have been received. The last day to respond is Friday, August 5th. The results will be posted on Monday. Wishing everyone a gloriously positive day of events....

     Estella, this quaint little wild flower was growing in the vicinity of your plaque. Wonder if it's related to the occassion.....

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

     Make treating yourself a priority and always remember your life is happening now. Don't put off all your dreams and pleasures to another day. In any balanced personal definition of success there has to be a powerful element of living life in the present. Since the pleasure of most foods is in the first few bites, eat one thing on your plate at a time, at least at the start of the meal when you can concentrate and enjoy the full flavors. Taking care of your mental and physical health is just as important as any career move or responsibility. 

~Mireille Guiliano~

The #1 Best Eating Habit for Heart Health, New Study Suggests
By Desirée O - Published on July 30, 2022   

     While there are plenty of vitamins and nutrients you'll want to ensure are found in your regular diet—we're looking at you, vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin D—potassium should definitely be one of them. A new study has shown that there happens to be a certain eating habit that can seriously benefit the health of your heart, and that's consuming potassium-rich foods. Apparently, having a decent amount of potassium in your system can reduce the harmful effects of excess sodium in your diet and lower blood pressure. In the study published in the European Heart Journal, 24,963 participants were brought on between 1993 and 1997. At the time, they ranged from 40 to 79 years old with the average being 58 years old for women and 59 for men. The study initially involved the participants providing information regarding certain lifestyle choices and also having their blood pressure noted and urine samples analyzed for both sodium and potassium levels.

     When those behind the study again took a look at the participants around 19 and a half years later, they found that 55% had dealt with serious and even potentially fatal issues with cardiovascular disease. It was found that those who had the highest amounts of potassium in the diet were 13% less likely to face cardiovascular problems compared to those who had the least amount of potassium in the systems. "Our findings indicate that a heart-healthy diet goes beyond limiting salt to boosting potassium content," said study author Professor Liffert Vogt of Amsterdam University Medical Centers, the Netherlands, via EurekAlert!

The link between potassium and heart health

     "This study adds to the body of evidence that suggests a higher potassium intake and lower sodium consumption benefits blood pressure," Elizabeth Ward, MS, RDN, and co-author of The Menopause Diet Plan, A Natural Guide to Hormones, Health and Happiness, tells Eat This, Not That! When it comes to why a potassium-rich diet helps to reduce the effects of salt and lowers blood pressure, Ward explains that "potassium and sodium have opposite effects on blood pressure—potassium helps lower it and sodium tends to increase it." Ward also notes that "the more potassium you consume, the more sodium is lost in your urine." Beyond that, "potassium also helps to ease tension in blood vessel walls, which also helps better regulate blood pressure." At the same time, Ward says, "While potassium is important for blood pressure control and for other reasons, some people need to be careful. Excess potassium can be harmful in patients with kidney disease, for example."

How to get more potassium in your diet

     Ward says you shouldn't "look to potassium supplements to take the place of food," explaining that "it's likely that the fluid and phytonutrients in potassium-rich foods help to contribute to better blood pressure." To get what you're looking for from your diet, Ward points out that "potassium is prone to destruction with processing, so raw and lightly processed foods have the highest potassium levels." With that in mind, remember that "fruits and vegetables are potassium-rich, but so are dairy products, seafood, and legumes." 

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Kenneth,

Yes, I am. I didn't know that I was until I had surgery on my right hand and had to continue to sign checks and conduct business at the food bank.

Marsha McMillian (Sherrod)

My 70th Birthday Picture

Estella Wright (Mayhue-Greer)

Marsha, 70 looks good on you. The picture is stunning!

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N 

     My friends,

love is better than anger.

Hope is better than fear.

Optimism is better than despair.

So let us be loving,

hopeful and optimistic.

And we'll change the world. 

~Jack Layton~

IT'S TIME FOR

Margie McRae (Reed)

Bonnie Pippin (Mills)

Dear Classmates,  Today's ad brought back so many memories.  I remember my mom's first car, it was a blue Plymouth and she called it Rock(as in Plymouth Rock).  Why I remember this I don't know but her car note was $76 monthly.  You can barely look at a car for that amount.  Times have changed.

Looking good Marsha!!!!!!!

Margie, I enjoy Dr. Pepper and so does my 14 year old granddaughter.  She takes ballet and after  the performances ,as custom, the family would present her with a bouquet of flowers and of course she had too many. So I decided not to give her a bouquet after her performances, I started giving her Dr. Peppers and I feel that she enjoyed those much better than the flowers.  Keep looking for something you and your grandson can enjoy and share together and still stay in your daughter's good graces.

Everyone enjoy your day.

Kenneth Davis

     Hello Everyone. I've been recently notified of a problem, changing the Master Photo indicated on your profile page, which may or may not be affecting you personally. Only the website administrator has the authority to change the administratively uploaded "Senior Head" profile photo. That photo was originally uploaded by Marilyn Sanders Jones, when the website was established. As the current administrator, I have not made any changes to deter or prevent individual authorizations, established by Marilyn or Cherlyn Harris. Should you be experiencing this technical difficulty, please initiate the following directions, inorder to make your change....
1. Place cursor on "Edit Profile" - far left side of website page
1a. Once highlighted, click mouse to open
1b. Place cursor on "Master Photo" - an edit window will appear with 3 options available - Select Photo / Adjust Thumbnail / Remove
1c. Place cursor on "Select Photo"
1d. If the photo you want to change is not visible in the "Select Profile Photo" album, you must upload the new photo, from your computer
2. Place cursor on "Upload A New Photo" and click mouse
2a. The file containing your pictures should open
2b. Highlight the picture desired, click mouse to move the picture to the window saying "File Name", then click mouse on the window that says "Open", to upload the new picture
2c. The new image should now be visible within the "Select Profile Photo" album
3. Place the cursor on the picture desired and click the mouse
3a. The new picture will appear on a page for editing
3b. If you like the picture "as is", place the cursor on "Save" in the upper left side of the page and click the mouse
4. The saved picture will appear as you new Master

     After having followed these instructions, and you're still unable to make a change, forward your image to me via email (sbrown027@nc.rr.com) and I will personally make the change for you. I will then contact the Administrators for Class Creators, for further assistance and resolution.

     One of the numerous suggestions from the website survey stated that we all should post a picture from our 70th Birth Anniversary. Now would be a great time, to test the website systems to see if anyone else is experiencing this problem. It doesn't have to be from your most recent celebration, just post a new picture as an updated image....

Kenneth Davis

Received from Larry Milligan, via "The Class of 1972"....

     Dear Fellow Warrior Alumni! The Class of ’72 is hosting our 50th Year Reunion this September 22nd-24th. In honor of this magnificent milestone, we are asking your class, our friends, to purchase at least one table of 6 for $300 to our banquet on Saturday, September 24th. If you find that more than 6 would like to attend, we will be able to accommodate the request as well. This will be a perfect opportunity for us to again mix, mingle and have a lot of fun with each other. Please contact Adrienne Karney Lynn by April 30th at 901-412-5120 or at adklynn@comcast.net if you have an interest or any questions. PLEASE let us hear from you. We want you there to share in this momentous Black-Tie Affair with us! BTW Class of ‘72 “Warriors for Life (W4L)”

Please contact Larry Milligan, our designated coordinator for The Class of 72......  

Kenneth Davis

 "Warriors On The  Move"....Contributions welcome!!! 

Please join me in congratulating De’ Clayborn, Executive Support Specialist, winner of the Purple Promise Award!

Gerald Best

Kenneth Davis

 T H O U G H T   F O R   C O N S I D E R A T I O N  

   I assert that nothing ever comes to pass without a cause. The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music.

 ~Jonathan Edwards~