Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Will Tranquilli Recently I heard from Will Tranquilli, whom I knew as a funny, non-conforming personality at SHS during those gray days of the Eisenhower era. Like Yorick, Hamlet's remembered jester, Will was "wont to set the table on a roar," whether in the cafeteria or study hall 34. He starred as a comic figure in a few Delphics shows and also appeared in plays directed by that other memorable rebel, Jack Leckel, who graced SHS in our last two years. Will expressed concern about the health of Ron Wilson and CE Welch. Ron and Will were classmates at Hay-Edwards, and Will knows something about ill health, since he contracted polio as a child and then later entered "the mysterious post-polio syndrome" or PPS, which produces muscular weakness and joint pain. Will credits Dr. Jacquelin Perry of Rancho Los Amigos with minimizing the ill effects of PPS and keeping him independently mobile. He drives a car, gets around in an electric wheel chair, and works as a freelance writer for several periodicals in the Los Angeles area. His weekly column, "Tranquil Tantrums," is not yet available on the Web, but may be in the future. Will's e-mail and snail-mail addresses appear in the class directory. He welcomes notes from classmates and likes the fact that we are keeping lines of communication open, after all these years. He also says that he has many stories of Springfield and will send in a few, once he satisfies some writing deadlines. Since one of those tales involves my grandmother and his mother, I am eager to hear more! 7:54:07 PM    comment []

Time Goes By You are reading a "blog," short for Web log, and they have proliferated in recent years, providing in many cases good reading on thousands of topics. A number of seniors have started their own blogs, and for my money one of the best is Time Goes By, written by Ronnie Bennett, a 63-year-old former radio and television producer. Bennett is lively, feisty, funny, and informed. She points out instances of "ageism," the bias against seniors experienced by herself and others, analyzes the Social Security debate, and offers many excellent tips for not just surviving but enjoying these later years. Her attitude is positive but not sugary, and she points to many other "older bloggers" who will make for good reading. She is also honest enough to publish a banner stream of her portraits, from toddler days to now. I recommend regular consultation! 8:47:55 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2005 William Howarth. Last update: 3/8/05; 8:20:17 PM.