Billy Gray Johnson

My class of '69 buddy, Grant Barr, who knew everything, told me VWs would float and being in water wouldn't kill the engine.  I didn't believe him, or lots of other things he "knew," but you know what?  After Jim Walton's testimonial, NOW I DO!!!! About the VW, anyway.

Several things strike me, here.  One; jumping in the lake is likely better than having a head-on collision.  Two; the jerk in the 'vette should have flashed his lights, honked his horn, or SOMETHING!  Three; I wonder who was freaked out the most, Jim or the 'vette driver!  Holy Camoly!  Can you imagine trying (at least half-heartedly) to stop a car from going in the lake, only to see it jump right in and swim away like a pregnant roller skate wearing a life jacket?

billy

Jim Walton

AMAZING! I didnt learn until the reunion that I am realted to Barbara Butner.  Actually my wife was sitting with her and they discovered it. Seems I am learning alot about Barbara! Seems we have the same Uncle on her side and my aunt on my Moms side. (does that make any sense?)

(Yer secrezts are safe with me)

===JIM===

Nancy Whittemore (May)

Christmas Blessings to you and your families!  I hope this image is also one of your favorite 'growing up in Nashville' memories--standing in awe and wonder at the Nativity scene at the Parthenon.  Since we re-captured some of the magic of our youth at this year's reunion, my Christmas wish for all of us is that it continue thru the years. 

No one said it better than Charles Dickens via Mr. Scrooge:

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. . .  May that truly be said of us and all of us!  And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us-Every One!"  

Debbie Jones (Campbell)

Hey. who better to network with than you classmates:  Please help!!!! Laid-off after 12 years @ Western Express, Holdings'''... 18 yrs in accounting, owned my own Personnel bussiness for 11 yrs...Real Estate for 3 yrs.....@ Western Express Holdings i made my way to the top as Payroll Supervisor!! image that....3,000 employees...but when it came to cut-backs the top guys are the first to go...first our Controller!? go figure...then the domino effect started hitting. So please if your hear or know of anything plz let me know....I don't want to be a Supervisor anymore, I have other things I want to achive in my life. So thanks for reading my sob story...lol ...on a serious note you can email me @campbell6361@att.net ....or reach out for me on facebook under Debbie Jones Campbell. Thanks in advance.....Rock On Class of 70

Michael Atwood

Hey Classmates. I have been down for a while with double knee replacement surgery. Went under the knife January 13 and am still rehabbing. I hope to be back to work in two more weeks. Airport security will take on a different twist from now on. I had a great time at the reunion and look forward to seeing everyone again at the birthday bash. Hopefully some who didn't make it to the reunion will be able to attend this years celebration. Isn't it amazing how our past become more important the older we get. I enjoyed our time together in High School and look forward to spending time reliving those days with you guys in our future. Be blessed Mike Atwood

Jim Walton

Billy we re going to have to start something here to get folks writing again!

Carolyn Kirby (Meeks)

Hello my fellow classmates, it has been some time since I have posted but I have some things I wanted to share with you. My good news is Bob & I are very proud Great Grandparents of a beautiful boy Hayden TY born January 13 and a sweetie pie Madilyn Grace born May 23, they are all doing very well. As for my health I continue to have issues but I'm taking one day at a time and just thankful for each one that I have.

Many of you may remember Bob's Sister Suzette class of "66" the same as Bob since a lot of us have older siblings that went to DHS. Suzette had been in ill health with COPD for about five years and in the last couple of months her health begin to decline, on Saturday July 9 her long suffering ended.We are sadden and heartbroken by her passing, we will miss her.

I do hope all is well within your families, there is not too much posting on our class site! It was such a joy to read the updates when it was new, sure miss that! Everyone take care and hope your having a good summer!

Love, Carolyn

Joe Timothy Jones

I'm still here!!!!Yea!!!

Okay, it's been a stressful summer for my wife (Denise) and I. She had a hystarectomy in June and a double masscetomy in August. She is now cancer free and recovering with much "Spunk"! She did not have to do any chemo, which we are thankful of.  Also thankful for all of the prayers, you know who you are.

I've been on Facebook alot but I don't care for all the games and other applications. I hope our other classmates will return here from time to time and post up dates.

I agree with Betty Jo, we need to do something this up-coming summer (2012) to celebrate the Big 60.  Even though I did that this summer. Yea, I'm a year ahead of you guys.  The economy is not good so keep us poor folks in mind.

Well, that's all I got for now.

Billy Gray Johnson

Hello.  Testing, testing, one two three... is anyone still out there?

Hi y'all,. As I age I'm becoming much more serious, sober, unimaginative and boring. 

Hopefully a little more tolerable.

Love all of you,

Billy

Billy Gray Johnson

Hey people!

Who's on line? Hoo's on first?

Hey, Pat Slate, if you read this, my apologies for not responding to your birthday wishes back in April 2011.  I haven't checked this website in over a year. I think a lot of DHS class of 70 haven't, either.

I will try to reach you at your profile site.  With the "60th Birthday" event coming up, maybe we can somehow stimulate some more interaction on this site. 

I get frustrated and write some pretty provocative things sometimes in an attempt to get people's reactions, but all that seems to do is provoke people.  I'll try to not do that.  

Get back to me if you can.

Thanks,

Billy 

Billy Gray Johnson

Hey Pat Slate,

Thanks for you instant reply! Great to make contact after so long.  Your recall is amazing.  Yeah, I remember a lot about Fourth Grade at Donelson Elementary, too.

Do you remember when the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" came to Donelson Theater and we went?  Guess what.  They just recently tore down the whole Donelson Theater building and they're putting in a big Thornton's gas station/store.  If you don't know what Thornton"s is, it's kinda like a Mapco.  They left those cool stone walls that surround the whole complex and that's going to look great.

Donelson Elementary is now a senior citizens center called "50 Forward."  It's where we held the reunion.  Talk about coming full circle in life!

Billy

Carolyn Kirby (Meeks)

What a surprise to see your post my friend but glad to see your still kicking around, miss hearing from you & that sweet Lady of yours. Let's hope 2012 will be a little more kind to us all! Things are about the same in my life just taking one day at a time and being thankful for each. You and Merri take care of each other and lets make time for a get together soon! Hugs & Love to you both.

Miss You , Skriddy

Michael Hawkins

MY GEEZER RANT

Okay . . . some of you jamokes have been havin' a little fun beating up on us poor "older" classmates . . . that's right . . . I officially graduated today . . . into the geezer generation.  As FDR once said (a mere 10 yrs before we wuz born, folks), "A day which will live in infamy."  Remember when we couldn't wait to become Seniors?  Well, we have arrived (or soon to), and believe me, it gives new meaning to the word.  Who'da ever thunk it?

For a tiny bit of perspective, (which I'm sure most of you don't need), just consider for a moment our world:

draft cards; civil rights; race riots; assassinations; space races; cold wars; rotary phones; party lines (now known as "conference" calls); (snail) mail (hell, there was even a hobby called stamp collecting); mini-skirts (should be revived); socks and shirts to match; bufontes; girdles; leisure suits; petal pushers; monograms; muscle cars;  drive-ins; balanced budgets; civility; morality; manners; courtesy; empathy; generosity; slide rules; disco; coal furnaces; pot; paddling; generation gap; Heckle and Jeckle, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and a host of other real cartoons; Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans; Ding Dong School; fresca; duck and cover; etc; . . . ad infinitum.

Remember those simpler times, in a world without:

computers, calculators, printers, scanners, cell phones, smart phones, video games, color TV, email and a host of other electronic gadgetry; terrorism (was somewhere else); STD's (need I elaborate?); birth control (for most ); battery operated anything except toys; Toyota, Nissan, Kia, Subaru, etc, etc, etc; bottled water; microwaves; instant anything (well, there was coffee, which, of course, no one drinks anymore); soccer; gangsta rap; . . . ad nauseum.

Remember when:

only your grandpa had a tatoo (that he got in the navy during the war); made in Japan meant piece of junk; foreign cars were made in foreign countries, and the Big Four were American; gay was straight; methedrine was made by pharmaceutical firms, not your next door neighbor; you traded knives with your friends at school; school dances were (semi)formal; your class ring (real gold) cost less than the price of a meal at Outback; unwed mothers moved away to live at a "home"; it took 30 years for your parents to pay off a $13,000 home mortgage; kids 18-20 were dying as soldiers but couldn't vote; parking led to . . . hickies; you could by a couple of gallons of gas and a pack of Marlboros for less than a buck (the Lion station on Donelson Pike had it for $0.19 a gallon once); TV had 3 channels (then we got public tv!); 'pong' was all the rage; texts were assigned for homework? . . . well, you get the picture.

Yes, I may be old, but I'm still younger than Tim and Judy and a very few of you other mugs (you can whip me if you can catch me).  But folks, it ain't near as bad as the only alternative.  Whatever our station at this point in our lives, let's just give a little thanks that we have arrived at all.  The gift of life is something that we can really begin to appreciate at this point; let's remember those of our class who have gone on before us, and do what we can in the (little?) time we have left to make our world the place we once dreamed it could be. Remember those days, when we thought we would change the world?  I mean, we were the biggest, baddest, mostest generation that ever was!  Wasn't nothin' gonna stop us . . . we'd solve every problem known to man . . . free love . . free medical . . . free energy . . . free choice . . . free lunch  . . . free . . . DOM!  Well, we better get our asses in gear, ya'll, 'cause we're running out of all of the above.  Okay, okay, enough already with the pontificating.  So what if the more things change, the more they stay the same.  LIFE is GOOD!

Best wishes to all my fellow ancients.  We have reached that place which we thought back then would be a place worse than death . . . but we have discovered otherwise.

Man, am I looking forward to seeing who (and what!) is left of that unstoppable, unbelievable, unfathomable, never-grow-old, never-gonna-be-my parents (much less grandparents), forever young, bunch of fun lovin' folks who, across the years and the distance, remain so close to my heart.

Your classmate, for ever and always; for better or worse, till death us do part.

Mike Hawkins  (aka Wolfman, Hawk, Snargins, Michael, or maybe you know me only as the goofy blond-headed kid who sold you a frog for biology and ran the 16mm projector in Conservation Club meetings)

mjhawk@dtccom.net

PS: May the upcoming event be another in a great succession of memorable reunions.  Oh, yeah, I got a haircut.

Billy Gray Johnson

Well stop, drop and roll Horkins! 

That about says it all!

See that little "change photo" button? Try it out and put in a new picture with your new haircut.  Will the Krise sisters call you "Bee Bee Head" again?

How about those Krise sisters!!! I think Cindy got married to Bill Bevans and they live in the ole Krise House , 

In between marriages to Alison and Merri I tried to get Shawn's attention for about 6 months but she preferred some guy she knew who was writing a book about Hoboes.  She's still cuter than a scooter.

Melanie?  Ever hear from Melanie?  When she was 6 and I was 7 she got her brand new shoes all muddy walking home from school and I helped her wash the mud off in the spigot sticking out of the back of the Krise House.  Good ole' days, eh?

My younger daughter, Aubree, just finished her Masters at TN Tech in biology.  She did her thesis on Zig Zag salamanders.  I thought of you.  Remember when the Zig Zag Man had a picture of you on his T-Shirt?

Still riding moter sickles AND sailing?   Me? I'm mostly pontooning..

Billy

Jane Hall (Greene)

Hey Hawk!

Love it.  You have summed things up nicely.  My birthday is later this month, but I don't feel old.  I used to think 60 was ancient, but not anymore.  You just get up each day and keep going.  Some days there are more snap, crackle, and pops in the old joints, but you just keep on going.

Thanks so much for your great perspective on our lives.

I will leave you all with a quote from a refrigerator magnet I have:

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

Love you all!

Jane

Billy Gray Johnson

Hi Jane.

I think the refrigerator magnet is being a smarty pants!

b.

Billy Gray Johnson

Tim Jones,

You there?  How's Denise doing? Inquiring minds want to know!

b.

Billy Gray Johnson

Good morning,

How y'all doing?

I'm excited about turning 60 this year. I feel a little envious of those of you whose birthdays are this month. I have to wait till April. Wah! Gary Boles has one 1/10/2012.  Happy birthday, ole guy.

Have you noticed that the older you get the faster time seems to go! Blending psychology and Einsteinian physics I have come up with a new theory:

If one lives long enough, one will eventually break the time barrier.

billy

Michael Hawkins

How-dee-do, ya'll!

I see me ole chum Billy-Vanilly is still up to his old habit of keeping us entertained and off balance.  Well, Cat-man, yes, I do seem to vaguely remember some times some time ago involving certain Cumberland Circle residents of the female persuasion.  I kept a path worn between there and your back yard for a while back then.  Something about a crackling fire, starry sky, and close companions make for great memories.  Were they really that good (I ain't just talkin' 'bout the times, neither)?  Hell, yeah, they were!  Oh, well, that chapter is written, and it's one for the ages.  You do get me wondering about those Krises-  heard that Cindy, our beguiling enigma wrapped in an impenetrable mystery, had married my old BB teammate.  His ditching the reunion left me unsatisfied; I hope that someone can change that this time.  As for Shawn, ran across her years ago; she had taken a photography class that my sister-in-law was teaching at Nashville Tech.  Then there's you-know-who, MAK, who broke my heart, but I richly deserved it.  Amazing how we can ignore and mistreat those we love the most.  I do hope that life has worked out for her as great as it has for me.  She certainly deserves it.

So Aubrey has taken up herpetology- GREAT!  I can easily picture her poking about in the wild, fascinated by the life teeming therein.  And what of Colleen and Charlene?  I hope they are well, as well.  Say hey to Merri.

Oh, yeah, almost forgot the main reason for this note:  my new improved model 60 look, sans cheveux!  See photo.

Michael Hawkins

Hey Jane,

My fridge magnet has an image of Genghis Khan on it.  Now that's ancient.  And you've hit the nail on the head- you're as old as you feel.  I'm feeling nothing right now (hmmm, can you guess why?).  Does that mean I'm ageless?

Your homeroom compadre

Billy Gray Johnson

Hey Jane and Hawk,

I remember y'all goofing around at DHS calling one another "MR. HAWKINS" and "MISS JANE" one day.  I could give more details but it makes Sandy Ledbetter (Black) angry that I can remember things she can't. But it WAS cute. 

Speaking of Hawks, my liddle brother, Alan, has taken up falconeering.  He's got a young female red tail that he's taught to fly around then fly back to him.  Actually I think it probably figured out how to fly around on its own.  It was flying back to him that would never have occurred to it without a little Skinnerian coaxing.

Jane, you're still cuter than a scooter, and Hawk, so are you but in a very different way than Jane.

Sincerely,

billy

Jim Walton

Great synopsis Mike! I enjoyed it all. I am so looking forward to our reunion again. Glad to see the messages picking up again! I know we are getting older but ya know I have enjoyed every step of life, good and the not so. DHS days were some of the best. Again, as Mr Sain said at our graduation, "You have just come through the best times of your life and dont even know it!" He was right and some of the best friends we will ever have came from then as well. I cant help but remember Billy as one of my longest friends. I dont even remember when we first started getting togheter but I know we were little things. Ok Billy, I always admired you and the way you always handled things!. You are and always were and admirable person! You too Mike, you rate high up my ladder of great folks I get to call friend! I have just known Billy longer. All the best to both you guys! And your picture looks great Mike!

===JIM===

Billy Gray Johnson

Well bust my buttons Jimbo! 

We go back to age six.  I always thought you were extremely cool.  You had a huge imagination and you always seemed like you were trying very hard to suppress a smile and you couldn't quite do it.   Your Mom was way cool also.  I remember she had beautiful dark eyes.  She was the first person I knew who got contact lenses.  I was very envious because I had to wear coke bottle bottom glasses that kept getting broken on the playground!  I had to wait till I was 17 before my eye doctor would let me try contacts.  Then my troubles really began.  All the girls thought I was so cute without the glasses that I had to fight them off like Papparazi!  If you believe that, I've got some ocean front property in Overton county you might be interested in!!!  Maybe we can get our classmates to get back on line with us.  Surely we aren't the only ones with big imaginations and drop dead good looks!!  Well, Hawkins might qualify......

B.

Billy Gray Johnson

Hi Jane (Hall) (Greene),

Yeah those rice krispies can be annoying!  You doing good?

b.

Jane Hall (Greene)

Thanks Billy.  I love you for that response.

JHG