November 2000 The Megaphone Page 2
An Old, Really Old Photo
The
Megaphone staff received this photo of the 1956 Elwood
Little League Police team. With it came this clue, "The big guy
in the back row is Ron Runyan. I
am to his right. I thought you would
enjoy this. Hope you receive it. Again thanks for all of your hard work."
Does anyone know who "I am" is...??? How about others in the photo...??? Or is your memory gone too...???
Thanks,
"I am."
UPDATE
. . . the names we now have are:
1st row (kneeling) L-R: Greg Gardner, Bob Dentling, Frankie Miller, Gary Beasley, J.D. Connor, Max Hoppel, and the bat boy is Chuck Kane.
2nd row
(standing) L-R: ______________, ____________ , David Alexander, Lou
Gerig (I am), Ronnie Runyan,
Mike Wilburn, Frank Warner (Manager), Larry Satterfield, and Bob Pearson.
IF you know the names of the two people on the far left in the back row, please e-mail them to:
She
Had a Cold
by Julie
(Stout) Duffitt
As
an Air Force wife of twenty six years, I lived in many states, and on both
sides of both oceans. I've
had many good experiences, some so good I can hardly believe the memory
of them myself. Also, there have been some experiences so bad that,
should I attempt to tell you . . . well, you just could not believe them.
I've
met, talked with, and lived with people from dozens of cultures and beliefs
and skin colors. One of the first insights into the depth of the human
existence happened while living in Turkey.
I had a maid named Ferradessa. I thought she was old . . . 40 or so. One day she came to work with a cold. She coughed and sniffed all day. I was surprised she had a head cold . . . I mean . . . I WAS SURPRISED . . . SHE HAD A HEAD COLD!
Next, I
was surprised . . . that I was surprised! What's going on here, I thought
to myself?
After a
few days she was better and life fell back into routine again. However,
I continued to think about her and her cold. Ferradessa and I never talked .
. . we couldn't. She was my first maid upon arriving in Turkey
and at that time I didn't know enough of the language to communicate.
Hand signals were all we had and they worked for the most part.
This
was our second overseas family tour. I thought about all the people
I had known up to this point. It was awakening when I realized
how much we all had in common.
First,
we are Human Beings. Just think . . . that would be enough, should we
find ourselves on the planet Mars.
All
my life I heard how unique . . . how different I was from any other person . . .
as
all people were . . . no two alike. Well, maybe this is a little true,
but we all are more alike than different . . . know.
My maid
and I could not speak a common language. That did not stop us from
communicating. I took her by the hand that day, so long ago, into
the bathroom, reached into the medicine chest and took out the aspirin.
I put two in the palm of her hand. She looked at them and then at
me, a puzzled frown upon her wrinkled and worn face. I took two for
myself and downed them with a drink of water. She did the same. Earlier,
she had held her head and I knew she was in pain. She had never seen
an aspirin, much less taken one.
After
that I put my arms around her and held her for just a moment. I was
in my late 20s. That was the only time I ever touched her.
We broke away, both a little embarrassed and went about our own work.
She
loved aspirin and later I explained more, through a translator, how to
use them . . . after giving her several bottles. She could not read nor
write, She was a Moslem and her husband's chattel. She was simply a property,
below the cows, sheep and even the family dog and cat. She was beaten
and whipped on occasion for she was NOTHING in the eyes of her culture.
Could she
have been more different than me? NO, she couldn't . . . and yet
we were very much the same.
How very, VERY much more we Elwoodites, we Panthers, we of the PANTHER DEN SITE have in common. We are united through very strong and healthy roots that run deep . . . deep through rich and moist black soil, deep through basic Christian values, and deep through loyalty to our Hoosier heritage.
I thank GOD I found THE PANTHER DEN! My life has been enriched, meeting you . . . learning about you . . . laughing and crying with you . . . my people . . . just like me . . . and you know what? I bet you catch a cold too, now and again.
Julie (Stout) Duffitt, '57