4 comment Free Press - Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1988 Page 2 50th reunion was highlight of summer you better believe it Where August go? The one event that "made" the summer was my class reunion last AF Class night tyBVe had a reunion every ' rtJt fifth year since for graduation sheer enjoyment, this one but, capped them all. As classmates entered the hall, we, my best pal since childhood, Jean Okey Teague, and I, sat back and identified them. We were only stumped once. We had to ask who LeRoy Phillips was. Here was this jolly guy with a short brush mustache and bright red suspenders and we didn't recognize him. Well, no wonder. He was probably the only one of us who hadn't gained an ounce or two. We'd kind of geared our minds for an extra pound or two, and here was this slender dude without a gray hair on his head! How were supposed to recognize him for heaven's sake? Other's of us who looked like they'd been to Diet Center were Jean, Grant Hicks and his lovely We-th- e been to the salon for a Grecian Formula massage, and Wayne C and Keith Miller looked like models for Arthur Frank. Somehow, the same old personalities had remained intact. Once, when Wayne C asked for volunteers, he called on me. I swore I hadn't volunteered. He said I'd said "yes" with my eyes. Well, my goodness, if that's true, I'dbetter be careful! By BETTY FOWLER wife, Madeline, Max Hoggard, and, well, quite a few of the guys. The vain things! I think that Dee and Frank had That reunion, right along with my trip to Israel, rates as a highlight of my life. We laughed a lot and Frank told a couple of old golf jokes. I'd heard them before, but somehow they seemed more hilarious than ever. We sang our two school songs while seated for our picture taking session, and my buddies and I didnt miss a word, or a beat. We really belted them out Even those of us who couldn't carry a tune in a barrel sang our hearts out. They can't kick me out of that choir! But if K.J. Bird had heard our rendition from his podium up in heaven, he'd probably haunt my dreams just like Marleg ghost haunted Scrooge. We could just see KJ. wielding his baton and asking us to cool the SSSS sounds and "Please, sing from down here" indicating our chests and throats. Woe is do re meeeee. I promise to practice for 1993! I couldn't help but think how lucky classmates were who still had their partners to accompany them to the reunion. Don was always such a good sport, and he enjoyed my pastreunions almost as much as I did. Well, come to think of it. I really believe he was there too. I know that Dr. Mac was. So was Dale Peters and Earl Kelly. I felt the presence of Maxine Taylor Hill and Doug Strong, not to mention, Kathryn Holindrake and Virginia Shelley. We missed all of our classmates who've gone on to help arrange that big reunion in the sky. But well never forget them. They still remain a very important part of our life. Here's where crawfish are in Utah streams New item: Probably the most overlooked gone species in the Utah Fishing Proclamation is the crayfish, sometimes called crawdad or fresh water lobster. Crayfish are a delicacy in Europe and a mainstay in Cajun cooking. Most restaurants in New Orleans list crayfish at least once on their menus. Raising and catching crayfish for market is a major industry along the coast of the Gulfof Mexico, especially in Louisiana. But crayfish are virtually unknown to Utahns. The Uintah Basin has numerous crayfish waters including Big Sandwash, Bullock, Starvation, Flaming Gorge and Steinaker reservoirs. There are no bag or possession limits on the number of crayfish taken, but an angler does need a current fishing or combination the editor's column By MARC HADDOCK license. So that's where the crawfish are, all hiding out in the Uinta Basin. No wonder people get that funny look on their faces with I talk about eating crawfish. They don't even grow around here. But when I was a kid, you couldn't spend a better day than one where you caught a good batch of crawfish and boiled them up for an afternoon feast. Crawfish were plentiful in the major Montpelier Creek stream that flowed through the middle of town. And there were plenty of places to go and find the frisky little creatures. All you had to do was lift up a rock along the bottom of the creek bed, and one was sure to scoot along the bottom, looking for another rock to hide under. Crawfish are built a lot like lobsters, only smaller. They have the same segmented tails they use to swim backwards by curving the tail underneath them in a quick snap. They have the same beady little eyes and spooky feelers and the same look of a creature that wasn't created on the same planet as we humans. And they have the same claws. Smaller, to be sure, but strong enough to nip, strong enough to get a good hold of the soft part of the hand and keep holding. For us kids, crawfish hunting held just the right element of danchances were ger and reward good you'd get nipped, but very slim you'd get killed. And you always ended up with a treat. The best crawfish hunting was behind a small dam at the mouth of Montpelier Canyon. The water was deep, but not too deep. And slow, so you could see the crawfish as they tried to scoot to safety. The trees were large and the area was shady, if it happened to be a warm summer day. Best of all, there were never any grownups around, and we could hunt crawfish to our hearts content. I'm not sure if you had to have a license to catch crawfish, like you do in Utah, but we didn't get caught and we didn't much care. I don't know how they catch crawfish in Louisiana. Probably with a net or a trap. But we were about 10 and didn't understand much about that. We caught crawfish with our hands, being careful to grab the small crustaceans behind the front arms and out of reach of those nasty claws. We'd place our catch in a bucket, then go back for more. Oh, there were easier ways. Once Kevin Bissegger brought some sucker meat and tied it to a string. Then we threw the meat in the water and those crawfish went crazy. They lined up to latch on to the raw fish with their tiny claws. Then we'd haul them in and pick them off, one by one, tossing them in the bucket. We'd throw the sucker meat back in the water and reap another harvest of crawfish. It was a much more efficient way of catching the crawfish, but it didn't seem to be as much fun as trying to grab them before they grabbed you. Once we figured we had enough crawfish in the bucket, we'd head for home and an afternoon snack. I've seen boy scouts around the camp fire enough to know that you're better off never eating anything cooked by a kid. But crawfish cooking was different. We'd build a big fire that was easy for kids who loved to play with matches and looked for any reason to do so. Then we'd fill a pot with water and put it on the fire to boil. Once the water was really boiling, we'd pour the still- - livingcraw-fis- h into the water and watch them squirm. (Please don't phone to tell me I was cruel to animals. I know this now. But to get the full flavor, crawfish had to be boiled alive!) We'd watch intently as the shell turned to a bright green-gra- y red nature's version of the popup timer for crawfish and lobsters. Then we'd pour out the water, and start dividing up the crawfish, breaking the claws and sucking out the succulent meat. Most ofthe crawfish were pretty tiny, and it took a lot of them to make much of a meal. But it was a meal made on our own, and worth the effort. In fact, the first thing I ever cooked on my own was a pot of, crawfish. ; Now, I don't eat crawfish any more, probably because they are one of the most overlooked game species in the Utah Fishing Procla- mation. But the next time I'm in the UintaBasin, Ijustmightgo looking for a batch of crawfish to boil. If I ever get a fishing license, that is. And if anyone out there has any crawfish recipes, please send them in. It's time to give the lowly crawfish a legitimate place on the plates of Utah. good Letters to the Editor Editor: School districts never cut fat, only lean to Mrs. In Jan position. And if you compare his salary (along with expense account) don't compare it with other school districts in other states. Compare it with other career men, such as brick masons, carpenters and mechanics. Let's take another area you say has been cut. Transportation. Let the district answer a few basic questions. Lewis response expressing her concerns and sup- port of education and the Alpine School District: Mrs. Lewis says we are courting with disaster if the proposed tax initiatives are passed, and that the district has cut its budgets on basic educational programs and the adincluding services, school and transportation ministration facets. Entities such as the Alpine School District never cut out the fat, only the lean. The administrative end of the district is still way too fat, and needs an awful lot more trimming. The district superintendent is way overpaid. It's a very lucrative 1. The district has over 100 buses. Each of these buses are equipped with AMFM radio cassettes valued at nearly $400 each, over $40,000. Why? The kids don't listen to them. And if they do, they are only on the bus 25 or 30 minutes. They are not needed. There are some capacity buses only hauling half a load of students. Why? This type of run should call for a smaller bus, which costs less, and a lot cheaper to operate. Your Alpine run has two buses going up the same road and each hauling half a load. Why? Can't one bus haul a full load and eliminate one bus? I don't think these are isolated incidents either. 3. Why is a bus in Pleasant Grove sporting chrome wheels? Expensive? You bet. Who authorized an expenditure like that? Somebody needs to do a lot more work in upgrading and coordinating the transport system. There are an awful lot of ways to 2. School board presentation was Editor: As I sat in a witnessed Alpine School Board and but struca well-prepare- very tured and very biased, presentation by Jack Memmott, who is the spokesman for the taxtax increases payers for more committee, I could not believe the of our atmosphere and attitude and board members school elected attendance. in audience the I asked myself after the meeting, "Did I Jusl alten(1 a public, freedom of speech democratic, was that a comor meeting, dictatorial meeting? munistic, Linda Campbell, who was the acting this meeting, chairperson for that as a board they are more information nrivv to much and so they have than anyone else, what is best for us decided already one-side- d ""-Th- Orem Jr. High auditorium with standing room was packed e educators, and anyone attempting to present a viewpoint they did not agree with, was laughed at, openly jeered and our elected school board members also smiled and applauded. The presentation was structured to present the most negative image possible as to the affects of the tax initiatives, which will appear on the ballot in November. Many citizen taxpayers worked very hard forn full year to gather J00,(1W signatures so that these questions could appear on the ballot for a vote of the public. But now we are being deprived of equal time to rebut, debate or to present our side of the questions, for the education and enlightenment of the public before election day. The school board did not attempt to invite any proponent for the tax initiatives to speak, and In fact limited any response to three minutes, which is hardly enough only public meeting of the . and The people are tired of the tax and spend policies of all the entities in the state of Utah. These tax initiatives are a way for the people to tell you to stop this policy. The tax initiatives are likely to pass, Mrs. Lewis, good or bad. But at least if they do nothing else other than require responsibility in spending the tax dollars, they'll be well worth it. -- Bud Sorensen one-side- d time to even scratch the surface, let alone rebut an hour's presentation of false, misleading and slanted scare-tacti- c propaganda. This demonstrates very clearly that the general public is certainly not going to get a fair shake from our government bureaucrafts and the education community unions on this issue, as they also control the media and our story and point of view is also being controlled. This is a perfect example of how we can lose our fight for freedoms. If we allow this type of dictatorial power to control in this state, we will forever be in bondage to our servants. In order to save ourselves, we must vote YES on the initiatives in November help yourselves, Mrs. Lewis, other than plead for money all the time. The district is getting enough money to more than take care of our educational needs. It's awfully easy to spend money ; especially when the money isn't yours. force bureaucracies to live within budget boundaries that we afford, not what they want and demand. Our government and the the can even our When does a boy turn into a man? When does a boy become a man? browsing It is a difficult question to answer these days. You dads, do you remember when you told your son how late he could stay out? He disagreed with you and complained you were not treating him like an adult This is pretty much a standard answer for aboy when he can't have his own way. What he means is that dad doesn't understand what constitutes adulthood. We dads cannot pretend you are a grown man because you are a boy. You may be as big and strong and as capable as many adults, and you can argue better than most, but only a child would maintain and sincerely believe that his manhood can be measured by the lateness of the hour he is allowed to stay out at night. We see teenage boys roaring away in the folks car belligerently demonstrating their "right" to the streets. We see teenage girls teetering along on spike heels in tight dresses with their hair extravagantly styled and even dyed. All of this because they are trying to impress the world with their maturity if they imitated that, to them, appeared to be adult. All of this reminds us of a fable about the donkey who longed to be a lion. If you recall the story, the donkey covered himself with a lion's skin, crept in among the lions and lay down quietly among them. When the lions took no notice of him, and seemingly accepted him as one of them, the donkey was filled with joy and confidence. It seemed to him that he had actually become a lion, and he thought of donkeys with contempt. All went well until the evening when the lions began their customary evening roaring. The little donkey, completely fooled by his own disguise, lifted his head and roared with them. What came out, of course, was a donkey's bray. Whereupon the lions fell upon and FFITHS' By TOM GUI devoured him. The moral of this fable applies equally to boys and men. Human victims of self deception are as likely as donkeys to be devoured by the lions of everyday reality. If the extremes of behavior among teenagers represented nothing more than a little natural and imitation they could be overlooked. Interviews with some of our young people show for example, that some boys seem to envision maturity as a time when they would be big enough to be irresponsible without having to account to anyone for their behavior. One girl of seventeen wanted to get married right away so she could escape her parents, be an adult and be in a position where "nobody can tell me what to do." To the old timers, the transition from boyhood to manhood was a natural thing. Work was part of our lives. Booze and drugs were not so easy to procure as they are today. More women stayed home and assumed the role of motherhood. Conditions have changed, but one truth still remains. When the times comes to you young people that you no longer feei the necessity to prove to your parents, friends, and the world or to yourself that you are a man you will have become one. English theme offered for AF American Fork has been asked to join in a "concert" of theme villages throughout Utah County representing the four major regions of Europe. Mark Fuhriman, of the Institute, presented the conto cept the City Council at its last meeting. He proposed that American Fork adopt a "British Isles" theme. City Librarian Julie Farns-wortreported that according to the 1980 census, American Fork had the highest percent of English descendants of any community in Utah. Fuhriman claimed that the New-hea- rt h themes have a great deal of drawing power, projecting that close to half a million visitors would visit American Fork to see its attractions. He predicted that the transformation would take a two to three year period. He pointed out that Solvang, Calif., which transformed comitself into a Danish-thememunity, experienced a large increase in property values. Other cities he is currently working with in the valley are Spanish Fork, Springville and Pleasant Grove. Lehi had been included, but has opted to not embrace the concept. . d Teen suicide on the rise 0 Continued from front page Suicides also tend to cluster copy cat. If there is one in an area, there is usually two or three. The teenage years are a funny a teentime, LaPray commented ager may become more disturbed by zit on his or her nose than by 15,000 people getting killed in some other lands. When asked why they attempted suicide, the most common answer is "I don't know," LaPray said, adding teenagers are extremely conscious of themselves - "I must be a nerd, I'll go kill myself." LaPray said there are warning signs parents and others can look for. Depression, or constant sadness, is the most obvious indicator, he said. educational system will be the Other common suicidal sympbetter for it in the long run, when toms include any drastic change in to forced conare prioritize, they behavior, anger and rage, low solidate, restructure and privatize, sleep and appetite to eliminate duplication, waste, changes, a lack of desire to play or mismanagement and unnecessary have fun, the giving away of perprograms. If we are a conservative sonal possessions, and a lack of state, then let's prove it. Increasing with parents and communication not is taxes year after year being others. conservative, especially since we He said anorexia is a form of are the lowest per capita income,. suicide a way of killing themstate in me nation. 4 selves. Ted Wilson and Norman "No matter how thin they are, Bangerter were both on this tape feel they are fat." they presentation, urging the defeat of The psychologist said paving the tax initiatives. The only senattention to what a teen says is sitive conservative candidate for; has' important. is who Merrill Cook, governor "When someone talks to you the interest of the people at heart, about and committing suicide, take reducing by reducing taxes, him seriously," he said. government bureaucracy, while at Some teenagers handle life situthe same time building a stronger ations and changes better than more accountable education others." If an adolescent already system. -- R.L. "Bob" shows some suicidal symptoms, Wright other factors may add to the likeli Orem self-estee- , . , hood of a suicide attempt. These factors, according to LaPray, include a past history of mental illness or physical health problems, the loss of a family member or loved one, personal use of drugs and alcohol, the loss of a boy or girl friend, or of a friendship, lack of acceptance by peers, or not fitting into the social "norm." The best thing parents (and friends) can do to help these individuals is to open communication channels and keep them flowing, he said. "Teenagers need love and hugs too. Accept your child for who he is, even if you disagree with him. And most importantly, really listen to what your teen is saying." Most teenagers don't communicate very well with their parents, if at all, but it behooves all parents of teenagers to make sure there is someway to communicate, LaPray said. On the other hand "if somebody comes in and says this is a good kid, they have never given me any trouble, I worry. The apron strings are very long and very elastic. The child can be tied to the apron strings of the mother or the suspenders of the father." Teenagers need to be treated with respect, almost like an equal. You have to talk across to teenagers,' not down. Don't be judgmental, "accept me for what I am. "' ' Care," he urged. ; LaPray emphasized there is always professional help available from counseling to hospital carel, "Don't ignore Buicide 'calls for help if they come your way, find solutions," he urged, .'. out-patie-