Message Forum

Missing Contacts?

Ever since my drive home, several names have popped into my head that were missing from the weekend.

Anybody know the latest with

- Mike Del Bianco?

- Kathy Burk?

- Stan Kronenberger?

- Tim Lavelle?

- Dennis and Carolyn Winchester? (Carolyn and I were pretty close for years after graduation - but have fallen out of touch).

And have Donna Bain or Kathy Shanahan ever showed up? They were two of my late grade school crushes.

07/30/26 02:51 PM

#17379

Another "no-show" jsut occured to me. I was expecting to see Larry Foster, but I think he's in California now and that's a long trip.

Larry, if youre out there, give us a heads up sometime.

07/31/26 02:48 PM

#17380

Exclamation point.

At the reunion, I recieved several nice compliments on my tales from Vinh Long. It promted me to recall a little detail that should have been included in one long story,, "My Wildest 6 or 8 minutes - Ever! (April/26 - page 686 - post #17111.

Briefly recapping:

- Bob Tow and his Observer get shot down

- Their ship is burning

- I am at the stick, flying the C&C and fall into in a state of shock while my CO is going berserk in the right seat

- Jack Abbott lands his Loach, gets out, and runs over - under fire - from just across the rice paddy, sticks his face in the burning cockpit - but they are already out.

- Our gunships are pounding the source of fire (with rockets and mini-gun) and my left door gunner is firing his M-60 out at the source of fire (about 60 yards away). I hear his spent cartriges pinging on the floor at his feat.

- We get Bob on board and have to go hunting for his Observer - about 60 or 80 yards the other way where he had run and was hiding behind a dike line.

We pick him up and get the hell out of there.

WHAT DID I FORGET YOU ASK?

Get this.** It was that Observer's first day in the air, flying one of our missions !

Talk about timing?

If I recall correctly, he then went into the CO's office and asked to be transfered from flight status to ground maintenance duty - and they granted his request.

07/31/26 10:46 PM

#17381

that is one hell of a yarn dave.

got a great humorous ending to boot.

you've got a knack. and lord knows you've got good material.

this is the kind of stuff i used to live for, finding stories like this, particularly the years when I had the police beat, and then when I got in magazine writing and scouted out profiles of adventuresome types.

But nothing's better than a been-there, done-that first person story.

08/01/26 10:24 PM

#17382

Thanks Mike,

Yes, it does help to have some good material to draw from. But there were times when I'd have traded my situation for any sort of "dear God, get me the hell out of here" free card.

08/02/26 07:48 PM

#17383

Hope I turned the photo around..

08/02/26 07:49 PM

#17384

08/02/26 07:50 PM

#17385

08/02/26 07:50 PM

#17386

08/03/26 08:24 AM

#17387

Joseph Gentilini

Sure wish that I would have been able to be there. Thanks for all the pictures. joe

08/03/26 10:20 AM

#17388

just got a call from a fella I've known for a while; wrote a profile of him several years ago: Billy Collins.

thought I'd mention it here in case anybody's a fan.

He's a poet, a down to earth, charming one.

lives down here in orlando now.

Hope everybody's doing well.regards

plug his name into youtube if you are looking for something to pass the time. he's funny.

try billy collins and "the rain in portugal." that's the title of a recent collection

i suppose you might have rolled your eyes when i said i was excited about lunching with a poet but if you read something of billy's you'll change your mind i bet. he's a blast.

sure, i'd be more excited if i was lunching with a hooker or a gangsta but this will do just fine.

regards to all from sunny fla.

08/03/26 10:29 AM

#17389

Lorraine Heitchue

A big thanks to all of you who organized an very successful 60th reunion and all who attended. It was wonderful to reconnect with so many classmates. It was an amazing turnout and I look forward to our next reunion.

08/03/26 04:41 PM

#17390

Monica Haban (Brown)

08/03/26 04:42 PM

#17391

Monica Haban (Brown)

08/03/26 04:56 PM

#17392

Monica Haban (Brown)

08/03/26 07:52 PM

#17393

Joseph D. McCarthy

Had a great ;lunch today at the TAT, Livingston and James. It was the monthly Aquinas Alumni lunch. I share a table with a great Individual, the oldest living Aquinas Alumni; he is only a few months shy of his 99th birthday. His daughter drove him. Was presented with the card below, never saw one for Watterson.

Tonight, for the second time in a week, we ate dinner at Der Dutchman. Love the desserts. grabbed one of the flyers in case anyone has an interest in a free car show,

Sorry about the display.

08/04/26 06:26 PM

#17394

wow, joe. what an honor and privilege to have a history-book lunch companion. If I were still up there in columbus I'd ask to write up a story about him. May he make it to 100!

08/05/26 11:42 AM

#17395

what does it say about my level of sophistication that if you asked me for my favorite musical composition ever my immediate response would be a compositon that starts off like this:

"dum dum dum dumby do-wah! yay yay yay yay yahhh!"

08/05/26 01:05 PM

#17396

James Hamilton, M. D.

Roy Orbison.

08/05/26 07:58 PM

#17397

Never did understand why the glasses?

08/06/26 12:57 AM

#17398

hey dave

roy orbison had eyes that were hyper-sensitive to light, hence the dark glasses.

and hell yes it made him look cool but that wasn't why he wore them. which made him even more badass cool.

roy and i were major dudes back in the day

08/06/26 11:14 AM

#17399

Mark Schweickart

Mike -- I notice that in my class photo here, I have the same look as you do in your photo--same baddass bangs and glasses. Of course that was a baddass look back in the day, don't be so self-defecating, oops I mean self-deprecating. Rock on, street-rat!

08/06/26 11:23 AM

#17400

you're right mark. i'm selling myself short. the glasses, the bangs, the skinny tie - BADASS! hell yeah, its all coming back to me now. that was a don't-mess-with-me-or-I will-cut-you! look fer sure. gangsta! worked on the ladies too.

08/06/26 08:10 PM

#17401

Mark Schweickart

Dork out, my man! We were the coolest! (Although I doubt the females in our class would second that opinion.)

08/07/26 12:20 PM

#17402