Yikes, Now I am a Lowell Parent!?!

Well, I'm back at Lowell now, as a parent! My daughter made it in as a Freshman, and so I darken the hallowed halls once again.

When I first went back I had a vague feeling that I had a paper due, or a test I had not studied for. (For which I had not studied? - hope it's not an English test....)

So much has changed, but so much is the same. As soon as I entered the courtyard, I automatically glanced over to the spot where my friends used to sit, half-expecting them to still be there.

I stood on the stage of the auditorium and was filled wtih a rush of memories of "Follies" and Mr. Land's choral concerts and wished I could go back. I looked out into the audience and remembered getting a standing ovation for singing one song - instigated by my father of course!

In the front courtyard, I flashed back to the drill team in those high platform boots. Hanging out on Inverness and other streets grabbing a smoke in somebody's car. Listening to Tower of Power, and Traffic, and Led Zeppelin on 8 track.

My kid wanted so badly to be accepted to Lowell and told me at the open house that "I have to go here, Mom" When I pressed her for an explanation, she answered "Because everybody is a nerd, just like me." She comes home overflowing with stories about her classes and teachers and friends, and I get a little misty.

So next time I go, I am going to sit with her on the newly installed Class of 1975 benches and tell her how we were there making memories and friendships for life. How each of us went on make our mark in the world, shaped not just a little by this fantastic opportunity to attend this unique public institution. And then I will sit back and watch her make memories of her own...

Benches Installed !

It was very sunny where I live, but as I got closer to the city the fog closed in. I was on my way to meet Terry Abad and a parent of a current Lowell student to install two 8 foot benches purchased with money donated by our class.

I'm sorry to say it's been two years since our class reunion, and we're finally getting this done. It took a while to get the benches ordered, and then the approval politics of where the benches would be installed.

We assembled the benches, and got them installed without loosing any fingers or toes. The only situation we ran into was that the asphalt wasn't level. But since the benches are bolted down that shouldn't be an issue.

New Reunion Pictures Uploaded!

Hi Everyone,

Jeannie Pun shared her reunion pictures with us. I just helped her upload the pictures to our online albums.

Follow this link to the pictures. (password is "welcome").

--Warren

Luncheon Crowd

This is a group shot from a recent weekday luncheon. Don't these people have to work? I couldn't make it, but received I a picture message on my cell phone with the subject line: "This is your wife" or something to that effect.

My first reaction was, "This must be some kind of new phone message spam or virus". I was very suspicious, but when I opened the message, I saw a picture from the lunch crowd! It was Denise sending me pictures from the lucheon!

So, do you recognize these folks?

It's great to have these informal alumni gatherings. We don't have to wait for another formal event to keep in touch.

--Warren T.

Small Changes Made to Our Blog's Formatting

Hi Folks,

I finally had some time last night to make the small changes to our blog template that I mentioned in a previous post.

The new template removes the width restriction, so more information can be seen in a single page.

Comments are now be displayed "in line" on the main page when you click the "Comments" link.

Speaking of comments, you should try posting a comment or two just to get the hang of it. This is how readers and article writers interact on a blog.

--Warren T.

Go Ahead, Jump In!

Hi,

All you folks who registered to contribute to this blog should feel free to jump right in and begin posting stuff.

I will be uploading a new template to this blog in the next few days. The new template will make some minor tweaks to the appearance (hopefully for the better).

Meanwhile, go ahead, try it. It's fun.

To create a post, log in on Blogger.com. Once you log in, you should see a link to this blog. Click on the link to get to the editing screen, where you will see a button for "Create a New Post". You should be able to figure it out from there. You can also upload photos using Blogger.com's built in picture uploader. While in Create mode, click on the picture icon on the toolbar to start the picture upload process. I recommend that your uploaded pictures be size limited to no larger than 800 pixels on the long side, and compressed to less than 150k in file size. Let me know if you have any questions, or you can just browse Blogger.com's help screens.

Regards,

Warren T.

Living a Life of Love

I was with a group of friends recently who decided to start talking about gory movies. Why is it that guys have such an interest?

My mind started wandering to what movies I like and why. I like those that touch my heart and make me emotional. They encourage me to live a more open life. Why is it that in so many movies people wait until they're dying to tell the ones they love what is important to them or their secret ambition?

Don't wait! If you have love ones let them know, and share time with them. Be willing to take a risk.

I know this isn't easy to do. How many times have I tried to reach out to my mom knowing she's a widow and living alone. Yeah my brother lives a block away from her, but what kind of an adult to adult relationship am I building?

O.K., so let's start even closer to home. My own household. I've got two kids, each very different. My daughter who's very independent and has no problem telling me what she thinks even if I think it's wrong... Then there's my son who's quiet and keeps a lot to himself. When I'm with either one of them I try and talk to them and ask their opinions, granted with my daughter I sometimes regret asking, but in the end I'm hoping I build a stronger bond with them and recognize their changing styles as they mature. I won't know if my tactics work until I'm old and gray.