The Terrible Catsafterme

I can’t quite remember the first time I met Dawn Weller, but my guess would be that it was on the school bus. That’s pretty much where I first met all of my friends in the old plat. She and her family moved onto Pine Bluff during April of 1979, a full year after we moved in, but she didn’t start attending Fairbrook Elemetary until the Fall. For a young ‘un like me, Pine Bluff (the street in front of the Dean house pictured behind Dawn above) was on the other side of the galaxy from Winterset Drive where I resided, so I didn’t begin venturing up there too much until later. Besides, you had to ride your bike up quite a hill to get there. Read the rest of this entry »

A week or two before heading out to Eco Adventures camp from June 14-20, 1985, I received a postcard in the mail from the counselor of our group. The postcard was a photo of a young guy with a ‘Rick Springfield’ look, hiding behind a large plant. It was odd, I grant you, but I knew that I was in for a fun week when I saw that my counselor just might be half as nutty as I was. It turned out that Scott Sliver was an extremely charismatic guy with a great outlook, a wild sense of humor, the ability to effectively communicicate the Gospel, and a rare personality that would allow him to connect with virtually everyone. There he is in the photo above right next to junior counselor Rhonda, flanked by me (with the head of Brian Broyles seemingly growing out of my chest). Read the rest of this entry »

Wendy Johnston was among a group of gals that included Kim Littlejohn, Dorinda Dohner, and Amy and Mandy Angle, with whom I attended two weeks of Eco-Adventures camp at Woodland Altars in 1985 and 1986. Although we were friendly during our first year of camp, she and I along with others formed a cohesive bond and became an inseparable clique during the second year. She, Mandy, and Darin Anderson were all in my group counselled by Brian Bohlander and Gloria Landis, so we had ample time to spend together that week.

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For a kid who considered himself the world’s biggest Laurel and Hardy fan – although you could probably count the number of those in the world on one finger – the 1986 Fifth International Sons of the Desert convention held in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania from Friday, July 25 – Wednesday, July 30, was a virtual Garden of Eden. It had been four years since I had been to a Sons convention since our family opted to skip the one in 1984 held in Ulverston and London, England. Too expensive for my parents’ taste. Four years when you are growing from a ten-year old to a fourteen-year old seems like forever. And during that time, my interest in L&H had blossomed and flourished to a near-obsession. Read the rest of this entry »

Just for the record, the first seven pictures shown here were most likely taken when my Mom, Dad, and I brought Denise to camp during the summer of 1986. I’m thinking that she went there before I did, but I cannot be certain. We spent some time hiking through the woods and exploring before releasing her to her Junior camp. Regardless of when her time came, mine came Sunday, July 6, thru Saturday July 12, 1986. This was my second time at Ec0 Adventures camp, and I had had such a great time during the Summer of 1985 that coming back seemed like a no-brainer. Read the rest of this entry »