always studious
“Joolee” and I met my first day in college at the start of her Sophomore year. I was just a few doors down from Joolee. I think we all got extremely lucky with our dorm assignments that year and we ended up with a great group of people that shared a unique bond all in the same hall at Kieffer. We were all growing up and finding ourselves. The bond was so unique, we went out at the end of the year to local gman (gingerbread man bar)…you can see Joolee 5 people in on the left hand side:
Joolee and I connected right away and became fast friends. Both of us wanted to simply enjoy life, laugh lots and be spontaneous (aka act like fools whenever possible)…oh and get an education of course. We were similar in many ways but different in others. There are many memories over the years but one story from college I still tell and get a great laugh about. Momma Aurand…I am not sure if you know about this one…so you may want to stop reading now J
Somehow we ended up in the same sociology course. It was given in a large lecture room that was usually about half empty and taught by a very eccentric professor. If I remember correctly, we used to arrive right around the time class started, so sometimes late. That professor was fairly strict with her classroom and did not like interruptions.
Joanne and Julie, laughing (of course)
Joolee was a good student and paid attention in class. I was paying attention that day too. The professor started to explain the different types of marriage to us…polygamy – a marriage of more than 2 people…monogamy a marriage of 2 people…all “gamy” terms we had heard before now. Then the professor named homogamy. Joolee and I both looked at each other a little unsure about what that one meant. The professor went on to define the term for us – homogamy meant the marriage of 2 people who are alike. The two of us looked at each other and I said “Julie that would be like you and I getting married”. Joolee replied “Are you asking me to marry you?” At which point Joolee and I started some uncontrollable laughter that always easily erupted between us with our mutual penchant for dorky humor.
Then I hear from the front of the room “You two, back there that are talking, GET OUT OF MY CLASS!” We couldn’t believe it stunned and still laughing we gathered our things and headed out. We laughed all the way back to the dorm and each time we retold the story. The irony of being kicked out of class when we were commenting on what we were being taught still makes me laugh every time I think about it.
Besides this little incident in sociology class, Joolee is/was a great student. I am not sure I should mention this but a little birdie told me that Joolee has been selected as a 2012 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from Shippensburg University. There are many sides to this extraordinary woman as evident by the dichotomy of being kicked out of class and still receiving an outstanding alum award.
Joolee is definitely a unique person that I am glad to call my friend. Always real, always living and always enjoying life. What is life without laughter?
She has traveled the world and done some amazing things over the years, just hearing about them all is fun. She has touched many lives and brought many people smiles and positive feelings. This travel has brought all of us who know Joolee some remarkable pictures in amazing places all over the globe. I have to share what I think is a very rare picture of Joolee, one that probably has not been repeated since that long ago visit we had in Albany, NY many, many moons ago:
Julie trying out a desk job.
Yes that is Joolee behind a desk…a desk job…can you believe it? hahaha
Thanks for all the laughs Joolee, may you have more laughter and experiences than you could ever want in the next 40 years! Happy Birthday my dear, old (this is not a reference to your impending age change, but our years of friendship of course), adventurous friend. I will be celebrating with you in spirit wherever you are and raising a glass to you on April 9th! Cheers!
joolee's forty 
YOU! Sneaky Jo! I still tell this story, too! I’m glad you didn’t tell the one where you typed your whole paper on my old Apple, and I didn’t tell you to save it, so the whole thing got gone. Yipes…sorry bout that! And THEN, when YOU turn 40, I’ll have to publish the Fire Marshall Bill story online, heheh. Thanks for this…I love that photo of you and me! And look at lil bebbee Kelly and lil bebbee Nancy in the gman photo…is Tara in there, too? Anyway, thank you, thank you, Jojo!
ahhhh…of course i had flashes of the paper on your old apple computer…i giggled at that one too…cracks me up because i had no idea about computers back then and now they help me make a living 🙂 thanks for trying to assist the computer illerate…no worries on the paper…hmmm…i should have rethought my story since i still have to turn 40 and paybacks aren’t fun…the fire marshall bill story i do still tell…but only to a ‘select’ audience…lol…and yes that is nancy and tara and becca (who i helped in the fire marshall bill story) and laura and annie is back there is left hand corner…this saturday annie and i were talking about the stories and she did not remember that we got kicked out of sociology class…i think she was shocked…more so for you then for me 🙂 i hope you are enjoying the website….its great and has made me remember and laugh lots about our time at camp shippy!
Eiyah! That has to be Roxi! She’s so cute I want to bite her face off! Hey, Jo, do you remember when Bo broke her 8-year vegetarian stint with a HOT DOG?! And she didn’t even tell us until after she’d ingested half of it??!?
yes…I do remember that Annie moment 🙂 hilarious…I do remember Laura during the fire Marshall bill story sliding down the hallway on her knees trying to cleanup the “evidence”…Annie and I were also recounting our trip to the farm…us city folk must have looked like we were in foreign territory…we had never seen that dark of a sky before being from a big bright city…we had trouble driving 🙂 and of course what was kieffer without some heater action going on?