A Video From Michael Basconcillo

Michael asked me to post this video from the reunion. Click this link to view it.

http://sharing.theflip.com/session/b8e779136779b9143f19abfd35ff3149/video/6278250

Enjoy! Thanks Michael!

A Call for Photos

If you were at the reunion and happened to take photos there, we would like to have digital copies of them by September 30th. You may send a DVD to Dawn Lucrisia-Johnson. Just email her at dawnlucrisia@comcast.net to get her address.

Thanks.

Oh What Fun!

The CHS 30 year reunion was a success. A good time was had by all. We spent the night laughing, talking, hugging and reacquainting ourselves. There were old photos from elementary school and Kevin McCormick even brought a 2nd grade photo that had 8 of us in it. Boy were we little cuties!

Darcy (Aalbers) Almeida and Michael Basconcillo were shooting the breeze in this photo. Charles Nance and Scott Hagan were next to them, but so engrossed in conversation that they didn't even pay attention to me. I guess we know who the hams of the class are.

Betty (Stillmaker) Chinn was snapping away. I wonder if her finger is tired? Betty was my elementary school friend and her mother was the leader of our Brownie group.

Roxanne, another childhood friend, was pointing to her lipstick that was part of the make-up line she distributes. It lasted all night...and the sample strokes are still on my hand from the picnic on Sunday. She looks fabulous, but my hand...well that's a different story.

Marie O'Neal and Keri (Robinson) Elleby. These two are like two peas in a pod. I don't know if you can ever get them apart. It's great to see lasting friendships such as these. We have always managed to have fun together.

Phyllis Ames, Milo Lambie and Teri Hunter were having a good time. Phyllis recently returned to Seattle from St. Louis, Teri stayed local and Milo is in DC now. Being on the east coast, his Queens, NY accent has returned and is thicker than ever (evah). He is one of the only people I know that really pronounces my name right. In 1980 on my visit to see Jill Hashimoto in NY when she was in college, Milo and I hit the town, stayed up all night dancing at the Electric Circus and went to Blimpies immediately after for sub sandwiches. It was a New York moment for sure. Then it was back on the train to "Bronxville, Bronxville". Oh the sweet memories!

Danny Ma and I used to dance up a storm together. I am so glad that something I said to him tugged at his heart and persuaded him to come at the last minute. The last time I saw him was at my wedding six years ago. I used to cut his whole family's hair. He contributed the wonderful post before this one and he was so awesome that he got fellow classmates to jot down some of their thoughts on the reunion. He will share them with us later.

It is important that while we are still reeling from the success of the reunion that we start thinking about the next one. We want to drum up some more help for that one. Linda Nichols said she had some ideas and maybe she'll want to be part of planning the next one. Anyone else who is interested, please say "I"!

To all of you that didn't come because you had other obligations, health situations, financial responsibilities, we missed you! For those of you that didn't want anything to do with it or couldn't find a single good reason why you should go, we missed you too! Our attitudes remained positive from beginning to end and we were hopeful that others would join us at the last minute and they did. We stepped out and came together, even some of the most apprehensive, and we had a great time. Here's to the next one! Start saving some money now.

We are progressing in our lives and no one knows what tomorrow brings. As we grow older, we will begin to lose our classmates. We have already lost Eric Waters, Karen Miller, Johnny Nelson and Mark Manolides, not to mention the spouses of some of our classmates. It is my desire to help us to keep building and rekindling relationships. It does a heart good.

A Post from Danny Ma - Thank you Danny!

Last minute yes!

We, the CHS class of ’79, are a group of people that shared a history. We traveled through life surviving high school and beyond: singleness, weddings, kids, funerals, divorces and illnesses. We traveled through life with joy, laughter and even tears, and these experiences over the past 30 years have changed us; it is just a matter of in what capacity and the severity each of us have changed. Where on the change spectrum are all of us on?

Natural physical changes: gaining weight, graying/losing hair and other bodily changes.

Spiritual changes: which religion, if any, and how devout.

Learning changes: degrees and/or life experiences gained.

Familial changes: single, partnered/married, separated, divorced, single again, remarried,…

Generational changes: lost grandparents or parents, became parents or grandparents…

Employment changes: retired, still working, still looking for work, underemployed, employed by company, self-employed, working from home,…

Gains/losses: jewelry, cars, boats, real estate, 401k became 201k, net worth portfolio...

Midlife crisis: not there yet, entering one, lost in one, exiting one, been there and done that…

Most importantly: we each have loved and have been loved.

We, the CHS class of ’79, have lived approximately half of our lifetime. 30 years ago, we had dreams and ambitions to impact the world. Let us socialize together for one evening to encourage and be encouraged to rekindle the same, or form new ones for the decades yet to come.

I was “on the fence” about attending the 30 year reunion. There are valid reasons not to attend, but one of the lessons I try to teach our boys at home: choose a loving response then act out that loving response, in short, choose love and resonate love. It is part of our family mission statement. So in that spirit of thought, I choose to attend the reunion, and would like to know how life has changed each of you and your plans for the future! Hope to see you there!J

Danny Ma

Do You Know Where These Classmates Are?

We don't seem to have any information on these classmates. If you know where they are, can you give us a shout at chs79.30yr@gmail.com or let them know we're looking for them. Thanks.

Wing Keung Cheung
Lourdes Franada/Leano
Linda Green/Kilekas
Ly Vang
Lilly Ng
Chau Nguyen
Patricia Spears
Mark Tibbs
Vincent Wong
Cynthia Wong
Katrina Hunter
Susan Chin
Jackie Olmstead
Jeanette Mitchell
Montgomery Paul Nickell
Frank Fernandes
Joanne Lam
Terrance Maes

We Have Spirit Yes We Do! We Have Spirit, How About YOU?

We hope the CHS Class of 1979 show's their spirit by coming to the reunion. I know, sometimes we dread things that we think will be a drag, when they aren't a even a drag at all. Okay, the 10 year reunion wasn't very good at all, but the 20 year was a blast. It was fun to see everyone and just talk and laugh. Let's make the 30 year the same if not better! We'll see you there!

Cleveland High School 1979 30 Year Reunion
Sept 12, 2009

6pm-10pm
Safeco Field, First Base Terrace Club
$79.00 per person includes dinner
Adults only.

By now you should have received your invitations and are hopefully stuffing your RSVP and check back in the envelope right now. The RSVP's are starting to roll in and that's exciting.

If you haven't received your invite, please email chs79.30yr@gmail.com and give us your current address so we can send it out to you.

That was then....this is now! Photo Submission Deadline Extended to August 30th

Jesse Marinoff Reyes was kind enough to send us some photos. He is unable to make it to the reunion, but he will be there in spirit. He resides in Brooklyn, New York with the two loves of his life, his wife Amy and beautiful daughter Melina. Melina is so adorable she almost makes me want to have more children (NOT!).

As you may remember, Jesse was a very talented artist. After discovering that the UW design program was a bit lack luster, he bolted for a more humble, but respected commercial art program at SCCC, graduating in 1983. He decided to New York City in 1989 to join former Rocket art director Robert Newman at the rock magazine, Guitar World, succeeding him as design director shortly thereafter. Reyes was later co-editor of Harris Comics, art director of Slant magazine for Urban Outfitters, and design director of The Village Voice alternative newspaper. He has also been a consulting designer for the magazines Entertainment Weekly, Details, POV, Vibe, and No Depression (the alternative-country music magazine). In the mid-90s, Reyes transitioned to book publishing and was an associate art director at Penguin Books (his cover designs have graced a variety of subjects: the work of literary figures like Jack Kerouac, Jorge Luis Borges, Iris Murdoch, and John Mortimer; biographies ranging from historic figures like Michael Collins, Crazy Horse, and Thomas Paine, to cultural and sports figures like John Coltrane, Ethel Merman, Yogi Berra, Joe Namath, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Gale Sayers; as well as books as diverse as a punk-rock memoir, The Crusades, both world wars, Richard Nixon's presidency, and a history of the horror movie).

Reyes is one of a select few new American designers included in the 1994 edition of the Who's Who in Graphic Design, an international, juried review of leading design professionals, as well as having his work featured in many other books and design publications, and has won numerous industry awards. In 2000, Reyes authored a design survey book, "Next: The New Generation in Graphic Design."

In 2006, Reyes married his long-time girlfriend, the former Amy Bowman, who is production manager for Random House Children's Books. In 2007, Amy gave birth to their daughter Melina Dolores Consuela Reyes. Reyes now freelances from home in Brooklyn, and spends a lot of time watching Melina grow up. Jesse states, "The economy may be DOA, but even in these dark times the clouds do have a silver lining or two. For me, my little girl is the rainbow after the storm."