Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Our Lady Queen of Fond Memories

7 days running in a row.
Add another 9 miles to the resume.
Sweat is good.

Every so often, (I admit this only because I am try to be a truthful soul), I have a tendency to let my curiosity get the best of me. I love to think of a question to ask myself, and then figure out the answer for it. I guess that's why I'm an engineer, and I guess that's why I love the computer so much. The feeling of resolution. Ahhhh. Goes down like a nice, crisp, refreshing soft drink on a hot, summer's day.

Tonight, the question was, "I wonder how everyone that I went to school at Our Lady Queen Of Martyrs are doing?" I was a borderline straight A student there. I was also the class clown.
I can and will tell many stories about my fabled and wonderful three years at OLQM, but for this post, I'll just be specific and tell you about two people who I went to school with that seem to be doing well, and that's just great!

Jason Vega. Long time musician. As long as I first met him, and that was in 7th grade. He loved all the rock bands of the time, and he went on to live his dream. I'm sure it's not his only source of revenue. He probably has a 9 to 5 like the rest of us, but I stumbled across his website the tonight ---> http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=21548960.
By the looks of it, he's really enjoying his life and that's great. He's always been a stand-up guy.

Jay, cranking out the bass at Giants Stadium. Most Impressive.

Lisa Shik. Wow. It's amazing how names never leave one's brain. Although, I must admit, Shik isn't something one typically sees in phone book either. I always remembered Lisa as being one of the smart girls in class, and she was always a kind person too. I used to remember her big round glasses she used to wear. Anyway, Googling her tonight produced the most amazing find. I saw an article depicting a woman named Lisa Shik. Lisa Shik from Boulder, Colorado. Well, I became a bit skeptical at first, but when I kept reading on, it mentioned that she moved there some 22 years ago....from NY. Then it said her age. Same as mine.

So what was the article about, you ask?

Lisa Shik, the Registered Nurse, is also Lisa Shik the competitive triathlete! And not just any tri-athlete either. She has been competing in the IRONMAN TRIATHLONS. And doing well, I might add. I kept reading, in fascination (and Lisa if you stumble across this, please know that I am in completely in awe of your strength, and determination) and it denoted that she spends about 14 hours a week training. God Bless. I love running, and biking too. But swimming? I might drown just sitting next to a glass of water. I can swim, but I suck. Plain and simple.
Below is a snapshot of the article, but if you want a better read then just click on the link below...
http://hospicecareonline.org/01_aboutus/news/newsletters/2005_winter.pdf



I was impressed by both Jason and Lisa, and I salute them both. Looks like our elementary school has had a bumper crop of established folks. Not surprising. Most everyone in my graduation class were very nice. Not too many bullies to speak of, and by the 8th grade, I somehow was given a pass anyway.

Running past my old school will bring up some new memories now, to go along with the endless fond treasure trove that I already have.

Footnote: Blogger only accepts 200 characters, so perhaps I'll place all the labels here. Who knows? Perhaps it will help another "curious" joe like myself to find themselves in this vast universe called cyberspace...

Labels: Queen of Martyrs, OLQM, Jason Vega, Lisa Shik, Douglas Botero, Renee Igoe, Jackie Powers, Timmy Cavanaugh, Cynthia Varsos, Billy Galvin, Dawn Kane, Jose Barrios, Julio Vega, Sister Mary Helen, Sister Maria Goretti, Lupe Sosa, Christina Lovecchio, Mr. Moks, Ms. Schifano, Dominique Jezequel, Vicky McKee, Michael Mancino, Eugene Hynes, Robert Sjoberg, Richard Salmon, John Trumpour, Billy Hodge, Mr. Goodwin, Austin Street, Forest Hills, bass guitar, triathlon, Tecla Palli.

3 comments:

QcontinumEscapee said...

Amazing what one finds on the web late in the day when the mind is wandering. I lived across the street from OLQM and was a student there till 1969. Left Forest Hills and seldom returned. I would of graduated from there in 1970.

Anonymous said...

Hi from Miss Schifano-
Hope you are all doing well

michael greason said...

The places the internet takes you! You start looking for the parish telephone number and you wind up reading blogs from long lost classmates. More than once I wondered what happened to the people I graduated with. Renee, thanks for tracking some of them down.

Michael Greason
michaelgreason@verizon.net