Graeme Decarie thinks back to 1963: “Where have all the flowers gone?” Christine Hamilton is excited about the reunion.

An update from Graeme Decarie, who writes:

This afternoon, as I wrote my blog on the news – and more than horrified by the day’s news – I kept thinking of a song popular back in 1963 – “Where have all the flowers gone?”

You may remember it was an anti-war song – with Vietnam in mind.

I remember the dances so well. I remember the afternoons getting the gymn decorated. And how I wanted it done so I could get home and have some supper before the dance. And the girls on the dance committee used to annoy the hell out of me because if I turned my back for an instant – or even if I didn’t – they’d get a record on – often playing “Where have all the flowers gone?”, and dropping the decorations so they could dance with each other.

We now live in a world infinitely more dangerous and more murderous – even insane – than 1963. And, as I wrote, all I could think of was “Where have all the flowers gone?”, and the girls on the committee dancing.

graeme

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Comment from Jaan:

I remember the song well. We’ve shared the lyrics in a post from long ago (about a year ago, I mean):

Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Pete Seeger – Sanga Music Inc – BMI

In a previous post, we also shared a story, from Mr. Decarie, about the time he heard Mr. Talbot the principal singing the song to himself:

 Graeme Decarie has found his copy of the 1962-63 MCHS Highlander and shares additional recollections 

Christine Hamilton is enthused about the reunion

I got a call today from Christine Hamilton (MCHS ’64) of Victoria, B.C. who is excited about the reunion. If all works out, if nothing adverse turns up, that is, she will register by the end of August.

She was excited to know that Scott Munro (MCHS ’63) is leading a walk along the Humber River on October 17, 2015 during the day, before the 6:00 pm start of the reunion. She was also excited to hear that we have reserved seats for brunch at Old Mill Toronto for Sunday, October 18, 2015, the day after the reunion.

I mentioned that it will be possible for us to arrange rides for people, so that peoples who are staying at the Stay Inn will be able to get a ride to Old Mill Toronto, and back after the event, rather than needing to find a taxi.

Each person who attends the reunion is the star of the show

We also talked about the fact that some people have been keen to write their biographies, for the MCHS 2015 Bios at the MCHS 2015 website, and some people are not keen to write their bios. There are good reasons to write a bio, and good reasons not to.

We also talked about the fact that, at this reunion, what matters above all is that we have the occasion to hang out together and talk, to just meet each other after all these years. I mentioned that the reunion’s tag line, to the extent we are able to develop one, is: “Each of us is the star of the show.”

She liked that idea. If I can paraphrase she said, “Exactly! What else would it be about? It’s about each of us, and what a great occasion it will be!”

Christine also mentioned she enjoyed the time a group of us, over a decade ago, went to hear the Dalai Lama when he came to speak in Toronto. She also saw the Dalai Lama speak in Montreal, but given that he spoke through an interpreter the experience wasn’t quite the same.

In the event anybody would like to chat with me, about any aspect of the reunion, please call me at 416-722-6630. Sometimes, it’s easier to get information by speaking with someone than trying to figure out how to navigate what one MCHS grad has called (aptly enough, I will say) the “stream of consciousness” layout of the MCHS 2015 website, with its overlap of information with content that has nothing to do with the reunion.

The site is less than perfect but fortunately, the site has double the number of daily visitors (about 200 a day compared to about 100 a day) than it did when I just had the Preserved Stories website in place, as compared to when the MCHS 2015 was added, as a site that is nestled within the Preserved Stories website.

Feel free to call or text me if you have questions or comments

We set up the separate site because the organizing of the reunion is a volunteer effort. I paid a few dollars to have the MCHS 2015 website added to the existing site; that is, I paid for the web design that was required, as my small contribution to the budget for the reunion organizing effort. Setting up a separate site would have cost much more money, and would have not made sense from a financial point of view.

I’m also pleased to say that the number of returning visitors to the site has gone from about 25 percent to about 40 percent, since the MCHS 2015 website was added.

All that being said, if you have a question, and don’t want to spend 10 minutes trying to find the data you seek, please call or text me at 416-722-6630. I will be pleased to speak with you, as Christine Hamilton has done.