Linda Cantrell:
CLASS OF 1976
Asheville High SchoolClass of 1976
Asheville, NC
University of TennesseeClass of 1980
Knoxville, TN
Linda's Story
I've been married to Jim 8 years (his 1st, my 2nd) and so thankful for him! We met at church (sat beside him in choir with his ending the tenor section and my beginning the alto section). We had so many fun times involved in a close group of "singles" from church. Those friiendships are still so close!!! Jim and I were friends for about a year and a half, (I'd "vowed" not to date) when I helped give his 50th birthday party. What a memory...a friend and I "kidnapped" him, blind-folded him, and hand-cuffed him to the back seat of my car, which was decorated to the hilt!!! All the way to W. Memphis, Ark., people responded with waves and "honking" for the "birthday boy", framed on the window!!! It's a miricle we made it alive!!!!! I could hardly see straight from laughing so hard!!! My heart "fell" 3 months later. He again, has a BIG birthday coming up June 12, so we both are making mental adjustments, "50 is the new 30 and 60 is the new 40?" He has worked at the FAA here in Memphis for the past 33 years. He's now managing "program development" and "security" issues, which is definitely an issue since 9/11. He moved from "watching airplanes" to a "desk" job on 9/10/2001. He missed the sudden "grounding" of all flights that next morning. Jim has always loved his job! When people mention the stress he had as an air traffic controller, he'd always say," Watching airplanes was a breeze compared to my first job teaching Middle School Math" (he probably can now add, "and raising 2 children since they were 10 and 12, with one of them being female!!!!!!). He goes to work early each day and then heads for a work out, goes to Kroger (yes, on a daily basis-why stop a habit developed all those years single?!!!), and usually heads for the par 3 course, after dinner. He loves golf, and usually has the golf channel on TV, always aiming to improve his swing. Someday, I want to join him in this "hobby". On a serious note, this spring has been sad with the unexpected death of Jim's mother Easter afternoon and 3 weeks later, his sister. It's made me realize that I need to enjoy each day and not waste opportunities to reach out to family and friends with a little more conscious effort, as if it could be my last! (Thus, an effort to keep in touch with old friends...) Seeing a sibling buried was a bit of a jolt for us both!!!!!
We have 2 children, who we adore (most of the time!!!) and are so thankful they too, trust in Christ as their Savior and Lord ! I will always consider these two miracles (all chilren are...) answered prayers, after having a rare, yet fierce cancer from my first pregnancy in 1984. I needed 2 months of chemo treatments in Memphis followed by 3 months at Duke, until I was "cured". I was so thankful Vicki "Johnson" was working at Duke and was there at my side during those months! Susan and Reid have such confidence and strength, beyond their years. We all learned so much through those years as I attempted to juggle the single parent household. I am amazed and thankful for God's grace on us!!!!
Susan, (named after my first best friend-Susan Joyner) is 20 and a Junior at The Univ. of Memphis (still trying to remember it's not "Memphis State", anymore) majoring in nursing. She is really beautiful, inside and out!!! Susan is my "singer" (besides Jim) in the family and won a scholorship her senior year, representing the HHS Concert Choir, and "crowned" HHS Senior Miss. I remember thinking, "who's that WOMAN up there?" One of our "making a memory" times with the choir was on a trip to NY and we actually managed to stand "front and center" for the outdoor crowd scanning segment on The Today Show. ( Yes, I was one of 2 "enthusiastic/crazy" parents to be one of the first in line at 4 am.) I know I made Germantown proud by answering, in my lovely Tennessee drawl, where we were from. Topping that one, though, was getting on the subway, along with a quartet of jazz singers, and being in awe as these talented men began singing. After they sang and money was flying into their container, some of the choir on our subway car began singing one of our rehearsed "southern spirtuals". The sounds in that car were something out of a "musical" with 2 groups of people taking turns singing jazzed tunes to the Lord! Susan followed in my footsteps to UT Knoxvile her freshman year (I came close to getting it in writing that she wasn't going to UT AND in to Nursing to please me....) Susan seemed to love UT until I received her first home sick call in February, that year. She seemed to "get over it", yet Jim and I were really surprised the next month when she told us she didn't want to return to UT Knoxville after her freshman year and wanted to attend the University of Memphis for her sophomore year, instead. (My blood gladly went from Big Orange-since 1980- to blue, when I read the nursing board passing rate was 98%) This change has made watching "the final 4" this year even more fun! She absolutely loves U of M and has made so many new friends from "Campus Outreach" first semester and from her nursing classes, second semester. She literally studied and babysat her entire second semester and did what it took to finish well. It was so fun being able to "host" the place for group study sessions around our diningroom table and provide brownies and pizza (sometimes in that order) to make Pharmacology or Nursing Care Plans more tolerable. She decided to move out of the house she rented near campus the end of May, which is great with us.(her pre-med roomie decided to "roomie" in Hong Kong after Christmas break) Susan is dating a great guy from Nashville...[I'm still pondering Great??? thinking about my new "granddog"/Susan's "birthday present" received the end of April. Mr. Banks, or Banks as we affectionately call him (named from the movie, "Father of the Bride") is a "schnoodle" puppy. He looks like a miniature stuffed animal black bear you'd see in gift shops in the Smokies. "He"s adorable, doesn't shed, hypoallergenic????, and thought to be very smart", (Michael will be OH so successful in sales!!!!!!!!!), yet we somehow missed the fact, in our initial google search for "schnoodles", that these precious little darlings are difficult to "potty train". Yes, Jim and I agreed that this new addition to the family would be great company to our lab/golden retreiver, who's broth...Expand for more
er passed a year ago. (Banks has brought Sammie back to life!!!!)Anyway, Susan and Michael started out as friends at UTK, both transferred to different schools the next year and met up on Face Book, last fall. She's now thankful for the years of thinking we'd "ruined her life" by brain-washing her standards that were too high and nonexistant!!!("there aren't guys like that, anymore, MOMA!")
My second "miricle" is Reid. He's an incredibly fun-loving and friendly guy and really has a kind heart! (He's "hot" too, yet I'm prejudiced!!! ) He had an awesome senior year with great grades, continued 1 1/2 year HS sweet heart romance (she really is a sweetheart!), and voted Senior Superlative "Best Personality" from the 550 senior class. This was a shock to him, and yet couldn't have made us happier!!! Reid's also a great student, as well. I can only think that those Sunday afternoons meetings at the computer viewing "Power School" listings of weekly grades, and Jim's "urging" to keep studying, really helped Reid to become such a good student. Reid really has shown us he's self disciplined to study in college, if he keeps his focus on what he wants. He loves ALL sports and works at a great fitness club, near home! ( He's got me on a great routine now!!!!) He isn't afraid to try new things, which I love!!!!!!!!!!!He loves basketball (has a great 3 pointer shot), golf, "running"-no jog to it..., skateboarding, and joined the LaCrosse team this past year. He too is involved with the youth group at church, and wants to join RUF at UTC. He's also thinking about the fraternity route, as Susan did at UT, and will see whether if it's a fit for him, as well. (Sort of hoping not, yet he'll need to figure that out at this point too) We just got back from his orientation, and WOW, have things changed. He is living with 3 guys from his HS in an "apt." on campus with each having their own room and a DOUBLE bed in each room, a huge kitchen and den!!!!. (far cry from my freshman dorm with concrete block walls with a "community" bath down the hall!!!) I absolutely love Chattanooga and now am so glad he picked that school. Reid is going pre-med and right now wants to be a pediatrician. He loves kids!!!! Reid's in that stage of "Hi/see ya later".... I have such a peace that he's as ready as a freshman can be to start college. I'm really thankful for him and his love for others!!!
For me, I can only say I feel like I am coming back to life!!!! I was misdiagnosed 7 years ago with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia, which has really affected my "get up and go" spirit!!! The chronic fague/fibromyalgia symptoms were diagnosed by an allergist last July with an MRI of my neck (have been having asthma/choking symptoms spring to fall since 2000, also, yet misdiagnosed as "anxiety"..... Ya think my blonde curly hair and "enthusiastic/fast talking might have been a part of the problem?), and 2 bulging neck discs and inflammation causing a "90 year old" neck turned out to be the culprit. In August, the pain suddenly got worse and I affectionately named this pain, "the hatchet". I had surgery on the front of my neck (now missing C-6 and fused with a graft from my hip) in Nov. All went perfectly, except that when trying to wean off the neck brace after 3 weeks, I'd turn my head, and my legs would go numb. After several weeks of "weaning trials", my surgeon found that my 90 year old neck also had a detached ligament from the back, that must have "detached" even more with the 1st surgery. (this could only be diagnosed with an x ray looking up- which all CT's /MRI's are done straight ahead.) Anyway, the end of Jan. I had another surgery, this time from the back, and I am doing really well. I was so dissapointed though, because I had lost my "pre-op" position at an orthopeadic surgery center near home because I hadn't been there a year (11 months) to extend my leave of absence, as per policy. I really loved "calming" people down and getting them ready for surgery, and it was so rewarding to make such a scary time as smooth and easy as possible. I was "cleared" for full duty/no limitations the end of March, yet I'm slowly looking again for a pre-op position near home again, yet these positions aren't vacated often. I'm really having fun though working out again, (going to PT too to make sure I don't mess anything up!) and enjoying being home with everyone under one roof again (most of the time...). It's great to have the extra time to catch up on cleaning out the attic/garage/ect. clutter, that those years of feeling blaaaaa moved this task down the priority list. I am so thankful though, that there isn't noticable, permanent "cord" damage, except for numb big toes. I did notice I felt slightly less coordinated at times in aerobics classes years ago or "line dancing"at our 30th reunion, yet I just thought I was getting old....out of practice. Anyway, during the 5 months in a neck brace, unable to read or look down to do anything, I had a lot of time to think and pray and hope for a full recovery and also a bunch of time to think about my life to this point! I am so thankful that trials do bring me closer to the Lord! I have a greater love for Him than ever and now have a new "security blanket" in my IPOD with songs that SO encourage me to keep my mind and thoughts on Him! One of my favorite memories at Destin this year was literally staying in the ocean for hours at a time with these praise songs roaring in my ears. I told Jim and the kids that I felt like I was almost dancing in the waves...Michael's quick comeback to that was, "people probably thought you've been doing acid....!" The best time was going 30 minutes parasailing, again with IPOD intact! I felt like a child in awe again of God's grace in my life and His beautiful creation before my eyes! ( I can only imagine worshipping in heaven on a beach with a mountain behind me........)
Well, my "story" is long, yet I've loved sharing my version up to this point with ya'll. If anyone has an updated list of our class roster/addresses, I'd love one. It's been since 2000 that I sent out a Christmas card. I'd love to think that with my renewed energy, (and "sort-of" empty nest...), I'll be able to start annually keeping up with old friends, again!
We plan to be in Asheville this Thanksgiving, and would love to know if any HS gatherings are planned.
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