Monica Mackinnon:
CLASS OF 1983
The Whiteman SchoolClass of 1983
Steamboat springs, CO
The Whiteman SchoolClass of 1983
Steamboat springs, CO
Brillantmont High SchoolClass of 1983
Lausanne,
Coronado High SchoolClass of 1983
Scottsdale, AZ
Supai Elementary SchoolClass of 1979
Scottsdale, AZ
Monica's Story
Life
All of my kids have up and grown. My youngest is going to be 20 this year. He's planning on going to school for Auto Collison and Repair. My oldest son will be 21 in just weeks. He is a plumber. His daughter and my granddaughter is already 3. She's smart and has been hanging out with her Gramms every other friday until her dad gets off work! Needless to say she's a little on the spoiled side of life, but I have come to realize that there is no greater gift in life than to have a grandchild. Her personality and sassiness remind me so much of my daughter when she was that age. Which, brings me to my daughter who is going to be 24 in just a few months. She has moved off to Georgia and is pursuing a degree in TV and Film Production. I am very proud of all my children.
School
Wow, School seems so long ago! Is it just me or has time just flown by! Let's see all go back and capture the highlights of my school years. Strarting with Frank Elementary. Back then, I was quite the hellian. The thing I remember the most was going to the little tienda in the back of the school grounds, of course we were not supposed to leave school grounds. There is one particular candy, I remember I just had to have. I don't know what it is called, but it fizzled in your mouth.
Supai Elementary was my next great adventure. I think I spent more time at home than I did in school. Where ever trouble it would find me! Finally in 7th and 8th grade, I discovered my talents. I was a pretty gifted athlete. There wasn't a sport I didn't play. Mrs. Eischman was very successful in helping me turn things around. I even got selected to the National Junior Honors Society.
I do not recall a whole lot about Coronado High School except that I used to truck on my bicycle almost 2 miles to get there. The only thing I cared about was basketball, and I slept, ate and breathed it 24/7.
Next came the infamous Whiteman School. What great memories I have. We were always up to no good, and we made a life of getting away with it. I remember all those little hikes out to the hot springs. What fun we used to have. That year there was not a whole lot of snow, so we skiied on the rocks most of the time. A kidney stone kept me from the Gallapagos Islands. How I would have loved to go on that trip.
Then I had to go to Brillamont. I was pretty much against the idea from day one, but little did I know the mischief that lie before me. We thought we were so slick when we used to sneak into the dining room and change all of the serviettes. They caught on to us eventually. I can still her Mdme Dubois say, "Passez vous la salad a votre comarade." Then there were those oral exams with Mdme Frei. She used to shake her head at me and say, "Ce n'est pas possible, Monique!" Oh and the most memorable occasion was at the Movanpick, where we all got sick on the Tete a la Tete binge. For those that do not know what that is, it is a huge bowl with 16 scoops of different kinds of icecream. The hot chocolate syrup and the carmel syrup aided in our foolish demise.
Finally, after begging and pleading I got to finish my senior year at Whiteman. What a wonderful senior year I had. I think the worst thing I was told that year was from Mr. Bear, "I don't care how late your papers are. You can turn them in at the end of the term, but if they are not A papers, you will lose a grade." Needless to say, I only had one paper that I received a 75 on. Our class had a lot of fun, and we made it our business to have fun! There is one particular time I remember waking up in my bunk not knowing how I got there. So for all those who carried me up the ridge in back of the girls dorm and through my roommates' window, I just want to say thanks!!! I believe it was the influence of those younger classman that got us in that pickle that day!!! Senior trip was a blast!!! Of course the 6 glorious days in a Russian hospital for the measles was not my highlight!!! I am still waiting for the i...Expand for more
nvitations to go out for our reunion in Jamaica!!!
College
College right now is all still a blur! I will have to get back at a later time.
Workplace
I did my share of flipping burgers, making pizza and telemarketing in my younger days. Then I was off to the Army.
When I got out, I did mostly patient care as a Paramedic. The Medical Center of Mesquite was where I stayed the longest before I realized I wasn't getting anywhere fast. I worked just about everywhere in that hospital. My main place of employment was in the ER. We had a lot of good times and not so good times there. When we got the opportunity to let our hair down, boy, how we did!! For the most part life was very stressful because we were busy most of the time. I remember gurneys back to back in the hallways and another ambulance coming in. Of course back in those days we didn't have enough space. Now they have a brand new ER. I was a natural kidder, and I did my best to liven up the place. I'll never forget the time when Dr. Barrera showed up on the scene.
I was standing outside the Trauma room, and he asked me what I did there. My reply, "I get paid to stand around and look pretty all day!" Needless to say, he did not know how to take me. Then there were those CPR classes. I think of all the things I did at that hospital, that was the most gradifying. The scenarios I created were the best part!!!
Military
I was the first private introduced to pushups in my basic training class. I will never forget my dirll sergeants, SSG Davis and SSG Reed. One called me guideon and the other called me giddion. It was the mispronuctiation that caused me to begin my long string of pushups on Ft. Jackson. Oh did I tell you, I was left footed and had great difficulty learning how to march. They may have not taught me how to march, and I still can't keep in step to this day; but, I did end up receiving the High PT award.
Back then, AIT and Basic were two worlds apart. We went from having no liberties in Basic, to my Platoon Sergeant in AIT saying, "Here's your bunk, your linens and now get yourself ready, and I don't want to see you until Monday morning." Was she saying we could go anywhere, do anything we wanted? Wow, she didn't have to tell me twice. The Sword and Key became our hang out, and I remember low crawling out of there on several occasions!
I did a stent in the Army Reserves for a while, but that didn't last too long because I wanted to be a real soldier. We were just Weekend Warriors!!!
I still remember that Toga party we had out there in the field on Ft. Carson!!!
I ended up at Ft. Sam Houston, home of the Combat Medic. The rules in AIT had since changed, and we had the first group of drill sergeants. Needless to say, I still made it off the post the first day we were there. We were not allowed off post liberties until after the 2nd week of school. I'll never forget all the fun we had picking and prodding each other to get an IV in.
Then it was off to my first assignment at Ft. Stewart. I had never been to Georgia before so it was a welcome experience. We had a lot of good times there, especially with Tibee Island 30 minutes down the road. I still have memories of those helicopters exploding over range control while we were standing in formation. I can still taste the smell of burned flesh that we encountered taking the body bags out there. It was my first harsh realization of what my journey of being a combat medic was all about. I remember getting called out on alert with half of my car inside my house. We had been fixing some dents and had removed several panels. I had to put a drape over my car and grab my duffle bags and go. We had less than two hours to be in Savannah. Luckily, the soldier who was on alert was already on her way. What a close call!!!
Then it was off to Germany. This was probably one of my greatest experiences in my military career. I still miss the food. They just can't make it the same in the U.S.
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