Sorry for the delay in writing. I think irregularity (in the blogging sense, not the medical) causes interest to wither. My interest has not waned, but perhaps the handful who do read this have found other pursuits. This is a hurried effort to report in before Penny and I leave very early in the morning for a visit to explore Newport, Rhode Island, Cape Cod and other points of interest, maybe come across some autumn color.
Beverly Cole I had a good chat with Beverly Cole not too long ago. For our reunion in 2011, Beverly had appeared on our deceased list. Shirley Inselman came to me alarmed, asking, “When did she die? I just spoke with her last week.” Like Mark Twain, news of Beverly’s death was much exaggerated. I spoke to Beverly after that reunion, and she was happy to be found and living in Wimberley, TX. I called Beverly after missing her at our reunion. She commented that her health is not the best and then we had some fun reminiscing.
Beverly discussed candidly her mark of shame—she skipped out on a sixth period class not too many weeks before graduation and was caught. As a result, she was removed from the Senior Play, where she had one of the leads, and was stripped of other privileges. I had asked Beverly about her part in the Senior Class Day program where she and Bobby Rios did a dialogue from Saint Joan of Lorraine, about Joan of Arc. Beverly said Mrs. McDaniel went toe to toe with T. Guy, claiming Beverly had been punished enough. Apparently, T. Guy blanched and the show went on.
Beverly has an interesting tale about her life, but she is not going to share it in the history.
A dowdy old lady! Last week, Penny and I went to a performance at the Aztec theater. I did not take the theater tour at our reunion and I wanted to see the old girl. She still looked about the same regarding the motif, but the seating and lobby were changed. Next to the Majestic, it was like comparing fine china with clay crockery. I enjoyed the performance but was disappointed in the over all aspect. A recent article in the newspaper discussed the old fake Aztec sacrificial table that was in the lobby, and was moved to a Mexican food restaurant after the Aztec was closed the first time. Now it is in someone’s back yard.
The Class history: Bob Blake is proofing it now. On my return, I will be getting cost estimates to put it all together. It should have been finished some time back, but you all know about procrastination.
In haste, no photos this time. See you soon.
jeffclassof54 
We took the tour of the Aztec during reunion days. My long-suffering bride had heard quite enough about the theater and especially about the reproduction calendar stone, reputed to be an authentic replica of the sacrificial altar for the ritual dispatch of virgins. This last bit of lore, real or fantasized, of course, was irresistible to the underdeveloped sense of humor common to adolescent boys and thus a constant annoyance to their (our) dates.
Alas, the stone, as you noted, is gone. According to our tour guide at the theater the stone had been removed by one of the owners in the course of previous years, and though he was willing to sell back his interests, he wouldn’t part with the stone, even for an offered $25,000. We wondered if he had someone in particular in mind.
Be well,
Jay