So I guess I will have to fill in the blanks until they figure out how to register....
I also have tons of photo's and so do they...
I cannot post any pictures right now, of course because I want to !!
We all had a blast,
We laughed for 5 days!
It tuned out so well.
On Sunday night the 11th we met at my home and had a catered vegetarian dinner in my back yard.
My yard has a pool, a waterfall, and a KOI pond. I have desert plants so it is really peceful and serene out there.
Present were:
Dave and Jan Pettit
Mark Kelso
Cathy Soto
Andy and Sharon (Palmer)Wiles
Chris and Nancy (Ciola) Kent
Ken McLean
Janet Allaire
Valerie Knowles, and my husband Rick O'Dowd.
It was so wonderful to see everyone again!
Dave and Jan invited everyone to their home for wine and cheese on Wednesday night. :)-->
On Monday we got up early and went to the Monte Carlo Hotel to pick up everyone, and took two cars accros the Hoover Dam into Arizona to Willow Beach.
We rented a 10-person pontoon.
It was Nancy and Chris Kent, Ken McLane, Sharon and Any Wiles, and Rick and I.
Nacy and I were laughing later about it, here is a handful of mellow gray haired people being lectured by a seemingly drill-sergant woman warning us to not horse-play and run the boat into the canyon walls! :P-->
We took the boat down about 20 miles and found a sandy beach I was familiar with.
We docked there and set up our shade tent.
The rest of the day was swimming, eating picnic lunch, laughing, reminiscing, just having a great time of fun and fellowhip.
We saw Big Horn Sheep on the slopes of the Black Canyon, and Nancy got some good shots.
On the drive back we stopped to get some touristy photos of Lake Mead and the dam.
It was 115 in the Back Canyon that day!!
We drove back into Las Vegas so people could do other stuff that night.
Tuesday evening we all went on the dinner boat crusie with Lake Mead Cruises.
We had a group photo that I would love to post but can't right now!! -->
Dave and Jan Pettit, Mark Kelso, and Cathy Soto joined the rest of us.
There were more Big Horn Sheep there and Nacy got some really great shots.
I hope they came out!
The dinner was really good, and the boat took us to the dam, where we got some good sunset photos.
We all laughed about funny stuff in the Corps and just had a great time with each other.
Dave and Sharon Low arrived with their two teen-age sons, so we met them at the hotel after that night.
Wednesday was lunch at the Spice Market Buffet, in the Aladin Hotel and Casino.
We had long table and we were all chatering. :D-->
It and Bellagio are the best buffets in town Very delicious quality food.
Wednes night we met at Dave and Jan Pettit's lovely home.
They had a new pool and back-yard area, which is really nice.
So we exchanged more pictures from the old days and had some good food and wine.
I read the names on the graduation list so we could share with the others where people were.
We also acknowleged the ones that have passed away :(-->
On Thursday morning was the farewell breakfast. Driving on the way to the Bellagio, I started to get teary eyed, knowing I was going to have to say goodby, knowing that we do not know what the future holds for how long we live.
Valerie filled you all in on the details of the reunion, and she is right: we had a blast! It was great seeing the new, revised, expanded versions of each other and re-connecting after 20 years! I have lots of photos I would like to share, as soon as I figure out how to get them to you!
We are already talking about next year's reunion (my husband is even looking forward to it!) Maybe next year we can come at a cooler time (it was 117 on Monday)! And I don't care how dry the air is - 117 degrees is still VERY HOT!! It was like having a hair dryer blowing in your face, but it was so worth it! We did a lot of walking and sight seeing and still didn't see everything we wanted to! My husband had never met or even heard of any of the people he met in Vegas and he had a wonderful time and is looking forward to next year too (except maybe the vegetarian dinner - sorry Valerie! ;-p)
I want to thank Valerie publicly for all the hard work and heart she put into this reunion. I know a lot of love and hard work went into it and it showed! Everything was top notch, every restaurant, hotel, the dinner cruise was awesome and the boat ride on Monday was as well. We were treated like royalty, nothing but the best would do if Valerie had any say in it (and she did! ;-p) Words cannot express the joy we all felt in sharing our lives and experiences, families and memories. All were welcomed with open arms and hearts and no judgment whatsoever (which I know some of us were concerned about) I will do anything I can to help Valerie do this again and I encourage anyone who wasn't there this year to attend next year. The places we saw were fabulous, but the whole point was the people we re-connected with - that alone was worth the trip! Everything else was icing on a wonderful, warm and fuzzy cake! I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
Valerie - I love you and I miss you!
Sharon
P.S.: Paul - thank you for the wonderful idea! I'm eternally grateful for your awesome generosity - words are not enough!
I have the pictures saved on my desktop - does that mean I can't post them? I use Word on my computer more than anything else, so my knowledge of other programs is pretty limited. I looked at the "how-to's" and still can't figure it out, but, I'm willing to try...
Start a thread in "every picture tells a story" and click on the paperclip thingy and type in the place where the picture is - if it is on your desktop, it is probably at something like c:documents and settingssomethingorother.
Act just as if you were attaching the picture to an email.
First, thanks to Valerie & Rick for being such great hosts.. all the organizing paid off because each activity ran smoothly and was well thought through. There was something for everyone!!
Loved the river ride...HOT, my flip flops melted!! But the scenery was breathtaking, the picnic was superb and the fellowship was sweet.
Mostly, that is what stood out of all the things we did together, that our fellowship was sweet. We are a group of people bound by common experience...and a reunion added to the links between us.
We are all different now, no one is serving the ministry we signed up to 25 years ago (it doesn't exist-another link in our bond is the loss of the ministry we loved). But we all still love God and each other.
It was tremendously refreshing to see each other again and to share stories of what had happened in the interim. How many kids, where they were now, what they were doing? Business adventures and successes...we talked about all of it.
And we talked of each of the 7th Corps who were not there...with respect. We wasted no time or heart on maligning anyone. That was refreshing in itself...I guess everyone had bones to pick but no one did. Somehow we were too busy laughing and playing and catching up and enjoying our time together to spoil it by speaking ill of those not present.
We laughed and laughed and laughed...at ourselves. We looked at our "new, revised and expanded" appearances, cut and pasted them onto the people underneath who were still so much the same and we had a riot!!! Everywhere we went, we were the table where the laughter was...how uplifting.
If this happens next year make every attempt to be there. It was not a waste of time but another step on the long road to wholeness and healing. Perhaps there were no meetings with teachings but then, perhaps each of our meetings were teachings...not from a podium but from our hearts, personally and intimately.
I left Las Vegas with a renewed sense of family and household...of worthiness, of importance, of godliness and of happiness.
It was a wonderful week...thanks again to Val & Rick and all the others who did so much to make it a great time.
Well said Spangles! That's exactly how I felt about the reunion as well, but you said it much better! I too highly encourage anyone who can come next year to be there! You won't regret it! I was a wonderful, uplifting, fun time. Thanks again to Val for all the heart, work and planning that went into this reunion and thanks to Rick for making my husband feel so welcome and comfortable!
There we all were at the X7th Corps and Way College Reunion in Las Vegas. Wow!! What a great time. We even exceeded my extraordinary expectations. Wood Allen says, “Ninety percent of success is in showing up.” My posting is as months late. No story or excuses. First, let me echo all the other raves following the first X7th Corps 25th reunion.
Valerie Knowles is a consummate hostess. We had the most elegant accommodations at the Monte Carlo Resort Hotel right in the middle of "the strip" at extraordinarily reasonable rates. Valerie is a super shopper and Convention Liaison. Gee, I wonder where she(and all of us)learned those skills so well. [tee hee hee]
Since I arrived in town a few days early, I really did check out the other hotels, their prices, and relative accommodations. I am amazed that she could get us such a wonderful room rate in such a marvelous hotel. The attitude of the employees at Monte Carlo stands out. They seem more open and friendlier than the Bellagio, MGM Grand, or New York New York. They may be better educated or are more upscale than the Flamingo or Tropicana.
While in Vegas I strolled through [comparison sniffed] a whole bunch of casinos. IMHO the Monte Carlo’s casino was far friendlier and a lot spiritually cleaner than most others. So, we had almost the best high-end accommodations at amazingly low rates. ;-))
Valerie booked a big block of rooms and anticipated about 300 of us. But then she got flack. People filled her ear with their stories and excuses. Some may have stayed away because they said they wanted the event to be centered on Bible teachings. Others may have stayed away because they were afraid that they would be subjected to more of the same. Others felt bad because they had not built a colossal spiritual ministry with the tools that we all had been given. Some now have spouses who were not in the Corps. So, they may have projected that they would feel uncomfortable since they don’t know anyone. Hey, not to worry! We had several of those and they all enjoyed themselves too. I came because I wanted to teach the Bible. Not much chance for that. It is the people who came.
We had a riot! I can’t remember when I laughed so much or so hard about some of the silliest spiritual things. We had a common expectation of no dogmatic Bible thumping. We gave each other lots of space to be who we really are. Oh, that’s getting awfully close to loving each other. So, if you are not the man or woman that you know you could be, or that you want to be, then you fit right in with all the rest of us.
At one point on our trip down the Colorado River in a pontoon boat, Valerie and I think David Lowe or Sharon Palmer Wiles’ husband, Andy, climbed a sand dune that overlooked where we were swimming to take pictures. From that vantage, you can see the sky, the mountains beyond the foothills and the Colorado River below all in one magnificent picture. I still can’t wait to see how these photos turned out. For your sakes, I hope they are OK. You all will want to come next year. I promise.
Well, after taking her pictures Valerie started walking down the sand dune wearing her flip-flops. Did we mention that the temperature was a hot 115 or 117 degrees that day? It is a soothing dry heat. Well, you can bet that the sand on that dune was cooking. So, as she came down the dune, her momentum got her going faster and faster. So, she began taking bigger and bigger steps. To compensate, she started running even faster and faster. Soon she ran right out of her flip-flops and was taking gigantic steps barefoot on that hot sand. Soon she was half-running, half-leaping like in a “hop, skip, and jump” event toward the water below.
But she still had her Instamatic camera tucked in the pocket of her shorts. David Lowe or Andy Wiles up above started yelling, “Your camera! Your camera!” But it was too little, too late, and much too hot. Nothing was going to stop her now from hitting that water to cool off her burning feet. Splaaaaashhhh!
When her camera finally finished drying out, people at the camera store simply gave her a new camera and developed the contents of her old one before throwing it away.
Valerie’s X7th Corps reunion has something for everyone. Bring your kids. OK, so they are teen-agers now. So what? They’ll love Vegas too! David Lowe’s kids sure did.
Dave Petit invited us over for wine and cheese and to sit around his new pool. There, we read the 7th Corps roll call. I sure hope that 200-300 more people can be there next year. The hilarious and precious stories we told about each special person as their names were read should have been tape-recorded for posterity.
[Valerie, please let’s remember that for next year. Maybe we could get a microphone that sits on the middle of a conference room table for large group teleconferencing so everyone in the much larger group can be heard.]
“Everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” There won’t be a video of our antics, So, if you don’t come, you will miss all the tears of uproarious laughter!
Valerie now has many ideas on how to better accommodate all of 300 to 500 for dinner on the boats on Lake Meade and the upper view of Hoover Dam. Next year we will do the river trip again, (but not on a Monday) so we can get a much closer view of the very impressive lower side of Hoover Dam.
We had such a blast catching up with old friends. We especially missed Paul Palante, to whom Valerie gives credit for the original idea of the 25th reunion. Paul was the principal cheerleader to spur Valerie on to pull this one off. Yet, Paul needed emergency surgery for his eyesight. He could not find his way through an airport to come [all puns intended].
We all agreed that this year was really the pilot weekend to work out any bugs in logistics in bringing a group of 300 to 500 (including spouses, significant others, kids, etc.) to Vegas for five days. Can you picture moving 60 to 100 rental cars in and out of the same parking deck at the same time? How about busses to and from Lake Meade? Does anyone know any songs we can sing? [Ha ha]
Some may have stayed away this year because they did not have big stories to tell of their great successes. Some may have never married. So what? We love YOU and do not care one whit about your resume.
We wisely do not compare you or ourselves with others, but rather we compare ourselves with our former selves. We are all improving. We just loved one another in an entirely different context. I think we found that “our hearts are [still] knit together in love,” even after all these years. I think that is the most important thing.
Here I am an invited guest and good friend of so many of the 7th Corps. I was 6th Corps turned Special Corps II, (Family Corps 2) and then Family Corps 6. Yet, even I was accepted as one of the family because I am part of the family. So, y’all come now. As soon as Valerie posts the next date and details, I’ll be one of the first in line to register. Why? This is an entirely open culture. It is not a closed corporation. Everyone seemed to agree that the open culture worked fabulously.
There are no Thought Police at the 7th Corps 26th Reunion. There were no “innies” there. But if any were there, I bet we would have made them feel welcome too. This is a celebration of our lives and how we shared them together. We delight in one another as God delights in us.
With all of our idiosyncrasies, we still have so much in common. Yeah, we have different hairlines and waistlines. Some of us are grayer, or balder, or better looking. Some of us are supporting our parents as we put our children through college.
I love each and every one of you in the 7th Corps and the college division, too. Many of the friends of the 7th corps at GS had joked early on about crashing this party. I sure wish you had. I truly believe you would wish you had too if you had any idea of the great time and warm camaraderie we enjoyed and you missed.
Yeah, Valerie saw to it that we were treated so elegantly, with respect and dignity. I was having such a great time. I had to look around and see that it was the same great folks, only in a different context and era. But really, it is all about the people.
This next year Valarie and Paul promise to have a website that is more accessible and interactive than the other one was. Let me insert thanks to Valerie, Paul, and all the people who helped to pull this test pilot off. Next year will be even better. That’s the plan. So, make your plans early to attend. Plan your summer, your family vacation, your business trips around the real X7th Corps 26th Reunion.
Your humble servant,
Awaiting his return and the date of our gathering together (in Vegas????) [hohoho],
Noah. [an old man with one real good idea that could only have come from guess who?]
Thank you, Noah, for that insight. I would have been there but I had a conflict that was unavoidable on those dates. I'll attend next time.
Realistically, I do not think you will get "hundreds" for a gathering of this type. But go for it. It will take a lot of promotion and effort. But if even 25 to 75, 100, come that is a sure good time. (Heck, I'd go just to see Valerie and Dave and a few others.)
But the strong suggestion I have is to open it up for not only 7th Corps but something like a "7th Corps and Friends Reunion". Welcome not only all 7th Corps but friends of 7th Corps, spouses, people who may have left or got kicked out of the Corps, the 9th Corps who we were with our last year, our elder 5th Corps, etc.
It is difficult to pull such a diverse group together to come all the way to LV. But I think there will be better response if promoted well and in an open format with lots of activities we can do together or independently.
I think Las Vegas is an excellent choice of locations, cheap place fares, choice of rooms, lots to do, etc. We had a ball when we were there. Looking forward to going back.
Oh, and tell Paul and Valerie they can use my site if they want.
It is still under construction but plenty of space for "announcements". Go to it here: 7th Corps Website
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Sunesis
My thoughts were with you guys! I want to hear about it and see pics!
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valerie52
OK, harldy anybody at the reunion is a GS'er....
So I guess I will have to fill in the blanks until they figure out how to register....
I also have tons of photo's and so do they...
I cannot post any pictures right now, of course because I want to !!
We all had a blast,
We laughed for 5 days!
It tuned out so well.
On Sunday night the 11th we met at my home and had a catered vegetarian dinner in my back yard.
My yard has a pool, a waterfall, and a KOI pond. I have desert plants so it is really peceful and serene out there.
Present were:
Dave and Jan Pettit
Mark Kelso
Cathy Soto
Andy and Sharon (Palmer)Wiles
Chris and Nancy (Ciola) Kent
Ken McLean
Janet Allaire
Valerie Knowles, and my husband Rick O'Dowd.
It was so wonderful to see everyone again!
Dave and Jan invited everyone to their home for wine and cheese on Wednesday night.
:)-->
On Monday we got up early and went to the Monte Carlo Hotel to pick up everyone, and took two cars accros the Hoover Dam into Arizona to Willow Beach.
We rented a 10-person pontoon.
It was Nancy and Chris Kent, Ken McLane, Sharon and Any Wiles, and Rick and I.
Nacy and I were laughing later about it, here is a handful of mellow gray haired people being lectured by a seemingly drill-sergant woman warning us to not horse-play and run the boat into the canyon walls!
:P-->
We took the boat down about 20 miles and found a sandy beach I was familiar with.
We docked there and set up our shade tent.
The rest of the day was swimming, eating picnic lunch, laughing, reminiscing, just having a great time of fun and fellowhip.
We saw Big Horn Sheep on the slopes of the Black Canyon, and Nancy got some good shots.
On the drive back we stopped to get some touristy photos of Lake Mead and the dam.
It was 115 in the Back Canyon that day!!
We drove back into Las Vegas so people could do other stuff that night.
Tuesday evening we all went on the dinner boat crusie with Lake Mead Cruises.
We had a group photo that I would love to post but can't right now!!
-->
Dave and Jan Pettit, Mark Kelso, and Cathy Soto joined the rest of us.
There were more Big Horn Sheep there and Nacy got some really great shots.
I hope they came out!
The dinner was really good, and the boat took us to the dam, where we got some good sunset photos.
We all laughed about funny stuff in the Corps and just had a great time with each other.
Dave and Sharon Low arrived with their two teen-age sons, so we met them at the hotel after that night.
Wednesday was lunch at the Spice Market Buffet, in the Aladin Hotel and Casino.
We had long table and we were all chatering.
:D-->
It and Bellagio are the best buffets in town Very delicious quality food.
Wednes night we met at Dave and Jan Pettit's lovely home.
They had a new pool and back-yard area, which is really nice.
So we exchanged more pictures from the old days and had some good food and wine.
I read the names on the graduation list so we could share with the others where people were.
We also acknowleged the ones that have passed away
:(-->
On Thursday morning was the farewell breakfast. Driving on the way to the Bellagio, I started to get teary eyed, knowing I was going to have to say goodby, knowing that we do not know what the future holds for how long we live.
I will have to continue this later,
I have to go.
Shalom,
Valerie
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simpatico
Hi Valerie,
Thanks so much for sharing all the details with us. It sounds like a good time was had by all.
...waiting for the pictures!
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Sharon49
Hello All:
Valerie filled you all in on the details of the reunion, and she is right: we had a blast! It was great seeing the new, revised, expanded versions of each other and re-connecting after 20 years! I have lots of photos I would like to share, as soon as I figure out how to get them to you!
We are already talking about next year's reunion (my husband is even looking forward to it!) Maybe next year we can come at a cooler time (it was 117 on Monday)! And I don't care how dry the air is - 117 degrees is still VERY HOT!! It was like having a hair dryer blowing in your face, but it was so worth it! We did a lot of walking and sight seeing and still didn't see everything we wanted to! My husband had never met or even heard of any of the people he met in Vegas and he had a wonderful time and is looking forward to next year too (except maybe the vegetarian dinner - sorry Valerie! ;-p)
It was great seeing you all, let's keep in touch.
More later,
Sharon
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valerie52
OK,
Thursday morning we met at the Bellagio for breakfast.
The Bellagio has a "Flower Room".
It is a very huge tall room with glass ceilings.
Every month they change the flower arrangments.
This month it was all about the 4th of July with Red White and Blue flowers adn stuff everywhere.
We did our final pictures and hugs and tears of good by in the pleasantly scented flower room.
Perhaps June will be a better month?
June is still not so hot.
July and August are the hotest.
I have many happy memories of everything.
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Sharon49
I want to thank Valerie publicly for all the hard work and heart she put into this reunion. I know a lot of love and hard work went into it and it showed! Everything was top notch, every restaurant, hotel, the dinner cruise was awesome and the boat ride on Monday was as well. We were treated like royalty, nothing but the best would do if Valerie had any say in it (and she did! ;-p) Words cannot express the joy we all felt in sharing our lives and experiences, families and memories. All were welcomed with open arms and hearts and no judgment whatsoever (which I know some of us were concerned about) I will do anything I can to help Valerie do this again and I encourage anyone who wasn't there this year to attend next year. The places we saw were fabulous, but the whole point was the people we re-connected with - that alone was worth the trip! Everything else was icing on a wonderful, warm and fuzzy cake! I would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
Valerie - I love you and I miss you!
Sharon
P.S.: Paul - thank you for the wonderful idea! I'm eternally grateful for your awesome generosity - words are not enough!
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Sharon49
I have photos to share...can someone tell me how to post them?
Thanks!
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Steve!
Go to the "Every Picture Tells a Story" forum, there is a "How-To" thread there.
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Sharon49
I have the pictures saved on my desktop - does that mean I can't post them? I use Word on my computer more than anything else, so my knowledge of other programs is pretty limited. I looked at the "how-to's" and still can't figure it out, but, I'm willing to try...
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Steve!
Yes, you can post them.
Start a thread in "every picture tells a story" and click on the paperclip thingy and type in the place where the picture is - if it is on your desktop, it is probably at something like c:documents and settingssomethingorother.
Act just as if you were attaching the picture to an email.
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valerie52
Hi All,
There are some pictures posted on "every picture tells a story".
These are from Sharon Palmer Wiles.
I am still unable to post my own pictures!
Enjoy!
Valerie52
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Spangles
I was There! And it was a great week.
First, thanks to Valerie & Rick for being such great hosts.. all the organizing paid off because each activity ran smoothly and was well thought through. There was something for everyone!!
Loved the river ride...HOT, my flip flops melted!! But the scenery was breathtaking, the picnic was superb and the fellowship was sweet.
Mostly, that is what stood out of all the things we did together, that our fellowship was sweet. We are a group of people bound by common experience...and a reunion added to the links between us.
We are all different now, no one is serving the ministry we signed up to 25 years ago (it doesn't exist-another link in our bond is the loss of the ministry we loved). But we all still love God and each other.
It was tremendously refreshing to see each other again and to share stories of what had happened in the interim. How many kids, where they were now, what they were doing? Business adventures and successes...we talked about all of it.
And we talked of each of the 7th Corps who were not there...with respect. We wasted no time or heart on maligning anyone. That was refreshing in itself...I guess everyone had bones to pick but no one did. Somehow we were too busy laughing and playing and catching up and enjoying our time together to spoil it by speaking ill of those not present.
We laughed and laughed and laughed...at ourselves. We looked at our "new, revised and expanded" appearances, cut and pasted them onto the people underneath who were still so much the same and we had a riot!!! Everywhere we went, we were the table where the laughter was...how uplifting.
If this happens next year make every attempt to be there. It was not a waste of time but another step on the long road to wholeness and healing. Perhaps there were no meetings with teachings but then, perhaps each of our meetings were teachings...not from a podium but from our hearts, personally and intimately.
I left Las Vegas with a renewed sense of family and household...of worthiness, of importance, of godliness and of happiness.
It was a wonderful week...thanks again to Val & Rick and all the others who did so much to make it a great time.
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Sharon49
Well said Spangles! That's exactly how I felt about the reunion as well, but you said it much better! I too highly encourage anyone who can come next year to be there! You won't regret it! I was a wonderful, uplifting, fun time. Thanks again to Val for all the heart, work and planning that went into this reunion and thanks to Rick for making my husband feel so welcome and comfortable!
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Noah
Hey y’all,
There we all were at the X7th Corps and Way College Reunion in Las Vegas. Wow!! What a great time. We even exceeded my extraordinary expectations. Wood Allen says, “Ninety percent of success is in showing up.” My posting is as months late. No story or excuses. First, let me echo all the other raves following the first X7th Corps 25th reunion.
Valerie Knowles is a consummate hostess. We had the most elegant accommodations at the Monte Carlo Resort Hotel right in the middle of "the strip" at extraordinarily reasonable rates. Valerie is a super shopper and Convention Liaison. Gee, I wonder where she(and all of us)learned those skills so well. [tee hee hee]
Since I arrived in town a few days early, I really did check out the other hotels, their prices, and relative accommodations. I am amazed that she could get us such a wonderful room rate in such a marvelous hotel. The attitude of the employees at Monte Carlo stands out. They seem more open and friendlier than the Bellagio, MGM Grand, or New York New York. They may be better educated or are more upscale than the Flamingo or Tropicana.
While in Vegas I strolled through [comparison sniffed] a whole bunch of casinos. IMHO the Monte Carlo’s casino was far friendlier and a lot spiritually cleaner than most others. So, we had almost the best high-end accommodations at amazingly low rates. ;-))
Valerie booked a big block of rooms and anticipated about 300 of us. But then she got flack. People filled her ear with their stories and excuses. Some may have stayed away because they said they wanted the event to be centered on Bible teachings. Others may have stayed away because they were afraid that they would be subjected to more of the same. Others felt bad because they had not built a colossal spiritual ministry with the tools that we all had been given. Some now have spouses who were not in the Corps. So, they may have projected that they would feel uncomfortable since they don’t know anyone. Hey, not to worry! We had several of those and they all enjoyed themselves too. I came because I wanted to teach the Bible. Not much chance for that. It is the people who came.
We had a riot! I can’t remember when I laughed so much or so hard about some of the silliest spiritual things. We had a common expectation of no dogmatic Bible thumping. We gave each other lots of space to be who we really are. Oh, that’s getting awfully close to loving each other. So, if you are not the man or woman that you know you could be, or that you want to be, then you fit right in with all the rest of us.
At one point on our trip down the Colorado River in a pontoon boat, Valerie and I think David Lowe or Sharon Palmer Wiles’ husband, Andy, climbed a sand dune that overlooked where we were swimming to take pictures. From that vantage, you can see the sky, the mountains beyond the foothills and the Colorado River below all in one magnificent picture. I still can’t wait to see how these photos turned out. For your sakes, I hope they are OK. You all will want to come next year. I promise.
Well, after taking her pictures Valerie started walking down the sand dune wearing her flip-flops. Did we mention that the temperature was a hot 115 or 117 degrees that day? It is a soothing dry heat. Well, you can bet that the sand on that dune was cooking. So, as she came down the dune, her momentum got her going faster and faster. So, she began taking bigger and bigger steps. To compensate, she started running even faster and faster. Soon she ran right out of her flip-flops and was taking gigantic steps barefoot on that hot sand. Soon she was half-running, half-leaping like in a “hop, skip, and jump” event toward the water below.
But she still had her Instamatic camera tucked in the pocket of her shorts. David Lowe or Andy Wiles up above started yelling, “Your camera! Your camera!” But it was too little, too late, and much too hot. Nothing was going to stop her now from hitting that water to cool off her burning feet. Splaaaaashhhh!
When her camera finally finished drying out, people at the camera store simply gave her a new camera and developed the contents of her old one before throwing it away.
Valerie’s X7th Corps reunion has something for everyone. Bring your kids. OK, so they are teen-agers now. So what? They’ll love Vegas too! David Lowe’s kids sure did.
Dave Petit invited us over for wine and cheese and to sit around his new pool. There, we read the 7th Corps roll call. I sure hope that 200-300 more people can be there next year. The hilarious and precious stories we told about each special person as their names were read should have been tape-recorded for posterity.
[Valerie, please let’s remember that for next year. Maybe we could get a microphone that sits on the middle of a conference room table for large group teleconferencing so everyone in the much larger group can be heard.]
“Everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” There won’t be a video of our antics, So, if you don’t come, you will miss all the tears of uproarious laughter!
Valerie now has many ideas on how to better accommodate all of 300 to 500 for dinner on the boats on Lake Meade and the upper view of Hoover Dam. Next year we will do the river trip again, (but not on a Monday) so we can get a much closer view of the very impressive lower side of Hoover Dam.
We had such a blast catching up with old friends. We especially missed Paul Palante, to whom Valerie gives credit for the original idea of the 25th reunion. Paul was the principal cheerleader to spur Valerie on to pull this one off. Yet, Paul needed emergency surgery for his eyesight. He could not find his way through an airport to come [all puns intended].
We all agreed that this year was really the pilot weekend to work out any bugs in logistics in bringing a group of 300 to 500 (including spouses, significant others, kids, etc.) to Vegas for five days. Can you picture moving 60 to 100 rental cars in and out of the same parking deck at the same time? How about busses to and from Lake Meade? Does anyone know any songs we can sing? [Ha ha]
Some may have stayed away this year because they did not have big stories to tell of their great successes. Some may have never married. So what? We love YOU and do not care one whit about your resume.
We wisely do not compare you or ourselves with others, but rather we compare ourselves with our former selves. We are all improving. We just loved one another in an entirely different context. I think we found that “our hearts are [still] knit together in love,” even after all these years. I think that is the most important thing.
Here I am an invited guest and good friend of so many of the 7th Corps. I was 6th Corps turned Special Corps II, (Family Corps 2) and then Family Corps 6. Yet, even I was accepted as one of the family because I am part of the family. So, y’all come now. As soon as Valerie posts the next date and details, I’ll be one of the first in line to register. Why? This is an entirely open culture. It is not a closed corporation. Everyone seemed to agree that the open culture worked fabulously.
There are no Thought Police at the 7th Corps 26th Reunion. There were no “innies” there. But if any were there, I bet we would have made them feel welcome too. This is a celebration of our lives and how we shared them together. We delight in one another as God delights in us.
With all of our idiosyncrasies, we still have so much in common. Yeah, we have different hairlines and waistlines. Some of us are grayer, or balder, or better looking. Some of us are supporting our parents as we put our children through college.
I love each and every one of you in the 7th Corps and the college division, too. Many of the friends of the 7th corps at GS had joked early on about crashing this party. I sure wish you had. I truly believe you would wish you had too if you had any idea of the great time and warm camaraderie we enjoyed and you missed.
Yeah, Valerie saw to it that we were treated so elegantly, with respect and dignity. I was having such a great time. I had to look around and see that it was the same great folks, only in a different context and era. But really, it is all about the people.
This next year Valarie and Paul promise to have a website that is more accessible and interactive than the other one was. Let me insert thanks to Valerie, Paul, and all the people who helped to pull this test pilot off. Next year will be even better. That’s the plan. So, make your plans early to attend. Plan your summer, your family vacation, your business trips around the real X7th Corps 26th Reunion.
Your humble servant,
Awaiting his return and the date of our gathering together (in Vegas????) [hohoho],
Noah. [an old man with one real good idea that could only have come from guess who?]
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igotout
Thank you, Noah, for that insight. I would have been there but I had a conflict that was unavoidable on those dates. I'll attend next time.
Realistically, I do not think you will get "hundreds" for a gathering of this type. But go for it. It will take a lot of promotion and effort. But if even 25 to 75, 100, come that is a sure good time. (Heck, I'd go just to see Valerie and Dave and a few others.)
But the strong suggestion I have is to open it up for not only 7th Corps but something like a "7th Corps and Friends Reunion". Welcome not only all 7th Corps but friends of 7th Corps, spouses, people who may have left or got kicked out of the Corps, the 9th Corps who we were with our last year, our elder 5th Corps, etc.
It is difficult to pull such a diverse group together to come all the way to LV. But I think there will be better response if promoted well and in an open format with lots of activities we can do together or independently.
I think Las Vegas is an excellent choice of locations, cheap place fares, choice of rooms, lots to do, etc. We had a ball when we were there. Looking forward to going back.
Oh, and tell Paul and Valerie they can use my site if they want.
It is still under construction but plenty of space for "announcements". Go to it here: 7th Corps Website
John Richeson
Tampa, FL
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excathedra
oh get more photos johnboy, i love them
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igotout
Ok, I added a few more. See Links too.
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excathedra
thank you !!!!!
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