Planet88.Com

A New Year and New Contacts…

MikeWilkerson — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 19:35:33 +0000

2010 - is here!

How has so much time and history passed so quickly? First, a note to everyone that’s contacted me who have submitted pictures and contact me about staying in touch.

Thank you for sending them along! It’s again great to see how everyone’s life has changed and grown over the last 20+ years and I’m eager to know more about all of you and your families and efforts.

Second: Staying in touch — All Hail Facebook!

There is a very LARGE presence of BCHSers available via Facebook. Those of you that haven’t shaken-off the electronic cobwebs would benefit by doing so. There are hundreds of friends from BCHS waiting to link to you, and the tools that Facebook allows you to take advantage of are pretty phenomenal. I started this website because I grew tired of having to PAY some other website or effort to talk to and catch up with my friends and Facebook has done quite a bit to not only allow me to stay in touch with all of you, but to become a showcase for a variety of business efforts that continue to grow.

Take time to visit Facebook.Com and establish an account today. If you have questions about anything there, please feel free to contact me. I’d be happy to help usher you into a new arena of communication for your personal, familial and business growths.

There are also several “groups” that tie themselves to BCHS. I’ll collect a series of those and post about them soon.

That’s all for now. To everyone from our class, REVEL in another year that arrives with new challenges, inspiration and future memories and please do stay in touch. I revel in what I’ve learned from the last and am eager to collect more experiences and knowledge from our future interactions. A very HAPPY ADVENTURE in the New Year to everyone!

Cheers!

Mike Wilkerson
Brookfield Central High School - Brookfield, Wisconsin
Class of 1988
http://www.planet88.com

Ahh, the Wonders of Facebook, Twitter and More…

MikeWilkerson — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:35:42 +0000

Greetings all! I can’t believe it’s been almost a year since our most recent Reunion. I’ve had the pleasure of finding many of you via Facebook with some extra time found here at the end of one of the busiest podcast seasons ever for 2GuysTalking.

I wanted to drop a note here to let you know that I’ll be doing more updates here over the next couple of weeks that will add more pictures, viable contact information and more as I flesh in more of the profiles of the people that graduated from Brookfield Central High School in he summer of 1988.

Be sure to pass me notes via the contact form that’s available here at Planet88.Com and I look forward to hearing from even more of you as we continue to paint the picture of the Class of ‘88 at Planet88.Com!

Remembering Ken Dippold - “Well, Are You Gonna’ Dance?”

MikeWilkerson — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 00:36:03 +0000

Let me be plain - I do NOT think I can dance, regardless of how much I drink, who’s company I’m in, or — let’s face it - I know I cannot dance. :) Last month, ironically while on a strange and all-too-short family vacation, I was contacted by our pals over at RocketXL, a web-based promotional group that we’ve worked with since the inception of 2GuysTalking and they asked us if we wanted to partcipate in a great new promotion that Snuggle was tossing through. Being the ever-interested online Barnum & Bailey folks that we are, we said “yes” and jumped in - with both feet so to speak.

Having never seen the show, “So You Think You Can Dance” and only having used Snuggle long enough to know that I liked the original’s smell better than most of the other stuff I could smell at the food store, we ventured forward. How on EARTH could I tie in something like “Snuggle” and “So You Think You Could Dance” to my life, television and our audience. Then it hit me…

STORY TIME! Ahh, the web-based bliss of yet another Wilkerson tale.

As you’ll recall I was up north in Wisconsin (20 minutes outside of Milwaukee in Brookfield to be specific) attending my 20th High School Reunion from Brookfield Central, Class of 1988. I have to tell you I was totally jazzed to get to this event, and had even procured a domain name (Planet88.Com) 12 years ago to prepare for the 10th Reunion which I completely forgot about. But this was the one, the big TWO-OH, a total of 5 generations of high schoolers had passed through the hallowed halls of BCHS and it was time to commemorate and visit with friends from long ago.

The only time I remember dancing in high school was during one of the many fall dancing events that I and friends attended (of course, I had no date, so meh, it was a slow Friday nite on my social calendar ) and I remember seeing a fellow classmate there that evening, Ken Dippold. Ken was gooney, had a voice 7 octaves lower than mine, and was also wandering the cafeteria-turned dance hall aimlessly that evening.

The yellow, green, orange and blue lights circled everyone in the room, as the voices and spry guitar riffs of 80’s music that was too loud pounded everyone’s ear drums. It felt as if the entire room was gyrating, circling, striding and hullabalooing, except of course, my friends and I. Ken Dippold, he who couldn’t possibly put his arms down at his side because of his mighty upper torso, strode in front of my friends and I, like a butcher encircling some soon-to-be-lopped-off ham hock. After a short baritoned conversation, he said in his gooney, deep-sea-diver voice “well, are you gonna’ dance?” I looked to each side of me, hoping he was talking to someone other than me. Not so surprisingly, all of my friends had bailed to avoid the perceived Armageddon that was having a general conversation with Ken, and I realized finally that he was talking to me.

“Naaaah, just shooting the breeze with friends (who had completely deserted me), having a bitchin’ time, y’know, the usual”, I said in a voice that hadn’t really started to change yet. The bookies in my brain suddenly opened up their ticket gates to take bets - would Ken Dippold continue his question-ridden discussion or would he move off to find the next potential not-yet-dancing prey on the off-white tile floor? Generously, I doubled-down in hopes that the threat would begin it’s advance toward the group of completely un-attended ladies on the other side of the floor.

“So are you gonna’ dance, Wilkerson?”, his voice becoming something not unlike the initial rumblings of a heinous earthquake, preparing to crumble the very fabric of the universe. As his verbal onslaught continued, I heard the spiny intro to Billy Idol’s Dancin’ With Myself spool up.

“We’ll I’m gonna’ dance!”, Ken Dippold said merrily, as he grabbed a non-existent pick and Fender electric and started to play air guitar, to clearly one of the best songs of the 1980’s. Then it happened.

Something washed over me, like the sweet maple-syrup-like icing on a glazed donut. I could feel my knees buckle as the music seemed to pulse and grow louder - no - they weren’t buckling, they were bouncing. As Ken continued his faux-six-string electrocity center floor, I could feel my arms rising to just in front of my chest, as if there was an invisible opponent standing in front of me, waiting for me to knock him into next week with my thunderous — punch! Wham, wham, wham wham, went the punches! But that wasn’t good enough! I suddenly added in an alternating kick - left, and right, and left and right and a spin - the guards at Buckingham Palace had NOTHING on me! Karate Kid? Spineless compared to the speed of my alternating, Billy-Idol-driven meat sawhorses delivering stinging blows to my transparent prey!

Ken would of course follow the regularly-occurring direction of “sink another drink…” with his invisible “brewski!” each time Billy Idol would charge the cadence of this evening’s destiny and together, we truly were “dancing with ourselves.” The song was is only 3 minutes and 22 seconds, but the energy, smile, and memories have lasted a lifetime.

After finishing the dance, several young ladies (all of whom I think I’ve inadvertently forgotten to protect their identities) came up to us and asked us “where’d you learn to dance” to which I replied, “oh, well it was during many years of study in the late 70’s that my Mom taught me when I was a kid, 1-2-3 and rock, step and all that, y’know…” Thinking back now, I don’t think it was so much that they were interested in learning where I learned to dance, but how they could avoid sending THEIR FUTURE CHILDREN to the place where they too can learn to have standing, continual, but somehow controlled yet comical seizures in a crowded room to Billy Idol classics.

Over the years, I’ve often thought, “whatever happened to Ken Dippold…”

As I was taking pictures of all the familiar, but now clearly older, more-seasoned and grown-up faces that surrounded me at my 20th high school class reunion, I found out sadly that Ken Dippold died a couple of years ago. Left behind was his rip-roaring air guitaring, invisible beer-guzzling moments, and baritoned gooneyness asking me “well, are you gonna’ dance?” available now only in my memory, and now - in my blog for everyone else to share, and revel in for all time.

Ahh, the memories of dancing, the memories of friendships long gone, and yet another reason to chock down your own voice when trying to get “excited to do something you would have never tried in the first place” and exclaim - “Well, are you gonna’ dance?”

Chris Frigerio

MikeWilkerson — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:17:48 +0000



	Chris Frigerio Current Profession: Look for this Information Soon! Current Location: Look for this Information Soon! Family: Look for this Information Soon! Hobbies & More: Look for this Information Soon! Website, Blog, Facebook, MySpace, Etc: http://www.planet88.com Click Here to See This Graduate in the 1988 BCHS Blue Book! Download the Entire BCHS 1988 Blue Book!

Gallery from Our 20th Reunion is Good to Go! Register and Help Us Get Names to Faces!

MikeWilkerson — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 19:26:48 +0000

Greetings, eveyrone!

Again - my thanks to everyone that took the time to attend and be photographed at the recent 2008 20th Reunion of Brookfield Central’s Class of 1988 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. It’s been great revisiting the memories, the faces, and the future that is so very exciting.

Look through the pictures and remember to Register so that you can apply comments, news items and also to alter your own biographical data here at Planet88.Com. Look for more notes from your friends here at Planet88, and watch for more captions on the pictures at this grand gallery, helping to preserve great memories that will last a lifetime and beyond.

Mike Wilkerson
Webmaster - Planet88.Com

Many Thanks to All For Attending!

MikeWilkerson — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:49:08 +0000

I have often thought that time goes too fast while doing many things in my life, but the 4+ hours spent on Saturday nite had to be some of the quickest minutes ever. A great big thanks to all that took the time out of their schedules and lives to help flesh out the picture that was our 20th Brookfield Central High School Graduation this last Saturday. I am finishing out travel with my family to a variety of states in the midwest, but will be arriving back home later this week. We’ll get the pictures up on here shortly, as well as add a link to the Picasa gallery that’s brewing. We’ll also have instructions for contributors so that you’ll know what you’re able to do when visiting.

My thanks again to everyone, especially Chris Long and his tireless crew of organizers. That was an outstanding event, featuring perfect weather, at a glorious venue that helped to make the experiences of that evening and each of the days in high school all that more satisfying.

Look for more soon!

Brad Abel

MikeWilkerson — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:32:53 +0000



	Brad Abel Current Profession: Look for this Information Soon! Current Location: Look for this Information Soon! Family: Look for this Information Soon! Hobbies & More: Look for this Information Soon! Website, Blog, Facebook, MySpace, Etc: http://www.planet88.com Click Here to See This Graduate in the 1988 BCHS Blue Book! Download the Entire BCHS 1988 Blue Book!

Brenda Abel

MikeWilkerson — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:32:05 +0000



	Brenda Abel Current Profession: Look for this Information Soon! Current Location: Look for this Information Soon! Family: Look for this Information Soon! Hobbies & More: Look for this Information Soon! Website, Blog, Facebook, MySpace, Etc: http://www.planet88.com Click Here to See This Graduate in the 1988 BCHS Blue Book! Download the Entire BCHS 1988 Blue Book!

Ayad Akhtar

MikeWilkerson — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:31:23 +0000



	Ayad Akhtar Current Profession: Look for this Information Soon! Current Location: Look for this Information Soon! Family: Look for this Information Soon! Hobbies & More: Look for this Information Soon! Website, Blog, Facebook, MySpace, Etc: http://www.planet88.com Click Here to See This Graduate in the 1988 BCHS Blue Book! Download the Entire BCHS 1988 Blue Book!

Anthony Allegretti

MikeWilkerson — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:30:24 +0000



	Anthony Allegretti Current Profession: Look for this Information Soon! Current Location: Look for this Information Soon! Family: Look for this Information Soon! Hobbies & More: Look for this Information Soon! Website, Blog, Facebook, MySpace, Etc: http://www.planet88.com Click Here to See This Graduate in the 1988 BCHS Blue Book! Download the Entire BCHS 1988 Blue Book!