The class of 57 had its dream

And that probably didn't include growing old, but we did. Our former high school, new when we graduated, is located between the town cemetery and the retirement home--so we should have had a clue. Some of us have already passed the 70 mark, some will soon, but most of the class of 1957 were born in or around 1939. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression that had been dragging on for 10 years. That was the year Hitler marched into Poland, and we were toddlers when Japan dropped bombs on Pearl Harbor. It was hard times and some of our parents might not have been thrilled by our showing up! If you look through the yearbooks of my home town at the class of 1953, it was about half the size of ours. People were cautious about the future in the 1930s. Here's a column from the Cleveland Plain Dealer that former classmate Mike and wife Judy sent me. Regina Brett’s "50 life lessons," written when she turned 50 in 2006. Can you think of 20 more to make it 70?

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.


51. Here's one from the 1880s: "The husband must not see and the wife must be blind." The Gospel Messenger, December 18, 1888.
52. Less stuff means less stress
53. Naps and chocolate (dark).
54. Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.
55. "It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." Laura Ingalls Wilder
56. When it comes to politics, keep an open mind. It will pay off in the end. Murray
57. Having more than one political party can be good but it can also be very ugly. Murray
58. "Life by the yard is hard; by the inch is a cinch." Or something like that I saw on my sister-in-law's refrigerator.
59. "I know folks all have a tizzy about it, but I like a little bourbon of an evening. It helps me sleep. I don't much care what they say about it." Lillian Carter