Are You Still Interested?
We have run a number of surveys and requests for participation in the last month or so.
Mostly, I’m just trying to figure out if you are still out there and if you still care about this website.
And by “website”, I really mean “the class of 1968”. It is so easy to just move on with your life and forget. I have been tempted many times to do just that!
Did you know that we have perhaps the most active class website in the entire world? I keep looking around and all I see is abandoned, seldom visited sites in the ClassCreator system. We get more responses in a day than many get in 5 months.
So let’s look at a few numbers.
1. Vickie Burke’s story got a huge response. Over 50 of you checked out this story in the first two days! This is similar to Will Hanna’s narrative and Mike Martin’s story. This shows me that we, as a class, are interested in each other’s journey through life. We are all in the same boat.
2. The “education story” was huge. 20 of you contributed your stories and we found another 15 in your profile bits. I realize that some of you are shy about talking up your accomplishments. But your lives set inspirational standards for later generations. We need to hear what you have done. None of it was easy.
3. Were the photos worth the money we spent on them? Your answer was a unanimous “Yes”. Many of you probably thought the question was ridiculous, once all the numbers were presented. I agree.
4. In a somewhat confusing survey, I asked you who the “best crowd estimator” was in the former committee. I, personally, got zero votes, so thanks a lot! People who did get votes include Jerry Mason, Linda Brownlee, Pam Hunt and Vicki May and a couple others. The estimates of the committee ranged from 95 to 205! I had the highest estimate of the “reasonable” guesses. My educated estimate was 153. Janet Ward’s “totally irresponsible” guess was 205! The final actual total was (drum roll here): 194, including teacher guests and various workers. So Janet Ward was the winner in this contest. I came in a distant second. Nobody else was even on the same planet because they were far too conservative. It will be similar for 10-10-2020.
5. I asked about your interest in a 10-10-2020 celebration of 70 years on this earth. The response was OVERWHELMING. I should publish the comments. Anyway, over 30 responded and there was not a single negative response! Enthusiastic people said “Yes”, while the more introspective and timid ones — realizing that we are talking about an event far into the future — said “maybe”. It appears that we will have no problem filling up the Crest with fun people on 10-10-2020. Stay tuned. You will decide how much it will cost each person, what food will be served, possibly decorations, and whether or not we will have pro photos. The big communal birthday cake will be your decision, also.
6. I published a list of those who could not, or chose not to, attend the 2018 activities. This also got a huge response from you, our readers. We hope to see them all on 10-10-2020. How often do you get to have a do-over in life? We can’t wait to see all those who did not make the 2018 events.
Well, that’s just a few hits we’ve had over the past weeks. I’ve had my share of misses, too, but I still enjoyed writing them and presenting them to the class. My misses could be the favorites of some of you oddballs out there. That’s the way we roll here.
As Mike Beckerdite told me at the reunion, “Jim, you were so anti-social in high school!” He was absolutely right. Some of us grow and others just stay the same. Which are you? Have you grown as a person or stayed the same?