Name: Paula Bondi - Springer ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 4:41 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Cameron Park, CA
E-mail
Message: Now at www.aljardine.com The "Big Sur Christmas" page is up and can be accessed from the Home Page. (Click on the Christmas Balls.) As a special gift from Al you can also download a ZIP file of the song as an mp3 by clicking the MP3 button at the bottom left. Happy Holidays from all of us at Jardine Tours.

Name: Howard "Paco" Duran ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 1:09 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Lake Forest
E-mail
Message: Have a Happy one!! I'm leaving early wednesday for the NoCal, going to watch the grandson play in a tournament. I'm glad they invented the Tivo!! Having Thanksgiving Dinner at the hotel with the team.

Name: Wade Greasby ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 11:34 am - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Surf City, California
E-mail
Message: JB Happy Thanksgiving to you too. You would be surprised at the former HHS football players I remember and gave me insight to HHS football. Dave Chauncey worked with me and taught me the plays when I was 12-13. Henry Cooper always found time to talk about football, Ron Petch, Harry Wolverton, Tommy Long, Pat Burris, Larry Poltash, Rod Potts, Jim, Bill, and John Sloey, Steve Tamburrino, Jim Doersam, Scott Laidlaw, all these guys and more had an influence on me with Cougar football. The Coach, even as a freshman/sophomore helped me to understand the philosophy. He even made me swallow my wad of tobacco one day! I had the good fortune of playing with some of the best guys ever. We were all on the same page. Did you see what the SOONERS did to Tech! Lookout Cowboys

Name: John Crotty ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 11:05 am - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: Hermosa Beach
E-mail
Message: Regarding Thanksgiving, I might have mentioned this before, but here's my rememberence. We didn't have any relatives come over, they lived out of state, so there were just the six of us. Dad always dropped the four of us kids off at movies at around 11:00AM, and he and Mom would cook all day while we were out of the way. We came home to a fabulous meal with plenty of leftovers!!!! Then we'd sit around and either watch some family movie on TV or play some type of game together, Hearts or Yahtzee....but always together. Even though T-day is just a day away, people are already putting up their Xmas decorations. I agree with Jim A. that it takes the excitement away somewhat when the season lasts for over a month. KOST radio started playing 24 hour Xmas songs last Friday!!! But, that's how it is these days. It's all about the $$$$$$. Now for a little nostalgia. My mom used to stencil Santa and his reindeer on our front windows with Glass WAX each year. Anyone else do that also?

Name: Al Rocca ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 10:38 am - HHS Time
Class: 1970
City & State: Mesa, AZ
E-mail
Message: To all Cougs: Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving

Name: Michael M Kratz ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 10:21 am - HHS Time
Class: 1971
City & State: Vegas Baby!
E-mail
Message: Thanksgiving...Hum! You must admit, it's Family Disfunction at it's best. So after saying that, have a safe a grateful Thanksgiving.

Name: Leslie Greasby ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 8:54 am - HHS Time
Class: 1979
City & State: Whittier, CA.
No E-mail
Message: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WADE! Hope you and the boys have a great day.

Name: Keith D. Jones ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 7:24 am - HHS Time
Class: 1976
City & State: Las Vegas
E-mail
Message: Thanksgiving always meant flag football across the street in Holy Glen park. Me, my brother, John and Donald Dye, Tom and Danny Johnston and sometimes others. My cousins Carter and Carla Pasch with my uncle coming over. When I think about it my mom was an awesome cook. We had just great food all the time and especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. We would put in the two extensions in our dining room table to make it so it would fit everyone. The fancy china dishes with pictures on them would be taken out of the china closet and used. It was fun and very family-like back then. Happy Thanksgiving to all Cougars

Name: Richard (Rick) Weaver ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 7:20 am - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Bedford, NH
E-mail
Message: Hi Cougs, since there has been and continues to be a sports/surf/car theme to many of the postings on Cougartown, I thought I?d throw in a variation on the surf theme. I?ll preface this with saying that I have no financial interest or otherwise in recommending the following, other than the fact that I am a big fan of their product. I did a search on ?wine? in CT and there were enough hits that I decided to do this, although the few I read made no recommendations... So, being a wine lover, collector and formerly a (minimal at best) surfer, check out http://www.longboardvineyards.com/ If you are into surfing, or just enjoy a touch of the surfing motif, you might want to try their wine. They are located in Sonoma and have a tasting room in Healdsburg and do sell on-line and ship to many States. I love their Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes sourced from the Rochioli Vineyards, although I like just about everything they make. Also, they have the COOLEST labels you?ll find, especially if you like longboarding. They are certainly a conversation piece. Everyone I?ve shared a bottle with always has something to say about the label (and of course the wine too). So, it?s not cheap, but for a special occasion, maybe with a fellow Coug, it?s a lot of fun. CHEERS!

Name: Wade Greasby ~~~~~~~~~~ Tue-Nov 25, 2008, 6:28 am - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Surf City, California
E-mail
Message: I must admit, I agree with you Gary, I would go through a series of plays prior to the game and then get a feel for what plays would work during. They were completely different than Coach Plum's. When you see things happen in front of you and can visualize what defenses are doing it makes play calling so much easier. There were times when Coach Plum would pull me aside and get up in my face about my selection and I would call his plays. Though soon I'd be back with what would work for our offense. I always thought about scoring first and letting our defense get the ball back so we could score again. We had so many options to score and utilize Terry Howse and Gino Skulick with their running abilities. I always thought Gino never received the opportunity to use his power and speed enough. I would call a play and Coach would send in another after our "talk" on the side lines and I'd run his play...The rest is history! To all a Happy and Loving Thanksgiving. We are having El Tarasco, a great Southern California Tradition. Bill Sloey, you played for NU on a Turkey day or two, right?

Name: Les Ward ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Nov 24, 2008, 3:47 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1958
City & State: Kalaheo, Hawaii
E-mail
Message: Hi Everybody! I am doing this again cuz I am not sure if my first attempt was a success. Any way ya'll have a happy thanksgiving and holidays. Aloha, Les Ward 58

Name: Art LaMere ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Nov 24, 2008, 2:59 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Bettendorf Ia
No E-mail
Message: Well Thanksgiving growing up we stayed home. Dad never wanted to go out. In the past we have driven to Des Moines Iowa to be with my wife's family however this year we will be driving to Texas to visit with my older brother's daughter Shelly and her family for a long weekend won't be 2 hours but about 14 hours. You all have a wonderful holiday and stay safe. Art

Name: Richard (Rick) Weaver ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Nov 24, 2008, 11:44 am - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Bedford, NH
E-mail
Message: I?ve been meaning to post for a while about a book that was mentioned at various times in Cougartown. It is called ?The Lost Beach Boy? by Jon Stebbins and David Marks (who is the ?Lost? Beach Boy). I read it a while ago and would say that it was a pretty well written book that offers an interesting perspective on the Beach Boys and their history. David Marks was/is a tragic yet ultimately almost inspirational character. The good news is that the book turned me on to a very good period piece of music that David was central in creating (I got it on Amazon.com). His band was called ?The Moon?. The band put out two albums that both died for reasons detailed in the book. Now, both albums are combined on one CD called ?Without Earth and The Moon? (the names of both albums). I would say it is some of the best 60?s music you never heard. If you don?t read the book, you might want to check out the CD. His other contribution to the music world from that time was a band called ?David Marks & the Marksmen? which is back-ordered on Amazon and that I?ve ordered ? when it arrives I?ll post an amateur critique. Rock-On Cougs!

Name: Bobby Jensen ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Nov 24, 2008, 10:26 am - HHS Time
Class: 1971
City & State: Los Angeles 64
No E-mail
Message: My earliest memories of Thanksgiving was Mom cooking two days before, my father loading the car early Thursday morning, driving for 2 hours to our grandparents, unloading the car, everyone in the kitchen cooking more, sitting at the ?Kid?s Table?,eating, laying on floor because no one could move, waking up to more food, packing the car and driving home?. Fast forward 20 years?My mother complaining that she had cooked the same thing on Thanksgiving for the past 40 years so the vote was to do something different. Filet for Thanksgiving ? Hooray. The following year everyone complained about the break in tradition, Mom lost! Back to the same old menu. By this time I found out that I had friends who had no place to go for Thanksgiving, broken homes, moved away from family etc. so we started inviting those who had no place to go and with those new people came wonderful new menu items. It seems that everyone has something special they remembered from their childhood Thanksgivings that they were willing to prepare, so the ?Pot Luck? Thanksgiving Dinner was invented at our house. The grandparents and parents are now gone, no more driving long distances with the car loaded to the gills, just the tradition of enjoying a meal with those friends who have now become family. Enjoy the day.

Name: Mary Ann Martin ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Nov 24, 2008, 7:55 am - HHS Time
Maiden: Walton
Class: 1961
City & State: Nashville AR
E-mail
Message: This time of Thanksgiving's always right in the middle of deer season, so you know what my sons will be doing. Usually we eat that night, but nada this year even tho I've so many reasons to be thankful for. They'll eat bologna sandwiches and I'm joining a recently widowed friend for all the trimmings at Cracker Barrel in Texarkana. LOL. Speaking of our troops, please join me in sending a patriotic card to them - beautiful designs by children throughout our great land ... sponsored by Xerox: www.letssaythanks.com and it's free!

Name: Richard (Rick) Weaver ~~~~~~~~~~ Mon-Nov 24, 2008, 6:57 am - HHS Time
Class: 1973
City & State: Bedford, NH
E-mail
Message: Well, it's now Thanksgiving week. Since moving to the Northeast, Thanksgiving has not quite been the same. Prior to our move (almost 3 years ago), Thanksgiving was always a big family affair - sometimes up to 30 people. Now, it's just my wife, two kids and me. It's hard to get a small turkey as I seem to be the only one who eats leftovers other than the kids eating a turkey sandwich on Friday - that's about it. This year, I decided to see if they wanted to try something different so we took a vote. Unfortunately, it was 2 for Turkey and 2 for prime rib. This morning on the way to work I was listening to NPR and I heard an interesting segment on Thanksgiving that might just settle it for us. Apparently, historically speaking, turkey was not on the Pilgrim's plates. Guess what was - lobster! Or as they say here - lobstah... I will bring that suggestion home tonight and see how it flies. I think it might go over pretty well, although it is a little unconventional. The good news is that there seems to be an oversupply of "lobstah" right now and we can get them for $6.99/lb. This year, although we will miss our extended family, we will think back to the time when the Pilgrims were here and struggling to live, and to ultimately create our nation. Perhaps Lobstah will link us to a different past since we cannot share it with our family. We do still have a lot to be thankful for even in these trying times. HAPPY THANKSGIVING COUGS!

Name: Karen Sullivan ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Nov 23, 2008, 8:13 pm - HHS Time
Maiden: Harrison
Class: 1971
City & State: Manhattan Beach,CA
E-mail
Message: Happy Birthday to my long time friend, Nancy Roberts, c/o'72. We have known each other since we were young and now our daughters, Sharon and Jessica have been best friends since they were babies. Happy Birthday Nanner!! and many more!

Name: Bill Sloey ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Nov 23, 2008, 4:49 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1969
City & State: RB
E-mail
Message: Thoughts of Thanksgiving goes way back to elementary for me, making that brown crepe paper turkey and coloring it?s tail with all the colors in your box. I only had 8 colors in my box, most of them were broken, and no way could I compete with little Becky who maintained 48 colors and a sharpener to keep them sharp to stay within the lines. But Mom thought my turkey was beautiful and hung it up as if it was a treasure, geezzzz?.. just glad she wasn?t able to see the others?..Thanksgiving always seemed to have a football game on and dinner was always scheduled around these events. I always thought how cool that would be to be playing football on T.V. and everyone was home watching you. I still wonder?.So if you are lonely and depressed like JB, get out and do something or write your story to CT we are all in this together, no statistics. Blessings to all and I am Thankful for all the effort JB puts in C.T.

Name: Henry Cooper ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Nov 23, 2008, 3:44 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1966
City & State: Redway Ca.
E-mail
Message: John: Entered the world of High Speed Wireless. And there's nothing appearing but the Banner on my screen on the Alumni List Page? I have new Email address and want to enter it. Tried calling the "OLE COACH" his voice mail stated he was playing tennis. Happy Thanks Giving to Everyone. Henry Cooper

Name: George Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Nov 23, 2008, 9:41 am - HHS Time
Class: 1962
City & State: Spinnaker Coves, Ca
E-mail
Message: Hey, John Boy; All this Thanksgiving stuff is really chocking me up LOL. What I remember about Thanksgiving is that it is in fact one of the most emotional days of the year for some people. This was made evident to me when I was working on the Sheriff's Department. For the first, I don't know how many years when I first started my career I did not have any holidays off. However, I dreaded working on Thanksgiving because almost every year I worked on that particular holiday (Thanksgiving), I had a suicide case assigned to me. The victim usually left a note stating how lonely they were and missed their families. Very sad but true, the suicide stats in Los Angeles go up drastically on Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everybody, don't forget to give thanks to a service man or woman Semper Fi.

Name: Jim Peppers ~~~~~~~~~~ Sun-Nov 23, 2008, 12:54 am - HHS Time
Class: 1961
City & State: Athens, Greece
E-mail
Message: Chris, you ought to ask yourself why you know who John Alden was. You were probably taught in grammar school, I know I was. However, the quality of teaching and the quality of the knowledge of teachers today is far from inspiring. Of course, there are exceptions. However, I have long lamented that in America a kid had much more chance of being popular by being an athlete. And as we all know, even if we don?t want to admit it, being accepted and popular is highly important to young people. Smart wasn't ?in? even when we were young. I have spent a lifetime trying to make up for my lack of early education, although by today's standards, I was indeed well educated. Perhaps most importantly, our parents taught us values that now seem to have gone by the wayside. Nevertheless, America remains an inspiring country where almost anything is possible with a little effort and tenacity. Let?s hope that things are going to continue to improve for everyone. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Jim Peppers

Name: Chris Prewitt ~~~~~~~~~~ Sat-Nov 22, 2008, 9:33 pm - HHS Time
Class: 1967
City & State: Fullerton, CA
E-mail
Message: With Thanksgiving just around the corner I was wondering if there are any Cougars who are or were members of the Mayflower Society or Alden Kindred of America? I have been researching my family and I think that I can prove my lineage to John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. What is funny is how many younger people don't even know who the Aldens were.