Closets

Fifteen years ago when we decided to remodel our house in Arkansas, I was really excited to get more closet space.  I know it's a silly thing to get excited about.  You see, back then, I loved catalogs. I loved gadgets. I loved to order things.  I was a sucker for a clearance sale.  This was our first house and I wanted to decorate it and fill it full of nice things. And useful gadgets.  Unfortunately, I'm not very good at decorating and I ended up with a lot of stuff that I had absolutely no use for.  It all ended up in the closet.  Or the garage. 

When we decided to move back to South Dakota, it took me months to clear out all of the closets.  I am not exaggerating. I swore the next house we had would not have any closets.   Little did I realize, when we finally found a house to rent in Hill City, that would be almost true. When we moved in, we discovered there was only one closet in the whole house, unless you count the tiny one under the staircase.  It was an apparent after thought that was added to the upstairs bedroom. How did we miss that little detail when we agreed to rent it?  We ended up putting a lot of stuff in storage, and I had to be creative with the storage of the things we actually used from time to time.  All of my stuff became a big thorn in my side.  Ok, so maybe I didn't mean it about the closets. 

I have a hard time parting with things if there is any use at all left in them. I guess I got that from my parents.  I used to get upset when someone broke a dish or a glass or a knick knack.  Now I do a little cheer because I get to throw it away. It's a process.  It's been 10 years.  I still have too much stuff.

Eventually, we found a house in Hill City to buy.  Yes, it has closets, but not too many.  And yes, they are all full.  I really don't need any more "stuff".   So, you wonder why I am writing about all of this?  Well.....Christmas is coming.  People are out shopping for gifts.  Some of them might be for me or for people like me.  I want to make a suggestion.  Instead of buying us more "stuff", how about cleaning out your own closets.  Sell your treasures on Ebay Giving Works.  Donate the proceeds to Black Hills Habitat for Humanity.  If that's too much trouble, you could just make a cash donation.  We'll use the money to build a house for a deserving family.  And yes, I promise it will have closets.

 http://blackhillshabitat.org/Events/project-77.html  Click on the widget to donate to Project 77. 

To sell your items on Ebay: http://ebaygivingworks.com/   Choose Black Hills Area Habitat for Humanity.  It's easy.  And it will make a difference. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Where are we now?

I admit it.  I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to little details.  Also a little obsessed with things that don't matter to most people.  I've been told I have a lot of useless information stored in my brain, and it's taking up space where the relevant stuff should be stored.  Oh well.  Once we pass the age of 50 it doesn't really matter anyway, does it?  I'm fine with that.

While I was getting ready to mail out the letters for our class reunion today, I decided to run some statistics. I was a little overwhelmed by some of the numbers.  We had over 500 people in our graduating class.  We mailed out just under 400 letters.  Of those:

4 went overseas.....Norway, Denmark, UAE, and Finland
143 went out of state. We currently populate 33 of the 50 states.  Nobody is in Alaska or Hawaii.
226 stayed in South Dakota.
Of the 226.....169 of them have a Rapid City zip code, and most of them are west river.
The states currently claiming the most RCCHS Class of 1977 graduates (after SD) are California and Colorado with 17 each.  Minnesota has 13, followed by Nebraska with 11.  Florida has 9.

Wyoming surprised me a little.  Only 8?  Hmmm.
Then we have Nevada, Texas, and Washington tied with 6 each.
Utah and Iowa have 5.
Illinois 3.

The states claiming two are New Jersey, Nebraska, North Dakota, North Carolina, Montana, and Mississippi.

Of course, this information is going to change once I start hearing from all of you, which I hope is very soon.  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in July.  But, even if you can't come, I hope you will send me a note and let me know where you are and how you are.  I really don't think I'm the only one who wants to know.....

What is Project 77?

ONCE A COBBLER, ALWAYS A COBBLER

It has been almost thirty five years since the Class of 1977 last roamed the halls of Rapid City Central High School.  Thirty five years since we said goodbye to our classmates and friends and set out to find our places in the world.  Since then, we have all had many of the same life experiences, but in varying degrees, in different places, and at different times. When we graduated we had so many choices.  College, military, marriage, children, career, travel, and adventures topped many of our lists. A few of our classmates had a relatively clear idea what they would do with their life and others had no plan at all.  Many had a general idea, but weren’t exactly sure just yet how to get there. We all had something in common; we wanted to make a difference.  The world became our classroom.  As our lives unfolded we all faced challenges, triumphs, and disappointments.  We have taken vastly different paths and have ended up in different places, but there is one more thing we will always have in common. WE ARE COBBLERS.

Do you remember how much fun we had building our floats for the homecoming parade back then? As we come home for our 35^th class reunion, we thought it might be fun to get together again and build something bigger, better, and more meaningful. To put to use the various skills and resources we have among us and make an impact on our own little corner of the world. We want to give something back to the community that gave so much to us as we were growing up. 

 With the spirit of the Cobbler Class of 1977, we have decided to join forces with Black Hills Habitat for Humanity to sponsor and build a house for a deserving family. Our goal is to raise $50,000 and then gather in Rapid City July 20-29, 2012 to build the house.  Why are we so sure we can do this?   Because…..

 

“77 takes the lead. We’re the class that WILL succeed!”

Project 77

I have always been proud to be a Cobbler.  I'm even more proud to be a Cobbler from the Class of 1977.  Our 35th reunion is going to be one to remember, that's for sure.  I hope all of our classmates will find something in this event to call their own.  We are raising money to build a Habitat house for a deserving family.  Then, in July 2012 we will come together to make it happen.  It starts here.  Please help us meet our goal, and follow our progress on the blog.