Month: October 2016

Brothers and Sisters For All Time

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

14715452_10210431674649282_4125192097874582664_o-1The dictionary definition of family is “a group of people related by blood or marriage.”  Such a description is far too limiting. We often extend the breadth of our relationships to include special friendships that are as deep and endearing as those we share with our kin. We feel bound to such people by sharing common experiences and traditions. We especially form deep and abiding friendships when we are young. The common history of our youth makes particular people feel like our brothers and sisters. Just as with those who come from our same DNA, the individuals who walk with us day after day for a time may leave, but they are never forgotten. Somehow they live in our hearts even when we do not have them near. Such it is with my family from Mt. Carmel High School.

Fifty years is a very long time, five decades, half a century. When I was a teenager it was difficult to even imagine such a long passage of the calendar but I have indeed walked through those fifty years since my graduation from high school. Before that day of long ago I had spent eight to ten hours five days every week inside a brick and mortar building with the same people. Our journey together lasted four years. We shared the same lessons and traditions. We learned together, laughed together and sometimes even cried together. We cheered for our heroes of the gridiron, baseball diamond, track and basketball court. We slowly discovered the people and the ideas that interested us. We formed circles of friends and lived through all of the adolescent peaks and valleys. We became a family.

In my home away from home I grew from a gangly little girl afraid of her own shadow to a pensive young woman wondering what life had in store for me and my classmates. I wondered about all of those questions that occur to most teens. What would I become? Would I have an exciting career? Would I ever marry? Would I have children? Would I become rich or famous? Would I have a good life? I never thought about death or illness. Those things seemed to be the purview of the old, not something that I would encounter for a very long time.

Life took hold of me and my classmates after we had finished our school days and one year grew into two and then ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty. I thought of the people who had been with me in my formative years now and again. I wondered where they were and how they were. I intended to keep up with them but something always seemed to distract me. The phone would ring. One of my children would need my attention. My job would demand my time. My mother would need me to care for her. The excuses always came and so I did not see most of the people who had been so much a part of my life but I never forgot how much they had meant to me.

A couple of years ago along came a beautiful soul that I had known since I was a little girl, Carol. I had been in the Brownies with her and her twin sister, Cindy. We celebrated First Communion together and went all the way through high school only to lose track for all those many years after graduation day. Carol came to some of us almost fifty years later with an idea. She wanted to have a fabulous reunion for our class. It was to be in honor of her sister who had tragically died from ALS. It would be a way to remember Cindy and our other friends who had already left this earth. It would remind us of our youth and the importance of living our lives to the fullest. It would provide us with a way to embrace each other once again.

Carol worked diligently with a group of people determined to find every last soul who had been in the Class of 1966. Terry, Susan, Mickey, Paul, Shirley, Ruth, Judy, Monica, Linda, Jim, Jeannette, Tad, Tommy, Donald and Chris began meeting over a year ago to plan a celebration to remember. Sadly Chris left the world this summer but his impact and generous spirit kept the group inspired. On Saturday night the fruits of this committee’s labors came to fruition as we all gathered together in a love fest that none of us will ever forget.

There were so many stories to share on Saturday night. Some of them were joyful. Others were heartbreaking. I learned of successes and disappointments, happiness and loss. I found that my classmates are people of uncommon conviction, optimism and courage. They have faced down challenges and accomplished great things. They have led the kind of lives that all of us value. They are happy even as they have endured the ups and downs that are inevitable in a span of fifty years. We have all matured and learned what is truly important. We realized in visiting with one another that the ties that bound us so long ago are a special part of whom we will always be. We are truly family in every sense of the word, brothers and sisters for all time.

In the excitement of reuniting we have made promises that we will not let the time run away from us ever again. I hope that we honor that commitment. We have learned that life is precious and fragile and unpredictable and that we must reach out and grab every opportunity to be with the people who were and always will be so important to us. We have always been intertwined even as we branched out in different directions.

Our reunion was a happy and moving experience for all of us. We laughed and cried tears of joy and remembrance. Our celebration was perfect in every way. The love that we felt for one another was palatable and the spirit of our departed friends was ever present. We heard their laughter in our hearts and knew that they were especially happy that we had once again come together. We will forever be grateful for the opportunity that we had to learn that everyone is mostly okay. I’d like to believe that we will have many more chances to come together again. I know that I intend to do all that I can to keep our renewed friendships alive. They are important enough to merit our time and attention. Carol understood that and showed us how it is done.

Let the Celebrating Begin

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

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It has been fifty years since the Mt. Carmel High School Class 0f 1966 left the school gymnasium after graduation. We departed with high hopes and good intentions and the clock on our lives began ticking far more quickly than we might have imagined. Some among us served in the military. Others went to college. There were those who married and started families, some who focused on careers. We navigated through the ups and downs of life, experiencing the milestones of human existence. All the while we remembered those years when we were young. Our days in high school had at times been filled with angst and at others with joy. As teenagers we had felt hurts and victories. As full fledged adults we mostly moved past our immaturities and hangups to mellow into acceptance of ourselves just as we are. We became able to gaze into the mirror past all of the flaws and truly like the people that we had become. Somehow all we now need to know about our former classmates is that each among us has found happiness. We have embraced the contentment that comes with wisdom and age and grace.

Tomorrow evening we will gather together for our fiftieth reunion. It will be good to see one another again and to hear the stories of what happened to everyone as the decades passed. Our old friends will be there and some will bring their spouses, people that we have yet to meet but will most surely enjoy. We will view photos of travels, children and grandchildren. We will learn about jobs and hobbies and all of those things that weave together the fabric of our lives. None of us will look the same. Regardless of how well we have aged fifty years leave an imprint on our faces and our outlooks. We are now just as we once were and yet different. The essence of our youthfulness is still in our hearts but our experiences will have changed us.

I lost track of so many people after graduation day. I was busy earning a college degree, raising a family, teaching and caring for my mother who developed chronic mental illness shortly after I had finished high school. Like most people my days were filled with responsibilities from dawn until I fell asleep at night. I had little time for pursuits outside of my family and my work but I have enjoyed a long and lovely friendship with Linda Daigle Scheffler that thankfully continues to this day. Our children grew up together taking swimming lessons, watching football games and celebrating birthdays, graduations, marriages. We have met at Christmas to exchange ornaments and gifts virtually every year since our children were born with few exceptions. Monica Krider Watzak has been by my side from the time that I was a tiny girl. She was one of the first people that I met on the playground in second grade back at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Elementary. Her children also grew up with mine. We have gone on trips together and stood by each other in times both good and bad. Nancy Gracey was one of the bridesmaids in my wedding. We played bridge together on Fridays and finished sentences for each other. She eventually moved away and we lost touch for years only to reunite as though it had only been five minutes since our last meeting. I continue to encounter Susan McKenna Bolduc, another of my bridesmaids, time and again at funerals for classmates and their parents.  Judy Loisey is often there as well demonstrating the same warmth of heart that was her trademark in high school. Of course I also encounter Tommy Darst who has so graciously helped so many Mt. Carmel families during times of greatest sorrow. 

Mostly though I lost track of the one hundred forty three souls with whom I had shared so much during those critical four years of my life. From time to time I heard stories about them but somehow I never crossed paths with them even though I must have surely been moving through the same places where they had been. It was only through the miracle of Facebook that I have slowly  reignited friendships with former classmates, sometimes finding surprising kinship with those that I barely knew when I was young. I have enjoyed reading about their trips and adventures and seeing their beautiful children and grandchildren. I’ve even appreciated the great variety of their political persuasions. Nobody can ever say that we were brainwashed at Mt. Carmel High School. Everyone has a mind of his/her own. Mostly though I have marveled at how wonderful we all became. We are good people who took the lessons that we learned at Mt. Carmel High School to heart no matter where in the world we landed.

I get excited just thinking about the possibility of seeing so many of my classmates tomorrow night. The guest list has swelled to a hundred or more including curious spouses who have no doubt heard so many stories about our Class of 1966. I get both giddy and nervous when I think about seeing them in person again after all these years. 

Even though there were once one hundred forty four of us. Not everyone has made it this far. Before we had even been gone for ten years some among us had already died from cancer or accidents. Others have gone from us more recently. They had hoped to be with us for our celebration but the good Lord saw fit to take them. Each time we have heard of a death among our old friends it has brought us great sadness. We remember when they were so bright and beautiful. We know that they meant so much to their families and to us.

When I was a young mom buying shoes for my little girls Mrs. Lippies used to ask me to pray for her son Kerry who had cancer. Sadly he did not make it. He was one of the first among us to die. I was broken apart when Bill Bailey was killed in a freak accident in Galveston. Not long ago I heard that a colleague of mine at St. Christopher’s School had lost her husband who also happened to be one of my classmates, Frank Fox, a wonderful man who had been so loved by his wife and children. I followed Cindy Cash Criss’s medical progress as she fought ALS. I loved seeing her images of kitties on Facebook and I marveled at her courage and optimism as she dealt with the devastating effects of that terrible disease. I know how much she wanted to make it to the reunion but that was not to be. Instead many of us gathered at her memorial and came together for the first time in years. We knew that she had been the catalyst for beginning our journey to the celebration that we will enjoy tomorrow. Somehow her spirit will be there with us, hoping that we love and laugh the way she always did. Chris Nixon had overcome many heath problems and came faithfully to the early planning meetings for the reunion. He too was called to heaven sooner than we had hoped. Many of us attended his funeral only months ago and cried together for a dear sweet friend.

I had lost track of my friend and high school confidante, Claudia Dean Langguth for well over forty years. When we were teenagers we had shared our deepest secrets and dreams. I had thought that ours would be a lifetime of togetherness but circumstances pulled us apart. When I recently searched for her I learned that she had died only a year ago. I wish that I had been able to tell her how much she had meant to me. I would have liked to let her know that I loved her.

Others who meant much to me are also gone. David Patton and I often competed with one another academically. I knew in my heart that he was my intellectual superior but I would never have admitted that to him. A few years back he began to email me after he had suffered from a stroke. It was sad to know that his brilliant mind had been diminished. I hope that I gave him a bit of comfort with my responses to his communications. I was crushed to learn of his death.

In school our teachers usually seated us in alphabetical order. I sat behind John Kurtz for four years and got to know him well enough to have a secret crush on him. He once told me that his juvenile diabetes would curtail his life prematurely. I was too young and inexperienced to believe that he knew the truth. I shook my head and told him that he was being silly. Unfortunately he was not wrong and left this earth far too soon for such a good man.

The list of those who have already entered the kingdom of God is longer than I would want it to be. There are about twenty four souls who have already died and will be watching over us as we convene this weekend. They will remind us that life is a treasure that we must embrace before the opportunity to do so has left us. In our minds they will be forever young and as lovely and energetic as they were on that May day of long ago when none of us were able to imagine the roads that we would travel or that fifty years would go by so quickly. They are gone but never forgotten. We can still see Janice Repsdorph as the amazing athlete that she always was. We will remember Dorothy Wheeler Cox and her sweet smile and loving presence. In our hearts we’ll think of Diane Martin in all of her glorious beauty and generous spirit. Each of them touched our hearts.

Our lives have been blessed. We are all fine people who have contributed to the benefit of our families, our friends and our communities. We have remembered what is most important and have lived the way our teachers had hoped that we would. When we left on that May in 1966 we understood that we had been called to work for the benefit of all mankind. We have kept the promises that we made. Now it is time to remember and appreciate all of the people who helped us to arrive at this remarkable place in time. Let the celebrating begin.

Triumph

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

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On September 1, 1965, the Mt. Carmel High School Class of 1966 began day one of senior year and what a time it would be. We were ready to take charge and end our four years with unparalleled accomplishments. Our student body leaders, Tom King, Terry King, Janice Lowe, and Jeannine Mandola were more than up for the task of celebrating the school’s tenth year of providing educational excellence to the young men and women of Houston. This was our time to shine and we took on the world with confidence and determination.

The Vietnam War was raging and dividing the nation. The editors of the school yearbook, Elke Ahr, Diane Martin, and Monica Krider chose to dedicate the 1966 edition of Zelo to peace. Our school would be touched by the tragedy of the far away war when a member of the Class of 1965, Mike Hoelcher, was killed in the service of our country. It brought home the reality that our days of comfort and youth were drawing to a close. Soon we would be moving into a new phase of life that would demand that we demonstrate the wisdom and grace that our parents and teachers had instilled in us. But at least for the coming months it was our moment to enjoy the fruits of our labors as students.

Our academics had become ever more rigorous. We learned how the world around us works in physics and began to better understand the politics of the United States in civics. Our mathematics ventured into the realm of Pre-Calculus, challenging us ever more. We became more and more proficient in languages like German and Spanish. We spent hours reading and doing research for our senior year English papers, the culmination of all that we had learned before. Our religion classes delved deeper into ethics and questions that have confounded philosophers and saints for centuries. There was no respite from the mountains of school work that never seemed to decline no matter how hard we worked.

Of course there was time for play and development of our extracurricular interests as well. Frank Abegg and Claudia Dean were tapped as editors of the CarmeLight newspaper. I must admit to being disappointed that I did not get the nod. Being the general editor was the one distinction that I had most desired because more and more I wanted to spend time writing. I was instead named the news editor along with Susan McKenna. My dismay was only a temporary setback and I was soon enough working long hours to meet deadlines and keep the news current and interesting. Our Forensics group was doing its own bit to burn the midnight oil in preparation for tournaments that they would win again and again. Paul Colby and Harry Butler continued to dominate in debate.

The Medical Careers Club brought home three awards for excellence that year and continued to grow in size and stature. I was proud to be the president of the organization but had quietly realized that medicine was not in my future. Judy Loisey, Frances Harris and Linda Derks led the Future Teachers club while Kit Lyle and Marjorie Neely were officers of the Mission Club dedicating most of their efforts to sending parcels to Vietnam. We had an active Civil Air Patrol with Mario Zuniga and Carl Eschbach as commanders. Jeannette Mikeska and Linda Daigle chaired the ever popular Dance Committee that stayed busy that year planning twelve special events. Frances Harris and Manuel Manriquez enriched the Spanish culture of our school with a moving Nativity presentation while the senior members of the Texas Association of German Students created a riotously funny skit called “Ich Spion” that featured the guys dancing in fake lederhosen.

Our sports programs brought us honor and winning seasons and even the possibility of beating our biggest foe, St. Thomas High School. The football team gained respect by defeating opponents like Jesuit, Alvin, Kelly, Kirwin and Bishop Byrne. We became the surprise of 2-AAA with a team led by standout players like Leonard Luna. Senior players, Mike Bole, John French, Mike Getz, Mike Villars, James Mushinski, Paul Jauma, Allen Bare, Tom King, Donald Descant, Paul Kasper, Terry King, Tad Trahan, David Sonsel, Ronald Block and Jack Villagomez made Friday nights more exciting than they had ever been even though our ultimate goal of finally winning against St. Thomas never came to pass. The varsity basketball team placed second in the district with Paul Kasper, Joe Madden and Leonard Luna playing key roles. The track team went even farther fielding both district and state championships with Pat Hulin, Leonard Luna, Johnny French, Ronald Block, Chris Nixon and Donald Descant. Not to be outdone, the ladies played hard at volleyball, basketball and swimming with Linda Wilson, Janice Repsdorph, Diane Martin, Ruth Hoesel, Janice Lowe and Jeanette Mikeska representing us with determination and pride. Of course our cheerleaders, Lucille Warchol, Tommy Morrison, Jeanette Mikeska, Johnny McAughan and Patty Balke were ever present to lead the student body in supporting all of our Carmel athletes.

Homecoming that year featured an amazing bonfire with Mary Jo Cipriano reigning as our queen. The football field and the dance that followed was awash with extravagant mums that only Texans understand and a beautiful and sweet court of young ladies who had exhibited their school spirit in a multitude of ways. Janis, Margaret, Stephany, Jeanette, Jeannine and Kit were all smiles and the rest of us would always remember them as Mt. Carmel royalty.

The Cadettes were winners on and off of the field, bringing home a first place trophy for the International Trade and Travel Fair Parade. Officers who had marched rain or shine for three years before earning their stripes were Janis Lowe, Kit Lyle, Ruth Hoesel, Judy Loisey, Jeannine Mandola, Margaret Rae, Karen Wilson, Cindy Cash, Carolyn Snow, Diane Martin, Susan Kelly, Lou Anne Bering and Janet Key. I was asked to be the official announcer during their routines on the football field which was a job that I loved. It also allowed me to attend the Cadette Ball in the spring. I always felt thankful to whomever had come up with the idea of including me in this wonderful organization. 

Of course Mt. Carmel High School was first and foremost about academics. Bill Winn and David Patton were finalists in the National Merit Scholarship competition while Paul Colby and Claudia Dean received letters of commendation. After years of hard work prompted mostly by fear of failing and a need to honor my father I had the number one rank and became the valedictorian with Judy Loisey as the salutatorian. Hard work paid off for those of us who were senior members of the National Honor Society including Mario Zuniga, Mike Petru, John Kurtz, David Patton, Richard Powers, Bill Bailey, Frank Abegg, Judy Loisey, Margaret Rae, Linda Caldwell, Linda Daigle, Claudia Dean and me.

With spring came the Junior Senior prom and the traditional senior trip to Bandera. One hundred forty four of us had made it to the finish line. We played in the sun, danced, rode horses and recalled four years of memories. We followed the traditions of presenting a senior play and crowning the Virgin Mary in May. We received our “Academy Awards” from the juniors and at long last gathered together in the gym on May 22, to receive our diplomas. It was one of those bittersweet days for which we had longed. It was the culmination of our accomplishments and our friendships. We would process into the building as a family and leave to travel in many different directions. There would be many whom we would never see again. Our days as high school students were done. It was time for us to begin to assume the mantle of adults and demonstrate to the world what it really means to be a graduate of Mt. Carmel High School.

The Good Times We Had

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

65-yearbookIn a valley near the east shore of Texas

‘Neath the vast and the clear Texas sky

Stands a monument to honor Our Lady:

It’s our own Mt. Carmel High.

Though it’s walls echo cheers and much laughter,

It’s for knowledge and culture we fight:

For with each passing year,

Our love grows more dear,

For we’re led by that great Carmel might.

While we sing of the praises of Carmel

We are loyal to the old brown and white:

Though our mem’ries dim

We’ll be true to Him

And to Her of the great Carmel might!

By the 1964-1965 school year those of us in the Class of 1966 were coming into our own. Gone were our childish expressions, replaced by the conviction that we were at long last on our way to adulthood and positions of leadership. Our resolve was reflected in our eyes and in the way we began to take charge and work together for the betterment of the school and the community. It was a year of learning about the history of our country and understanding the chemistry of life. Algebra II introduced us to our first inklings of higher mathematics and in our Religion classes we began to discuss very adult topics along with learning more about the Bible. Some of us came early in the morning to take Latin III in addition to being introduced to German. We expanded our horizons with Art, Mechanical Drawing, Choral, Clothing, and Home Economics. We had learned how to balance the rigor of academics with the growing number of activities in which we engaged.

I finally turned sixteen in November but still didn’t get to drive a car. That would have to wait for a later time when the burden of paying for insurance didn’t fall on my mom. It didn’t really matter because so many of my friends were willing to chauffeur me to all of the wonderful events that we would enjoy that year. Father Shane still insisted that we attend plays at the Alley Theater and concerts at the Music Hall. Of course I loved going to those special presentations that were making me the citizen of the world that he promised we would become. I remember how he taught us to wait for the signal from the conductor before clapping and we always felt a bit smug when students from the other schools brought their hands together at inappropriate moments.

So many of us were now officers in the various clubs and organizations. I was the Vice President of the ever growing Medical Careers Club. Paul Colby and Harry Butler were winning first place trophies in Debate. Sixteen of us became eligible for induction into the National Honor Society. Our junior representatives on the Student Council were Jeannine Mandola, Margaret Rae, Mike Bole, Judy Loisey, David Patton, Janis Lowe, Johnny McAughan and somehow even I earned a spot with that illustrious group. A large contingency of juniors worked as Library Assistants and became members of the Texas Association of German Students. Interest in The CarmeLight newspaper grew by leaps and bounds with the sports section becoming particularly popular under the guidance of Richard Powers. Father Franz asked a few of us to become members of the Chroniclers Club to maintain the history of our school. (To this day I wonder what happened to the work that we did.)  Linda Derks and Judy Loisey were installed as officers in the Future Teachers Club while the Choral Club grew large enough to fill a set of bleachers. The Dance Committee planed events for Halloween, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Easter. The Mission club quietly performed good works for people in difficult situations. MIke Petru was one of the leaders of the Science Club. The Cadettes continued their pursuit of excellence with Margaret Rae, Judy Loisey, Janis Lowe,Ruth Hoesel, Jeanette Mikeska, and Kit Lyle earning officer positions. There was bowling and a Camera Club and even a swim team. A number of juniors posted wins in the annual Science Fair. Ruth Hoesel and Janis Lowe were All Stars of the first place basketball team. Janis Repsdorph and Margaret Rae served as captains of the volleyball teams. Of course we all loved watching our classmates on the football field, the baseball diamond and the basketball court. Everyone was busy and having fun.

Two events that I always recall from that year involved community service. Each homeroom collected food and gifts for a needy family at Christmas time. The students in my group were beyond generous and I loved shopping for the turkey with all of the fixings that we would eventually present to our family. We had enough funds to purchase lovely gifts for every member of the family and sharing our own good fortune with those who had less made Christmas all the more meaningful.

The other big project was collecting enough contributions to purchase an International Scout for missionaries who came to visit our school. They mentioned that their old auto had fallen apart from long and hazardous drives in the mountains of South America. They needed reliable transportation to get from one village to another. Somehow we managed to collect enough donations to provide them with a brand new vehicle designed for rugged terrain. It felt wonderful knowing that we had done something so remarkable.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th President of the United States in 1965. There were violent outbreaks in Selma Alabama as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a procession of 4,000 from Selma to the state capitol of Montgomery. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones started a music invasion from England that would change the direction of music. Dr. Zhivago, The Sound of Music and Help were box office hits at the movies.

In the spring the Class of 1966 honored the seniors of 1965 with Davy Jones Locker a roast and a toast for the soon to be graduates. The nautical theme was spectacular particularly with the wit of Harry Butler who had a surprisingly humorous way with words. We were decked out as sailors and pirates as we gave our nods to each of the members of the class that had come before us. We also began tryouts for cheerleader with a huge group of students performing before the student body. There were even elections for Student Body offices.

I decided to run for Student Body Secretary. I wasn’t as well known as my opponents, Janis Lowe and Judy Loisey but I felt the need to push myself out of my comfort zone. I remember thinking that I was surely going to collapse from fear as I gave my speech to the entire school. My right leg was shaking so hard that I had to lean on the podium to stay upright. Once it was over I was relieved and proud of myself for doing something that had been so painful. I wasn’t elected but I do believe that giving that speech became in many ways the first day of the rest of my life because I was never again afraid to stand before a crowd and speak my mind.

We ended that school year knowing that we would return at the top of the student pecking order to begin our final year at Mt. Carmel High School. The time had flown by so quickly and we were poised to enjoy one of the best years of our lives. 

Wise Fools

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

64-yearbookThe school year of 1963-1964 began typically enough for the Class of 1966. We were sophomores, the “wise fools” as the strict Latin translation proclaims. We entered our second year of study with confidence, perhaps not fully understanding how much we did not yet know. It was a year of change and those of us from the female side of the student body were excited about the new uniforms that appeared to be a tiny bit more fashionable than the dull brown pencil skirts that we had worn as freshmen. We arrived all decked out in our brown and white plaid pleated skirts, white blouses, and dark brown blazers. At least for a time we were glad for the opportunity to wear something different.

The Carmelite Fathers were celebrating their one hundredth year of service in America and it seemed fitting that we would rechristen our yearbook with the name, Zelo, alluding to the motto of the Order of Carmelites, Zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum, “With Zeal I have been zealous.” We returned for our second year believing that we had the whole high school experience figured out. Gone were the fears that we might be unable to meet the demands of our teachers. We had formed strong friendships and alliances with one another and we felt ready for anything that might come our way.

We were admittedly a bit less interested in academics than in the social aspects of school but that is rather typical of sophomores. Our teenage years were in full bloom with many preparing to earn driver’s licenses and make the grand leap into more independent lifestyles. We tackled the logic and proofs of Geometry with Mr. Maroney and became ever more proficient in Latin with Sister Wanda. Father Donald led us through the fundamentals of Biology and taught us how to dissect a living breathing frog and keep its heart beating even as we opened its body for observations. I have long suspected that my ultimate reluctance to pursue a career in medicine began inside the Biology lab when I was certain that I was going to faint from the stench of formaldehyde and the sight of that tiny heart fighting for a survival that was doomed.

Once again I had an English class with Father Shane and just as with the previous year it would be the highlight of my day. My biggest surprise came from Speech and Debate. I was then as timid as a little mouse but I somehow discovered the bold nature of my personality when Mrs. Lamping taught us how to use not just our words, but also our voices to communicate with strength and determination. I soared under her direction and soon found myself competing in debates with my partner, Claudia. We would never find the momentum to have a consistently winning season but I would learn so much about people and my interests would begin to take form.

Our handsome and beloved President Kennedy was proving his own mettle in national affairs and becoming ever more popular. He had faced down the Soviets in the Cuban Missile Crisis and gained the respect of even his detractors. He was coming to Texas in the fall of our sophomore year with a short stop in Houston before traveling to Dallas. It was November and I had turned fifteen years old only days before. I remember sitting in English class when Sister Margit came to the door to announce that President Kennedy had been shot. She was always such a jokester that I at first thought that she had gone a bit too far with one of her impish pranks but the look on her ashen face told me that she was not attempting to fool us. Along with my classmates I felt as though someone had just punched me in the stomach. I remember sitting silently for hours waiting for the school day to end and wondering if the world as I had known it would ever be the same. This terrible day would become the defining moment of our sophomore year of high school, a turning point when everything that we had ever known seemed to suddenly change. I suppose that we all grew up just a bit on that day and lost the unfettered innocence that had once been ours.

We eventually carried on just as the country did. We relied on the rituals and routines of school to occupy our minds and our time. The newspaper and yearbook staffs preserved our memories, the sports teams represented us in combats with rival schools. I kept my membership in the Medical Careers Club even though I was beginning to doubt that I was suited for a life in medicine. I religiously attended the Saturday night dances where I enjoyed meeting up with my friends and watching the couples sway on the dance floor. My teachers and my classmates were feeling more and more like family and I found great comfort in being with them day after day.

It officially snowed in February and our teachers allowed us to run outdoors to catch snowflakes on our tongues. It was a rather pathetic but typical version of Houston snowfall but it got us temporarily out of our classes. Our basketball team celebrated its one hundredth victory that same month and I learned that the round ball was my favorite sport. There were spiritual retreats and Bunny Hops and more and more of my classmates driving to school for the very first time.

In the spring we had our annual fundraising drive. Each of us had to sell a case of World’s Finest Chocolate, a feat that was rather difficult given that most of the people in the neighborhood had children with their own cases of candy to sell. This meant that we had to use our salesmanship skills with strangers. My cousin, Ingrid, and I became a team, traveling with our moms to any place where we thought that potential customers might lurk. Our favorite spots were bowling alleys, ice houses, and trailer parks. We were thrown out of many establishments in our quest to sell our wares but usually not before we had managed to deplete our inventory just a bit more. Somehow we always managed to meet our quotas but it was difficult work. Mostly though it taught me that people are generous souls who are inclined to help even when they have little to give.

We ended our sophomore year far more knowledgeable and ready to become role models as upperclassmen. Many of us had moved up in the ranks of the various organizations and had made names for ourselves in academics and sports. We were halfway through our journey through high school but were yet to realize just how quickly time flies. We were anxious to move on and to be at the top of the pecking order. We had earned our places as school leaders and we felt more than ready to conquer the world.