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5/24/2004
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Christi (McDonald) Howarth
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Hey Kathy Cunningham! Great getting a brief update from you! Sounds like you have a lot of responsibility at Memorial. I admire anyone who works in a hospital setting with all the stressful life/death issues. Since you and I both work in Long Beach, how about getting together before the reunion? Remember when we were roommates in Moscow? Do you remember that crazy handshake we made up? Call me up and we can catch up!
I guess I did disappear from OC after graduation. Got my BA in liberal studies from Westmont College in Santa Barbara. It afforded me two great European experiences. My junior year I lived in Linz, Austria for the summer, learned some German, and traveled all over Eastern Europe. After graduation I went back with ten students and a professor to study and see the rest of Europe. Loved it so much I got a job in Amsterdam and stayed through the winter so I could ski the Alps with some Austrian friends. That was one of the best times of my life!
Back to Westmont the following year to finish my teaching credential at a school in Montecito. Then Long Beach Unified School District hired me and I've been teaching, mostly gifted students, for the last 24 years! Most of my career has been in Belmont Shore with great kids so it's been a satisfying environment but very unrewarding financially! But of course, three months off each year to travel is worth a lot!
I've been married/divorced twice, and then after those relationships ended, felt the biological clock ticking so I had a child "on my own." I have a great ten year old son in 4th grade. Being a single mom has had its challenges, but I'm glad I chose motherhood.
BC (before child) I lived/worked in Europe ten different times. My last time abroad was to New Zealand for the entire summer (their winter) where I skied the Southern Alps. So haven't been around for the last two reunions. I've always been on another continent. Hopefully I can finally catch up and reconnect with friends from drill team, madrigals, and from Arevalos Elementary at this upcoming reunion.
Highlights from Edison... drill team parades, competitions, and of course our Russian trip! I loved singing in Madrigal Ensemble (Hey, Roger and Scott Wojahn, where are you?)
Also, hope the Hilton has a piano available for Kevin! Hi Kevin... hope to chat with you at the reunion! I also remember Ms. Bullo, our Spanish teacher going on the Dating Game and actually winning the date with some actor. Ms. Eiswerth's tedious grammar assignments were a bore, but I loved the novel 1984! Thought the PE dept. was innovative with the idea of riding bikes on the bike path for PE. That was so fun. Loved dissecting cats in Mrs. Griffin's anatomy/phys. class, and thought Mr. Garland's unit on political cartoons was great. Loved speech/debate competitions, and being in the summer musical Lil'Abner. Overall, I have great memories of teachers who made learning fun, and Edison really did offer so many opportunities for great extracurricular activities which made those hormonal surges and adolescence much more palatable for me! Looking forward to hearing everyone else's stories/remembrances in details at the reunion!
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7/14/2004
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Christi (McDonald) Howarth
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I've feel so privileged to be a part of the diverse class of 74! I'm grateful for the numerous opportunities to reconnect with old friends already! Kathy McClellan...
talking on the cell phone and playing golf simultaneously is NOTHING compared to your situation while we were on the phone...I could not transition to a gunshot wound to the head and come back composed! How many of us are willing to face that reality on a daily basis? NOT I.
I am delighted to experience the enhanced, evolved EHS class of '74!
Raise your glasses in a toast to who we've become!
To US!
Here's to the multitasking mothers who always are on call,
To the doting, loving fathers, whose dollars dwindle at the mall!
To working single parents, who try to make ends meet,
The homework, baths, and dinner, by nine o'clock are beat!
Here's to the passionate musicians, who bring pleasure to our lives,
They let us dance, they let us sing, their lyrics we recite.
To all the heroic nurses, bandaging bloody wounds from urban strife,
To all the brilliant doctors, we trust them with their knife.
Here's to the vital psychologists, many helped us get this far!
Who showed us all life's patterns, the way humans really are.
To all the wondrous writers, who grace us with their pen,
Their messages inspire us; what stories they do spin!
Here's to the computer wizards once smugly we called nerds,
Now can't live without them, to figure out tech talk so absurd!
Here's to all patient teachers, who foster skills each day,
They nurture, nudge, and motivate each child along the way.
And to the adventurous pilots, who take us place to place,
Opening us up to new worlds, of exotic food, languages, and race.
To the justice bringing lawyers, who try to make life fair,
They litigate, negotiate ... argue with them if you dare!
And to the clever artists, who create both day and night,
They paint, draw, illuminate, bring shadows into light!
Here's to those who shaped and challenged us, to perform along the way,
Who taught us to prioritize, and refine the things we say.
We've learned to be the leaders, in our own corners of the world,
Our talents and our precious gifts, we boldly have unfurled!
To the four years that bonded us, our laughter, love, and pain,
Yes, we indeed have left our mark, on a world sometimes insane!
Here's to 30 years of growth, such friendships still remain,
And when this weekend's past and gone, we hope these will not wane!
Here's to our common humanity, its cycles and its thrills,
Here's to the hope that reconnection may assist us over our next hill!
Party time! Baby boomers rule!
Christi McDonald (Howarth)
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