John Parsley:
CLASS OF 1966
Montgomery Blair High SchoolClass of 1966
Silver spring, MD
Woodside elementary SchoolClass of 1960
Silver spring, MD
John's Story
First, Woodside elementary school. Was there from 1953-1960, and I remember our longtime principal Miss Young,
and the teachers that I had there. I remember the school fairs in May and the nice cafeteria, and Mrs. Holiday was the head of the cafeteria. Lunch was not much. It was 35 cents at Blair High School so it must
have been less than that! I have posted a class photo of our 5th grade class at Woodside school. Click above
here on photos. Recess was the most fun, but they don't do that these days?
Remember Montgomery Hills Jr. High? I didn't like it so much but I remember some good friends there!
It has been a long time since we graduated from Blair, and I remember being photographed for my class photo with my classmates in the Blair football stands. A few years ago I happened upon a member of the class of '66 and he showed me his copy of the photo, and it was the first time I had seen it. We all looked so neat and well scrubbed! I have had names left in my online guestbook from as early as the class of 1956 and as late, I think, as
the class of 1980. We all share something, after attending that school bordered by Wayne Avenue and Dale Drive and Sligo Creek Parkway.
The biggest thing to happen there, to me, was hearing of the assassination of Pres. JFK. First I heard
of it was in 5th period Biology, and when they knew he was dead they played the radio account of
it all through the PA system. Some girls were flat out crying, and some boys were sniffling. That
was awful. Remember the football games and Blair won it all one year? 1964?
Anyway it has been a while, and I wonder if things turned out for you all the way you expected?
When I graduated...I didn't want to think about t...Expand for more
he big decisions coming up soon in my life. Where would I work, and where would I live and who would I marry? Would I be a royal mess up or would I be a brilliant success?
I didn't feel ready to think about a job, or decide who to marry, or what kind of a person I would be! Couldn't I just pass on those questions for about ten years?
I saw some of you at Montgomery (Junior)College, and later more of you at College Park, and then I could not put off the big decisions anymore. I got a job in the government doing things that I did not love, but at least they were things I could understand. I met a girl from southern Virginia and before I knew it...I was in love and married. Presto-chango, all my big decisions seemed to have been settled without much real decision making on my part. Things just happened.
I slowly moved up in my job, and then children came along and one thing leads to another. We bought a home, and everything is settled. Everything was until I was 53, and one day, with no warning, I felt myself collapse to the floor with an awful headache and my last thought was that this was it.
It very nearly was.
I had suffered a cerebral bleed caused by a type of inherited aneurysm that I had no idea I had. Amnesia was mine for some three weeks plus, and then I found myself in rehab trying to return from something that the doctors at first thought would easily kill me.
The wife that I had chosen had stuck by me and had been an angel to me. She prayed like one, too. Returning from this was the hardest thing I ever faced, but in time it happened. It was five years to completely recover, but it came.
I send my greetings and best regards, to all my classmates from a lifetime ago!!!
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