Carl James:  

Practiced architecture for 40 years, retiring two years ago last August. Work was interfering with my hobbies. Built a Japanese style deck addition (pagoda) first year with a couple of fountains. Landscaped a lot using oriental plants. Also got into genealogy. Have done serious photography for about twenty years finally taking the best of my Ozarks black and white photos and poetry and compiling them into a book entiled AUX ARCS Black & White Photography Of The Ozarks Region available for $9.99 from me. The book is also available at Borders Music and Books, National Art Shop, Waverly House Gifts and Gallery, Lawrence Photo, Reniassance Music and Books, Ozark Adventures, etc Update 5-31-10 I am sorry for dropping off the face of the earth. My activities since the last comments have been starting another book, trying to market the first one, taking photographs for the second one and doing some traveling. My youngest son, Seth, and I took a 4 day May canoe trip on the Buffalo taking photos and running into two characters who we camped with one night. They travel the entire length of the Buffalo every year and pick up old tires, taking them down the river to trash pick-up points at the river put-in points. 50 YEARS Since I tend tot be a little outspoken, I decided to make a few reunion remarks. Wasn't Jeannie Trotter's poem grand? It is a wonder I made it because I tried on abut 20 pants I could get barely past my knees. Then, when I managed to sausage my legs into a pair I went to open the car, got in and "click" some absent-minded old fart didn't completely shut the door. I just had time to take a cab.. Great! I could get drunk but it's not near the fun it used to be. So, I bribed Judy Payne into taking me home for a book. Ageless people like Cheryl Crosswhite are proof the world isn't fair. Then there's banker Bill Monday looking posed, sedate, kind of like one of the angles in City of Angels. Bill is one of those guys who are successful due to hard work and being poor for a while, and gaining a wealth of experience when young actually we were looking at a hologram that just stepped out of the annual of Bill and Sharon. We have to mention those with the guts to make mid life career changes. Glen Giboney, William Carner, Angela Sponsler Norma Ramsey, I salute you for turning and deciding to do what you really wanted confidence to go do what you really want. I can see Glen standing in his classroom in the morning and is eyes glass over and he says....boy, do I love the smell of roof tar in the morning. We were a class who were eligible for service in the Vietnam War. Some died and some keep dreaming and reliving. Without being too political, the Washington memorial was designed by an Asian Architectural Student. It is memorable, not beautiful and looks like the ugly gash the war left on this country. We did a disservice to those who committed their lives and the country didn't. Then the country tried to atone it's sins by using Lt. Calley as a whipping boy. Our mistake was not that we did or didn't support the war but we had no unified approach. But, we, in good conscience couldn't. It feels wrong to me that we vacation there , laugh, have fun, a slap in the face to those whose blood lies in the ground. Yet we never seem to learn.... It amazes me that there are still good marriages that started as romances in high school. I respect your hard work and flexibility. We have lost many over the years and although life is random, unbiased and single-minded, it can still be softened by our love and kindness and I saw a lot of...Expand for more