Those Cool Rural School Days (from the 1970s) Still Going Strong, Thankfully (save some losses but still honoring those folks too)

Kudos to all for keeping a courageous cool spirit going at grade schools over the decades! 
I was in the Class of the mid 1970s (the math isn't that tricky but with the turn of the century in 2000 it is a bit...so that's a good  forty plus short years ago!

Most of us are now well into our 50s) and wonder if we are in the running for one of the largest (and coolest) classes.

We are some of the most talented, caring folks I know in the area our age (see that puts us in a certain era before computers, cell phones, faxes and even electric typewriters, fundraisers or community scholarships through the  Berkshire Taconic Fund, opportunities for women early in life and more.

Though there Kellogg was ahead of the game with great teachers in phys ed , and junior high, the late history teacher, the clever science teacher and witty smart Math teacher.

No foreign language pero no problema.. got that in high school, for me both Spanish and French. Those high school  kids were some wonder kids as were the ones at my other high schools..the more the merrier and maybe competitive...Plus the ones in New Haven were kids of Yale profs. One country kid did go to Yale and was a Whiffenpoof singer so you-who to him.

Another is  likely one of our more esteemed homegrown talents who went to Tufts and onto medschool. He's now a lung transplant surgeon in not-so-nearby Seattle WA.

But worth the trip if you need a lung! As for my generation, plenty helped keep the homefires burning bright, sometimes joining with other local folks to have families or enterprises...

One went to work in healthcare and others in many nice fields (work not just gardens.).

At least one since high school helping special needs kids and then the elderly as a CNA.

Some of the colleges we went to include Cooper Union in NYC (an amazing art school, highly competitive,) Vassar, Skidmore, Southern and more.

Plenty from small country schools over the years (not just our class) continued to excel..and go to private and public high schools and colleges near and far. Thankfully a number of our class (who helped with the  a newspaper I founded and had a few editions of, all handwritten and printed on a copy machine that had a roller full of ink that spun to print the 5 pages to make enough for 150 copies or so.)

We should likely have a FB page to catch up on where we all landed. I think in my class we had quite a few kids-- some basic math of how many I can think of without naming names...4,5,1, 1,3,1,2,2,2,1,1,1,1 so that's 26 and I know I am missing a lot. Many of them have ties to the area still so that's special too.

Some are great cooks, having run their own businesses and worked for others. Others drive a taxi  or makes deliveries or works on a road crew and likely we've logged an awful lot of miles in gas-guzzlers. We have activists (partly due to colleges and our kids and modern times leading the way.)

Some of us are grandparents, and sadly some of us (at least two) have lost children. Many have had miscarriages. One kind class member and mother of two passed from cancer. Another student had a fall back in middle school that claimed his life. Another may have been victim to another childhood accident after moving away during the early grades. Many of our parents have crossed over, my own mother Mary 15 years ago at age 83 and my father Dale at 84 12 years ago, June 2 and 3rd respectively. 

There are many theories I have learned in the last decade and really over the years even from early school days when I attended Christian church and studied religions about the soul of a person living beyond the physical realm..and that rings true to me more and more. I am pursuing more work helping people learn and face various challenges and have support at each stage of life.

Our son Kaelan Alexanader Palmer Paton passed away at age 16 trying to save a third friend from the Falls, where the currents were not obvious along the edge of the river at the base of the falls. There is more online and on youtube (including his memorial service in short segments, with the rope rescuer Skip from Cornwall giving more insight into the situation.)

I would welcome more people proactively networking to keep a safe distance from the river and not go without proper capable adult supervision to maintain safe distances. I welcome support for doing a more formal outreach over the next year, as it marks the tenth year of Kaelan's passing on June 16, 2009. 

On Sunday June 2nd at 1pm, I will be at the Iron Bridge to toss flowers on the water in memory of loved ones in my circles and those in our community and in a wider sense since we are all connected. You can email me thoughts or names of those you'd like me to remember at thinkingkapp@gmail.com.

 Please be informed and help spread the word that the  posted rules are such that swimming is not legal or advisable at the Falls,(and this is particularly when there is running water) and not jumping from rocks even if some others seem to be managing that. Ideally we would have a reasonable way to report concerns realizing there are 'some things that merit reporting to save lives and even honor those who gave their all to help others.'

There could be fines and warnings voluntarily posted by many people. I have outreaches to encourage safety in many areas that the mainstream media and society at large too often overlook, even when the evidence that help is needed is overwhelmingly clear.

I run a blog and can speak with people who may want to explore ideas from Transition Town and being proactive in helping our world and local communities at this important time in history/herstory/ourstory. Let's make the story go the way we want and leave the not so well-informed worries in the rough drafts...

Thanks to all keeping the towns afloat with good will and good efforts..and help when that 's needed whether with counseling, support, rescues and more. Everybuddy counts and is valuable on many levels as team players and visionaries for a bright sustainable future. 'We've got this...together!"