In a Time of Great Need...Who Can You Turn To? And a Request for Prayers

I am writing this because I want to share with you something beautiful.

People

People who are

old friends 

new friends 

and some

just acquaintances 

People who have 

hearts filled 

with love and 

concern 

for one another

People who simply

want to help

because it is the

right thing 

to do 

People who give of their

time

money 

and prayers

People who do not care

if you didn't

 know them

way back 

when

People of different 

religions

ethnicity

and upbringings

People, if just for

the simple reason

of logistics,

shared their 

lives together

for 4 years in the hallowed halls

of one very special place

Beautiful people

Cherished people

People with amazing hearts

of the purest gold

These people are my classmates

of a long ago and far away place

These people are 

The Abington High School class of 1979... 

...of which I am very proud to be one of...

...may God Bless each and every one of you.

Back story to this post...

I was born in November of 1961 which puts me right at the tail end of the baby boom of the mid 20th century. Over 76 million babies were born in the United States between the years of 1945 to 1964, so I am considered a late boomer or trailing edge boomer. As a result of all this booming the high school classes of the mid 60's to mid 70's also boomed in number. So much so that in the area where I grew up the class size of the time typically breached the 1000 student mark...and that is a lot of kids in one school. By 1969 our school district had to build a second high school to house all of the township students.  We had one school, North Campus for grades 9 and 10, and South Campus to accommodate grades 11 and 12.

So in this vast body of students it was virtually impossible to know each and every classmate. As a matter of fact to this day I am still finding out that Marry so-n-so who I worked with for years actually graduated with my high school class. As well illustrated in the movie "The Breakfast Club" we had several different "clicks" throughout our school. We had the jocks, the brains, the band kids, the super popular as well as the kids who kept to themselves, and we all pretty much hung with our own. For me I was part of the school's largest organization, the marching band, which put over 200 students from grades 10 through 12 on the football field and in band competitions each week during the fall, so I had a very large circle of friends.

Now factor in social media. Social media has made our world a much smaller and intimate place to be. We know when someone is getting married, having a baby or grand baby, moving or changing jobs, and on occasion, what one had eaten for lunch that day. We also know pretty quickly when someone is in trouble due to illness or have fallen on hard times. My class, which I never considered to be a particularly close class because of it's gigantic size, has for some reason in recent years begun to really rally together each and every time one of their classmates was in need. They are prayer warriors and the givers of generous words of love and support. The walls of exclusivity have crumbled around these so-called "clicks" to the point where recently a gal from our class, who I did not know in high school, sent out a Facebook email to invite our classmates to help financially another gal from our class, again someone I did not know personally in high school, who was recently diagnose with breast cancer and struggling to pay for her medications and travel expenses to get to and from treatment. With in days money was sent from several classmates to the tune of over $1,000, and by the end of approximately 2 weeks over $4000 had been raised and sent to our classmate in need. And as I scrolled down through the names of those who gave so generously, I saw that not one particular high school "click" was the sole source of this incredible gift. They were the names of the jocks, the brains, the band members and the super popular. People...the people I went to high school with and graduated the June of some 35 years ago, did this amazing thing with the prompting of just one email on Facebook and nothing else. 

Now we have another classmate, this person is someone I have known since the 9th grade, and as I write this I feel tears welling up in my eyes, she is dying. Our class is about to loose another one of our own, and we are all completely heartbroken for our friend and her family. The outpouring of love and kind words, photos, and remembrances are everywhere on our Facebook pages. 

So I ask this of you my dear friends of blogland, to please pray for my classmate and friend Amy, that she leaves this world with dignity and grace and to find herself whole again in the paradise of heaven.

And for my classmate Joe, Amy's husband of 29 years, that he and his family find peace in her passing and happiness once again as their lives will be forever changed by the loss of such a brave, strong, loving and devoted wife and mother. My classmate, my friend, Amy.

Update: My dear friend Amy passed in the early morning hours of April 24th 2014, she was 52. Amy passed peacefully at home in the bosom her beloved husband Joe, and amazing family. Since Amy was of the Jewish faith her burial was swift, but from what I was able to find out from friends who attended, it was as beautiful as the soul Amy's earthly body released to heaven. Tears are still in my eyes over the great loss of this long time friend, but I know she is in a better place, she is in the arms of the angels.