Remember when we were kids and the bums on the street would ask you that?
Can you believe a dime would buy a cup of coffee then? That's what inflation
has done to our dollar. Now I know you pay more than a buck for your Grande
half-caff French vanilla latte with extra foam.
Let me ask you a quick question: When was the last time you bought a friend
a cup of coffee? No doubt, some of you live near and still see some old
Farmers. But I'll bet most of you live where you haven't seen anyone from
Wheat Ridge High forever. And if you live near, I bet you still don't see
them, let alone buy them a cup of coffee.
Yeah, you're no dummy. Here you are reading a letter on the WRHS63.ORG Web
site under the heading "Donations" and you've got me pegged. This is a
solicitation letter. Well, just bear with me for a few minutes, please.
I'm going to try to persuade you to buy a few cups of coffee for your
classmates to make up for the last 45 years that you haven't. Yes, look at
this as an opportunity to set history straight. (Get out the shovels, right?)
From all according to their means
Now, let's get this straight right up front. Nobody is asking anyone to
sacrifice if they don't have the means. I'm sure a few of you reading this
have had some bad times and really don't have the ability to help anyone
else much. That's ok. That doesn't make you a bad person. If you can't or
don't want to spend the money to come to the reunion events, let alone make
a donation to lessen the burden on someone else, that's ok. We all wish you
could and will participate. But if you don't see how you can do that, or
don't want to, it's ok. Maybe later. Maybe never. It's ok. Your choice.
But, on the other hand, if you're like some: life is good. After Wheat
Ridge you went to college and then worked your way through a career that
challenged and rewarded you for your effort and dedication. You raised a
family and have had a good life. Maybe, like some, you're close to or
retired now and collecting a pension, living off retirement savings, or
maybe even collecting Social Security; life is good. You donate to your
church or other charities and feel blessed that you're able to help others.
Please share
Please share with your old classmates from Wheat Ridge. And I don't just
mean money. Please share your bio and pictures on the web site; your
thoughts about finding other classmates not yet located; your feelings
about deceased class members. Best of all; give others of us the gift
of attending the reunion activities and sharing your time and your
experiences.
A recent meeting
You can't believe how much fun we had at a Reunion Committee meeting
recently held at Valente's on 38th Ave. Anyway, there we were, renewing
old acquaintances and sharing stories from our pasts. During our meeting,
we were talking about how we could find "missing" classmates and lamenting
deceased ones; talking about the events planned and what else needs to be
done; thinking of ways to get more classmates to come to the events, and
figuring out how we can raise money to pay for the web site and reunion
event expenses.
What was cool was when the check came. No one was expecting the committee
funds to pay the bill. You can't believe how many $20 bills hit the table.
Everyone was willing to pay more than their fair share. I've never seen a
large restaurant bill be covered so fast. I'll bet if you had been there,
you would have done the same.
This brings me back to my promise that this is a solicitation letter. If
you could have been at that meeting, I know there would be a much greater
chance that you would want to share with your classmates your experiences,
joys, sorrows, memories, ideas, and yes; even money to help others and
perpetuate the class activities over time.
So, how about you? Just follow the directions on the web site if you want
to help.
Hey, buddy, can you spare a dime?
