April 14, 2002, in a message to the Class of '64, members compiled to date by
Bonnie Clarke Hyde
Ladies
and Gentlemen:
Perhaps
when you
check the
email roster
of this
exchange, you
may
wonder: "Who in blazes is
DAWSON, JOHN J.?" Incidentally,
Bonnie, the
initial stands
for Joseph, my
father's name;
he was
Joseph
John.
I
am an
invited infiltrator-
Catholic Central
H.S. Class of
1964
(the
first CCHS
graduating class). During
my last
two years
of high
school,
I worked
at McDonald's
on the
Vestal Parkway.
It is a
fair inference
(I'm a lawyer; we say stuff
like that)
that all
(or
substantially
all-see?) of you
have clogged
your arteries
eating my
burgers, nibbling
my fries, and
sipping my
milkshakes. Fortunately, I
was
a
juvenile and
the statute
of limitations
has run.
As
a teenage
guest in
your beloved
Town of
Vestal, I
learned
two
important lessons: (1) If you
were freezing
on the
Parkway after
hitchhiking
and walking
from Hawley
Street, you
should head
directly
for
Frankie & Johnnie's Diner,
where Veronica
Ann (Bonnie)
Clarke
(future
sheriff’s daughter
and Mrs. Hyde)
would thaw
you out
with
free
coffee and
donuts (Bonnie
is nervous
about that
memory but,
as
I said. the
statute of
limitations has
run); and (2)
When dealing with
Bonnie
and future
real estate
goddess Donna
Kurst, charm was
always
in
order; you argued
with neither.
I once
forgot the
principle of
never
disobeying a Vestal woman; but Carol Keyes thoroughly retrained me
in Binghamton General Hospital in the summer of 1967. If I am lucky,
she
will not
remember- hint: not a
good patient. Even
if she
does, the
statute
of limitations
has run.
Seriously, although
I am not from
amongst you, I
remember my
Vestalite
friends and
acquaintances as a
terrific group
of people.
Based
on my
contacts with Bonnie, Donna, and Carol,
if I
ever write
any
kind of
book, I
will work
in a
chapter titled
"Vestal Women Are
Awesome."
You guys
were pretty
good, too (Hi there,
Bill Shanley).
Also,
because CCHS
had no football team
the first
year, North
was
hopeless,
and I
was experiencing
class struggle
with the
arrogant,
stuck-up jackasses at Central (besides that, I did not like them), I
adopted your football team until CCHS basketball started. By the
way, thanks again for the Central massacre; they so richly (no pun
intended)
deserved it.
Finally, congratulations on your virtual reunion network !! If anyone is
still conscious at this stage of the message (if you have seen what
a
lawyer calls
a "brief",
you understand
the problem),
I
want
to tell
you just
how important
I think
it is that old
friends
stay
in touch
throughout their
lives and
to compliment you
for making
that
so. Good
luck; thanks
for letting
me interlope;
keep the
faith;
and above all else, obey Bonnie, Donna, and Carol.
Regards.
John