Sunday, April 25, 2010

A surprise mother-son reunion at the Atlanta airport and two South High kids receive Gates scholarships



 * ... IS THAT YOU MOM? This is such an uplifting story that I had to share. I cannot say it better than reader Kim Goforth. So here it is. Enjoy. "On Easter Sunday evening, I was walking through the Atlanta Airport with my friend Carol Formanek, returning home from a fun trip to Georgia. In the back of my mind, I knew my oldest son, Captain David Goforth, was coming home from Iraq sometime in the near future with his unit, the 923rd Movement Control Team.  I had not talked to him recently. Off to the right, we came upon a group of Army soldiers in their brown/tan fatigues. As we got closer, I said to Carol, 'That soldier on the end looks like my son.' (Was not wearing my glasses) Carol replied that indeed he did look like my son. I zeroed in to make a positive identification. 'David?  Mom?!!   What are you doing here?'  'Coming home from a trip to Georgia.'  Talk about shock and awe!  All the other soldiers had met me before and had received care packages and letters, and were so surprised to see me. I was able to visit with David and the other soldiers for about an hour before they had to board their plane to Ft. Bliss, TX  (El Paso), the last leg of the journey before coming home to Bakersfield about three to four days later.  This is such a supreme coincidence that I will always remember and treasure it as a gift.  I just wanted to share this remarkable story with your readers" Thank you for sharing.
                                                                      
 * ... SOUTH SCHOLARS: Jason George, the assistant principal over at South High  School, wrote to tell me that on May 13 the school will be honoring more than 100 kids going on to four-year colleges. These schools include UC Berkeley, Stanford, Boston University, UCLA, Johns Hopkins and a number of other top schools. In addition, he said two South students have been awarded the Gates Millenium Scholarships. Now that is some accomplishment. Jason said he hopes this event turns into an annual tradition honoring these kids moving on.

* ... ARMANDA BOSLEY: Reader Ruth Jackson wanted to share some moments about the last years in the life of Armanda Bosley, the former owner of Lou Ella's Children's Boutique who died recently. She was a neighbor of Bosley's and recalls how Armanda and her daughter Brenda would ride in their golf cart accompanied by their two dogs. "These two ladies always wore big smiles and lifted the spirits of pet owners and their animals. Some of the pets included Jacque, Mugs, Pebbles, Happy, Peaches, Andy, Bug, Buddy and many others I'm sure. For pets and their owners, we will always remember 'Do' and her daughter Brenda for those welcome day visits."

 * ... AIR FORCE RETIREE: Local residents Nancy and Larry Jamison told me that their son, Jeffrey Jamison, is retiring from the  U.S.  Air Force in May after 22 years.  Jeffrey was raised  in  Bakersfield and became an Eagle Scout. Two weeks after graduating from South High School in 1988, he left for basic training and later was stationed at Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, MT., and well as Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, S.D. He served in Desert Storm at an air base in Oman and later served in South Korea. He is now stationed at Randolph AFB in Universal City,  Texas, where he is an air crew life support systems manager.

 * ... BAKERSFIELDISMS: You know you're from Bakersfield when "you refer to wearing jeans, a T-shirt and cowboy boots as a Lamont tuxedo."

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