AH, A NEW DAY IN MAY

Ah, a new day

     in May

In our world

      the sun is bright

       the sky is blue

white clouds billow

green grass smells

       sweetly of dew

a cool fresh breeze 

      is gently wafting

      leaves are rustling

and shining

the soothing silence 

     is broken by 

      a distant lawn mower

but it suits the mood

Little birds are singing

       doves are coo-cooing

        jays are squawking 

Such a fine day

           in the making

   Lord, if it be possible

           please let 

      no evil pass today

   Anywhere

        in Your beautiful

    creation.

***********************

Mil

5/07/16

IT'S NO LYCEUM, BUT....

                  Robert, USMC


IT'S NO LYCEUM, BUT...

by Robert Stebbins, Guest Writer
CHS '51

     Inclined as I am to rummage back through my mental filing cabinet, I was recently reminded that on May 17, 1951, our senior class of 126 members graduated from Clovis High School.  We then scattered to the winds. 

     After graduation, I enrolled at Eastern New Mexico College (ENMC), now ENMU, the university down the road in Portales, a few miles from Clovis.  I don't recall ever attending a movie in Portales.   In fact, I don't even remember if Portales had a theater during my one semester there.  But being close to home, it was only a short drive to Clovis in my black (was there any other color except black or maroon?) 1939 Ford Coupe to the Lyceum, State, or Sunshine if I wanted to see a movie.  

     After fulfilling my agreement with my dad that I would attend college for at least one semester, as I had wanted to enlist in the Marine Corps, I rode the train to San Diego in February of 1952.  After April graduation from boot camp, I was assigned to Camp Pendleton, the 125,000 acre base, adjacent to and just north of Oceanside, California.  The Korean War was going full tilt, and there were probably more sailors and marines in the San Diego-Camp Pendleton area than any other place in the United States.

     Weekends were for "liberty" to go off base.  To go south toward San Diego, there were thousands more sailors and marines lining the two-lane highway.  To go north toward Los Angeles on Hwy. 101 also meant to try to hitch-hike.  Motorists picked up hitch-hikers in those days, especially those in uniform.  However, the numbers, competition, and availability of motorists never seemed to match.  I soon realized that if I wanted to ever enjoy liberty, I needed wheels.

     My sister lived in Long Beach, near Los Angeles.  As luck would have it, her neighbor had a son in the army who had just returned from Korea with a pocket full of combat pay.  He wanted to buy a new Mercury, and he had a 1932 Ford 3-window coupe he wanted to sell for $300.00.  I telephoned my dad, told him to sell my 1939 for whatever he could get for it, and send me the money. Soon $300.00 arrived, and I was the proud and happy owner of my new set of wheels.  The previous owner and his dad had rebuilt and modified the car....it had a 1940 V-8 engine, hydraulic brakes, high-speed rear end, custom made stainless-steel dash, red and white leatherette upholstery, radio, and 1940 Ford steering....but, no fan.  It didn't need one as they only ran it near the ocean, and the Pacific Ocean breezes provided adequate cooling.

Well, every weekend that I had liberty, a full tank of gas, and $5.00 in my pocket, I headed north, away from Camp Pendleton and points south.  As a result, I only went south to San Diego once or twice during more than a year at Camp Pendleton and knew little about the area to the south, including Encinitas (meaning "little oaks") located between Camp Pendleton and San Diego and where we now live.  And, I knew nothing about the little gem, the "La Paloma" theater located on the old Hwy. 101, where it has stood and shown movies since 1928. 

    

    La Paloma is still in operation in Encinitas.  Of course, there are no 35 mm. arc light projectors like they had in all of the Clovis theaters in our day, but they have an upgraded sound system which is excellent. Seats are original, if a little worn, but who among us is not a little worn after 80+ years.  There is even a little dog who belongs to the owner or manager, and it roams outside the front of the theater and in the lobby, greeting the customers and wanders throughout the rows of seats during the movie keeping an eye on things.

     A few nights ago my wife and I attended an independent film entitled "Virtuosity", sponsored by the local Italian Film Club.  It was about the most recent Van Cliburn piano competition that is held every four years in Fort Worth. It was a truly outstanding film, and I recommend it highly if you have a chance to see it.  You might be able to find it on PBS or possibly Netflix.

     There is a lot of ornate interior design in the La Paloma like we remember from the Mesa and the Lyceum, especially in the corners and around the lights.  There are heavy timbers stretching across the ceiling, Mexican or Indian style, but there is no balcony.   And, I missed most the newsreel, cartoons, serial/s, the extra feature show, and the chance on a bicycle, not to mention the old price of 10 cents for kids.  It was $10 per person,  just to show you how the value of your money has deteriorated over the years.  Dad-gum it, things just aren't like they used to be...

http://www.lapalomatheatre.com/

For MIL'S PLACE

by Robert Stebbins

5/21/16

     

MEMORIAL DAY 2016...CLASS OF '51

"THOSE MATCHLESS DAYS"

  CHS CLASS of 1951

"EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS DEAR TO 

    MY HEART!".....JIMMY BLAIR

*****************************************

"SO MANY FRAGMENTS OF THE SPIRIT 

   HAVE I SCATTERED IN THESE STREETS..."

      .......K.G.

*****************************************

"BREAK, BREAK, BREAK,

    ON THY COLD GREY STONES, O SEA!

AND I WOULD THAT MY TONGUE COULD  UTTER

   THE THOUGHTS THAT ARISE IN ME.

BREAK,  BREAK, BREAK,

    AT THE FOOT OF THY CRAGS, O SEA!

BUT THE TENDER GRACE OF A DAY THAT IS DEAD

   WILL NEVER COME BACK TO ME."

-----ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON, 1835

       (Elegy written in memory of a dear friend,

             A.H.)

*****************************

We little Clovis kids began our journey in life

together in 1939 at two grade-schools---Eugene Field

and La Casita.

In 1951, we ended our days together and set  out

to tackle life...but we never forgot our earliest friends

on the journey...reunions were held in 1961, 1976, 

1981, 1986, 1991, 1996; the Fiftieth was in 2001,

then three more---2003 at Kerrville, Texas, and 2006

and 2008 in Albuquerque.

The CNJ recently carried some short remarks 

regarding our class: We graduated "126  on May 17,

1951,"

Once a year it is fitting to remember our friends from

"THOSE MATCHLESS DAYS," as our friend Donald

Todd has so aptly characterized them.

*********************

IN MEMORY OF:

Jimmy Abernethy

Jimmy Blair

Don Campbell

Zeno Crosswhite

Bruce Davis

Geraldine Edwards

Billy Harwell

Billy Hasty

Thomasina Ingram Murrell

Charlotte Kelly

Marlene Lancaster

Donald Mardis

Robert Roberts

Jerry Robert

R.G. Snipes

Pat Thompson

James Timmons

Jimmy Whatley

Bobby Wilhite

Jo Ann Williams

Sherman Williams

Noel Douherty

Vera Lou Priddy

Engle Southard

Dorothy Trigg

Dixie Sanderson

Jerry Crook

Wanda King Snipes

John Thorn Marshall

Rita Gayle Delaney

Charles Mason

Marcia Stebbins

**************************

SOME TEACHERS, from '39...

Ms. Tennyson, Ms. Bledsoe, Ms. Ballou,  Dr. Gaddis

     Ms. Holloway, Ms. Broiles, Mr. McDougal, 

Ms. Jenkins, Mr. Elms, Ms. Macfarland, Mrs.. Martin

Ms. Buchanan, Ms. Atchley, Mr. Stockton, 

    Mr. Norman, Ms. Barton, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Norman

Mrs. Putnam, Dewey Miller, Coach Brock, Mr. Moser

Mr. Barton, Beloved Senorite Dora Russell, 

    Dave St. Clair, Ms. Bayless, Coach Harmon...

Mr. Hudson....

*********************

"I returned and saw under the sun, that

the race is not to the swift, nor the battle

to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise,

nor yet riches to men of understanding,

nor yet favor to men of skill, but time and 

chance happeneth to them all.

ECCLESIASTES 9:11

***************************

BY MIL

MEMORIAL DAY, 2016

MINGLE WITH THE "PHONE TALKERS"

Lonesome?

   Bored?

       Need to mingle,

            Be around people,

hear voices, get out and around?

Why not, maybe...do it...

     with the "PHONE TALKERS?"

(WWII had its "Code Talkers..."

     The New Millennium has its

           "Phone Talkers.")

"Ah, good idea... do they

     hang out? Where would I go?"

They're everywhere, walkin' all

    over the place...crossin' streets

         and talkin'...

You can spot 'em...look in their faces...

     for "the thousand-yard-stare..."

        Look for eyes...unseeing...

Show me a Walker...and I'll show you

     a Talker!

Show me a bench anywhere, and I'll

     show you Talkers, sliding 

off the ends!

Show me a Walgreen's, Whole Foods,

     Walmart, Quiznos...the big 

           stores...and I'll show 

you Talkers--- hangin' out...in front!

Everyone, it seems has a smart phone.

     Even those "starving" and 

          asking for hand-outs...

            you'll encounter them.

Everyone has business, all over...

     big business, important business,

urgent business, like was never

     heard of since creation...

Now if you're a "new mingler" and "Talker"

     just out of the house...read "closet..."

         ---learn by watching these 

                24/7 Talkers...

They sit down, they get up, they traipse

    up and down, always staring off

into distant space somewhere...

Yes, they parade all around in front of you,

     their egos soaking it all in with 

          every step...gesturing, shrugging,

looking surprised, looking annoyed, mouth

     gaping at times...they do a 180 

          and go back and forth like a

scene from a movie...

Many's the times and likely the hours

     I've spent watching those Talkers

           fret and strut but I reckon, 

         I've never yet seen any Talker SMILE...

Maybe their portfolios all went south!

Is it "sound and fury signifying nothing?"

Ah, but not to worry---you will no longer

     be lonely and bored amidst

          these Unfathomable Talkers

           if you're  an observer of 

         "THE HUMAN SITUATION."

***************

from "Running Blind" by Lee Child:

"Everybody uses mobiles all the rime,

just constantly.  It's a phenomenon of the

modern age.

Everybody's talk, talk, talking all the time---

little black phones pressed up to their faces.

Where does all that conversation come 

from? What happened to all that conversation

before mobiles were invented?

Was it all bottled up? Burning ulcers in people's

guts? Or did it just develop spontaneously

because technology made it  possible?

Is it a useful exchange of information or are 

the vast majority of calls---

(1) The sheer fun and delight of doing something

     just because you can, or else---

(2) The ego-building self-importance BS aspect?"

.

*****************

BY MIL

5/11/16

OH, HOW I LOVE "A THOUSAND MORNINGS"!

For a spell there I was at sea.

I had misplaced my priceless

    poetry book

"A Thousand Mornings," by Mary Oliver,

    Pulitzer Poet 

In the vast "scheme of things," 

     some unwashed might say:

"Well la-ti-dah---so what?!"

Mary is an example of a human being---

    who sees our world

and doesn't miss a thing.

With a worn beat-up little leather

     notebook, she sets out mornings

into her woods (where she has spare

     pencil stubs stashed in the

crooks of tree limbs)...

     Seeing, absorbing, breathing-in

everything...fathoming life

      and WRITING!

When I got her book "Mornings," my

    eyes were opened and I saw

poetry in a different light.

It is a rather thin NY Times "best-selling"

    paperback...out of curiosity I put 

a tape on it---3/8 inches thick!

Then began to read, but not to dog-ear,

     I marked favorite (oft short) poems

with paper clips, card-strips...anything...

     UNTIL

The whole book, almost every page 

     was book-marked.

Ah, to have her insights.

I learned:

    Everything is a poem.

        Write about it...

    All of life is a poem,

and a song.

     Sing it.

***************

BY MIL

5/07/16

FROM A DOG'S PERSPECTIVE

I reckon

     I don't know

          what I'd do

   without humans.

They can be awful

    lovable 

         and fun at times!

Especially when we go

     for car rides with

           the windows down

    or they sneak me 

a bite of people food!

And also I love 'em

     in the summertime

           romping on lawns

    with me....and diving into

swimming pools 

     with all their clothes on!

Sometimes I almost think---

    They're dogs at heart!

At those great times, I always

     "go crazy" and chase my tail

            around in circles

   and figure out other things

that please them...even to chasing

    those crazy frisbees... or following

my people into the pool!

Now---a dog secret---they love it 

     when you cuddle with and

          protect the baby!  Their

    "ah's" are like music to my velvety

ears!

They don't know it, but on Sunday

     nights I play "asleep," you know---

          my chin on my paws (but 

    with one eye open) and I watch

         America's Funniest Videos,

which is mostly starring dogs...and

     I have learned a lot of tricks 

           from that show!

It has helped me develop a creative

      and proper, pleasing "dogality;"

I suppose there is no perfect dog, and

     I too, have my shortcomings---

          Well, here goes---

I love "people" food...am practically

      a "food-aholic;" love sleeping on

  the foot of their bed...especially when 

they're away...and the BIGGIE---it's

    just in my genes to chase squirrels!

If I see a squirrel, I'm outta here...

     and I can't stifle...or stop...

Sometimes when one of my Masters

     gets home tired and worn out...

          and a perceptive dog can sense

   that, doncha know...and I give 'em:

My BEST SYMPATHETIC LOOK (it's all

     in my EYES...I know how to work

          my eyes)...and  they beckon me

     "COME ON UP," and I jump 

up into their Lazy-Boy...and we sorta

           cuddle together...

I lie there, beside 'em, so happy 

     and contented...

           and sometimes wonder---

"Is there a HUMAN HEAVEN?"

*********************

BY MIL

5/10/16

PHOTO BY KINDELL BRINAY MOORE,

      Professional Photographer

THE LITTLE BOY AND THE TRASH MAN

With early light breaking

    and the fragrance 

of spring flowers wafting

    on the spring breezes

this cool, quiet May morning...

From out on the street

    I heard

the loud sound of air blowing

    through

a diesel-truck's almost-nasal

    horn...

"BRUMPH...BRUMPH"

It was seven a.m. and "trash day"

    for our neighborhood,

and I knew...that once again

    the ambitious little 

five-tear-old boy from across

    the street,

was up early, hair-combed and

    dressed in his little blue 

Osh-Kosh overalls...

and standing at the curb, awaiting

    his favorite truck---a big

City Trash Dumpster!

For you see---long ago

    "early-in-life" at age three

he had already shown great maturity...

    and planned his career...

HE WOULD MAKE A TRASH MAN,

    as the old saying went...

and he was out, early in life 

    and "learning his craft."

Seeing this ambitious boy and sensing

    the feeling of brotherhood,

the trash-truck-driver 

     always greeted him (and his mom)---

"BRUMPH....BRUMPH..."

("GOOD LUCK!")

******************

BY MIL

5/03/16

"THOUGHTS FROM THE SONORAN DESERT"

By Levi Brake, guest writer

Here it is almost May already and I'm still down here

at Ajo, living the good life.

This has been a strange spring for this area.The initial 

forecast was for a wet winter and early summer. Only 

partially correct, as we found out.

We had an exceptionally dry winter which resulted in

almost no desert flowers as the Ajo lily and the orange

Mexican poppies this year. In a good year they will carpet

the desert floor in many areas.

However the cacti are blooming well, just not as profusely

as they  usually do. Ah,well. We take what we can get when 

it comes to the weather, I s'pose.

It's still not hot here so I reckon I'll stay in Ajo until it gets 

that way before making the short trip up north to P.V. for

the summer.

It does get rather lonely here in late spring when all the

"snow birds" leave and head home back up north 

somewhere, but that's okay. I have friends in town who 

are year-round residents and I go down and visit with 

them  at the Elks Lodge several times a week.

My cleaning lady came in this morning talking about all 

the "pajaros de nieve" who have left. She's straight out 

of Mexico and doesn't speak much English, so I have a 

chance to practice my Spanish.

I am constantly amazed that people can live in an area

like this and not even try to learn Spanish, but very few

of the locals of non-Spanish descent do. "Ay, que gringos

estupidos".

Every morning I scatter bird seed on the ground in the

arroyo behind my house and then sit up on the back 

porch and watch the doves, quail, and rabbits try to outdo

each other before it's all gone.

A few days ago I watched a mama quail leading a brood

of eight chicks down the path out back. I don't know where 

they were going but they completely ignored all the other

critters eating the seed I had scattered. I think mama must

have thought her young 'uns were too fragile to mix it up

with the big boys.

We haven't seen any fox or bobcats around here for several

months which explains why the rabbit numbers have been 

increasing, I reckon. Coyotes and javelinas we have always 

have with us, it seems. Neither one of those seems the least

afraid of humans although the coyotes are always shy.

It has been a good winter here in Ajo and I am happy each 

day when I wake up on the right side of the grass. I sometimes

worry a bit and wonder how life will be for my kids when they 

reach their eighties...

I might have mentioned to you that there is only one place in 

the world I haven't seen and that I would like to visit, and that

is Australia.  Now I am "getting long in the tooth" and almost 

hesitate to try a long trip that far.

I have never been much of a tourist. I have turned down more

offers to visit world famous sites than you can imagine. My 

interest in visiting other places is to get to know the people

and their ways.

I reckon it's about time to wind this down. You take care, Pard,

and keep up the good work with your wordsmithing. You do

some nice stuff. Who'd a thunk it back in '51?

****************

Ajo Lily

BY E. LEVI BRAKE

CLOVIS HIH SCHOOL, 1951

FOR MIL'S PLACE