High School Reunion, Delayed!

     I attended Langley High School in McLean, Virginia, graduating in 1971.  If that name rings a bell, it's because we were just upstream on the Potomac River from that other "Langley" thing, you know, "the Company," or as the big sign on Rt. 123 indicated, "Virginia High Department," or as everyone else in the world knew it, the CIA.  

    That area of Northern Virginia was packed with important people, and in that era, their kids mostly attended public schools, so LHS was an interesting place.  Brainy groups like Jazz Band, Math Club and the Chess Team were outstanding.  While our athletic teams were generally OK, it was said of our football team, "Yeah, they may be small, but they're slow!"  Oh, and by the way, Langley had more than a passing resemblance to a prison.

     However, I was not very interesting myself.  I was not exactly a standout scholar, and didn't make a splash otherwise.  I became good friends with Lloyd Hill, and together we got a job at an airport 25 miles southwest of Dulles International.  We were "lineboys," which meant that we fueled aircraft, changed runway lights and of course, cleaned toilets.  But that meant we could learn how to fly!  $1.25 an hour doesn't sound like much of a wage, but instruction including plane and instructor was only $17 an hour; today that figure is about $200 for the same time period.  I was awarded my pilot's license soon after turning seventeen and heading for college.  

    As I said, neither Lloyd nor myself made much of a splash at Langley.  Lloyd decided that needed to change, so we made the goal of getting our picture in the yearbook in an athletic team.  That would take some doing, as we weren't athletes, but with investigation, we learned that the tennis team didn't have "cuts;" as long as you dressed out, you were at least on the Junior Varsity Team.   

    When it came time for the yearbook picture, we lined up.  I was on the front row on one knee holding my racquet in a heroic pose.  No one noticed, but Jim Creedon in the second row was also holding his racquet, but he was flipping the bird on the 'throat' or handle of the thing.  

    The 50th reunion was cancelled due to COVID, so this was our 55th.  Jim and I laughed a bunch over that picture.  He told me that he lived in fear for the next month after it was taken, but no one noticed, and it made it in.  Here's Jim, second from the left:

     The reunion was interesting.  As you could have predicted, there were folks who had done amazing things in life.  One guy had spent 18 years in the DEA in Colombia and Peru during the Pablo Escobar era.  Another had been the head of the NTSB, while another served as his state's Treasurer.  Several were big in the tech world, while others had served in the Peace Corps and headed up various law and accounting firms.

     I was able to apologize once and for all to a nice girl (woman) who had gotten up her courage to ask me to the "Sadie Hawkins" (girl invitation) dance, which I had to back out of because I broke my leg.  Having been turned down myself a legendary number of times, I knew how that felt.    

    Overall, it was a satisfying reunion.  I'm aware that those in the class who had ended up in prison for life (or less) or who had encountered serious difficulties and setbacks would be less likely to come, but still, it was good.  Oh, and as we are all in our 70's, a number could not have made it in mortal form, having "graduated" from this sphere already.

    As I started the 4+ hour drive back to Raleigh, I smiled, not only thinking about Jim Creedon and the tennis team picture, but also realizing that my life had turned out OK.  Nothing fancy, no great titles or fame, but a good life.  I don't think I'd change much.  Especially not that picture.

Dave

Don't be dumb!

     Our granddaughter Sophia and her brother Edwin came from Tajikistan in May of this year to work for the summer, there being little work available for American teenagers in that Central Asian capital.  They both planned to work as lifeguards for the Raleigh City pools, which often don't open because of the lack of such guards.  They arrived, did their training and then waited for their background checks, fingerprints and drug screens to clear, which they never did, by the way.

     Meanwhile, both practiced driving, and Sophia earned her North Carolina driver's license.  Edwin was just in the early stages of driving, and will have to wait til later for his driving test.  

     In general, Edwin just didn't seem very ambitious or adventurous.  He often slept in late, and sometimes walked with a bit of a limp.  We figured it was probably "just Edwin," and didn't think too much of it.

    The rest of their family arrived for the annual beach trip, and all of that faded into the general tumult.  However, when the lot of them arrived in Utah for a family reunion there, Edwin got very sick, with a temperature above 106 F, aching joints, all sorts of thing.  He ended up in the hospital for eight days on IV antibiotics, and was diagnosed with "brucellosis," with point festering infections in various joints.  His dad, our son-in-law Brandon also became ill with the same malady.  They are both now on extended (three months) combination antibiotics, and Edwin still uses a cane.  While antibiotic therapy has reduced the mortality from the infection, it is still miserable.

    Brucellosis is caused by one of a number of bacteria in the genus Brucella, which are carried by livestock, including cattle.  It is acquired by consuming raw dairy products, or by exposure to fluids from infected animals.  It can cause miscarriages in cattle - and in humans!

    Back home in Tajikistan, my daughter Ashley buys raw milk from a dairy, but is very careful to pasteurize it to the proper temperature.  However, in retrospect, the housekeeper had been buying sour cream and other items that most likely were the source of the bacteria.

    Brucella carriage in dairy cattle in the US is very uncommon.  It is prevented through a combination of vaccination of calves, strict herd biosecurity and regular surveillance and culling of infected animals.  However, cases do arise, and they are caused by eating or drinking unpasteurized dairy products.  IS THAT CLEAR??!!

     DON'T FALL FOR THE RAW MILK MISINFORMATION!!  Raw milk is NOT more nutritious, and DOES NOT carry miracle probiotics that would be destroyed by pasteurization.  Please rely on real sources, and not influencers or the anti-everything people.  If you think it would help, I'll have Edwin give you a call.

Dave