Ghosts, rivers and class rank. MH's FB Notes I

A ghost story

by Michael Hickey on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 8:21am

I've got 2 ghost stories. First my cousin, Mary Helen Vogele, an AHS '61 grad was killed in a

warehouse accident unbeknown to me. She has never been in my dreams except for that night years

ago.

She was on the knoll of a hill in the shade of a lone oak tree looking sadly down at me. I was in an vast

open prairie of grass waving in the wind and lit by the sun. She was very distant, maybe lost, maybe

envious, never-the-less still and sad. The next morning I got a call at work from my mom that Mary had

been killed, yesterday.

When I was a boy we lived in 4 dimensions. Now we talk about 10 or 11 and ordinary matter (the stuff

we're use to) comprises less than 5% of the universe's mass energy density.

Sometimes I think death is like walking through a door into --------- unknown to us. After all many of

our ancestors have been thinking the same thing for eons.

Wild River Recreation Area, Taos, NM

by Michael Hickey on Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 8:42pm

We are in the middle of no-where natural beauty. We are practically alone in a desert valley with 3 river

canyons surrounded by mountains.

We drove 15 mi. off of the NM highway 522 through the BLM to get here. We stopped for 2 female

mountain goats who eventually gave us the road back. The joined the male off in the brush, fantasy for

us, routine for them.

Many sq. mi.s of no sign of man but the road. From our RV and covered picnic area we look up the Rio

Grand River Gorge, 800' deep. Our view is like the attached pic.

We are the only campers on this BIG loop which has 3 sites.

Tomorrow, we hike to where the Red River feeds into the Reo Grande. 2 big river gorges meet and

form an even larger canyon as the Reo Grande goes South.

AHS '61 Class size 267

by Michael Hickey on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at 11:20am

"I made it by one" a memorable feat. One was perfect. I made the cut but wasn't too dumb about it.

Father Wuellner, Dean of Boys, called me in to tell me that I was graduating in the lower half of my

class. "What's my ranking?" "134" "What's the class size?" "267"

Father O'Connor, Principle, also called me in for a parting farewell. He said he added a note to my

transcripts "Mr. Hickey is bright but trouble. If you accept him, you will have trouble."

I applied to 3 colleges. I was accepted by all 3 colleges. "Did he add the note?" I've wondered.

I improved by one full grade point w/ each subsequent degree. My MBA came w/ honors.

I performed much better in the college environment. "Take it or leave it". I took it.

I leaned a lot at Alleman High School but my reaction to all the rules held down my grades.

This memory was inspired by Elaine DeClerck who asked about our class size.