Don (Donald) Barker:  

20221108 Well, I've been "active" on classmates for over a year and have little to show for it except a gradual leak in my checking account... no big deal but going to suspend the account again, for a while. I still receive USPS at: PO Box 1444 Valley Springs, CA. 95252, if someone REALLY wants to make contact with me. But the clock is ticking faster then ever so write me a note and slap a stamp on the envelope... the way we used to do it. It would be fun to hear from you. 20191107 Suspending my classmates.com account for a while. I'll renew every now and then to check in. 191023 Addendum (after re-reading my 20150813 entry below...) I attended the 50 year class reunion for our class and neighboring classes ('66 - '72) from our time in high school. My first reunion in 30 years. I regret I was not able to attend all the functions over the weekend but it was good to see those of you I did touch base with. I won't lie, I know I had a blank look on my face quite a few times as I tried to connect a new face with an old name and a dangling photo that I'm suppose to remember from way back when... I know everybody else must have been in that mode too, at least on Oct. 11. Maybe by the 12th everybody was up to speed with faces and names but I doubt it. AND - it would have been very cool to see those who only came on Sat. I had long since reserved Oct. 11 but didn't account for the 12th being so well attended—as rumor has it. I was hesitant to attend the reunion for reasons I may still discover but it was far more comfortable than I imagined. It seems the passing of time, like wind and rain leveling the terrain, it becomes an equalizer in a welcomed and humbling way. I'm glad I attended. It was good to see so many and even so I know I missed touching base with others. Sally had put out the word for photos from those days gone by and she included a request for a wide range of photos, as in ANYTHING. I was not into photos much before I finally bought a digital camera in this century. But I did come across a Little League team group shot from 1962 — The Bees. Looking at it I realized all but a couple of those team mates went on through high school at Folsom. I had forgotten how long ago some of those relationships began. I'm sure there is a book, an autobiography, in each one of you/us that covers the years since those high school days. And I've got to say, I feel a sense of loss knowing there is so much detail and personal account that I will never get to hear, imagine and empathize with. This seems unavoidable yet remembering we are all more alike than dissimilar is the real takeaway. So, now I suppose we are looking toward reunion #55 or something. We'll see how it goes between here and there. As has been the case for me, I can't see paying $18 a month to maintain a classmates account when all they do is send me reminders that "someone remembered you" from 5 - 10 years before; long after I got the message. (I'm sure that person has forgotten me by now, anyway ;-) But just know, I'm not being unfriendly if I don't re...Expand for more