Clinton Township Newsletter

1 A u g u s t 2 0 1 5 –Julie Fl�nn Our second date was just this last June 23. Our first date was in 1946 – a year after high school graduation. "What took you so long?" I wondered. I've had two husbands and he is celebrating 65 years of marriage to wife #1. Of course, there is a logical explanation for our belated escapade (if two 87 year olds can have an "escapade"). Jack had driven up from Virginia to attend our Westfield High School 70 th class reunion. You read that right… 70 years from cap and gown time at the best-ever high school in New Jersey. June 24 was cool and sunny when 18 of us gathered for lunch at a nearby restaurant. I would have preferred a dark and cloudy day, harboring the mistaken notion that my wrinkles would not have been as visible in a less bright environment. And I kind of regretted not using a rinse to cover some of the gray hair. But, fortunately, my "Who cares if I've aged dramatically since our 65th reunion?" attitude kicked in and it was, take me as I am all the way. First another "old" date, Jerry, and his extra-nice daughter, Cindy, picked me up in a car, which he was unable to drive when we dated in bygone days. Back then we walked from my house on Benson Place to the Rialto Theatre in Westfield, sat in the balcony and I was dismayed that he didn't hold my hand during the show. Knowing what I know now I should have reached over and grabbed his sweaty hand, but I must have been too shy. Hard to believe! At any rate, surprisingly, no one at the reunion mentioned blood pressure readings or arthritis or recent surgeries. No one whipped out a wallet full of photos of grandchildren. Every attendee was as sharp-as-a-tack mentally. There were a few canes, but no wheelchairs. As a matter of fact, we all looked quite good! Mostly it was time for nostalgia about our beloved high school and some of the teachers who seemed old at the time, but were actually probably only in their 20's and 30's. Many of the boys joined the military in their senior year. Remember, our whole high school experience took place during World War 2. We reminisced about rationing and war bonds. We remembered our favorite hangouts on Broad and Elm Streets. (We had a music store where you could take a record into a little enclosed booth to listen to and then decide if you wanted to buy it.) There were NO school buses; we walked back and forth balancing a heavy load of textbooks on our hips. We talked about the Hi Y and DeMolay dances at the Masonic T e m p l e o n S a t u r d a y nights and how Senior Day had to be rescheduled due to President Franklin Roosevelt's death. It was a bittersweet time for me. We remembered the best of 1943 – 1945. I fervently hope we are able to get together for a 75th reunion. Realistically, t h a t ' s n o t t o o l i k e l y . Meanwhile the memories, at least, will last. CLINTON TOWNSHIP Newsletter ® Since 1982 "Second Date… and More" b y R u t h K e e s i n g I wrote a column some time ago asking several "wouldn't it be cool if's" and received a surpringly great response. Since I have summer-on-the-brain and I'm at a loss as to what to write, I'll just continue in that vein. So here goes... • Wouldn't it be cool if we could invisibly go back in time, just for a day or so? I wouldn't want to be seen or be able to interact with people, due to the butterfly effect and all. But still, to be able to observe life in the past (but not actually have to endure it) would be kind of awesome. Here's my shortlist: Greenwich Village in the 1950s and 1960s, my parents' childhoods, the roaring 20's in NYC and Paris, my grandparents' childhoods, the turn of the (last) century, NYC in 1888, the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, anywhere during the 1700's, and maybe the dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era. I have more... Can you imagine? • Wouldn't it be cool if foresight, not hindsight, were 20/20? What would you have done differently? I tend to think that even when things didn't go well for me personally, or when I've made (some might say 'stupid') mistakes, I still learned and grew from those situations. Therefore, I tend to think I wouldn't really want to change a thing. • Wouldn't it be an interesting situation if everyone were blind? Would there be no racism? No terrorism? No sexism? No age-ism? Or, would groups of people find other ways to separate? How would people, devoid of sight, now judge one another? Would womens' magazine have a lot less to say? Would the fashion industry completely go under? • Wouldn't it be cool if we had a woman in higher office? I think it's about time. And no, I'm not advocating for any particular candidate or adding any personal political statements here. Regardless of which side of the aisle your team sits, it would be nice if they considered it? Don't we want to be able to tell our daughters, with complete confidence, that they could be president someday? • Wouldn't it be cool if everyone put away all of their screens for a week or a month and just spoke to one another, face to face? Or wrote letters to one another? Remember letters? Also, imagine how different the internet would be if everyone chose to end each comment with a sign-off using their full name. I've tried to make this a personal habit – it always gets me to think very carefully about what I write, and to whom I write it. • If we suddenly lost all technology, what would your life look like? • If your grandparents are long-deceased, like mine, wouldn't it be cool to ask them all of the questions you now have? When my grandparents were alive, I was pretty wrapped up in my teenage world and didn't ask them real questions. I would so love to have that conversation now. However, I'm grateful that my grandfather took the time one day to give me a self-guided tour (in Pensacola, FL) of all of his childhood spots: the house where he was born, the site of the house where he and his 6 siblings were raised, his grammar school, where he played, etc. I'm also grateful that he and my grandmother each wrote short autobiographies, But still, there's a lot I don't know about all of them (and never will). What would you tell your future decendents about your life today? I guess I'll sign off with this thought: I hope you can take the time to enjoy the last of your Summer. Talk to one another. Get away from technology for a while. Daydream a bit. It will be Fall before you know it, and we'll all be busy again. EDITOR'S COLUMN b y J u l i e F ly n n "It was a splendid summer morning and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong." ~ John Cheever Jie Fly, Edit August 2015 Ahh, Summer...

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