More from the Vault of Recollections

Thank God for sweet, understanding parents who allow you to keep the accumulated flotsam and jetsam of one's school years nicely boxed and protected in their garage. Mine is full. While mining through the records of the past, dug up some interesting memorabilia, here shared with you.

Remember going to this game? Your blogging classmate did...only thing is, cannot remember if we - the Royals that is - won; believe the Royals were the victors, but maybe that is wistful, wishful thinking, the real outcome blurred by the all too fast passing of time. Those of you who were there and DO remember what happened, come forward and enlighten the rest of us with the real story.

Surely you remember The Royal Courier. One of our classmates, Jeannette Foye, is pictured in the front page of the January 1967 edition. Read through it and you should find other familiar names and faces. Granted, you may need a magnifying glass to get the most out of your reading.


Some of our classmates served on the Staff; Chris Schauseil and Bill Martin, for example - neither has been found yet but we hope to hear from them before the reunion.

Quiz - see the "Have You Heard" column: Who was the Brother who used to wear a derby and was known as "Boston Blackie?'' Do you know who Boston Blackie is - or was?

Oops! Seems the basketball team was not doing so well that year...but you can't win them all. Ask the Dolphins. There is always "next time." Speaking of those times, anyone remember Wahoo McDaniel? Karl Kremser? Coach Wilson? Speaking of remembering, remember to check your garage, attic, or storage shed. See if you come up with some tangible reminder from your Vault of Recollections; send it to your bloopin' bloggin' classmate, and you can share your Immaculata-LaSalle memories with the readership.

More to come...

Class of '66

While engaged in a "web surfin' surfari" today, found a website for the Immaculata-LaSalle Class of '66 - it is very nicely done, and us '68-ers will enjoy it; no doubt quite a few of you know at least some of the '66 classmates you will find on the website. Perhaps down the road we can create something similar - it will have to be after the reunion; your "blogmaster" is jack of all trades, but master of none and not a great multi-tasker.

Regardless, check out the Class of '66 reunion site - it is linked both through the title of this post and the links column.

Meet the Infernal, sorry! - Informal Committee or Gang of 4.5

You may as well meet the players in this Greek drama, before you start thinking "the whole thing is Greek to me." Granted, this may influence your decision to participate in the reunion, uh, hopefully in a positive way. "We" also wish to prove to you that we are hard at work planning, organizing, hashing and bashing things out for you.

That-was-then, this-is-now reality images are a must, so that when you see us, you do not scream in terror, as people do in those "cheesy" horror movies when Frankenstein suddenly crashes through a door or wall. Therefore, let us travel back in time via our yearbook to the fateful year one-thousand-nine-hundred-and-sixty-eight.


Nelson Orta - he actually looks like a decent human being here, albeit much more serious than he is in real, as opposed to two-dimensional life.

Then there's Quiroga, he always liked headgear - perhaps to hide the fact there weren't - and still are not - too many working gears inside his head. This one, by the way, did not come from Signum. Instead, he found it in a box in his parents' garage this weekend. No wonder he's experienced a boxed-in feeling for years.

Jorge Pastoriza - now Jorge Pastoriza, MD; we're glad to have a doctor in the house now, to help with this endeavor. You will see why having a physician around is important to the survival of this Committee.

Gotta love Ricardo Reimundo's - AKA "Lumumba" - unique, rambunctious sense of humor. "For where two or more of ye gather, better have a funny type around so that ye will not brawl amongst yourselves." That quote comes from...OK, just made it up.

Last, but not least, Guillermo "Bill" Urbizu - likes to organize and move things along. Say Bill, what's with the "deer in the headlights" look?

Last Saturday the 22nd, the Gang of 4.5 - you guess where the 0.5 comes from - decided to gather at the Xixon Cafe and tapas bar on Coral Way, in Miami of course.
It is a cozy, congenial place. In fact, it should become a casual gathering place for all ILS Class of '68 types-to eat, drink, be merry and keep the connections alive. No need to wait another forty years to informally gather there.

First, some of the Infernal, there he goes again with the Freudian slips...INFORMAL Committe members decided to engage in some "R&R" in preparation for the expected, arduous planning session at Xixon. So we went off to enjoy one of the unique Dade County Parks and Recreation sites the County's taxpayers are lucky to have at their disposition.
We just wanted to shoot the breeze a little bit, if you catch our drift - puns definitely intended.

Now, if you wonder what the relevance of all this was to planning the reunion at Xixon, we will explain: (1) It guarantees there will be highly trained security at the reunion; (2) It helps the Committee stay on target...(3) The Committee wanted to be prepared just in case Billy the Kid barged in on our meeting. Really, these things can happen...in the Twilight Zone.

At least one member of the Gang of 4.5 has extensive firearms experience, dating back to his days spent trying to get Castro in his sights, a long time ago. Never came across the stinker, however.


He liked headgear then too.

The Doctor posed for the obligatory "touristy" photo at the range, next to a strange, seemingly armless alien creature, sporting some type of earpods which no doubt Dr. Pastoriza found anatomically interesting.

"OK, Nelson...do you think I can nail Albert in the butt at this distance?" "It's kind of iffy - anyway, not a good idea to aim there. After all, that is the seat of his intellect; we need it at least until the reunion is over."

"Albert...you know we were JUST KIDDING about targeting your derriere...right?"

Bottom line: When it comes to getting this reunion off the ground, we the Committee Members aim to please!

Having thus practiced so as to keep our aim true and stay on target with all the planning and organizing required for our reunion, we went off to meet the rest of the group at Xixon. Once there, we engaged in sober and serious discussion on the subject.

"No garbanzos, no beans of any kind for you, Alberto. You know why! Don't argue. Doctor's orders."

The doctor agreed with Ricardo's observation, to wit: "Beer enhances kidney function."

"Now I think there will be more interest in the reunion, if we can get Pam Anderson to make a cameo appearance and sign some authographs." Hey, no disagreement there, Bill! But what about the ladies? How about Barry Manilow for them? Brilliant!!


Maybe someone shoulda kept his hat on...what the heck, don't matter - a scary sight is a scary sight.

Well, in the end it was a good, productive day. Your Committee members shot the breeze, met, ate, argued but fortunately not to the point where the Doctor's healing skills were needed as there were no brawls; drank responsibly and yet again argued, then decided...we need another meeting! Alright - don't go ballistic on us - just kidding! We'll let you know the results, in terms of date and definite venue, within a week. You have our word. Remember: "We aim to please."

A Short Blast-From-The-Past

As you may have gathered by now, not-so-subtle hints have been made so as to encourage the membership to provide fodder for our - which means it is yours too - ILS blog. Marily Benitez Reyes and Jeannette Foye have come through and "we," the Infernal, oops! Freudian slip! Informal Committe members and the lil' Igor blogmeister thank them heartily.

Now Sue Foye Perez - Class of '70 - has come through and submitted some nice images from the past. Sue had kindly invited the blogging entity to pollute the Class of '70 web site with its presence and he was honored to do so. An "adoption" of sorts, one supposes...Sue has been quite helpful with hints and suggestions for our planned reunion. Therefore, "we" name her an Honorary Class of '68 kindred spirit and proceed to let her and '68 classmate Pat Wilkie grace this post with their presence. Sorry Pat, you weren't asked, you were hijacked! From this point, Sue provides the commentary, via our email exchange documented in the "official" ILS '68 Gmail account. Pictures first, since a picture is worth 1000 words, right? Starting with Sue and Pat's Signum graduation portraits.

















































"Hi Sue! Your sister asked me to post the photo showing you and Pat Wilkie at the March of Dimes event - will be more than happy to do so; however I think the "blast from the past" entry would be enhanced if I included your school yearbook picture. I have Pat's in the '68 yearbook. Also, if you could tell me when the March of Dimes event was held that would be good - puts things in perspective.

Hopefully, others will follow suit and send their good "stuff," including anecdotes. We have some that will be posted and should be quite intereresting and humorous.

By the way - this is all strictly voluntary. If you don't really want to be a star on our blog, no questions asked and no hard feelings!

Take care,
Albert

Hi Albert - be glad to oblige and thanks for including me in your site. I've attached my senior picture from 1970.

The photo of Pat/me was taken in March of 1967 or 1968, making me a Freshman or Sophomore and him a Junior or Senior.

The Foye and Wilkie Families grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same schools: St. Michael the Archangel, Immaculata-LaSalle, etc. Patrick's brother Jim was my age/in my class since kindergarten.

Mrs. Eleanor Lee (other neighborhood friends) worked for the March of Dimes local chapter and asked me to model in their Fund Raiser/Fashion Show. I remember the clothes were from 5-7-9 Shops (how I would love to fit into one of those sizes today!) Somehow, she roped Pat Wilkie into being one of the escorts for the models, too. I thought it was so cool to have an 'older', handsome guy for an escort!

So - there you have it - I'll check in from time to time with you guys.

BTW - the Class of 1970 just decided to have a 'pre-40th picnic' at Crandon Park on Saturday, June 7th. When are you guys having your shin-dig? Just wondered.

Catch you later,
Sue Foye-Perez"

Ahh...good point, Sue - about "when are you guys having your shin-dig?" Or donnybrook, ye Irish?! That is an excellent question and one which was worked on by the Infernal, oops!-"Well, there you go again," as Ronnie Reagan would have put it so well-Informal Committee yesterday, February 23rd. Tune in to the next blog-post so you can see dramatic evidence proving we're here, hard at work for you, figuring out and piecing together all these important but still-loose ends. To be continued...

ILS Current Events and News, for you basketball fans

From Federico Padovan at LaSalle, and for the enlightenment of the readership:

"The Boys Basketball team has advanced to the Regional semi-finals which will be played Tuesday, February 19th at 7 p.m. vs. Gulliver Prp at the ILS gym. If you are free please come out and support our boys."

So, if any '68-ers are able to do so, perhaps you will do just that. May the better team win...the Royal Lions, of course!

Ladies First!

A couple of our classmates graciously consented to submit some photographs for this Then And Now post. Actually, the Then images come straight from the 1968 yearbook in the writer's possession.

Surely you remember them, unless too many brain cells have bit the dust. Nevertheless, you will have their names, have no fear.















Marily Benitez - now Marily Reyes - to the left, and

Jeannette Foye - now Jeannette DeMille - to the right.









Perhaps there is no need to be so placement or directional-specific, but this is being done for the blogger's benefit as well - he suffers increasingly from CRS Syndrome...Can't Remember...you get the picture.



That was 1968 and that is how we remember each other; impossible to believe we have traveled the Road of Life for two score years since our graduation. Nevertheless, Time does not stand still and time to see our friends and former classmates as they are today - or not that long ago, in any case.


Introducing the Reyes family - left to right, Alexis, Frank, Marily, and Frances. A classy, nice looking group.

















Then Jeannette comes into the picture - literally...



Glad to see all the smiling. Were we getting ready to have TOO MUCH FUN?! Certainly hope so! It is heartwarming to see friendships forged at Immaculata-LaSalle, and even before our ILS years, continue strongly decade after decade. In many ways, this planned reunion is a celebration of enduring bonds we hope will grow even stronger and continue uninterrupted for many more years.

We were - and are - a special bunch; we need to be reminded of that and rediscover that "specialness" when we soon reunite, enjoying each other's company and discovering, as the writer has, how much we have in common. Then again, that is why we wound up at that special place named Immaculata-LaSalle.





Maybe you should be spared the following image, but may as well get it over it and let you catch a glimpse of the small-bodied entity who has been irritating you with "its" blogging. However, Marily kindly said, on being graphically exposed to the visage described as "old" by the entity's daughter, "you look the same!" Well, perhaps we can deconstruct said statement, so that it will take up an entirely different meaning: "You look the same" - as what? Yoda, perhaps? You be the judge. For you Yoda fans out there, the image was found at www.yodafans.homestead.com


And this one was taken in Cascade Locks, Oregon last July during a very nice river trip on the Columbia, Snake, and Willamette rivers. Why the dark glasses? This should be obvious! Allows short old guys to ogle tall, beautiful women undetected, thus avoiding the risk of some embarrassing retort from the unwilling-ogled, such as, "In your dreams, you lil' geezer!"

Your turn now...share your graphic moments, your slice of life in the past forty years - your stories and anecdotes. We've broken the ice! So, "Git-R-Done!" Thank you for the reminder, Larry!

More ILS Archaeology

Found some more "stuff" and if the findings displayed are not enough to confirm your conviction that one of your classmates was - and is - a VSD - Very Strange Dude - this should do it.


Like, dude...how many people still have their Bookkeeping II class textbook from 1967? Guess it could be put on Ebay, but no one would bid on it. Actually, was talking about the guy who still owns the book. Well, obsolete the textbook may be, but at least it had no chapters on doing Enron-like accounting. Everything was very straightforward indeed, back then.

If we could Time Travel back to the fall of '67, you and I would know where to find me, so in case you bore some kind of grudge, you could wait outside the cafeteria at 11:10 AM and inflict mayhem on the kid assigned to Locker 10...ponder this question: If we could be cloned, would we be beside ourselves??


The lock combination is well documented. Now this will prove beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt that The Kid from Locker 10 - sounds like the title for a bad boxing movie - is not well. He still has the combination lock somewhere; in fact, stashed away somewhere in the garage he is sure - with the blue, circular face and white numbers, and MADE IN THE USA too! Perhaps it will be used to padlock the Kid from Locker 10's loony bin someday, not too far down the road.

Maybe this one tops it all.


The Locker 10 loco with his freshman year PE - or as we called it back then, "Phys Ed" shirt. What did "it" weigh then? A hundred, hundred-ten maybe?? Proves one thing for sure, besides the fact he is afflicted with Terminal Pack-Ratism: He ain't grown much and a magnifying glass is still a useful tool when looking for him - or it - whatever you think fits best. No pun intended. One more thing - the shirt was MADE IN THE USA in those days. Not in Honduras. Not in Bangladesh. Not in the People's Republick of Cheecken. No, made in good ol' Rochester, New York by Champion Knitwear Company; 100% cotton, size...small...what did you think?

Here's what the Kid from Locker 10 thinks: About time some of you do some archeological diggin' and share your ILS "stuff." And please keep digging for our lost classmates and direct them our way.

Some Spews and Updates

In reality, "we" try to avoid spewing here, since yours truly is the one who has to clean it up. This blog will be kept clean at all times...maybe.

Our Class Reunion planning has been disclosed to the good people at Immaculata-LaSalle, and we are on the mailing list to be kept in the know and updated; thought it would not be a bad idea to post this from the ILS/LHS Alumni e-Royal Courier 2/4/2008 Edition, for the benefit of those, ahem, besides Ricardo, Nelson, and Little Big Man, who might ocassionally take a peek here.

"Dear Alumni,

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. As we begin the first week of the
second month of 2008 we look towards our annual Hall of Fame induction
dinner. Here is the news:

HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

The Board of Directors of the Immaculata-La Salle Alumni Association are
pleased to announce the inductees for the 2008 Hall of Fame:

The Saint John Bosco Alumni Award

Ms. Ana Veciana, c/o 1974
Mr. Rodney Barreto, c/o 1976

The Brother Carl Shonk Distinguished Faculty Award

Brother Francisco Martin, FSC (formerly Brother Andres Agustin)
Mr. Alexis Icaza (formerly Brother Alexis Icaza, FSC)
Ms. Ana Lourdes Garcia, c/o 1986

The Alumni Association Hall of Fame was established as a way to permanently
recognize both alumni and faculty of outstanding character and reputation
whose lives are stellar examples of the ideals and values Immaculata-La
Salle High School has represented. The Hall of Fame Induction Dinner/Dance
will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at the Bayshore Ballroom."

Maybe some of us classmates might make this event, and start partying early? If anyone out there is interested, drop us a line, comment, email, 150-pound anvil, whatever works for you.

We thank Federico Padovan, Director of ILS Alumni Relations, who kindly provided an Xcel file with some contact information about our '68 graduates, and will help us spread the news about the reunion.

Regarding the work in progress for the reunion, over 40 contacts have been made, mostly by email, some by telephone. We have received some completed questionnaires so the directory now has current information about 35 class members. We need more! Please complete the form and return it. If a good directory can be created, this will help make future get-togethers that much easier, and we will not lose track of so many of our friends.

In 1968, 174 ladies graduated and 79 gentlemen (?) - well, make it 78 - won't include you-know-who in the gentleman category - let us place him in the grumpyman one. You know, gets one thinking: There were 2.2025316 women for every man in school...so, who took my 2.2025316?! Answer: No one - the girls couldn't see Little Big Man - he was too close to the ground.

Final note: Of the 174 Immaculata ladies, 29% have so far been located; for the guys we're running about 26%. The search continues, but we need your help. Spread the word! The names of the "missing in action" will be published later so the rest of you out there - please! - can join the search. Who knows, perhaps one of the missing, while "web surfing" will even stumble onto this...piece of work.

Relics kept by a relic...

Please refer to the February 1st post and hopefully this one will make more sense to you. In essence, decided to "break the ice" and, as our friend Jeannette Foye DeMille suggested, "show family pictures" and such. So, starting off with this "vignette," a slice of you-know-who's life at LaSalle, and slightly beyond LaSalle.

The only thing to be said, and admit to being my own most critical critic, the image in the quaint black-and-white print is somewhat scary - reminds one of those cheesy, grainy, vintage horror film ones - you know, The Mummy, Bride of Frankenstein, or The Three Stooges' We Want Our Mummy! That one is the most apropos for purposes of this subject.



Stooges face a slight obstacle during their search for King Rutentuten's tomb in WE WANT OUR MUMMY. Image from: gammillustrations.bizland.com


Final comment/critique on the slice-of-LaSalle life depicted on the photograph - the one on top, that is! You may or may not recall it was taken at the time when Sergio Leone's "Spaghetti Westerns" starring Clint Eastwood were being released and becoming very popular. The writer particularly liked The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Well, the subject photo inspires one - me - to baptize the object with a semi-Spaghetti Western title - No Good, Bad, and Ugly. The Greyhound bus windshield-size glasses alone would do it.


The historian-archeologist side some people have cannot be denied. Unfortunately, this former inmate, sorry! - was thinking about the office - classmate - seems to stash away relics, the flotsam and jetsam of its, I mean, his past life. Occasionally, to his surprise, they are found again. Even though there are days he cannot find his keys or cellphone, to the chagrin of his suffering family. Too Much Information - TMI - and Too Much Stuff - TMS - these days. Bring my rotary phone back!! Actually, have one - and it still works.

Remember these? Found in an old wallet that made many a trip to LaSalle until June '68.

The last Big Thing Little Big Man did before graduation was, duly following the law of the land at the time, register at Local Board No. 47, Selective Service System, 51 S. W. First Avenue, Room 216, Miami, Florida 33130 within five days of his 18th hatching-day. Nelson, somehow I believe you went with me that day...for moral support purposes, no doubt. In retrospect, it appears someone at Local Board 47 wasn't "with it," which may have saved a small fry from loss of limb, perhaps life. Of course, you the reader remember an affair called Vietnam was going on at the time. And at the time, Little Big Man's take on the whole thing was, his frame of mind shaped by the news images shown daily on the Boob Tube: "If I hafta go, I'll go but, dear God, either let me come back in one piece or not at all." He meant it, too.

Looking back, this was an extremely selfish way of thinking, because after all, his family would probably have preferred to have half of a half back than none at all. Still...always have been a "double or nothing" kind of guy. Anyway, here's where the less than stellar competence of someone at Local Board 47 may have saved all that worrying. First, a letter was sent, months after registration, to a cousin who had been listed as a contact on the paperwork. Cousin called and said, "you've got mail." "We have not heard from Albert Quiroga and..." all kind of dire threats were made. So, Little Big Man made tracks to Local Board 47 and made a beeline towards the diminutive - I notice these things! - lady behind the desk who, from the looks of it, had been manning her post since clerking for Washington at Valley Forge. "What's the problem?! I've been here and given all correct information - address, name, whatever you needed?" So, she went looking for the file - and found it - and saw they had a valid address for you know who. She mumbled some kind of apology and said "they would annotate the file and make sure mail went to the right address." Yeah, whatever.

A few weeks later, a Selective Service card arrived. Little Big Man was placed in Class V-A: "Registrant too old for military service." So I shoulda been Little Big Old Man. "OK," thought I, "either they'll figure it out or they will not - NOT going back there, it is useless!!" On to Miami-Dade Jr. College, in August it was.

Then a corrected Selective Service card arrived and...you got it! They fixed the mistake alright, and classified LBM as a genuine, first class, Class 1-A - meaning: "Get ready to head out to Saigon, young fella!" And, for over a year, a year during which President Nixon sent troops to Cambodia and the war really heated up, "short stuff" was prime infantry material...but no one came calling. Did they lose the file for a whole year? Maybe the diminutive lady was sitting on it all the time and no one noticed. Afterwards, yet another card was issued, classification: II-S - so they had decided to grant a student deferment, after all. They need not have bothered, as shortly thereafter, the lottery system was adopted, and the 120-pound wonder drew a 353 or something like that, meaning it would take a nuclear war before he'd be drafted. And it would not last long enough to matter, in any case. Way to go, Local Board Number 47! Thank you for your service.

Well, had Little Big Man shipped out to 'nam, he might have been OK - most AK-47 rounds fired by those other little guys in the black pajamas woulda probably whizzed right over his head. However, there were those nasty punji sticks...

Remember this other relic? It was issued, kind of like a Manual of Field Regulations given to new draftees, as we began the 1964-65 school year at LaSalle.


Rules, rules, rules. The kids today complain about "rules." Well, they're wussy rules, these days. They have no idea what real rules were back then - and they were enforced. Sometimes, rules were created ad hoc by some of our instructors. Coach Minter's Rules of Mortal Pain and Gauntlet Running come to mind. Heads I win, tails you lose. Good rule, don't you think?



And what remnants of your ILS sojourn do you have stashed away? Why don't you share them with us? Surely, Little Big Man was not the only relic-hoarder in those four fun years. Perhaps he may yet find more in his diggings. Hopefully, when displayed here in the future, you'll dig it. Pun intended.

What is this blog thing all about?

Consider this the equivalent of our ILS-68 "Community Billboard." It is not for just one, or two, or three Stooges, oops!, amigos! amigos! - that's what was meant - to monopolize and rant thereon. Actually, let's keep the ranting to a minimum - enough of that comes from my side.

Here is one way we can all participate in shaping this blog, courtesy of our ILS amiga Jeannette Foye DeMille - via her email:

"Do you have pictures of yourselves/family to share? That could be a nice feature if it is possible to collect and post for all of us to see and enjoy.....I travel every week and don't have my yearbook to reference all the faces and names... Jeannette"

And this, from Jeannette's sister, Sue who am sure at least some of you know:

"Good for you! I guess I spoke to soon - you're way ahead of me! Good luck. Federico was pretty good about getting back to me. P.S. They usually have an Alumni Hall of Fame Event in March - I was able to attend last year with about 15 other classmates and saw Bros. Malachy, James, Alexis and Charmaine Gauthier too. It was kinda cool - in case you wanted to get together for a 'pre-reunion' reunion.

Later, Sue"

Sue had kindly suggested we contact the Immaculata-LaSalle Alumni Association and let them know our plans for the reunion, and ask for their help. For once, being proactive, the blogger had in fact already contacted the ILS Alumni Association. Anyway, the point of all this is to illustrate how we can use this as our Internet "Town Hall," or more apropos, the equivalent of that gathering area in front of the ILS cafeteria where we all buzzed around in the morning before classes started.

So send us your poor, your huddled masses - wait a minute...wrong association here! Send us your news, stories, photos - let us share your interesting hobbies, your travels, your triumphs, accomplishments, whatever you wish. Should you be brave enough to tell tales of your screw-ups, and the writer has plenty of those to air out, by all means do so. Caveat: Gotta keep this a "family" blog by all means. So best not to send images of your attempts to help Borat stuff Pamela into that Khazakhstani Love Sack he had so touchingly made just for her...

And while we're at it, perhaps we should take the opportunity to have a "pre-reunion reunion" at our school in March, for the Alumni Hall of Fame Event. We can start connecting and showing our faces. Mine should best have a paper bag over it.