From: KChristieH@aol.com [mailto:KChristieH@aol.com]
Hi! My name is Kathy Hernandez, and I'm going to be PTA president at Palm
Crest next year. I wanted to let you know that I LOVE your site, and have
created a link to it from our new Palm Crest PTA site (www.palmcrest.org)
It's on the Kid Links page, under "Palm Crest Long Ago"

I'd appreciate it if you'd substitute palmcrest.org for the Palm Crest link
you currently have. That site is hardly ever updated, and its future is
uncertain.

Anyway, thanks for producing such a great site!

From: Cheryl
Thank you for letting me know you like the site, and that I need to change
the link. I'll probably do that later today, and will let you know it's
done.

A handful of times I found myself re - membering myself gently talking with someone about memories, talking with someone about things we'd not "dared" to talk about before, and subtly mending some fences. I reconnected with friends from high school, and I've made some new friends that I didn't know well in high school and wish I had.

In bed sleeping afterwards I'd wake myself up a bit cuz in my dreams the reunion continued, and not necessarily with people I knew well. I heard myself muttering, "Uh huh" and chuckling as the reunion continued in my head sleeping, and awakened once with the picture of Richard Jewell in my head. Awakened again by my mutterings, I said to myself, "God, Cheryl, give it a rest!", turned over and tried to go to sleep again.

So here's my experience of the evening...

At our home my 15yo stepson was getting ready for his first Homecoming Dance with his first serious girlfriend. He hadn't planned ahead to be sure to have rides to and from, and decided at the last minute that he did need a new shirt. So between getting ourselves ready, we were resolving some other issues. That's why my husband didn't get to the ATM as planned.

We found Country Club Dr and kept driving past it to find an ATM. My husband, new to the area, and my very vague memory, helped us both to go for a long drive hunting for the elusive ATM. We finally ended up on Foothill Blvd in La Canada down near Sports Chalet. Then back on Verdugo to find the Country Club.

Immediately the crowd could be seen just inside. People signed in and generally had their sitdown picture taken immediately. I talked to many, then finally sat down to look at the 4 phone numbers I had thankfully thought to write down before I'd left home. I asked my husband what time it was in Washington DC. He said about 10:30pm. You can imagine my surprise to find Michelle Colella home. *grin* I quickly got busy to find as many people as I could who wanted to talk to her. I couldn't remember who all her friends were, and didn't recognize some faces, so I just approached everyone quickly to ask if they knew her and wanted to talk to her. I think she ended up talking to 15-20 people. Unfortunately - I hadn't found Julie French at that particular time - she wishes she'd had the opportunity to talk to Michelle.

I don't know what was said between Michelle and all those people. Anyone willing to share, please email me. I got on the phone as the last person in line to talk to her had finished, and I started to cry. *shaking my head* Those were the only tears I shed last night. I can cry when I'm deeply touched, and I was happy to have been able to bring some reunion to Michelle. Someday I hope to have a re - membering conversation with her.

I tried to call Mike Collins. His phone rang off the hook, and no answering machine. I realize his wife had surgery. Hope all is well.

Nancy Lazare had made it to the reunion, so I didn't need her phone number. And, Irene Peters , I decided I'd had my reunion with, and she's had reunion with others so I didn't need to call her.

I didn't realize I wasn't the only one who hated a particular elementary teacher who shall remain nameless. I shared with them that to my horror, my niece who came to live with us for a year when I was in 6th grade, became best friends with that teacher, and I had to deliver notes to the teacher from my niece for years afterward.

Here are some of the scenes that are in my head that I'm willing to share - a very tall and handsome Jim Nichols , the dancers on the dance floor, Leigh Zeitz - since when did he become such a risk taker on the dance floor? It was obvious he'd had some lessons. Someone got the bright idea of gathering all those from La Canada Elementary and taking a picture. Later in the evening I believe it was Palm Crest or Paradise Canyon Elementary alumni gathering. '72 Steve Loop searching all over for Jean Summerfield cuz his mother told him to. Steve arrived with (ooops, almost did it again - they are not related as closely as I thought - brother and sister. They suspect they have distant ancestors in common) Kathy Loop.

Some of us pointing and (mmmm...how would I put that? Yum) asking, "Who is THAT?!?" David Swain.

Kozue (spelling?) from Japan has not changed a bit. I was stunned to learn Margaret Sirola is living in Scotland and had come to the reunion. Tron came from Norway, and of course Gary Fentiman from New Zealand.

Janet Orvis had brought me copies of elementary school, then I found Phil Young for her to show them to, and we never exchanged the pics as planned. Hopefully she's at the picnic today, or we'll manage to do it online.

Jeff Peters, who was working with the Beach Boys, hooked up for a bit with Michelle McGrath's husband who's working with Jan & Dean.

BTW, Michelle McGrath has and is living quite an interesting life, a life filled with stars (the tv and movie kind), and now a marriage/family therapist with a very busy family life.

Scott Williams was asking, as I was, where the heck was Joey? Joe Melendrez said he'd be at the football game, and at the reunion. We missed you.

I had left my husband at the table, gone off to take pictures, and ended up talking to my first husband's cousin for some time. My husband displayed much, much more patience than I did at one of our early dates back in '92 when he took me to a dance where he knew everyone, and disappeared for 2 hours. We declined to join Leigh Zeitz and Dennis Phinney (and who else?) at a coffee shop after the reunion to talk more. My husband and I drove home, cuddled in bed and reconnected.

Those of you who weren't there - many questions were asked about, "Have you heard from...?" Linda Tyler spoke about going to the reunions, and finding to her surprise more people than she expected who remembered her and wanted to talk. I hope our 40th reunion will be filled with those of you who didn't make it to this one.

The reunion will continue online. Scott's and my site will remain up. Reunion pictures will be on his site

http://www.lchs71.com/

probably captioned with his unique humor *thinking about it with a slow grin then an appreciative growing chuckle*. BTW Scott, there were several people who said, "I didn't remember Scott as being so cute?!?"

There were people who told me a few memories that I would love to see posted. I asked them to email me what they remember. One story from last night especially comes to mind - Julie French said Scott Fuller mentioned about the time he almost killed Mr. Barker."

10/21/2001 "Dear Cheryl,

David Hill, PhD (lchs '69)