The Ankeney Chargers – Part Two: The Officers
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
When I first moved from Fairbrook to Ankeney in the Fall of 1984, our former arch rivals from Valley Elementary were converging into the same junior high. Therefore I had a whole new set of faces and potential friends and enemies. The smart kids now had more competition, the pretty girls now had more competition, and the popular kids now had more competition if they were going to be running as class officers. My friend Eric Welch attempted his bid for the 7th grade presidency, but it was not to be. There was a new regime of smart pretty girls who were taking over. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the many cool things about the Hollywood Show in Burbank being held on Saturday, April 24, 2010, was the fact that they were having a great Mouseketeer reunion of kids from The Mickey Mouse Club. Two of those present were 
Lisa Baker and I went through all 13 years of school together…from the lowly kindergarten class at Fairbrook Elementary to graduation day at Beavercreek High School. Along the way, we shared moments of both disdain and awkward crushes – but I always considered her to be a constant friend. We first shared the same classroom during second grade in Mrs. Deets’ class (her picture from that year seen at left), and then again the following year in Mrs. Corn’s third grade class. There were times when we got along fine and then there were others when I can remember her eyes shooting daggers at me during Mrs. Owens music class. And I have no doubt it stemmed for some display of obnoxiousness from me like, oh say, tapping my cowboy boot to the music. 
The fun continued as we rolled into the last full day of the 17th International Sons of the Desert convention – Saturday, June 19, 2010. Our time together had felt like it had just begun and we were already winding down. Nevertheless, I was determined to make the most of the day ahead. There weren’t any planned activities for the morning, so Jimmy, David, and I decided to head over to Old Sacramento and check out the California State Railroad Museum when it opened at 10am.