Stories and Poems
Hey class of 1970…. To celebrate our 50th reunion…to help us remember that time
It has been decided one way to begin…would be to celebrate in rhyme…
So Rollie searched our entire class roster…
looking for someone who would work for free
and when he reached the end of the alphabet…he finally discovered me!
I promise to write about Twinsburg memories…no secret agenda…no tricks
nothing controversial…for instance…there will be no politics!
If any of you have an idea…something you remember…you want others to know
just send me an email with your thoughts…(my email is below)
And I will send you a draft of the poem…then you can write me back
and once you approve of what we’ve written…I’ll send it on to Jack…
So to begin our 50th reunion…from a school we’ve all long since departed….
Here’s the first poem of the series…just to get you started
TWINSBURG IN YOUR BLOOD By Jim Yerman
We all grew up in Twinsburg…back then time moved kind of slow…
Now…50 years after graduating we wonder…where did that time go.
After graduating high school we all went our separate ways…
some of us moved to different places…some of us chose to stay…
But after 50 years it’s been decided…at a moment opportune
that we’ll come back together..that we would all reune.
We come together not to relive our youth…after all that ship has sailed
but to find out how everyone has lived…to pick up a few details…
Perhaps to renew old acquaintances…perhaps old friends to see
to remember a time, 50 years ago, that has become a memory.
So welcome class of 1970 and as those memories begin to flood
Sit back and let them flow…after all…Twinsburg is in your blood
CHILDREN OF THE 60’S By Jim Yerman
We were children of the ’60’s
We stood up for kindness peace and love
our symbols were the peace sign, the flower and the dove
We were children of the ’60’s
We learned of war and killing and bombs
When some of us were sent to fight in the south of Vietnam.
We were children of the ’60’s
We learned how our world of tie-dyed colors could quickly turn to black
When some of us who fought in Vietnam
never made it back.
We were children of the ’60’s
We were shaped but not defined by war
We were the first generation to see the world differently
than those who came before.
We were children of the ’60’s
We would all grew up to be
more independent, more accepting
more innocent and free…
We were children of the ’60’s
Who are no longer children…who have grown
Who now have lives and families
children and grandchildren of our own…
Who as we come to our 50th reunion
Pause to look back and wonder how…
How could it be we children of the 60’s
are in our 60’s now.
THE FRIENDS WE HAD BACK THEN By Jim Yerman
I noticed my old high school yearbook on the shelf where it has stood
for many years and when I opened it I thought…it smelled like childhood.
Browsing through its pages…much to my delight
I found myself and many old friends…looking good in black and white.
Most of the faces I remember…some I did not know.
Moments captured for eternity from a time long, long ago.
There was Rolly, there was Marilyn, there was me…and Joe and John
We spent many moments together…and then in a moment…we were gone.
Gone on to our futures…wondering what we might find…
excited at the possibilities…grateful for the friends we left behind…
I did not know back then…(I was much too young to see)
how the people in my yearbook…would help determine who I’d be.
I had no way of knowing…(I was as yet unaware)
that I wouldn’t be standing where I am today
If I hand’t been standing there.
Standing with my childhood friends
friends who somehow found a way
to help transform the boy I was
into the man I am today.
I wonder… isn’t that true for many of us
as we visit our yearbooks once again?
For where would we all be today…
without the friends we had back then.
THE MUSIC OF OUR GENERATION By Jim Yerman
Back in 1970 we were awed…but now our memory’s a little flawed
as to remembering the music we used to love
But we know the music that was played…was the best music ever made
So let me give our memories a little shove.
We listened to the Beatles, the Jackson 5…we felt like dancing…we came alive
We listened to James Taylor and Stevie Wonder too.
Karen Carpenter…what a voice…Simon and Garfunkle was one choice
We listened to Three Dog Night and the Guess Who.
There was Norman Greenbaum, the Temptations…the music of our generation
With the music playing our heartbeats all increased.
We probably could have been a little smarter…we listened to Patches by Clarence Carter
OK, we were eclectic to say the least.
Neil Diamond kept us grooving…Diana Ross and The Supremes kept us moving
We listened to 8 track tapes inside our car
We sang along with the Kinks and Four Tops…our shoeless dances we called sock hops
Credence Clearwater Revival we affectionately called CCR.
We shared this music with each other…we became our sisters and our brothers
We liked the way the music moved…its rhyme.
Why is difficult to say…but the music had a way
of linking us all together over time.
And though it’s hard now to behold…both our music and us…are old
We are now separated by both time and distance
But I’m sure all of you and me…cannot help but to agree
those songs were very vital to our existence
And though we may have all lost track…we’re not averse to looking back
And remembering songs we shared if only for a little while
Perhaps that’s why whenever we hear…an oldie from our past…we cheer…
as we turn up the volume and we smile.
MEMORIES by Jim Yerman
Reunions are a time for memories
Even though as the years pass we may begin to doubt them
I cannot imagine…I cannot fathom……what life would be without them.
If life is like a river always moving ever forward without a break
I like to think of memories as a calm and peaceful lake…
A lake that no matter how many memories we add will never over fill
A quiet, tranquil place where time itself stands still.
Where we can choose to pause a while…on the edge where the water meets the land
to get our feet wet for a moment and scoop a memory in our hands…
Or if we want…if we have the inclination…to wade up to our knees
or dive headfirst under the water and be awash in memories.
I love to swim the entire lake…it’s waters cool and clear
because I never know what memories will suddenly appear…
This brings me back to our reunion
(which is where this poem began)
It’s early so I’m not quite sure what Rollie
and his committee may have planned…
But I do know it will be a time…to share a memory or two…
To open our eyes to a time long ago…to sit back and enjoy the view.
As we look back with some wistfulness…at the place we all came from
through the older, wiser eyes and hearts…of the people we’ve become…
To come together
to remember…
A who…what…where…or when….
as we celebrate not only who we are…
but who we were back then.
THANKS TO OUR TEACHERS by Jim Yerman
We all have our own memories of high school…
all the subjects we once took
all the classes we attended
all the homework…all those books
Remember the times we wondered…
How will these subjects impact me?
What will I learn about life from Algebra or Chemistry?
When we remember all those subjects
In the four years allotted us
we remember teachers who inspired
who encouraged
and even those who swatted us!
The men and woman, young and old…
who chose teaching as their profession
Who crossed our paths for a short while…
but left a permanent impression…
Whose names we may remember…
when we happen to think back that far…
and even if we don’t…
we know they’re part of who we are.
Because we did learn how to write, to speak
how do drive back when our minds were young.. and ripe
We learned how to cook, how to build, how to draw and even how to type…
And once removed…once out of school
out of the authority of those who were trying to reach us…
We realized it wasn’t always the subject that was important
as those who were trying to teach us…
So here’s a shout out to all those teachers
who in their own way helped us grow
who had a lasting impact on our lives…
in ways they’ll never know…
(Who would have thought as we went from class to class back then
It would be years before we solved the mystery…
That the most important class we ever took…
was our shared History?)
Poem written by Claire Schmidt in grade school.
Now dedicated to Terri Lane, Cindy Williams and Beth Roseberry, the girls with ponies.
Pony, Pony, Run and Run.
Then your work will soon be done.
When you’ve had a chance to rest your feet,
I’ll give you something good to eat.
I REMEMBER by Jim Yerman
There is a lot about high school I don’t remember
If I had to take quiz…
Like how do diagram a sentence
or what the heck is diphthong is…
But there are some things about high school
where my memory is strong…
Like even after 50 years
I remember our fight song…
We are the tigers the mighty might tigers
Everywhere we go-o…people want to know-o
Who we are-r
so we tell them
We are the tigers the mighty might tigers
I never know when or where or why…that part of my brain gets fed
but every now and then, out of the blue…that song pops into my head…
And when it does it’s like opening a door
I can’t turn off the spout
Because following our fight song other memories spill out.
I remember our band…and our chorus
I remember our young faces one and all
I remember our senior trip to New York City
I remember donkey basketball.
I remember how sports were important
I remember my letter sweater
I remember our football team wasn’t that good
but our basketball team was better
I remember our cheerleaders fondly
I can still see them in my head…
Hey I may be over 65 …but I’m certainly not dead
I remember running for Senior Class president…
In truth I didn’t have a well thought out plan
I thought I’d win on my motto alone
Yerman is your man…
But even with a motto like that
Votes I couldn’t induce…
Honestly I never had a chance…
Thank you…Rollie Boose…
It’s amazing when I hear our fight song…
I get so engrossed…
and in the end it’s the friends I made in high school
that I remember most.
So once more…this time with gusto
And LOUDER for you older folks…
I give you R. B. Chamberlin’s fight song…
to see what memories it evokes
We are the tigers the mighty might tigers
Everywhere we go-o…people want to know-o
Who we are-r
so we tell them
We are the tigers the mighty might tigers