Dianne Senn Mandel  '65

Don 80

http://www.discovery.com/sched/domestic/episode/29/550165017.html

Reunion
Wagner High School

With the Vietnam War on the horizon in the early 1960's, the students at Wagner High School at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines bound tightly to one another.  "We are not from anywhere. We are born and live on military bases. We don't have hometowns like most people. Our friends at school were our hometown." Two students, Becky Char and John Prunier, who were first loves in high school will reunite together and join other classmates at a celebration after nearly thirty-five years. 

  Most of the folks I find on the Wagner High School (the philippines) site are, frankly, much older than I am. But it doesn't seem to matter. We all did something that's utterly foreign to most of the world's population.  And we've spent our whole adult lives thinking we could just remember these things ourselves and go about the business of living. Unfortunately, that's not a very bright idea. A lot of people who attended school overseas spend their lives looking for something but never quite knowing what. This site helps people (who never needed help meeting new people) make new friends and find old ones who have shared our experiences. I don't know where you went to high school, but I'll bet you can find your old "best friend."
I just found some of my favorite people from my adolescence this month.  I'm 34, so I've spent more than half my life wondering how they were.  That's not easy. And it's not something many people understand.  It makes life hard for brats. Many of us have a hard time forming solid bonds with people and being completely secure in relationships, because so many of them have ended simply because it was time for Dad to be transferred. It doesn't make us bad people. But it takes one to know one.
  I can't speak for anyone else, but I know that < I > get screamingly homesick but I'm never quite sure what for. A lot of times, it's different stuff that I'm missing, and it can't all be found in one place.  I crave BlueBell ice cream from the Hill Country of Texas, lumpia and pancit from the Philippines, Mexican food from New Mexico, "pig sandwiches" from the barbecue stands of Mississippi, fresh crab from Maryland and kolaches from the Midwest. And that's just the food.
  Some days, I'd die for the chance to go diving in the clear waters of the Philippines again, this time with the good sense to appreciate where I am and not be in such a rush to get "back home."
  Other days, I'd like to be in Alaska, swatting monster mosquitoes and eating fresh-caught salmon.
  Still, there are times when a trip down the Guadalupe River in a tube sounds like heaven.
   I wish I could take you on a tour of my hometown, but it's just too big.  You see, my hometown reaches from The Philippines to Alaska to Maryland, down to Florida, back to Texas and a half-dozen places in between.
  If you ask around, you'll find many of us feel rootless because of this  vagabond lifestyle, but we wouldn't give it up on a bet. We are learning  now what we missed. We've been trying for years to tell people what we gained.
  What is that?
  Well, I've never met a stranger. I'll talk to just about anyone, just about anywhere. I know that waiting to be introduced doesn't work and being passive just means missing another opportunity to do something.  I've seen places you've probably never dreamed of. I've seen amazing wealth  and devastating poverty, and felt the sting of both. My view of global  politics is tinted by my experiences. Do I think our President should worry more about domestic issues and leave the rest of the world to its own devices? No. I've seen how strong the American influence has been, and without it many places would simply fall apart.  I know a little about so many things, I scare even myself. When TV comes in another language, you read a lot until you learn that language.
  We've been taught by teachers so bright, so well-educated and so devoted I could have gone to the moon myself if any of them had taught astrophysics!  (That's government education money in real action!)
  We still cry at the national anthem, not talk through it, because to us, it means so much. We'll stop our cars, hold our heads high and salute if this nation's anthem starts while we're on the road.
  We know the things other countries love to eat, and the things they have to eat, and we still drive through for Big Macs because they're clean and they're comfortable.
   But mostly, for the most part, we know the value of living today. Not because tomorrow might see us all dead, but because tomorrow the winds may blow and pull us from our moorings once again.
  And if it does, we'll sail along, searching the world for someone else who  says, "Hey! I was a brat, too. Where were <you> stationed?"

  Kim Eubanks Jantzen
  Wagner High School
  class of 1982
  (attended 1978-80)

Hi there!
My name is Marianne Vogel and I am writing to you from the Learning Channel TV Network (TLC). I have been talking to Karen Bogart and we wanted know if you would post some information for us on the Alumin Bulletin Board..

    The Learning Channel has just started a new series this year called "Reunion." We are traveling around the country looking for interesting reunion stories. I thought maybe we could chat about any stories that you may have regarding your upcoming reunion.
    I am most interested in long-lost type stories, like if you or someone you know has not seen a friend who meant a lot to them in 10 - 20 years and are very excited to see them again.
    If you could post information about our show on your BBS, that would be a helpful means for people to find out that we are looking for stories. If you have any questions, you can email me at mvogel@banyanprod.com, or call me at 215-928-1414 Ext. 7141.  We are looking for great stories and maybe we can find one here.
Thanks for your time.
Sincerely yours,
Marianne Vogel
Reunion
Learning Channel

Marianne Vogel
The Learning Channel Network (TLC)
Banyan Productions

Marianne,

Thanks for your note.  We will certainly post it on our Bulletin Board:  http://www.whoa.org  and forward it to our internet mailing lists.  We will also ask that potential stories be sent to you for consideration.

        Karen Bogart has probably told you of our group's unique background as "military brats" at the former Clark AFB in the Philippines.  This background helped form very strong relationships in spite of our being separated by time and geography, not to mention the destruction of our school by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991.
        Our organization, the Wagner High Online Alumni (WHOA), has helped to find and reunite many of our "long lost" alumni with the help of alumni associations (like Karen's) and several volunteers.  This effort has led to much interest in both regional "mini-reunions" and much larger national/international events such as our upcoming Austin, TX and
Charleston, SC reunions.
        Many attendees of our recent reunions in Washington DC ('96), Colorado Springs ('97), and Las Vegas ('97) have described their experience as an "emotional roller coaster."  Not only have these events renewed school age friendships and memories of our unique past, they have also sparked romance and even marraige!
        I think you will find many great stories from our reunions and we appreciate your willingess to tell them to the world.  Please let any of us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

John E. Prunier '65
Webmaster:  http://www.whoa.org
prunier@whoa.org

Debbie Goldey Wardick (Duckie) '76
WHOA Administration
admin@whoa.org

Karen Jimerson Hasan '76
WHOA Announcements
news@whoa.org

Gary D. McClellan '75
WHOA Website and Founder
gary@whoa.org