On the Road Again

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Since our retirement in 2015, Sue and I have taken 16 ocean cruises, including one to Hawaii, one through the Panama Canal, and three Trans-Atlantic voyages. We have also taken advantage of my military retirement and made multiple Space-Available trips on military aircraft, visiting Hawaii 18 times as part of them.

Last week, we took a tour utilizing a mode of transportation we have never done before. We embarked on an eight-day bus trip to New York City. It was a guided tour given by Diamond Tours, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The coach offered internet, power stations, television, and a bathroom. The driver stopped every two or two and a half hours for bathroom breaks and for meals. We left from Bowling Green, Kentucky, and spent the first night in West Virginia and the next day checked in at a Holiday Inn in New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from the Big Apple.

The highlight of the tour was four days touring New York City, seeing most of the sights that city is known for. Included was a visit to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, One World Observatory, the Empire State Building, and about a dozen other sites. On the way back home we visited the Hershey Chocolate Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. 

It was nice to leave the driving to someone else and have most of our meals and hotel stays included in the trip package. We are already looking at some of the additional packages Diamond offers. I checked their website and saw that Diamond Tours has some tours leaving from Huntsville or some places nearby, so if you are adventurous you might want to check them out. Their website is http://diamondtours.com. 

Back when I was living in Huntsville the bus was my primary mode of long-distance transportation. I was reminded of another bus trip I took the summer of 1960 before I entered Lee Junior High in the ninth grade. That was a trip from Huntsville to Colorado Springs, Colorado, to attend the 50th Anniversary Jamboree of the Boy Scouts. That trip took three days to get there, and I am not sure the buses were even air-conditioned back then. Sue and I also took a 12-hour bus trip from Ramstein, Germany, to Vicenza, Italy, and back on one of our trips to Europe. It was a hospital shuttle run by the military and offered Space-Available seating on it as well. It was a beautiful trip through the Alps, and it was free.

It makes me wonder if any of you have experienced the same type of trip in your past.

Danny Ray Webster

LHS '66

? - June 14, 2025

(Editor's Note: More information was added to Danny's obituary, so we are reprinting it.)

Danny Ray Webster, 77 of New Market, Alabama, passed away on June 14th, 2025.

Danny was the owner and operator of Webster Construction in Huntsville, AL for many years.  He was a Christian and member of Flint River Baptist Church.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Pamela Webster,  daughter Amy Webster, parents Woodall and Evelyn Webster, sister Diane Sibley and brother, Lynn Webster.

He is survived by his wife, Kay Webster; daughter, Sharon Holt (Todd); stepson, Travis Prince (Kelly); brother-in-law, Phillip Cunningham (Dotha); six grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and a host of loving friends.

He was laid to rest in Maple Hill Cemetery. 

The Wayback Machine

"The Naked City"

Naked City is an American police procedural television series from Screen Gems that aired on ABC from 1958 to 1963. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture The Naked City and mimics its dramatic "semi-documentary" format. As in the film, each episode concluded with a narrator intoning the iconic line: "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."

Filmed on location in New York City, the series concerned the detectives of NYPD's 65th Precinct (changed from the film's 10th Precinct). Episode plots usually focused more on the criminals and victims portrayed by guest actors, characteristic of the "semi-anthology" narrative format common in early 1960s television. Naked City was first broadcast during the 1958–59 season, with the title The Naked City, as a half-hour series featuring James Franciscus and John McIntire playing Detective Jimmy Halloran and Lt. Dan Muldoon – the same characters as in the 1948 film.

The 1960 version featured Paul Burke as Detective Adam Flint, a sensitive and cerebral policeman in his early thirties. Horace McMahon returned as Lt. Parker as did Harry Bellaver as Sgt. Arcaro. Nancy Malone appeared regularly (for about half the newly produced episodes) as Adam Flint's aspiring actress girlfriend, Libby Kingston.

I think my first introduction to New York City was the television show "The Naked City." I especially remember the theme song was very dramatic and I could never forget the lines: "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them."

I never would have believed when I watched that show on our black and white television that I would spend my 79th birthday on Times Square in person.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, And Comments

Dianne McClure, LHS ‘64, "Happy Birthday Tommy!!! If I am remembering right it was the 21st of June. Hope you had a great one. If I am wrong hope you had a great day in general."

Mary Ann Bond Wallace, LHS ‘64, "Tommy Happy Birthday a day late!  I hope you have a wonderful day.  My family could not afford a boat so my exposure was through friends who had ski boats.  I did not learn to ski until maybe college and I loved flying through the water.  I too had problems keeping my skis where they should be in front of me and keeping them in control.  I learned very quickly that the faster you stand up the better chance you had to fly on top of the water.  Skiing was a treat and so much fun.  I did learn to slalom but was never good enough to stay on for long rides.  It has been longer than 25 years since I skied, more like 35 years ago.  Wipeouts were numerous and could clear you insides out with a bad fall.  What a joy to be asked to go out with someone who had a boat.  I was on the water on Guntersville Lake but not to water ski.  My skiing was on Wilson Lake in the Florence area.  There is nothing like a "calm water" ski late in the afternoon right before dark.  Like skiing on glass!  Great memories - you always bring back the best ones!!!  Thank you!"