Activities: Yearbook Photography Chairman, NYSSMA, Electronics Club Vice President, Student Aid to Music Department, Hampton's Music Festival.
Favorite Saying: I don't know.
Outstanding Characteristic: Musical talent.
John and Susan (Denman)
"As a kid I was a part of many very large family gatherings. They hold some of my most cherished memories of growing up on Shelter Island. The gatherings usually took place around the holidays or when some old family friend came to visit or on some other occasion deemed "special". There was always lots of delicious food and drink, song, conversation and storytelling. It went on for hours. The adults would sit around a large table and the kids would scatter about. As one of the kids, I remember how entranced we were by those stories about tradition, about family events, about life. I remember most poignantly the adults’ comment (I don’t know why this particular one has stuck with me all these years), "Time goes by so quickly!" In those days, I must admit, it didn’t make much sense to me. After all, I was a kid, growing up on Shelter Island. I had all the time in the world. There was always time to sit on the hill overlooking first bridge, gaze out upon the harbor and fantasize about the coming and going of people and their boats. There was always time to play one more game of baseball in the field across from the Chequit Inn. There was always time to dig one more bushel of clams from the creek or mow one more lawn for one to the many summer visitors to the island. What a joy, the life of a kid, growing up on an island, with only the responsibilities of any kid.
I never gave much thought to that statement, "Time goes by so quickly!" That is until the big four-o gently tapped me on the shoulder. I didn’t think about it in any conscious way until I began to actually experience time quickly passing by. Weeks began to feel like days, days like moments. Suddenly the word had real meaning. I knew exactly what the adults sitting around the big table with all the food and stories were saying. Now that the big five-o is laid out before me, the passage of time looms ever more real.
"Time goes by so quickly!", has new meaning for me now. Just like many of you, I am having trouble touching the reality that 30 years have passed since we were kids together, trying to find our way in the world, wondering if there was a place for us, wondering which way to go and who we would become. I have lost touch with most of you since our reunion ten, so very quick, years ago. I am grateful, that I got to visit with so many of you at that time. It gave me the opportunity to blend together who I remembered you as and who you have become. I hold fond and special memories of each of you. You will always be the friends of my youth, each contributing to my life in your own special way. I am so very disappointed that Susan and I will not be with you on this important weekend. We are someplace in Colorado, hiking about the mountains of Rocky Mountain National Park. Plans made long ago. If only we could be in two places at once. Life has been good to us and we are grateful for all the opportunities which have unfolded. In 1990, we moved from New York to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in order for Susan to pursue her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of North Carolina. We are happpy to report that she graduated in May of this year and has joined the faculty ranks at Duke University as Assistant Professor.
Many of you remember me as the "music man". And that was who I thought I was for a long time. I taught Junior and Senior HS music for eight years in Kendall, New York. Even got my Masters in Music Education from SUNY Fredonia. But alas, life takes many twists and turns. I grew disillusioned with the increasing role for teachers to be "policemen". Also, I grew tired of the day to day struggle for what I considered to be worthy aspects of a music program. As a result, I left teaching to make my living working with my hands. I started my own small building enterprise, making everything from cabinets, to additions, to renovations of 100 year old houses. After fifteen years, our move to North Carolina opened some very unexpected doors. I discovered that I could reenter the field of education but at a whole new level, away from the confines of the public schools. I applied and was accepted into the Masters program in Instructional Design at UNC. Building upon my past education and experience, I completed the program in 1994. Today I work as an independent consultant for Reuben H. Donnelley in the training and development department.
For the time being we will remain in the Chapel Hill area exploring our new careers and the opportunities that flow our way. If any of you are traveling through the South, I would welcome the chance to visit with you. I am hoping that lots of pictures and life updates are generated from the reunion and I will be able to get a copy. I would like to know about your journeys since we last shared our stories.
My very best to each of you. Enjoy yourselves to the fullest, "Time goes by so quickly!"
Last Changed 08/19/00
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