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Page A2 The Joan De Arc Crusader / Sunday, June 18, 2006 Front Page A1 / Nostalgia A3 / Entertainment A4 / Crossword A5
“Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd.” – Voltaire
A new day for Westown Park
The Crusader wishes to pass along its heartiest congratulations to Westown Park on the occasion of its recent refurbishing and rededication by the City of Phoenix. This sweet little slice of real estate in the heart of the Westown neighborhood has been the scene of countless wonderful events and the catalyst for endless cherished memories among local residents, past and present. How many exciting Little League games, family picnics, Sahuaro faculty softball games, world class Westown soccer matches and other great happenings have taken place over the years at good old Westown Park? Quite a few. Westown Park has certainly changed greatly over the years. The cast iron merry-go-round is long gone, as are the soccer goal posts. Even the original rest room structure disappeared into history last fall. But what do remain absolutely constant are the family friendly ambiance, the occasional victimless crimes, and the well over four decades of truly terrific memories. Here’s to four more.
’76 Suns most memorable Thirty years ago this month,
the Phoenix Suns gave this town one of its greatest sports moments as they
battled the mighty Boston
After a relatively mediocre season of 42 wins and 40 losses, our team suddenly took off in the playoffs, defeating first the Seattle Supersonics and then the defending champ Golden State Warriors to earn a shot at the world title. John MacLeod’s brilliantly coached line-up included original Sun Dick Van Arsdale, Garfield Heard, Alvan Adams, Keith Erickson, Paul Westphal and Rick Sobers. The chemistry of the team gradually gelled as the regular season drew to an end, and the post-season achievements of this particular Suns incarnation in the spring of ’76 thrilled the city and brought the Phoenix community together in an unprecedented manner. Some say the glory of the ’76 Suns was somewhat overshadowed by the ’93 squad, who swept to the finals behind the league’s best record and MVP Charles Barkley’s matchless swagger. But for sheer drama, excitement, utter improbability and thrilling unpredictability, the “Sunderella” story of the ’76 squad can never be topped. The legendary triple overtime Game 5 against the Celtics alone establishes the 1976 Suns team as the most unforgettable. Until the day that the Phoenix Suns finally bring home that ever elusive NBA title, it can truly be said that the ’76 run was their finest moment of all. ______________________________________________________________________________
LETTERS
Moon Valley memories I came across the Moon Valley HS nostalgia you had on your website http://www.barbarastew-art.com/mv.html. I just wanted to say “Thank You!” for putting the wonderful pictures online. I graduated in 1967 as part of the very first graduating class of Moon Valley High. I was doing some research for a client on historical records and on a whim decided to see if there was anything on the net about my old high school. Do a search on "moon valley high school" and your site turns up on the first page. Since there was no contact info and no links to the main site, I simply removed everything from the URL after the .com to get to it. That's how I found your mother's beautiful art work and the email address. I'm currently living in Brisbane, Australia and it was such a treat to see the old school, yearbooks, newspaper and other things you have online. It brings back many happy memories. How did I come to be down under? Well, back in 1997 I was an Executive Producer on MSN and worked with people from around the world. Some of the Australians who worked for me invited me to stay with them and vacation there. It turned out to be a plot to get me to Sydney because one of the guys planned to ask me to marry him. Eventually I said yes, and we got married on a ranch with kangaroos in the audience. That was one really long vacation. I've been back to the states just once for about 3 years. I think I ate every pickle I saw while there. Australia has no real pickles. The only way to get pickles here is to eat at Subway. Yes, they have McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, and Sizzler too. It was such a kick to see the photos you had online. I remember arguments we had trying to come up with a mascot and school song. Since we were the first graduating class, we got to name everything. I think there were less than 70 of us. Our football team lost every game, but we had lots of school spirit. I still have the very first yearbook. Thanks again for bringing back great memories.
Pam
The Crusader welcomes your letters at jdacrusader@aol.com ________________________________________________________________
Oh well, so it's fifty As a suggestion for this installment of the Corner, my editor recommended that I might share some sentiments regarding an upcoming personal milestone. You see, “Heartbreak Hotel," the Federal-Aid Highway Act, Randy Jackson and I all have a little something in common; we all turn fifty years old in 2006. Randy and I on the same summer day, in fact (woof, woof, woof). It’s hard to believe an entire half century has passed since the Bikini Atoll mushroom cloud and the Lewis-Martin split up, but there you have it. Time certainly does fly when you’re having fun. I guess I’m having a hard time summoning up much outrage over this constant forward progress of time thing. It’s all I’ve ever known, really, and against a background of the world getting progressively more and more crappy, one’s own minor midlife infirmities seem right at home. Anyway, there are so many other more interesting milestones happening that the arbitrary one about surviving complete solar orbits seems a little trivial. This season has already produced in our family one new college graduate, for example, and another graduate from high school (practically guaranteeing the opportunity for another four years of college tuition payments). Why, compared to my birthday, these things are relatively earth-shattering! We’re celebrating a 25th wedding anniversary this summer, which means that by far the best half of my life has been spent as a married man. How much more impressive an accomplishment than just being alive is that, even if for only half as long? Way more impressive, I’m thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the fifty years, and I’ll gladly take as many more. As children we all so looked forward to our birthdays, as they were special days just for us. The sudden loss of a couple of my cousins over the past year, however, has underlined for me a great universal truth; that these are ALL special days, each one a good reason to celebrate. As I type this, I’m mere days away from the dreaded five-oh. I’m sure it’ll be a nice day. Just because Chuck doesn’t particularly want to celebrate his birthday doesn’t mean you can’t wish him well or even shower him with gifts at the address of his rapidly emptying nest in Ahwatukee. ________________________________________________________________________________________________JDA
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Celtics
in the NBA finals. 