Last Friday I dropped Nancy off at the Hampton Inn in Altoona, Pennsylvania, for a planned 3-day reunion with members of the Mercy Hospital School of Nursing class of 1964. I did not see her again until I joined the festivities at noon on Sunday at a restaurant called Jethro's. It was clear they had a good time and hated to part.

They started things off on Friday with dinner at Hoss's. When they returned to the motel, Nancy says they talked till past midnight; no one wanted to sleep. On Saturday, for old times sake, they stopped into Sheetz for lunch. When these ladies were in school, Sheetz was their hangout outside the hospital. (Aside: In the 50 years since, Sheetz has grown from that original store in Altoona in 1960 to almost 450 stores in 6 states.) In the picture above, taken at Sheetz, are (seated) Esther, Kathy, and Lois and (standing) Carol, Joan, Karen, Dolly, Karen, and Nancy on the far right. Two members of the class who were unable to spend the entire weekend with the group are Mary and Gena. Their pictures are to the right. After an afternoon in Legion Park, they enjoyed a banquet dinner at the Olive Garden.

I think they took right up where they left off 50 years ago. I could tell they hated parting on Sunday. They decided to not wait another 50 years to get together. They plan to do it again in 5.

On Monday we closed on Nancy's Aunt Nina's house. It was sold to somebody Nancy knew in high school. When we got together at the closing, it was like another reunion. We packed up and left Pennsylvania on Tuesday. I forgot to mention that while we were in Cresson we stayed with Nancy's cousin Becky and her husband Orville. Can't thank them enough for their welcoming hospitality.

And yesterday we had another birthday in the family. Our grandson Jackson turned 12. A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him. We're driving to Birmingham to celebrate tomorrow.