You Made It Happen! #79
You know, when you sit down and put pen to paper, you
generally have an idea of what you want to accomplish and how the final product
should look. So, when the class of 1976 planning committee got together, our
hope was that we would have enough interest from our classmates to move forward for the planning stage of our 40th class reunion. We posted on facebook or as
Charette calls it, Face Tube, and learned very quickly that the gang wanted to
go forward. And so the planning began under the guidance and direction of our
class President, Robin Damboise. We had several meetings and the plan seemed to
be coming together nicely. We made some decisions to have a get together Friday
night, a canoe trip on Saturday morning and the piece de resistance was the banquet on Saturday night. We booked the Fort Kent Ski Tow for the banquet, Joel Bossie provided
us with the venue for Friday night and we decided to canoe from Eagle Lake to
Soldier Pond on the Fish River. Time passed and the numbers were not really
growing so we decided to downsize and gave up the Ski Lodge in favor of the
Lakeview Restaurant where we could have a buffet dinner and the forty or so signed
up could get together comfortably. Well, the week came and the final touches
were put on and then Friday night rolled around. The people started driving in
and the parking lot filled up more and more. As they came in, friends met
friends, hands were shaken and we had a solid group of class mates reminiscing about
old times. We commented that if this was any indication of what was to come, we
were going to have a good crowd the following evening. Saturday morning came, and a
group of us met at Doody Michaud’s camp just where Eagle Lake meets the Fish
River. Some came with motors on their canoe and some of us just used good old
fashion manpower. The group shoved off and down the river we went. I can tell
you that there was never a dull moment on the trip down. Some came with spirits and some without. Our band leader, Gerald Pelletier provided the orange whistle and blew it yelling "White Water" when it was approaching. I have to say the comical award went to the boat with
the three comedians. Dale Charette, Tim Guimond and Claude Collins, with Claude
at the helm I might add, provided the entertainment. Now just picture this,
Guimond in the middle of the canoe in a chair with what he called his TEA. His wife,
had given him specific and straightforward instructions that he was not to do
any rowing because of his recent rotator cuff surgery, and he was a good boy
for the entire trip, even though at one point I had him grab a paddle and
took a photo of him with it, and sent the picture to his wife. The response was
swift and to the point, all CAPITALIZED in her answer, GRR, HE IS NOT SUPPOSED
TO PADDLE. Not wanting Tim to be in the doghouse, we responded that it was all
a setup.
Now as the trip progressed, I could see a change in the folks in the
comedy boat. The stories began flowing like the TEA. As we came down the river,
we all joined up in a catamaran type arangement and Guimond began to tell
jokes. The funny part was that he could not finish them. At one point, TC yelled he needs help, so, Dale piped up and finished the joke. Me thinks to much TEA. Well we made
it to Soldier Pond and had a great time. Thanks canoeists for coming, I really
enjoyed it. TC asked me on the way down when the last time was that I had been
down this part of the river and I thought for a minute and said it had to have
been over 45 years.
So, unfortunately, the time passed quickly and Saturday
night came around. Robin had set up places at the restaurant in the banquet room for eighty-eight people. Well, they came and they came and they came
and as we sat down, it was clear that eighty-eight chairs were just not going
to be enough. We added another table, moved some of the people at the existing
tables closer so we could squeeze more in and in the end, I bet we had over ninety-five.
Wow!
Well the night came to a close and I think everyone had a
great time. We talked, we reminisced and we ate and danced. From my vantage
point, I was amazed at the turnout. We had planned and they came in a big way.
I thought to myself, you know, we never won a winter carnival but what happened
this weekend showed that we did in fact have the best class and when it came
time to win, we won big. From the committee, thank you so much for taking the
time to come. From all of you who came from far, a big thank you. And to Barb Moore
and Debbie (Daigle), thanks for enlightening me about 7th grade and
my antics. I really think that you two set me up, but as a prosecutor knows,
circumstantial evidence does not prove a case. To all of you, take care, be
safe and let's not wait ten years to get back together. Heck, let's do it next
weekend!
One more thing:
Rester
en sécurité et je vous remercie beaucoup d'être venu
And one more
thing:
Linda (Morneault)
thanks for calling me Timmy. Other than my dad calling me that, the last time I
heard that name was from Mr. Tobin while he was hoisting me up onto a nail in
the janitors closet. I can’t say that was a fond memory.
One more thing:
Kim, did you really throw Roland out that window?
