Debby Wall ByrnesColumbus, NC

I have quite a few OMG moments from my days at MAHS such as: the time I fell asleep during our Sr. Class Play and missed my cue to come on

stage the time I brought a “college guy” to our Jr./Sr. prom which was against the

rules the time I had stage fright during my first pep rally as a cheerleader and

faked having laryngitis so that I did not have to perform solo the time I snuck out of my house during late night hours to meet my pals at

the golf course and listen to good music and shag (USA term not British!) LOL

On another note, I have some “bouncy” memories of: oxford shoes and a cheerleading outfit that just seemed to make me bounce

down the halls of MAHS or as we used to say - - ‘the sacred halls of ivy!’ getting hall passes to skip class so I could work on bulletin boards having a crush on Coach Gibbs, along with all the other girls, as he made

those historic wars come alive in history class and taught us not only what the letters WSJ meant, but also taught us how to read the stock market

learning to drive a stick shift as I bounced around the Tastee Freeze learning to shift gears

My choices in life have taken me beyond NC as I have ventured across our country to California, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, NY, NJ, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington State, Washington, DC, Illinois, Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, Tennessee, South Carolina, Colorado, Missouri, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, etc.

One constant has sustained me through all my travels and experiences. No matter where I am, when the question arises, “Where did you grow up?” …. and my answer

surfaces, the “Real Mayberry, Mt Airy, NC” …. there is an immediate ice breaking moment of … you mean there is a “REAL” Mayberry?

…. I go on to say, yes, there is a very real and quite special place in the foothills of the mountains of NC. I grew up there. Folks were quite forgiving of my shy nature and believed that I could speak up … so I did. Adults seemed to be much too strict for my tastes, yet when I found ways to go beyond their boundaries, they compassionately helped me steer my course back on track. Crime was more about skipping class or passing notes in class or walking the halls without a hall pass. All the while, Mr. Bartley was chuckling on the inside, most of the time, while he responsibly passed judgement and applied the discipline that was needed to help us learn what living within the rules truly meant so that someday our creative ways of breaking the rules might be based upon sound judgement.

My favorite memory of MAHS was when that bell would ring to change class. I would jump up from my seat and nose dive into the hallways! It was actually thrilling for me to see faces of my classmates, say hello and call each by name, tease a friend about her “teased” hair-do, have my heart stop when a handsome guy would say hello back, wink at one of my pals and finally make it to my next class. Is there any greater joy than living in those moments that make us smile?

Certainly, there are roles and aspirations that I have outgrown and left behind. Yet, when I received that email about our 50th high school reunion I truly stopped for a moment, setting aside my immediate commitments. I thought – what a stroke of good fortune to have experienced my time and place at MAHS!

Today, I am actively engaged in my career, happily partnered with Don on a small farm in Western NC and enjoying my ‘late in life’ hobby of screenwriting.