MY FIRST CAR

My first car was a tiny green Toyota station wagon. My neighbors (the Wallace's) won it as a Grub Mobile at the Fourth of July and offered to sell it to me. I had dream of Grease Lightening as I worked on the paint job and cleaned the interior.

The car was a standard. I didn't know how to drive a standard, but I was determined to learn. in the meanwhile, I was content with coasting short distances in one gear.

No matter how hard I worked on the exterior, the car had a serious engine problem. After two weeks, I learned the gasket was shot. the car was worthless, so, I made arrangements to have the car towed to auction. The Wallaces felt bad for me, so they gave my money back to me (something they didn't have to do). Their action seems alien in today's world, but was just how people did things in Andover.

My first car lasted only two weeks!

My second car was a silver 1980 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. Linda and I were heading off to college together and needed a car, so, we went in together and bought it. It was a car we couldn't afford separately, but we could swing it together.

I learned my winter driving skills by driving that heavy rear-wheeled-drive car around the snow belts of Batavia. It was hot in the summer and cold in the winter, but it had a strong V8.

During my second year of college, someone ran a red light and T-Boned the passenger side. Linda's brother (a mechanic) was able to fix it. We drove that car through the 90's until we needed a mini van. At that pint, my brother-in-law transplanted the V8 into his truck.

I often tell people that the silver Cutlass Supreme was my first car. Few people know the truth though. My real first car was a piece of junk grub mobile!

WOOD TAG

Do you remember playing Wood Tag?

Once upon a time, Andover wanted a playground. After a massive fund raising effort, a giant community gathering was held to build the playground. I remember showing up to help. My job was to shovel gravel around the playground, which I did enthusiastically. I worked into the evening until the last worker came to take my shovel and put it away for the night.

That wooden playground stood for probably twenty years. Then, several children in other parts got slivers from wooden playgrounds and became very sick. That resulted in tens of thousands of communities across the nation turning to panic and chain sawing their playgrounds into saw dust.

Before all that happened, it was our playground and we spent many hours playing on it throughout our teen years. Our favorite game is a game that is long gone - lost to the wood chips of past playgrounds and weakly replaced my similar version. Our game was Wood Tag.

What was wood tag? It was a simple game of tag but you could only walk on wood. You could go anywhere on the playground and do anything you needed to do so long as your feet remained on the wood. The moment you stepped off - you lost and became "it". And like any game of tag, if you were it, you had to chase and tag everyone else.

We would often play tag deep into the night. Then lay on the picnic tables and watch airplanes pass over the night sky as pinpoints of light.

Those were the days. That was our playground. And wood tag was our game.

TIME MACHINE: CLASS OF 88 TV

What are you doing this weekend? Why not 'stay in' and watch 88-TV?

What is so great about 88-TV? It is a real live time machine. You are watching a window into the past. You are seeing your classmates and friends as they once were. You'll see some goofy and funny things that will make you smile. And it will bring back memories of good times.

Around 2005, I built a streaming media server to host my family's home movies. The media server played on channel 75 on every TV in the house. At anytime during the day, we could flip to Channel 75 to relive a vacation, or a birthday, or a special Holiday.

To enhance the streaming server, I built scripts that changed the content depending upon the season and the month. For example, at Christmas time we would see Christmas video. And during the summer time, we would see summer vacation video. I then bought the Gilbert Internet TV domain and made the station available on the Internet.

As the 2008 reunion approached, I took a collection of the Class of 88 videos and created a special Class of 88 channel. With 88-TV, alumni could watch video from the school yearbook, old plays, sporting events, and more.

But then in 2009... my streaming video server died. The capacitors on the motherboard burst and the board smoked. Gilbert-TV and 88-TV went dark.

Today, with the aid of LiveStream, 88-TV is back on the air! And the quality is much better. I have added almost 5 hours of video that continually rotates all day long. In the coming months, I'll have even more video to add. I'm always looking for contributions, so please dig through your old videos and submit something for 88-TV.

What are you doing this weekend? Come climb inside the time machine with me. Lets take the Dalorean up to 88mph and go back in time... to 1988.

The Spaghetti-O kid

I moved from Corning to Andover during Labor Day weekend, 1983. The move was exhausting and my life was turned upside down. Everything we owned was in boxes scattered around the house and I had school the next day.

I was starved and there was no food in the house yet. So I walked up to the Trading Post and bought a can of Spaghetti-O's. There were kids hanging around the trading post, but I knew no one. I just took my dinner and walked back home.

The first day of school, Lisa was the first one to speak to me. Did she say "Welcome to Andover, let me show you around!" Ha. This is Lisa, right? She said "How were those Spaghetti-O's" and then laughed. Apparently, she was one of the people at the Trading Post that night. After she said that I was sure I would be branded the Spaghetti-O kid! Luckily, it was soon forgotten... Until I wrote about it just now.

And yes. As I recall, those Spaghetti-O's were mighty fine!

Classmate Publishes Second Book

The second book, entitled Her Demons of Passion by Julia Becca was released in July. It appears to be an exciting mystery romance of sorts. Who is Julia Becca and why should we care? Julia Becca is the pen name for one of our classmates - Debbie H! Look for the book on Amazon and order your copy today! And for fun, listen to the August 88-Podcast for an exciting reading from the book by your 88-Podcast stars.

BASEBALL

I played one season of baseball in high school. It was during my junior year. Every spring, I worked at Kents Farms planting Christmas Trees and every summer I pruned them. But I wanted my junior year to be different and I would have done anything to get out of going to Kents every day after school that spring. Baseball was the perfect excuse!

I had played little league and baseball and neighborhood ball until I moved to Andover. I just didn't have a lot of interest in the game - been there, done that.

My first experience was at Coach Gill's Store where we bought socks and everything for our uniform. I wasn't expecting to buy those things, but I was mowing a dozen yards every weekend so it wasn't a big deal.

My next memory is from the first practice. We had just finished running around the entire field when I decided to get mouthy with Coach Gill. I remember Pete saying "shut up or he'll make us all run another lap". I think that was the only time I questioned Coach's wisdom.

During practice, I was knocking the balls out of the park. That earned me the name "Hondo!" Which I took proudly. Unfortunately, sports are only partially about physical might. There is a great deal of psychology too. Even though I was knocking them out of the park during practice, during games I became psyched by the pitcher and couldn't hit anything. I've heard this can be a common problem. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that was my problem until the season was nearly over otherwise I could have worked on it.

I remember when Pete was upset during a game and pitched with fire. He had a nearly perfect game! I remember when Tank made a diving catch of a foul ball and was knocked out cold. I remember Johnny doing batting practice in the gym and the ball slipped out of his hand, hit the wall, and bounced right back into his hands as if nothing had happened. And I remember learning a lot from Coach Gill. Coach could be tough, but players listened to him and respected him.

A final memory I have involved a terrific catch I made - my best play! Left field was my domain. It was pretty boring. Coach kept a good player in Center Field (I can't remember who was there. Was it Big Guy?) And it was the left and right field's job to back him up. It was very boring. But every time I heard the crack of a bat, my entire body lifted off the field ready to run. This time, it was a long hit down the baseline. I took off sprinting as fast as I could. I reached out with my glove and gave a little dive and snagged the ball out of the air! I made an impossible catch and it was the best play of my short baseball career.

I hope my trip down memory lane brought you memories too - whether it was baseball or softball or some other sport. I played other sports in high school, but I'll never forget the year I played baseball. I am glad I took a season off from work to play. Let this be a reminder to us all: life can't be all work! Take some time and go play!

KENT FARMS

While growing up, I worked at our family motel, mowed a dozen yards, and still found the time to work at Kent Farms with Christmas Trees.

When I was 15 my parents asked "what are you doing this summer?" They answered the question for me "you are getting a job." Uhm... Actually? A third job! But who's counting?

The spring before, I started at Kents planting christmas Trees. I was young and stupid and got mouthy with the older kids. As a result, Whitehouse (who had to be, what? 10 years older due to repeated grade failures) offered to exchange my nose with my elbow after I said something inappropriate about his mother and his birth. That was my first day on the job and was an important lesson I learned early on: some things just really aren't funny. (I am just kidding about that grade failure thing, please don't beat me up).

During the summer, I would get up early to work on the farm, then come home and mow lawns until dark, then work in the motel office and gift shop in the evening. It was a busy time for me, but I credit that experience for my incredible work ethic and lack of a work/life balance.

Planting trees was easy. Take two steps, dig a hole, drop in a sapling, smash the hole closed with a sledge, repeat. Pruning in the summer was more difficult. You needed a good top branch (called a leader) so the tree grew straight. Then you shaped the tree into a cone using a mashedy. You had to wield the razor sharp knifes without whacking the guy next to you, or yourself.

I worked at Kents with many people from our class including Jon, Kelly, Rich, and Tracey's brother (to name a few). While I hung out with many fellow workers, I remember Jon the most. I remember driving around the fields in an old military truck. Being chased out of the fields by swarms of angry bees. Kathy getting mad and going berserk - running around the field hacking apart trees. When they threw me I the pond (as a rite of passage) and I lost my glasses so someone went in the pond and found them for me. And the time we just arrived at the work site and Emery barfed all over the back of the truck.

The knifes were very sharp and could cut through anything. Including a boot! Which I found out the hard way. I swung at a low branch and the knife cut through my boot, through the nail, and cut the tip of my big toe in half! A bandage and some iodine and I was able to finish the work day.

We made sheaths for our knifes with metal so that when we drew them, they sounded like swords. And each year we developed new names for ourselves. One year, we were the henchmen.

My fondest memory is standing on Kents hill in a grove just after sunrise, watching the sun rise over the valley and the fog start to lift. That was beautiful.

I believe I worked at Kents for three years. It was a grand experience and I am very happy I had the opportunity. Kents was an incredible place to work while I was growing up.

ANDOVER FOURTH OF JULY 2010

The Andover 4th of July 2010 is coming up! Are you going? Did you already go and have some comments or memories you'd like to share?

HARRINGTON'S FLORIDA VACATION
By Mark Harrington

As the Harrington's take to road for their Family getaway. Day 1 was filled with minor nuggets of thrills.

1 ) leaving later than desired.
2) Having trouble with the roof rack carrier.
3) 6 different options for dinner, or at least it felt like it.
4) One car sick issue. ( which we planned for with catch buckets at every level of the vehicle.)
5) And rain and construction.

Over all not a bad go. Tonight we are in Dalton GA. Best Western is giving us a good deal on the room. They asked if I was a member of AARP or AAA. I said no. The lady says, AARP it is tonight for you.

SO.... Six of us cuddled together in 2 beds. Cause we only told them we had 4 total. So we are going to try and rest as we saddle up in the a.m. And head the rest of the way to Orlando.

Laptops/Gameboys and movies are doing the job. Let's hope the rental stays safe in the lots. ;-)

Reporting just off of I-75 - in Georgia

Mark and Family.
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WANT TO BUY CLASS OF 88 MERCHANDICE?

I work for a marketing company and we are doing a tremendous push into Social Media and Networking. It is a facinating topic, so, I'm spending tons of my spare time getting exposed to it and gaining experience with it. One of the ways I am expanding my knowledge is by working on the Class of 88 Website. I have expanded the website to offer more Web 2.0 experiences, and more Social Networking activities.

To add value to the website, I have opened the Class of 88 School Store. It has some basic merchandice related to the Class of 88 such as T-shirts, hats, and coffee mugs. The purpose of the store is to add value for alumni - not to make money. Therefore, the store has NO mark-up. I don't make any money on anything you purchase.

I hope you take a moment to visit the store and find something to purcahse. To go to the store, visit the Class of 88 website and click on the dollar bill sitting on the hallway floor.

ANYONE INTERESTED IN A PODCAST?

In preparation for my Disney vacation, I have been listening to a podcast named the Dis Unplugged. I found it very addicting and thought about doing one too. But what subject would I use?

I was chatting with Mark H and he reminded me about his Doctor Mac Podcasts that he did a while back. We started talking about a Class of 88 Podcast. It just seemed right! The more I explored the idea, the more it seemed like a possibility.

Later this month, Mark and I are going to give it a try. There are some technical challenges that still need to be worked out, but, I think we'll be OK. It should be a lot of fun!

I want to keep the show interesting and manageable. I believe that asking Andover Alumni to listen to a podcast is probably pushing reality. Getting some of them to commit to a 30 minute podcast once per month might be beyond reality. But who knows? If we keep it short, the time commitment for listeners might be reasonable. As far as keeping it manageable - preparing for and editing a podcast can be a huge time commitment. I am going to prep as much material in advance with the hope the show won't get neglected when life gets busy.

So, there will be a Class of 88 Podcast! And it'll get recorded later this month. Check the website to get a copy of it.

Ice Water Mansion is back for one more show! July 3, 2010 at the Andover School Grounds. Free Admission! All ages welcome. For more information:

Ice Water Mansion Main Page

THE GILBERT 2010 DISNEY TRIP

4-19-2010 200 pounds
We weighed our suitcases to make sure we didn't exceed any limits. We are checking 200 pounds of luggage!

2" too long
Bigger isn't better. One suitcase was 2 inch too long and we got charged $49 extra.

4-20-2010 Magical Express
For this trip, we signed up for magical express. It is magical because you bring your luggage to the airport and then you don't see it again until it magically appears in your room. It is express because the luggage appears at 1 am while everyone is trying to sleep. Wait.... 1am? That's not express!

Buffets
Buffets are always a lot of fun for the Gilberts. The waitress is guaranteed a sweet 9 percent tip. My youngest always eats until he barfs. Someone always dumps a drink. And when we leave, we toss a few bananas and apples and other things in our backpacks for snacks later in the day (what are they going to say?).

Stroller
We consider ourselves to be Disney experts. That is why, even though our kids are 6, 10, and 16, we have no problem with bringing a stroller with us. Many people look at the stroller expecting to find a new born - one mother even said "shhh- the baby is sleeping". In actuality, when we go into the parks, it is like going camping for the week. We take six back packs. One security guard asked "are you guys moving in?" We have to have lots of bottles of water (not paying park prices!), sweat shirts, cameras, toys, towels, rain gear - all the necessities!

4-21-2010 Vacation Efficiency
This vacation is a perfect example of Gilbert Efficiency. When we return in the evening, we have a 15 point check list. In the morning, we have a 35 point checklist. This allows a family of 5 to get bathed, dressed, packed, eat, and get out the door in only 2 hours every morning. Waters repacked? Check. Toys put away? Check. Kids use the bathroom a billion times each? Check check. Shoes sprayed with Lysol to get the park germs removed? Check.

It's a small world
Monroe county usually schedules spring break at off peak times. I'm not sure whether it is intentional or the highly educated administrators at BOCES can't figure out when Easter falls. Either way, we benefit because we miss the rush.

Perhaps a quarter of the people here are from the Rochester region. I see the collection of sports shirts and business emblems and have talked with a few. At one show, they asked someone in the audience where they were from. After answering "Rochester NY", half the theater cheered.

It is funny that we have traveled so far to be with people who live so near.

World is built for short people
I am so tired of having my knees crammed into the seat in front of me. There is never enough leg room! On the bus ride between the airport and the hotel, I had to hang both legs into the isle, spilling across two rows. . With rides, I usually sit with a kid so I have extra room to put my legs.

Park Cycle
We have a somewhat annoying habit that has turned into our routine. Eat a snack, ride a ride, use the restroom, repeat. I thought girls were bad, but my boys have to go every 5 minutes!

We take sun tan lotion very seriously. We use Spf100. It is as thick as Spackle and we apply it with a putty knife.


4-22-2010 The Musical Family
For today? Some 3rd grade humor.

While at Disney world, our diets have been poor. Not that our diets are normally good. They have become worse. For example, a half pound double cheese and bacon burger (very very well done) seems to be on every menu, and I think the meat comes from expired game reserve inhabitants.

As a direct result of this horrible diet, we have become the musical family. It is not a pretty thing. In fact, it can bring tears to your eyes.

I haven't laughed so hard as I did last night. I was sitting at a bench when the mood struck. My daughter said very seriously "guys, I think the bench just vibrated". I laughed so hard, I fell off the bench, tears streaming down my face.

Ok. Sorry for the third grade humor. It was very funny.

We went miniature golfing last night. It took us 2 hours to figure out the bus system to get there. The theme was Santa's summertime vacation spot. Lots of fun.

Cheer!
Today, we are touring the various Disney resorts and checking out lobbies, restaurants, and the pools. We are currently at All Stars. There is a cheer leading competition and hundreds of cheerleaders are at All Stars. Lord have mercy.

We stumbled into a rather secluded Toy Story themed courtyard where several cheerleaders were sun bathing and attempting to erase tan lines. Not very healthy thing for the kids to see.

4-23-2010 Six Legged Friend
We have to deal with bugs in the North - but not like they do in the south! Yesterday evening, I went to retrieve the boy's bedtime snack from the refrigerator and found a cockroach inside. A short chase across the carpet and I killed it.

But that wasn't the challenging part. If my wife found out, she would make us throw away all of our food and tell the hotel to move us. She's probably right... But I didn't want to deal with that at 11pm. I just wanted to collapse in bed and sleep.

So, I bagged up all of our open food and tried to do it in a way she wouldn't see. Success! I just hope we don't bring any friends home inside our luggage!


Civilization
Perhaps 15 years ago, I came across a game named Civilization. I became thrilled with it when I was able to play the game in my car on a clunky 386 laptop. Civilization was a big game around the turn of the century and I became famous when I made Kevin Gilbert's Star Trek Mod Pack - an add-on to the game that was written about in gaming magazines around the world.

In the past ten years, as newer versions came and went - so did my interest. Until I came across Civilization Revolution of the iPhone and Touch! For this vacation I downloaded the trial and loved it.

So, where am I now? I am at the Grand Floridian - one of the few places in Disney that has wireless. Unfortunately, the wireless is dead slow and I'm stuck waiting for the full version (that I just purchased) to download. I paid $4.95 for an hour of wireless and at this rate, I think I'll be here much longer than that!

In the meanwhile, my wife is touring this resort and fuming about how long it is taking. We are suppose to be going to Epcot.

4-24-2010 Not Going Hungry
Food is one of the most expensive aspects of a Disney vacation. Usually, we eat lite. We buy some groceries and eat off the children's menu. But not this trip! For this trip we were eligible for a free dinning plan, which was $300 cheaper than our traditional efforts. There has been so much food - it has been difficult to eat it all. We get one sit down restaurant per day - something we could never afford traditionally. We go to buffets and pig out. We get one fast food meal per day - but instead of getting normal children menu items, we are get meals that are difficult to finish (even for me!). And then we get snacks during the day - drinks, popcorn, pretzels, etc.

Right now, we have a ton of unused credits - I don't think we'll be able to use them all before we leave.

And the groceries I bought? Most of them are unopened. We are going to have to use the groceries to give the maid a food basket with her tip!

Why Hospitals Are So Cold
Anywhere a large group of people gather at Disney (in buss es, theaters, rooms, etc) it is freezing cold. A bus driver explained why.

They did an experiment. They took nail clippings and put them in a dish for 3 days in a warm and humid room. In the end? The nail clippings were covered with mold. By keeping things cold, there is less of a chance for germs to be transmitted from one person to another.

That's also why hospitals are freezing cold.

4-25-2010 Working Too Hard On Vacation
After marriage and kids, you fall into predictable roles. While on vacation, I would get up early, get ready, get breakfast, and then sit around and complain how late we were for an hour while my wife got herself and the kids ready.

Around ten years ago, I decided to fix the problem. I put my system analysis hat on and started documenting everything she did to get us ready to leave. This produced a checklist that I was able to follow.

Now, I still get up early. But while my wife is getting ready for our vacation days, I get everyone else ready and do everything else on the checklist. And wow - it is a lot of work! I'm exhausted!!! Life was easier when I sat around complaining.

Can You Walk and Talk?
My daughter can walk and text. It has been non stop everywhere we go. "I am drinking a frozen pink lemonade" and then "the pink lemonade left me thirsty so now I am drinking water."

And Then Came The Tornadoes
When we arrived at the Polynesian for dinner, the TV in the lounge was warning of a storm and the weather channel web site had a severe weather warning. We ate dinner overlooking a lake with the Disney castle on the far side. We had front row seats for watching the storm. Uncharacteristic for the Gilbert Family, we were inside and safe. The wind bent the trees side ways and the sky dropped hail. The rain was so heavy that we couldn't see the lake! Normally, we'd be outside in this and get soaked. But not this time!

After the sever weather warning passed, we broke out the rain gear and went back into the park.

4-26-2010 When You Have A Hair In Your Mouth...
My youngest has a horrible gag reflex. When he had a hair in his mouth, be barfed all over the hotel room trying to get it out of his mouth.

Ugh....

He made such a mess! I spent all morning doing laundry. We didn't get to the park until 3pm!

4-27-2010 Early Flight
We had a great direct flight back to Buffalo, but when we were planning the trip, my 16-year-old wasn't sure she could go, so, we didn't book it and lost the good flight. We had to pick an 8am flight with layover in Atlanta.

We returned from the parks around 11pm last night and spent 2 hours packing for the return trip. The alarm woke us up at 3 AM!!!!!! With two hours sleep, we got ready, checked out, and made it to the bus stop. The bus picked us up at 445 and we arrived at the airport at 6am. That was crazy! I don't ever want to do that again!

We had the free dinning plan during this trip. Each person got a fast food meal, a table service meal, and a snack each day. At first, we didn't think that would be enough food. But after doing buffets, we were stuffed for the rest of the day. When it is hot and you are walking 40 miles per day, you don't feel like eating. Nevertheless, we did fast food for dinner - half pound bacon cheeseburgers (even for the kids!). By last night, we had 14 unused snacks and 7 unused fast food meals, so, we blew points buying bananas and brownies and muffins and water for breakfast this morning. But we were too tired to eat it. Most of it went in the garbage at the airport (can't take it easily through security)

Remember that suitcase that we paid $65 on the way to Rochester? It cost $75 on the way home for it. We did everything we could do to shrink it, but no luck. It was still two inches too long and they wouldn't cut us any slack. I think those airline people work on commission because they really put the screws to you!

As we passed through security, I got pulled out of line so the could check my hands for gun powder or explosives or something. While they were working on me, they were giving an old nun a pat down in front of me.

It is 11:30 and we are flying somewhere over the Carolina's now. Soon we'll be in Buffalo. I hope I can find my car! The, we stop at That Taco Place in Batavia for the ride home.

We've had neighbors who have spent a year trying to sell their home so they can move to Florida. He just got a job in Florida and I am told they'll be gone before we get home. They have a sale pending on their house too. I can't blame them for wanting to leave New York's taxes and weather! It was beautiful in Florida this trip!

35 YEARS AGO TODAY

The following appeared in the April 16, 1975 edition of the Andover newspaper:

A.C.S Alumni Dinner-Dance Set For May 24th

At a recent meeting of the ACS Alumni Committee plans for the Annual Dinner-Dance and Meeting were completed. It will be held on Saturday, May 24 at the Eagles Club on the Hornell-Almond Road beginning with a Dutch Treat Cocktail Hour from 5:30 - 6:30 p.m. A Roast Beef dinner at 6:45 will be followed by a brief program and business meeting. Dancing to the music of Gary Cook's "Country Express" will complete the festivities from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The cost for teh dinner will be $5.50 per person including tax and gratuity. The Eagles Club is donating the music. A gala affair in being promised by the Eagles Club since our dinner dance will be the only commitment taken by the club for that day.

Letters with further details will be in the mail before April 30 with reservation deadline on May 15. Any interested person is invited to attend. Persons who are not on the mailing list may make reservations by calling Mrs. Kenneth Milligan xxx-xxxx or Mrs. robert A. Baker xxx-xxx

ANDOVER MAPLE FESTIVAL 2010

I'm not sure who Andre Kahl is, but he has some pictures of the 2010 Andover Mapbel Festival on his blog. Check it out:

http://andrewkahlphotography.com/blogwp/2010/03/29/andover-maple-festival-2010/

Did you attend this year? What did you think about it?

ANDOVER WATER COLOR

I came across this water color and thought I'd share it with you. This is from Natasha Ott, a young artist living in Andover. She does water colors and pencil drawings. If you are looking for something to hang in your house to remind you of Andover, you might want to look her up. You can find more information at http://www.skillwho.com/users/watercolor-painting/ny/andover/natasha-ott/e04100cd-55e7-4481-9dc2-f62fb884888d/

CLASS OF 88 ON FACEBOOK

I was talking with Mark several months ago and he mentioned that many members of the Class of 88 were on Facebook. So, I decided to give it a try. I found many people from our class were online: Amy, Cheri, Chris, Dave, Dawn, Debbie, Eric, Heather, James, Johnny, Julie, Kelly, Kim, Laura, Linda, Lisa, Meghan, Michelle, Patty, Pete, Rob, Stefanie, Sue, Toni, and Tracey (just to name a few). There were even friend of old such as Grant and Jon.

I was very excited and found Facebook a great venue to catch up with people, some of which I hadn't seen in 20 years. It was interesting to see what they were doing and where they were living. In just minutes, I was quickly brought up to speed.

I tried to be as interactive as possible and attempted to post something everyday - even if it was just something silly. After several months, however, the newness wore off and I became bored. I am sorry to all my friends, but, reading about nap time and beer time every week tends to get old.

If you are associated with the Class of 88, I would highly recommend joining Facebook and "friending" your classmates. However, Facebook isn't going to be a daily routine that fills you with riveting information about your classmates. Check back weekly or monthly (instead of daily) to see what everyone has been up to . Most importantly, contribute interesting content. As classmates, we have a lifelong bond and interest in each other's lives, so, tell us what is going on.

Join facebook today and look me up. I'm Kevin Gilbert in Hilton, NY at cnetbuild@yahoo.com

LETTER FROM MR. MACCREA

I wanted to share with you a letter I received from Mr. MacCrea:

Hello, Kevin!

How very good it is to have word from you! Good Heavens! It doesn't seem possible that you graduated that long ago! In my mind's eye I still see you as a very young, quite beardless lad about to embark upon his life's great adventure.

I still manage to lead a fairly active life. I am fortunate in that I have a very close family and I see teh sons and grandsons wuite regularly. My wife has been gone for a little over a year now. I still miss her very much, but I would not have it any other way. God gave us 53 very wonderful years together, and I could never have been married to anyone other than her. Somehow, from teh moment that we met, we knew, and the first kiss bound us in an almost inexpicable way to one another. God is good! ("Allahu Akbar" ?).

Give me a call if you return to this area. I would very much like to see you again. I would hope that your life goes well and that you are finding this earthly sojourn to be as enlightening, as wonderful, as I have found it to be.

Blessings, with fond memories, "MacCrea"