Denite Gatherings ARE The Best Medicine
by Lois O. Lane 

Denites begin with the common love and respect of  Elwood/"Home" and each other. 

I am certain that everyone has heard the old saying "Laughter is the best medicine." If you have been to one of our gatherings you know that they are "THE BEST MEDICINE." Never, in my life, have I laughed so hard or as much as I have at our gatherings. [If you haven't been then you are denying yourself the 'healing' laughter.]

I recommend that you move the 'medicine' higher on your priority list ASAP. Remember to "take" your friendship vitamin. You know it is B-1. In "Fifty One Ways to Make Yourself Happy," Ellen Kriedman, Ph.D. says, "4. Look around at the friends you have. Do they treat you with respect and treat you well?

If not it is time to build a new friendship. Be on the lookout for someone who you respect, trust and most of all you can have fun with. It may not happen overnight, but if you make the decision, that you'd like a new friend, I'll bet it happens within the next month."                

  During this time of Thanksgiving, her first point is very applicable. I would like to include it.

  We in the Panther Den have been richly blessed to have each other to lift us up. 

"#1. At the top of the list is to take a few minutes to think about all of the things you are grateful for. Maybe you are thinking "NOT MUCH!" Well, let me help you change that lie to the truth. 
   A. Are you breathing on your own? There are people at this moment who need a respirator to help them breath. 
   B. When you got up this morning were you able to hear the alarm go off? Could you hear the birds sing, the wind blow, the heat or air conditioning go on? There are people who are deaf and can't do that. 
   C. Are you able to talk? Can you scream, whisper, whistle a tune or sing a song? There are people who will never be able to use their vocal cords. 
   D. Look around you. Can you see the clouds, the blue sky, the grass, the flowers and the trees? There are people who only see darkness. They are blind and cannot see nature's beauty. 
   E. How about your legs? Can you walk, run, skip, jump, hop, and crawl? There are people confined to wheelchairs for the rest of their lives. 
   F. Do you have enough money to feed yourself today? Most of the world didn't. They don't have welfare, food stamps, social security or pensions. In fact one third of the people in the world will go hungry tonight. 
   G. Do you have a home that you can go to and from? In every city you can see men, women and children who don't have a roof over their head. 
   H. Do you have bills to pay? That means someone was willing to trust you enough to give you a product or service in advance of getting paid.. There are many people who have no credit and cannot get anything without cash in their hands. 
   I. Do you have a savings account? That means you were able to put extra money away for a rainy day. Many people do not have enough to get through today. Well, I think that is a pretty good list to begin with, don't you?" 
  
from Light Your Fire
by Ellen Kriedman, Ph.D.                            

The night surrounds you
And you are cloaked in
The warm dark velvet
Of her arms.

She is like a lover
Who draws you close
And you feel loved
Protected-safe.

The spray from the ocean
Falls like tears
That come from the joy
Of being filled with
The knowledge you are
Not alone.

The rush of the wind wraps
Around you and fills the
Night with it music-
Like whispers of the wings
Of angels that watch over you.

The night becomes your lover
And you are tenderly loved.
Swept into ecstasy forever

Held by the night.

Sharon (Wood) Schwartz '55

Playground Field Named in

Honor of Elwood Resident
 by Genie Forst Boyer

The Elwood Park Board voted recently to name the baseball and softball field on the old Washington School playground for Tom Reynolds.  

The field has been officially named "Tom Reynolds Memorial Field." Reynolds graduated from Wendell L. Willkie High School in 1960.

Reynolds, who passed away in April, 1999, used to watch baseball and softball teams practice on this field and felt that they needed a better backstop. Along with help from Jerry Hardebeck and the local Elk's Lodge, Reynolds raised money for this backstop.  Unfortunately, Tom died before the backstop was built.

Another member of the Class of 1960, Danny Pearson, decided that Tom's dream should not die with him.  Danny enlisted the help of Tom Mitroff, and they saw that the backstop was put up as Tom Reynolds wanted. Pearson says that in accordance with Reynold's plan 25 more feet of fencing will be added on either side of the backstop.

The sign declaring this to be... 

"Tom Reynolds Memorial Field" 

...was painted and donated by Dannie Austin.