Steve Roper and Yim

I asked Steve Roper to give me an update and a picture.
He was very kind in doing so.

..."Yim and I are in Victoria where I am Director of Marketing for Aviawest Resorts, a resort development company specializing in quarter-ownership properties on Vancouver Island. We have five locations with a sixth slated for development next year in Tofino and our first out of country resort potentially slated for Cabos.

I oversee all their web site, advertising and event planning as well as writing much of their communications materials and planning development.

I also own and operate www.oceansedge.com and www.stephenroper.com.

Ocean's Edge is a hobby that sprung out of the resort Yim and I built off the Caribbean coast of Belize some years back and I have plans of developing it into an adventure travel site for my retirement.

----------------------
I like visiting his Web Sites - a very unique and relaxing point of view. I encourage everyone to check this out .

Les

Your Point of View

Your Point of view
(by Terry MacHardy)

As a frequent visitor to this blog I would like to share the following story.
I recently attended a pleasant dinner on a rainy evening with some friends from Europe.
Provoked by an anecdote, two of them start to argue about the nature of human existence: is life a tragedy or a comedy? They end up with two contrasting versions of the same story: a comic tale and a more tragic version, both based on the same character. Although the two stories involve similar situations, characters and problems, they both have very different endings. Having heard both stories- which are taken from the film Melinda and Melinda-one of the diner’s Colter sums up what seems to be the main idea: everything is colored by our chosen point of view.

Happiness or failure depends on the attitude we adopt toward life. However, what is it that makes us see a glass as half full or half empty? Often we place too much value on reality and discard the illusions that would have helped us to see the glass as half full. At the end of the day what counts is our ability to interpret and remember our experiences with a positive slant. If we manage to do that regularly, trusting in our ability to control our own moods, we will enjoy all of the advantages that stem from a positive view of life. Being positive is a process, not a state, and that is within anyone’s reach-we just need to have a better command of our inner selves, and consequently take a more optimistic view of the world around us. We would do ourselves a great favor if we could always see the glass as half- full-yet we so easily regard it as half empty!

Some insist on emphasizing that negative side of our being, the negative side of our existence. Life is very short and it must not be wasted with pointless regrets. ( How curious: the saying and thinking that life is to short in itself, a manifestation of the dark side that keeps insisting on seeing the glass as half empty)Frequently we do not realize how many positive things happen to us purely because we are incapable of seeing them. The good, the positive, the nice, and the simply wonderful things-sometimes we just don’t even notice them.

Some people will say that, in this life, there is no such thing as a half-full or a half empty glass, but simply half a glass. Most of the time, the facts that we see are based on interpretation rather than reality-so we would be well advised to learn to distinguish our opinions from our observations.
How do you see it?

From my Family to all of yours,
Have a Merry Christmas and a Safe, Happy, Healthful New Year.

T. Mac

Stranger in a Cool L

Stranger in a Cool Land

Two weeks after the dance, my parents knew who Jimmy was.

For some reason they didn’t seem as thrilled. I mean, all I was asking for was $25.00 to see a show at the forum. So- I had never been to the Forum except as a child to see the circus!


OK, so what if it was James Brown? Big deal! They didn’t know who James Brown was anyway. So what if I was wearing a pair of Jimmy’s old pants. So what if I was only one of 20 white people in the audience- this was 1967-68 after all

Thank god my mom could handle a sewing machine. We had to get the pants just right. Tight- from the waist down –gone were the days of ‘Stovepipes’ - and then flair –big flair at the calf - with an insert of different coloured material.

I couldn’t be seen wearing sneakers. I needed something like Jimmy’s white shoes with the Italian weave on top of the foot.
“No – Beatle boots are gone Mom!”
“Out!”
“No T shirts or sweaters either!”
“ Button-down – bright red!”

Normally I would get up in the morning, wash, come back into my room, put the Beatles or Garry Lewis and The Playboys or The Animals on my portable record player and make my bed singing at the top of my lungs. I loved that record player. I had bought it with my own money from delivering The Montreal Star up in the new area of Seigniory Park near the Pines.

For the first time, my sisters heard something foreign coming from my bedroom.
“I Feel Good” – na-da-na-da dat (horns) “Like I knew that I would now!” …
Or “When a Man Loves a Woman..” and I was not singing. I was listening – getting my Soul lessons for the day.

After school I stopped coming right home and called more often to stay over at Jimmy’s place. Jimmy said his mom's name was Fran. I envisioned someone tall, dark and lanky like him. She was a teacher in Ormstown would be arriving at the house an hour after us.

They lived on Jack Street. (Who the heck was Jack? Dave Mclean would eventually tell me.) Seleda, Jimmy's older sister would retire to her room off the living room and diligently get her homework done. (She is now a Doctor in California and still looks good.)

I had never been further along the river road -Salaberry North, than Dupont Street to go up to St. Andrews for church. They lived way down in a small summer cottage near the water. It was cozy, warm and had a great big bay window. The beauty of that window was not what could be seen out of it,- but rather what was inwardly reflected when darkness fell outside; a Soulful Magic Mirror –reflecting in our minds- a stage, when Sly Stone, Percy Sledge, James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Wilson Picket and Aretha weaved their Soulful Spell into the household. Jimmy would get the records going- Boom Shakalaka! Boom Shakalaka! I Wanna Take You Higher ! When a Man Loves a Woman! Midnight Hour! Soul Man! Funky Broadway! Skinny Legs And All!

Seleda would throw down her pen in mock disgust –interrupted rudely from her studies- and stomp out of her room, hands on hips and yell “Jimmy!” –and on cue, he would grab her hand, pulling her into the magic circle reflected in the land of cool beyond the window …to The Midnight Hour and then Aretha's R>E>S>P-E-C-T… –his head moving back and forward, eyes slightly closed, teeth glittering through smiling lips, knees like pistons up and down –feet landing soft on a springy cloud – and she would be swept up into the dream –all to the beat, like Watusi Cool! Wow! They could move! Saleda was so beautiful when she danced and Jim – Jim was “THE MAN” –cooler than cool. Music loud, the beat, -the beat- oh my, I can still feel it,- the beat -was everything.

Cold winter air sliced through as the door swooshed open. "OH-OH".
I thought Mrs.Williams would be so upset with all her furniture shifted to the side and all hell breaking loose – All I saw at first was a coat flying into a chair, then this small wiry white woman prancing, hips swaying into the magic circle “Mom’s Home!”- as if she had never left it! For a single white lady, she sure could move black!

My mom and I danced when washing dishes to CFOX radio, but this was different –this was new! Where the hell had I been all my life. I had to absorb some of this culture of “cool”!

Reunion '72 and Friends Cost:
Basic information

May 18 is "Free day" of arrival - that is, Free to visit old friends, parents, family, Chateauguay, the Ville de Montreal. - 'The Alibi' is a great place across from McDonalds, or come see me and friends at the hotel reception suite at Dorval (Hilton) near the Airport and train station Diagram to follow. I will have wine, beer tea and coffee -perhaps some snacks etc. for those who come to the hotel .

Saturday May 19 School will be open at 10:00AM through 4:00PM .
1:00 PM meet up at the Auditorium for official kick off.
We can go in visit, check it all out.
Roam the halls, perhaps bump into some teachers we used to have, smell the polish on the floors etc. contact the ghosts that still roam about. But then by 4:00 PM, let us get the heck out and over to the Hilton Dorval!

Hilton Dorval May 19 Reception led off by John Saunders (Mr.ABC) and perhaps aided and abetted by Richard Rankin, Lynda Young Chapleau and myself and others/ Sit-Down dinner and evening activities.
$100 per single attendee Paid in advance.
If you bring your husband /wife/spousal partner $175 together.
PAID IN ADVANCE NOT AT THE DOOR -NO EXCEPTIONS.

An advance non refundable deposit of $50 Cdn per single ticket or $100 Cdn for a spousal double to confirm your place is required not later than Feb 28.

You may pay outright if you so choose. Final payment of the ticket balance is due no later than Monday April 15. received by me or the system for payment by credit/debit card on the Alumni site. Again, there is no refund for the down payment.
This payment does not include cost Hotel accomodations.

This week (Jan 8-12) we shall enable payment by credit card or debit card on the Alumni registry site. Keep watch for it.

Cheques may also be sent. Ensure the following information is on your checque along with your name -not just a signature. We'll need your phone number also.

(On the cheque:
H.S.Billings High School.
Then in the line at bottom of chq indicate Reunion '72 and Friends.
It is very important to write 'Reunion '72 and Friends' since there may be more than one reunion visiting the school at same time. We are " Reunion '72 And Friends".

Mail the chque to:
HSB Reunion and Friends
c/o L. McConnell
103 Ashmore,
Chateauguay,Qc.
J6J 4B7

I will check your name on the list and confirm reciept to you by e-mail.
I will then deliver the cheque to the school for our account there.

If you need a hotel room, link up with the Dorval Hilton and indicate you are with the H.S.Billings Reunion '72 and Friends (Les McConnell) and your room cost is $99 per night for Friday, Saturday and Sundy each night including parking for the three days at the hotel. So book it soon. More info to follow.

Happy New Year!

Here we have Joanne Hannon (Billings Grad) while below, her husband Greg Holden gets into the groove with friends and cousins who are also graduates of HSB.
To the left of Greg is Glenna McConnell. To right is Val McConnel and in black across from him is Gaye McConnell. And of course I took the picture, so I am right there -creating the window into this New Year's party. We McConnells can party!

I'm amazed... I was up til 3:00 a.m.! Well, not again until next year or the long weekend in May.

I thought we were going to Angelo Mancuso's? That's it Angelo! Next year it's your place -no excuses!

New Year's 2007 -T0 BOLDLY GO ...

What is 'time' - a subjective projection on space?

Tick, tick, tick. There is goes!

It's like water through our fingers or rather, through our very being. We are either gifted or cursed, with the magic ability to ingest and evaluate 'LIFE' -consciousness, as it flows right through us. And we mark 'time' in the dance of life. Terry MacHardy (Class '71) & Family

Time - 365 days for our current concept of a 'year' -a circle based upon the revolving earth and return of the seasons. Circles, rings, -actually loops. The cycle goes around and comes around but never back upon itself. It continues onward and outward and we mark the uniquness of the progress, with this system -'time'.

Perhaps the distinguishing factors on our personal voyage -our loops in space, are lessons garnered through 'experience' and the subsequent changes we put into effect, to create new outcomes and changes in spatial 'life' direction.



(Gary Wilkins Class '71)



Do the loops get smaller and pick up speed as we voyage outward from our beginnings? They seemed longer when I was in High School and were characterized by our 'common' activity or 'comm-unity' or 'comm-union'. I wonder what we as a community, have learned collectively?



"All That Rises Must Converge", says one book title...and perhaps we shall converge once again -briefly- to recognize and reflect upon a 'loop in time' through the symbolic process of 're-union'.

So NOW, we, -true time travellers- boldly step into our new year, perhaps recreating our vision of self (or not).

Happy New Year All.
Les McConnell

Christmas

So here we are.

Me writing and you reading.

An interesting process. There is no evaluating of body language when reading, no facial cues. It is straight from my conscioussness to yours. This really is quite intimate. There are no social filters to distract except for language and one's comprehension of meaning and one's continued interest and focus.

Christmas is many things to many people.

We have the traditions, (-'a virgin birth -man of miracles -son of God' -) the garb of 'organized' Christianity, as set forth almost 300 years after the man -Jesus - died; sanitized of the "Jewish-ness" and made palletable for Romans by Constantine when brokering between competing strains of this snowballing 'after-movement'.

And as of late, we have the purely historical focus on the controlled emergence of the Nag Hammadi "Dead Sea Scrolls", 'the Gnostics' (Gnosis =Knowlege in Greek) ranging from the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary to the Gospel of Judas -wherein Judas is actually a hero; these deemed as heracies by the "established" powers of the church back in that time and reinforced to present day in hopes of dispelling any thought of a continuing 'blood line' -"sang-royale" or 'grail', -holy or not .

Where does 'belief' come into it and what of the 'Christ'-mas?

Putting asisde the 'man forged' religion or husk and focussing upon the underlying message delivered by this (Jewish) Galilean of the House of David, perhaps it comes down to His precription - to be 'careful and considerate' in our communication while treating 'others' as ourselves, - from how we talk to our children, our wives, husbands, partners, friends and strangers - in what we say and what we choose to omit; then continue through to how we behave.

If we put into practice the prescritption, it is thought that we have a shot at integrating our projected (outer) 'child/ego/personality-mask' with our own dormant (inner) 'god' and achieving a higher level of existence (heaven). And one can perhaps achieve this with the help of an organization "Church", priest, teacher (or not).

Words are containers of messages. Our body language and facial gesture create the spin. Ours is a tricky existence. We shift moods, as we might shift gears when driving - almost without thought. We ought to be careful and conscious of inner choice -think before we speak or act.

Perhaps the underlying lesson in "Chrstmas" is more about consciousness; knowing when to implement choice - of "not speaking" or "not doing" - to achieve 'stillness', about striving to attain the ability of cutting through emotional ego-distraction and hugging one's partner, child or friend at the most difficult and vulnerable of times. Would this be the beginning of true 'giving' or "for-giving" and perhaps "real" convergence with a higher existence?

Good luck to us all in the quest given each of us in this life and - yes- Merry Christmas to my old and re-newed friends.

Remember to see each day -as your first and last. This will put a memorable spin on the gifts given and received.

Be well.
Peace be with you -/Shalom aleichem-/Salaam aleikum

Les McConnell.

Louise Lacey - Always hip and without a doubt, always cool.

Louise is one of the key people working with Bob and Gaby Houston, Cindy Houston and Scott Jones along with many other fine people at the company 'A.D. Display' in Chateauguay's Industrial Park.

I was at their Christmas party the other night and was pleased to watch Louise perform with the singer who was hired for the occasion. She has grit, gumption and courage and has brought up a lovely family with her husband Ken. (Schillgalies- Class of 68, I wonder if Mr.Plewinsky remembers how to pronounce his name?).They enjoy canoeing in the summer.

These are two good people.

Old Friends

Can there be anything in this life of greater value?


These old friends are (left) Richard Rankin and (right) Barry Stephens.

Perhaps they do not look quite the same nowadays, but in our collective hearts, they shall never change -two exceptionally bright and most pleasant souls.

Meanwhile, I went to the mall today; that which we used to refer to as "the shopping centre". I had only intended on dropping my client Christmas cards into the mail at the drug store. But then I got to thinking about getting some cards from the art store for my high net worth clients. So I meandered up the mall towards where Zellers used to be- it's now Harts'. I passed by what used to be Radio Shack but is now 'The Source'. No luck. I did not care for the artsy cards at all.

But on the way back two heads appeared over a plie of stacked fruit cake boxes. Mr.Mullahoo! My grade 7 teacher from 1967. "The Man". The lagoon swimmer! One of my all time favorites now retired ( my daughter won an award named after this man) is with the Lions Club! So he has gone on to another level of service. He really is so cool.

You can read about him a bit further in the entry from May 18 or 19 Titled Look Deep into The Past. So- I bought a fruit cake for Christmas.

Saturday Pre Christmas
(Pictures below Rose Mancuso/ Mike Glezos/ Ron Enros -from year books)

Well as you can tell by my blog activity lately, my time is taken up by other things - nailing down pricing on hotel etc, business, the markets
and of course the "bah-humbug" season of spending money -Joy to the Wallet. I feel like I'm being dragged kicking and screaming into the Holiday Spirit.

I become more prickly with age, I think. I mean I'm just getting over the summer for heaven's sake. Christmas music was blaring in the stores the day before Holloween! AHHH!

Yesterday was interesting.
While waiting for Jane to emerge from Indigo downtown, I bumped into Mike Glezos (Grad '72) and Betty - his lovely wife. They had just been to a movie. He's a tech manager with CGI -good company!

Three hours later in Chateauguay, IGA grocery shopping, I bumped into Ron Enros (Grad '70) and caught up on his business. Wow! I never thought E-Bay could be so intensive! It's been a two summers since he was last in my back yard in the gazebo playing guitar with me and Jimmy Williams.

And then - yes - I forgot the margerine! Had to go back to IGA.
And there she was - my old friend Rose Mancuso Bariel (Grad '73) who now works for the School Board. "Just couldn't get enough eh, Rose"!

So now it is 12:35 PM Sunday afternoon, I am writing, as I sit in my pyjamas and I want to be in Westmount in an hour to see and hear my Folk Singer (sister) Glenna McConnell playing as a guest to a Christmas choir. Better get a move on. You should check out Glenna's web site and hear her - she's great! She writes all her own material. Great Album! I love it. (http://www.glennamcconnell.com ).

Eileen Now and then.

Above: with her husband Allan, who wears the black T-shirt.

Left: Eileen in Gold and Allan in centre.


Over on the right we have some photos from the past with a number of familiar faces. Can you spot the ones you know? Hey! There's Gary Colthorpe with ...

1970


Howard S. Billings underscores it's crest with the -Latin Words 'Carpe Diem' - Seize the Day.

Reinforcing these words are three elements -Tradition, Pride and Achievement.

High School, like life, is made up of moments and individuals; some good, some bad, but some that are just down right great. These moments and the people who make them are remembered for good reason.

They come together like living points of light, through the combination of time spent, dedication through practice and having fun, to achieve not just a 'winning team', but something more important -spirit.

The team concept, became the binder that held many of us in a certain 'sameness'. If the team did well -we all did well. Our teams were our examples. The people on the teams were representatives of a higher order in all disciplines. They became examples of what could be, through the setting of goals, fairplay and going out 'and just doing it'.

What they could achieve on the ice, just perhaps, we could use to inspire ourselves in areas of our own perfection and most important, as people.

The 1970 Senior Hockey Team, was composed of some very special human beings.

Their coach was one of Billing's greatest mentors - Mr. Rossiter.

Some of the players -Grant Wilson - a modest and determined athlete, Barry Kaye, Barry Oliver and Norman Leroux -fine team players who could inspire more with their sense of teamwork and quick smiles than any shout from the bench. Danny White, John Lahache and Brian Roy brought determination and power to bear.

While those on the ice -indeed, had a job to do, so too, did those behind the scenes. One of the finest people Howard S. Billings had - on the ice, at the bench, at a dance or simply walking down the hall - always ready to greet in sincerity, was someone many of us truly admired and respected -MR.Ed Quinn.

This team had the magic.

Part of the Danger and the Magic
of Chateauguay.

Stephan Fuchs

I recall when Stephan was much younger, his getting on the bus to go to school.

It was a time I was considered older and maybe even wiser by his age group at Billings. (I like to delude myself from time to time.) Stephan is now older and wiser. He is known for his prowess in the courtroom, going after some fairly big shots, who have had their way with the "regular people".

A lawyer's life is not easy, especially if one is in court much of the time. One has to prepare and keep one's eye on the detail and on what the opposing attorney has not done. Lawyers take the 'butt' of many a joke. It is when you get a good lawyer, that you thank goodness and get on with your life.

Like Lawyers or not - I am told by those who have paid for his services, that he is great to have on your side in the court room. We have to remember that lawyers are human beings, make mistakes, are fallible and are born with their own demons to wrestle with and then they have to take ours on too.

Here he is having lunch with me today at Rigoletto's, perhaps Chateauguay's best Italian Restaurant, near the green bridge leading to West End at 68 Salaberry where, for a change,he is "the client". Stephan graduated after '72 and I will be very pleased to see him at the reunion as a 'friend of 72' .

The Man With The Heart of Gold

Mr. Roddy McManus.

I am truly very lucky to have Roddy as a friend. We have known each other since summer days in the sand box and his beautiful green tricycle when we were kids.

He is very talented - a Producer no less, with a Quebec media firm; always 'on the go', putting together TV or Film deals sometimes pitching to CBC or others, sometimes writing.

It just kills me when I receive a call from him and I say - "So Roddy - what's new?"
And he'll respond .. "I just finished talking up a deal here in Cannes at the Film festival. I'm on a balcony overlooking the Mediterannean, the beach and -Wow!- you should see the bathing suit on th..."
"Gee , thanks Rod."

He is self effacing, gentle and knows how to make people feel good about themselves without 'slapping it on with a trowel'. His lovely and intelligent 'better half' - Roslyn (Happy Birthday Ros!) has been known to work in some very unique circles putting togther 'fashion shoots'. (you would never believe who -even if I told you).

Roddy is still remembered for his abilities on the key boards with various bands (The Angry Young Ducks). And he still hangs out with Ricky Rice form time to time.

Roddy is very talented. He can quickly visualize the power and potiential of an idea or an angle. His mind is sharp and his heart is kind. He always has been and is still, a "good" man.

The Journey Begins

The Journey Begins
After considering the impact my first encounter with Jimmy Williams, I concluded that there are times in our lives punctuated by moments of internal drama that herald the way to who we will become.

Darkness, loud music and flashing lights, the dance, beer breath, cigarettes, beautiful young women, my lack of inhibition to flail about and call it ‘dancing’ – to the ‘15 year old mind’ present fragmented images of what success might be. ‘Behavior personas’ tried on as a child models adult shoes and hats in the mirror- characterized that evening for me.

How fragile and tentative the kaleidescopic fabric of reality!

My fantasy for that evening crystallized for a moment, suspended, until the spell gave way to a higher power. In one decisive moment a young man jumped off a stage –a shooting star shearing through my new universe. Orbiting heavenly bodies veered within the sway of a new magnetic field, my vision eclipsed by the brilliance of a bright new star.

I watched the beguiling Motown moves, determined to learn.

He was a stranger in a strange little town with the attention of all, friendly and -the not so friendly, in need of an ambassador or guide in our world, just as I needed one in his. He would be my cultural guide to the ‘world of cool’.

I telephoned home. A new friend from school would be sleeping over that night.

Perhaps I had discovered that which I had never had, –a brother?

What was to unfold during the next two to three years would change my trajectory- forever.

Some very special people from our collective past :

Catherine (Wylie) and Ernie Laporte

I remember when I was not quite in my teens, there was this self possesed and magical young lady with poise and grace walking through the development where I lived. I had a profound realization that day that ball hockey with "the guys" was not quite all there was in life.

Later in High school there was a young man who was handsome, carried himself with a sense of purpose and charm. He was an athlete and all round good person -someone whose character would not be bad to imitate.

In my teens I could not have ever said such things out loud. But looking back and at this picture
I know two good people when I see them.
There are others - John Dempster, Dave and Annette Maclean, Judy and Frank Deere , Richard Rankin, Lynda Young, Debbie Hanney, Gervase Bushe, Colleen Hillock, Michael Sarrey, Gerald Finlay, Cathy Gulkin, Dave and Steve Porier, Bob and Gaby Houston, Barb and Dan Zimmerman and many more.

What is a reunion?

What is a reunion?
By Richard Rankin

(Pictures: L:Bruce Craig C: Gerald Finlay R: Vincent Murphy)

Is it a union formed anew after separation? Is it to reunite again?

I don't think of it in those terms.

None of us consciously separated. We all walked out into the world and continued on with our individual lives after high school. Some remained in contact with others.

I do not place any real importance or significance in that. Why?
Because our individual memories will immediately overcome any obstacle that one might assume would be inherent due to the pasage of time.

You walked out of the room to answer the door bell and when you walked back in you picked up the conversation right where it left off.

Look at the pictures that have been posted on the blog. The thirty five years since graduation are a mere construct.

Reunion? No. This is a social gathering - an assembly of familiar friends. Nothing more and nothing less.

Walk back into the room and rejoin the conversation.

Trick or Treat!

You've heard of 'Find Waldo'? Well find Tommy Lauder .... back in the day.

(Thanks to Linda Porter for the picture.
Was this up in the orchard?
(1970-71?)