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01/17/09 11:02 AM #7     Marc Martyn Ronna, a lot of us are to gimped up to even climb those bleachers anymore........ ;-)

01/18/09 10:33 AM #8     Judy Young (Brokaw) WOW, what computers have done for all of us… Just look at this wonderful website and how it is bring all of us together again. I can’t wait to see all of you in person.

01/18/09 06:39 PM #9     Ronna Jones (Snyder) I'd like to take a little survey in this department. How many of you went into the service during Vietnam? How many of you wound up serving IN Vietnam? I'm sure your fellow classmates would LOVE to know WHO you are so we can thank you for your bravery and sacrifice.

01/19/09 11:51 AM #10     Marc Martyn I was in during Vietnam, but never was there. However, I was a B-52 Bomber maintenance technician working in bomber launch/recovery and spent 6 months over in Guam at Anderson AFB. In the spring of '72, Nixon ordered the largest bombing campaign of the entire war. I was sent to Guam along with thousands of other guys from all over the country. The Air Force had 175 B-52's on the island. So many aircraft, they did not have enough parking spots for them. We had to keep a certain number of bombers in the air at all times. Needless to say, that island was very busy. Long days and nights, hard work, but we made the best of it. I have over the years talked with many guys that were in Nam. They ask me if I was over there. I tell them no, I only launched B-52's off of Guam headed for Vietnam. I have had the following reply from several guys when I tell them that. They would say "Thank You". I would ask them what they meant. Their comments were "Things would get a WHOLE LOT BETTER on the ground when "the heavies would come in". That always made me feel good. I have posted some pictures on Classmates.com of my adventures while on "The Rock". You can find them at: http://www.classmates.com/profile/user/my/photos#profileMain

01/19/09 04:25 PM #11     Ronna Jones (Snyder) And I, too, thank you, Marc! While I, thankfully, don't know what the "heavies" provided; I know full well that mechanics, medics, etc., are often the unsung heroes of ANY war. Thank you for being THAT for our era.

01/19/09 09:29 PM #12     Marc Martyn The B-52 is called a "heavy bomber" because of its large bomb load capacity.

01/20/09 10:43 AM #13     Roger Libby Ronna, they are also referred to as BUFF'S, but I'll let Marc explain that one to you. :)

01/20/09 10:21 PM #14     Marc Martyn Gee, THANKS ROGER! ROFLMAO But you are certainly correct ;-)

01/22/09 11:04 AM #15     Sue Renner (Booth) There were many "unsung" heros that served during the Vietnam war.....Sue Fernau and I shared a duplex in Media Beach Morocco with two young men in the Navy. Their jobs were classified as "top secret", however we were able to garner enough information to form the opinion that they were radar specialists -- responsible for monitoring adverse submarine activity. They worked long hours and received little or no appreciation from the general public for their amazing contributions to our nation and its safety. Many moral lessons were learned from the Vietnam experience, and that experience helped to define us as a generation. It does, however, sadden me that the Bush administration somehow missed the lessons taught by our involvement in Vietnam. Gee, I think that most of those folks were probably attending Yale...or perhaps Harvard.....(trust funded educations of course)-- so the only "action" they saw was probably in the hockey ring....... Didn't get to Woodstock......a huge regret of my life. I had the mind set....I just didn't have the balls to go.. I do, however, have a huge framed poster of Bob Dylan's Summer of Love ..... a cherished gift from a friend -- but hardly compensation for not seizing the moment and experiencing history in the making. Drive by the old school every day as I live out by Mt. Spokane HS.....It is still such a beautiful old building, and the sight of it makes me smile. I moved to Spokane from Seattle. In Seattle I attended an enormous school. So my very first thought when my dad dropped me off in front of Mead Sr. High was "you've got to be kidding me". Even more surprising to me was how lily white everyone was....no diversity whatsoever - and all the girls wore socks that matched their sweaters....God forbid!!!!!!!!!!!!I honestly thought that Rod Serling had transported me to the twilight zone. It didn't take long for me to develop a HUGE fondness for Mead and the students. What really sticks out in my mind is the fact that even though there were "clicks", we all pretty much associated with one another. That says a lot about the character of the people who attended ole Mead HS.

01/22/09 04:58 PM #16     Marc Martyn Sue! Your comment about the Bush Administration missing the lesson of Vietnam is so right on the nail head! It gives a whole new meaning to Creedence Clearwater's song "Fortunate Son"! Oh, but we were just a bunch of radical, communist, country hating kids, weren't we. ;-)

01/22/09 07:13 PM #17     Pat Ferrell I can't let Roger and Marc have all the fun, so tell me guys, do you know if they carried any Puffs in the BUFFs? As for the old High School, my grandmother, my mother, and some of my brothers and sisters kids went to Mead. Long live the old school!

01/22/09 07:38 PM #18     Marc Martyn No Puffs on the Buffs, just (4) 50 cal. on the tail for Migs. The Buffs were too high for Puff.

01/27/09 05:40 PM #19     Ronna Jones (Snyder) Okay, Marc. Now you DO have to translate for those of us non-military folks. Buffs? Puffs? And all those other not-so-top-secret code words? Cough 'em up! The translations, that is.

01/27/09 10:08 PM #20     Marc Martyn Ronna, after you have had about 4-5 Martini's at the reunion, find me. Then, I will be happy to tell you. :)

01/27/09 11:58 PM #21     Sue Renner (Booth) Beleive me Marc, you don't want either Ronna or I to have that many martinis... There are only 19 people signed up to attend the reunion...what is up with that? I thought that our class was pretty tight....where are these people? What can we do to encourage participation? Any ideas?

01/28/09 12:00 AM #22     Sue Renner (Booth) I forgot to ask.....what were the Buffs high on?

01/28/09 05:32 PM #23     Marc Martyn Too funny :) There have been quite a few registers in the last couple of weeks. People will probably sign up when they start planning their summer activities. I think there will be a good turnout when the time comes.

01/29/09 06:53 AM #24     Sue Renner (Booth) I hope that you are right.....I wasn't all that interested in a reunion when Ronna approached Janet and I for help...but honestly I am really enjoying the banter.

01/29/09 03:57 PM #25     Marc Martyn Sue, How many have there been and when & where were they? Anyone know who organized the past ones?

01/29/09 10:34 PM #26     Sue Renner (Booth) There was a 10 year and a 20 year. I don't recall who organized the 10 year, but there was a pretty good turn out and it was a nice event. Janet, Ronna and I worked on the 20 year with Laurie Wiley and some of those gals. Not as many turned out for the 20 year reunion, but we had a great time. It was held at Lindamen's Lodge and every thing was kept relatively casual. ___ There was also a very casually organized reunion for, I think it was, the 25th reunion. It was at a pizza parlor at 5-Mile. There were probably about 30 classmates there? It was the last time I saw Vicki Stueve who has since passed away. --Ronna Jones Snyder

01/29/09 11:09 PM #27     Sue Renner (Booth) Marc....I'm a blues lover as well, especially older blues. Have you seen the PBS series Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues...A Musical Journey? It knocked my socks off. The gist of the series was based primarily on the black blues artists from the south and how their music influenced the blues movement in England, which took place long before it became popular in the US. Honestly, if you haven't seen the series....its a must see. I bought the CD's and the DVDs....I have to hide my music as my two older boys like to "borrow" the music they recall hearing as kids....interestingly, when I was in California visiting Damon in November, I managed to "borrow back" some of that music. I saw Etta James in Las Vegas recently....she is in her 70s and truly amazing. Her voice was as good as it has ever been. Seeing her in person was a real treat. Also, I added to my bucket list to collect all of Rolling Stones top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time....I probably need to get a second job.....ha ha! New stereo equipment would be nice too.

01/30/09 10:00 PM #28     Marc Martyn A fellow blues lover......yes! Ah,Etta. "I'd Rather Go Blind", good old blues. I have her on my iPod. In fact, I have 503 blues songs on my iPod :) I listen to it at work. A couple of years ago, I got tickets to see B.B. King at the Opera House. Second row seats! At 80+ years, he still puts on a great show. One of my all time favorite blues artists is Lighnin' Hopkins. He was a master on the guitar. There are so many great ones, it is no wonder the bands in England were fascinated. Here is a clip of Lightnin' recorded in 1960. You can see were the British bands got their ideas.

01/31/09 12:19 AM #29     Marc Martyn Sue, here is a photo collection of all the great blues artists through the years, backed by Albert King.

02/01/09 01:59 PM #30     Joan Bischoff (Lanning) Marc, Thanks for the music. My favorite is Stevie Ray Vaughn. Have you ever heard Sammy Ubanks? He's a local artist with alot of talent. His bass player bobs his head up and down so much that he has to have migraines when the night is over! Truly entertaining to listen to and to watch.

02/01/09 03:36 PM #31     Marc Martyn Stevie was the "best". There are a few quickly rising to his level today, Johnny Lang, Joe Bonamassa (I have to see that guy!) and John Mayer. All are young and loaded with talent. I missed Sammy a couple of times. I'll have to take in one of his shows this summer. I do on occasion take in Too Slim and The Taildraggers. Dave Nordstrom (a Mead grad also) is the bass player for them and lives next door to me and is a good friend. Too Slim is gaining nationwide recognition and are booked out all over the country this coming year. Dave's older brother, Paul, also graduated from Mead in 1968. If you haven't had a chance to see "Too Slim", you should. Every year they play "Pig Out At The Park" and several other venues in the area. Here is their website: http://www.tooslim.org/

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