If you go pokin' around in old dirt or old stompin' grounds - you never know just what you might kick up.
A few years ago, one of my sisters visited the newly opened Fossil Discovery Center, just north of my old home town Madera and found not only bones of mastodons, smilodons and bears, but also a living relic of the past: My dear old friend Blake, who is now the director of the Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County. Blake and Wendy recognized each other, and as Blake talked to Wendy, he wondered whatever had happened to me (I also wonder about this at times). Wendy provided my email and Blake and I got back in touch.
With a rare appearance of mine in Central California parts, I definitely planned to see Blake and his Fossil Center, as well as meet his wife and daughter, and probably have dinner with them all.
Once the LA traffic had subsided by midmorning, we departed. Carol insisted that I ride with her in her BMW along with Katrina (a canine-American of Beagle mix heritage), while Grant followed along in The Q. The route was simple, take The 5 north to The 99. Continue north, exit for Starbuck's in Madera. It was a quick 4 1/2 hours as Carol and I shared a wide ranging conversation covering distant and recent past events and comments on the present. Meanwhile Grant followed us with the Beach Boys Greatest Hits CD playing inside The Q cab.
I once went back to Madera to attend my 10-Year Class Reunion from my home in Denver. I not did see many of my closer friends at the reunion, and the event was rather non-plus. I concluded I really had no strong connections to the home town. However, this time, thanks to advance warning from Carol, I experienced a genuine outpouring of interest in reconnecting with me. This welcoming response from even a few others was wholly unanticipated and I found myself unexpectedly charmed by the chance to see the others as well. Despite the thermometer registering near 100 degrees - it was one of those 'warm-fuzzies', an admittedly rare, but affirming experience for me.
The three ladies and Grant and I had a brief reunion and some refreshment at Starbuck's. Pam brought along her copy of the Madera High Class of 1976 Year Book, mostly for Grant to be shocked to discover that his father was once without a beard, had a full head of hair and was at one point younger than he is now.
Wow! That can't be true. Hard to believe, but photographic evidence was presented.
We then had to excuse ourselves in order to get over to see Blake and the Fossil Center. Blake welcomed us in, and showed us around and told us of how the Pleistocene (mostly mammal) fossils were discovered as the county moved dirt to expanded the landfill. Blake showed us his efforts to develop attractive displays and expand the narrative of the Discovery Center. I say he is doing a fantastic job, and a more suitable person for that position I can not imagine. It is a great story of how Blake got the Director's position, and it is a great fit for him.
Later, Grant and I joined Blake and his family for dinner at DiCicco's. It happened to be Blake's birthday, so a festive dessert was brought and we doubly celebrated the occasion to join together after so long of a time.
After dinner, Pam had invited us to her house for margarita's with Carol and to sample some home brewed beer. Blake was of course invited as well. So it was the after-Reunion Reunion around Pam's dinning room table. Grant enjoyed the beer. while the old folks swapped stories and asked Pam "What ever happened to..." Pam knows these things.
[Blake says that some people see the word 'Fossil' and think only of dinosaurs. But these fossils come about 58 million years after the last dinosaur and are mostly mammals.
So, you won't see any dinosaurs.
Q: And do you know why no one could ever hear a pterodactyl going to the bathroom?
A: Because the "P" is silent.
-- Joke learned from my son Grant on this trip]
A few years ago, one of my sisters visited the newly opened Fossil Discovery Center, just north of my old home town Madera and found not only bones of mastodons, smilodons and bears, but also a living relic of the past: My dear old friend Blake, who is now the director of the Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County. Blake and Wendy recognized each other, and as Blake talked to Wendy, he wondered whatever had happened to me (I also wonder about this at times). Wendy provided my email and Blake and I got back in touch.
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| Director of the Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County, Blake, shows me and Grant the mastodon and other cool bones dug up next door at the County Landfill. |
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| Blake inside a Yokut Indian dwelling that he constructed at the Discovery Center, using only material & methods that would have beeen employed by the indigenous Yokut People |
With our Mickey Mouse Ears now stowed, it was time to travel our shortest day of the trip, leaving behind Southern California and go north to Madera. Our hostess while in SoCal was, Carol, one of my friends from our days of shared classes at Madera High. Carol had tweeted and/or texted and/or had posted on facebook that I had been rediscovered in Texas and was now actually passing through California, with a scheduled stop in Madera. Carol decided that she would go back to Madera for the weekend for Father's Day and - by the way, her facebook contacts from high school days tweeted/posted/texted that: Hey! I'd like to see Mark and his son Grant also. So, additional plans were made to shoe-horn in the long-lost Suneson for a visit with Carol, Pam and Gina at... [get this] - one of the TWO Starbuck's now in Madera. Tammy would have liked to be there as well, but could not get away.
Once the LA traffic had subsided by midmorning, we departed. Carol insisted that I ride with her in her BMW along with Katrina (a canine-American of Beagle mix heritage), while Grant followed along in The Q. The route was simple, take The 5 north to The 99. Continue north, exit for Starbuck's in Madera. It was a quick 4 1/2 hours as Carol and I shared a wide ranging conversation covering distant and recent past events and comments on the present. Meanwhile Grant followed us with the Beach Boys Greatest Hits CD playing inside The Q cab.
I once went back to Madera to attend my 10-Year Class Reunion from my home in Denver. I not did see many of my closer friends at the reunion, and the event was rather non-plus. I concluded I really had no strong connections to the home town. However, this time, thanks to advance warning from Carol, I experienced a genuine outpouring of interest in reconnecting with me. This welcoming response from even a few others was wholly unanticipated and I found myself unexpectedly charmed by the chance to see the others as well. Despite the thermometer registering near 100 degrees - it was one of those 'warm-fuzzies', an admittedly rare, but affirming experience for me.
 |
| Starbucks Mini-Reunion - Madera High Class of 1976 Carol (with Katrina), Pam, Mark and Gina [3 of the 4 Look even better than they did in 1976] I was surprised by the effort and desire of those in town to reconnect with me after 35 years |
The three ladies and Grant and I had a brief reunion and some refreshment at Starbuck's. Pam brought along her copy of the Madera High Class of 1976 Year Book, mostly for Grant to be shocked to discover that his father was once without a beard, had a full head of hair and was at one point younger than he is now.
 |
| Year Book Photo recorded by my son Grant. In 20 years, he has never seen my chin! |
We then had to excuse ourselves in order to get over to see Blake and the Fossil Center. Blake welcomed us in, and showed us around and told us of how the Pleistocene (mostly mammal) fossils were discovered as the county moved dirt to expanded the landfill. Blake showed us his efforts to develop attractive displays and expand the narrative of the Discovery Center. I say he is doing a fantastic job, and a more suitable person for that position I can not imagine. It is a great story of how Blake got the Director's position, and it is a great fit for him.
Later, Grant and I joined Blake and his family for dinner at DiCicco's. It happened to be Blake's birthday, so a festive dessert was brought and we doubly celebrated the occasion to join together after so long of a time.
After dinner, Pam had invited us to her house for margarita's with Carol and to sample some home brewed beer. Blake was of course invited as well. So it was the after-Reunion Reunion around Pam's dinning room table. Grant enjoyed the beer. while the old folks swapped stories and asked Pam "What ever happened to..." Pam knows these things.
[Blake says that some people see the word 'Fossil' and think only of dinosaurs. But these fossils come about 58 million years after the last dinosaur and are mostly mammals.
So, you won't see any dinosaurs.
Q: And do you know why no one could ever hear a pterodactyl going to the bathroom?
A: Because the "P" is silent.
-- Joke learned from my son Grant on this trip]
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| A Bear Bones Exhibit Madera Fossil Discovery Center. Lots of hugs all around during my brief return visit to my old Home Town of Madera. |
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