Messages to the Brotherhood

It was a wonderful reunion, greatly exceeding expectations. Harry Truman

Moore, Roy Ockert, Jay Clark, Jake Hampton and others I have probably

offended by omission worked hard to get this together. They did a marvelous

job.

The event was very well attended. I think we had 230 at the banquet. Others

with scheduling conflicts made appearances at various events.

Those of you who did not attend were greatly missed, talked about a lot, and

were left defenseless. Unchecked, I could continue my standard practice of

blaming Bill Walker for anything that got us in trouble.

I awoke for the golf tournament early Saturday and went outside to look at

the rain. While I am pretty hard core, I determined that I would not play in

this kind of weather even if they had Heather Locklear in the middle of the

18th green giving a demonstration of a fertility rite. An hour later Roy O

jolts me out of bed with the news that it was a light rain and they were

going to play. Miraculously, when we got to the first green it stopped

raining. We had a great time though Tiger Woods did not ask us for tips.

It was great to see Blake Massey. He truly is Jimmy Buffet's illegitimate

brother. I am still amazed that the U.S. government placed a lot of you behind

the controls of some very expensive aircraft.

The general consensus among many was that among the best preserved of us was

the esteemed Edward Chappell. In college he was an offensive guard. Now he

is a lean, but not mean, machine. We also owe him multiple kudos for

resurrecting the names and e-mail addresses of some extinct alums. He was

able to scrape off the moss from Larry Magness. I have already enough

material from Bettye (notice the correct spelling) Holland for a year's worth

of episodes of Days Of Our Lives. In one more visit I would be able to put

the finishing touches on the novel I have named WAR AND PIECE.

Tom Bishop still shows no remorse for committing acts of heresy as the

dreaded pledge trainer who commanded me to a meeting of Dr. Homer Huitt's

Young Ministers Alliance so I could get an A in his class and we would have

another picture in our green and gold yearbook.

With apologies to ZZ Top, John Phelps is A Sharp Dressed Man.

I have no idea if Dupwe is quitting his job, but he has a great potential

retirement income as a source of hair plug transplants. In the current

market I believe his head is worth 250-500K.

It was great to see Doug and Crystal Wood and her sister, Sue, whom I have

been trying to marry since the 7th grade.

I was able to see Bill & Kay Wells for 45 minutes as they were passing

through to her mother's house in West Plains. We had an incorrect address on

him, and I was unable to reach him until just before the reunion. I have an

extended experience with these two and would like to offer some background

that you may have forgotten or did not know, some of which acknowledges his

contributions to our fraternity.

In his senior year of high school, he was one of the most recruited running

backs in the state. At 6'3" and 225 lbs, he had speed, ranking high in the

sprints. I believe he ranked 4th in the 220 and had a scholarship to U of A.

Then there was this incident the summer before he went to college where he

was mowing grass and managed to mow several of his toes. Not wanting to

listen to what some would say at U of A, he came to ASU with his friend

David Norris. (Gold stars to anyone who can contact him).

When I arrived on the scene, I was amazed how we could win so many trophies,

but we never could win in flag football. The other inferior and obviously

jealous fraternities gave us a ration of grief and, much to our

consternation and chagrin, referred to us by names that I cannot repeat.

All of that changed when Jim Calloway stepped in as our quarterback and Bill

stood in front of him as the blocking back. He played with the disposition

and temperament of a coiled cobra. Displaying an affinity for the ribs,

stomach and knees, I am reasonably sure he still holds the intramural

record for causing the most opponents to seek medical attention. It was a

beautiful thing to watch. Along with a good line, defense and talented

receivers, we were able to get that football monkey off our backs. I think

we won it each year they were there.

He graduated after me and came to St. Louis as a manger for Chrysler, and we

rented a house for a couple of years. With his heart in the lost and found,

we took out two teachers who were roommates. He married the lovely Kay, who

spent many of her waking hours giving me a very difficult time. Of course, I

have no idea why.

Ed, to answer your question, here is the contact information on Bill Wells.

Let this also serve as a reminder to all of us who are able to provide

updates to forward them the HT, Roy O or Jay Clark.

Bill & Kay Wells

2697 Caledonia Rd

El Dorado, AR 71730

870-924-5131

bkkwells@yahoo.com

There were a couple of pleasant surprises. Firstly, as the 50th Reunion,

there were a lot of old guys, or those older than us. As I suspected, Bob

Yates at # 3 looked as good as anybody. I did not realize that in the late

50's a group of 300 Korean War Vets, armed with the GI Bill, descended on

Arkansas State. As they were 4-6 years older than the typical freshman, they did

not connect with the typical fraternity. Some of them were married; some had

children. In one of the great lines uttered I believe it was Jim Stephens,

who said that if they wanted to go on a panty raid, they just went home.

They founded a veterans club which connected with Lambda Chi. It was

interesting to hear them relate the story how they received their charter at

4 PM to find themselves on probation at 1AM in the morning. Still in denial,

they attributed this development to an over consumption of "Pepsies."

The other surprise occurred when we finished the banquet and moved back to

the Holidome where we had a large room reserved. There we got to see Dupwe

do what Dupwe has done. Richard McCann is still the man. I had forgotten

about Jose Jiminez.

But the surprise came in the form of the kids. There was a group of actives

and young alums who were great dancers. Also on the floor were a couple of

current versions of Tom Ham and Tommy Taggert's wives. They had all of us as

a cheering section. We danced with them vicariously, cognizant that we were

incapable of such moves. They were really cute and should be a talent

feature of any future reunion.

A few weeks ago, HTM sent me an e-mail and floated the trial balloon of a

separate 60's reunion, possibly a BIG CHILL reunion. Like him, I am ready to

follow, but I cannot lead. I no longer have the staff that allows me to

organize anything. My computer skills are imbecilic. My ability to search is

slightly above TRYING TO FIND A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK. If someone wants to

put this together, we are there.

All of us are at that station in life where we must confront the chilling

reality that around the next big curve might be a major intersection

punctuated by a large STOP sign. The next intersection of the fraternity we

should look at is April, 2014. That is the 55th reunion and for most of us

would be around 50 years. If we cannot do something before this, I am asking

each of you to commit to attending this one. This should give you plenty of

time to get this on your schedule.

Let us all stay in touch. Thanks again for a great reunion. I wish each of

you health and happiness.

Lon Simmons

Iota Theta 186

314-578-6181