Update 3-30-04
Hi,
To start, from Lynn Nudelman Villagran: The following is a correspondence between Booker Gibson and me. He has given me permission to send you the first letter for use in the newsletter. He originally sent it to me 2 years ago, following our reunion. I also think his response to me on his return to South would be interesting to share. And, of course, I think a scholarship in honor of Booker is an excellent idea.
Booker's first letter:
Hello, again, Lynn,
This morning my wife gave me a hard time when I showed her a copy of your letter. I never should have given you a "D." My wife taught elementary music at Forest Road School in Green Acres from about 1964 till 1990. So, I'll always apologize for those rough little Friday tests I gave. Classes like yours were so bright, I loved to try to teach them about music.
Lynn, the other subject is Long Island. It's been described by many people as one of the most segregated suburbs, starting especially with the postwar period. It was before that, too. Generally, black families lived in a few "chosen" areas. My folks broke that when we moved out from the city in 1938 and settled in Merrick. There were five other black families in that little village, and there are less than that now. Later, I moved to North Merrick where there about five, also. My older sister and brother and I did well in school and got to feel comfortable. After that, I finished college, up in Potsdam, New York (Music Ed). In 1952, after finishing four years in the Air Force, I thought it would be easy to get a job teaching on Long Island. At that time, they were building schools all over and advertising for "any" young teachers. All of my classmates had jobs, but I didn't. Even my home district, where I'd been an honor student, wouldn't interview me. Two or three black ladies had jobs, but no men. Some Nassau County music teachers started taking me around (while I was still in uniform) to different schools. All of the Valley Steam schools quietly refused me. I nearly got the band director position at Malvern, after a long interview one night by the entire Board of Ed. On the next day, the school principal introduced me to the secretaries as the band director and showed me my office. That was about August 28th, 1956. I felt nervous when I didn't hear anything else. Finally, I called the principal. He told me that he had just hired a "more experienced" man from New Jersey.
Lynn, that was the lowest point of my life -- starting my first teaching year with no job. Then, a few weeks later, on October 10th, Mr. Bergen called me from South and said a music teacher had just been drafted, and he needed someone (he remembered meeting me on my one visit to South). Of course, I rushed over in October, 1956 and stayed until 1986. Mr. Bergen was always stubborn and kind of brave. After that, each building in Valley Stream hired "one." I still think I might have been the first male black teacher hired in Nassau or Suffolk. I don't know of another. I'm not exactly proud of that. Even the house we purchased here in North Merrick was due to racial stuff. A fella originally from South High (I believe it was Doug Solomon) sold to a black family. I heard about it and accidentally saw this cul de sac with all the "for sale" signs. I imagine Valley Stream reacts about the same. Enough of this negative stuff, Lynn. It just makes me think that parts of California are a really different world.
Love, Booker
Lynn's recent letter:
Hi, Booker - how are you doing? Hope all is well. After reading today's Reunion Update of the Class of 1965, where Rich mentioned the idea of a Booker Gibson scholarship, I remembered the e-mail you had sent to me after our class reunion 2 years ago. I thought it was so interesting and revealing, and I wonder what you would think about me sharing it with Rich Eisbrouch to include in the Reunion newsletter. I think it would be of interest to other classmates. Let me know what you think. As always, best to you and your wife. Fondly, Lynn
Booker's response:
Hello, Lynn,
Thanks for your "surprise" note. I think and talk about your class of '65 very, very often. Whenever I mention the weekly newsletter, people's jaws drop! Maybe yesterday our minds were communicating. Due to the newsletter, I was checking for the "triplets" upcoming birthday. I had it entered in my PALM as April 9th ... so 56 this time? In October, I hope to be 74.
Rich's scholarship idea stunned me, and, of course, flattered me. Last April, I did visit South to see the new additions to the building, particularly to the music area (all are on the first level, extending out towards the football field, and have so much equipment than we ever had). Lynn, the other reason I wanted to visit was the "diversity" I had heard about. There were so many, many Black, Latino, and Dominican students that I couldn't count them all. It seemed fairly peaceful. On my way home, I drove by Memorial and Central during their lunchtime, and it was about the same. It had to happen, sooner or later.
Yes, Lynn, you could let Rich use any letter of mine, anytime. By the way, one of my grown sons taught me how to use this "spell check" so maybe this letter will be better. This son, Brooke, graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, and we wanted him to teach, but he just doesn't want to. He works on brand new cars in the daytime and plays bass in 2 different rock bands at night.
Thanks, again, Lynn, for your wonderful letter. Is your daughter over 21 now?
Booker
From Fran Bellucci: About the scholarship honoring Booker Gibson -- It's a great idea! I learned to enjoy good music in his junior high classes, even if I only drew the operas while listening. I never could identify them on tests.
From Nancy Garfield: Absolutely. Let's do it now, with a plan to also honor him at our 40th.
[Rich -- Also, the full text of Booker's answer to me, when I asked if a scholarship in his honor existed at South.]
Rich, you really flabbergasted me! No, I don't know of any present scholarship in my name at South. This is stunning! I wish I could present something to ALL the many people like your classmates who helped make it such a mutual learning experience. I don't know if many others are interested or particularly the school board, since they may only favor "memorials."
Still, if there ever is such an award, I know it will go to a deserving student. Things changed as far as music is no longer compulsory, but I always was in contact with the Dramatics club, choruses, and band people. Last April, I visited South and Forest Road's 50th anniversary party with my wife (formerly, Miss Butler) who taught music there. Now, there is much "diversity" in all the Valley Stream schools. They seemed like good people. We hope too many people don't "run."
Thanks so much for your thoughts. Whatever happens, I'm flattered.
On a totally different subject, from Barbara Blitfield Pech: Few and too far between, I sometimes do have a valid business chat with formidable people. This came out of one of them, and I thought I'd pass on this eye opener just for the shock value. The account is opening a veddy, veddy, upscale trendy shop in Jersey City. HUH? Joiseycity ... blue collar ... old blue eyes ... blue cement shoes ... Jersey City? Well, it seems that while we've been away, the new hots spots / real estate / restaurants / urban renewal / cool places to be and to be seen are ... Astoria ... Williamsburg ... and South Brooklyn. Yikes! What's next? Cappuccino in Canarsie? Pilates on Pitkin? Day spas off the Deegan? By the way, I have some waterfront land in the Bronx that may be an investment ... anyone want in, before it's too late? You know where to find me ... at the bank.
Also from Fran Bellucci: Just a thought, and not to slam all the ethical business people -- maybe all these business schools and universities should start requiring philosophy courses again. My dictionary defines philosophy as "the study of truth or principles of knowledge -- including morality." Wasn't it the business majors who insisted that philosophy isn't relevent?
A travel note, from Robert Fiveson: I'll be in Peru from April 1st to 9th.
And, in response to my writing Marc Jonas that "I hope all's well in Philadelphia, and that it's finally warming up," Marc replied: "Let me say this -- *#*$&@(*#@)@( -- if you get my drift."
A fast note from Terri Donohue Calamari's daughter Trish: I regret to make this my latest correspondence and to start the morning on this note, but as you may have heard by now, there was a bombing in Tashkent this morning at the Chorzu bazaar. I just wanted to let everybody know that I was 30 km away from the site (en route to class) at the time and that I am safe. Both the US Embassy and Peace Corps Security are keeping an eye on the situation, and Uzbek authorities are following all leads. But for now, all trainees / volunteers are forbidden to go to Tashkent until further notice. I will write again within the next few days.
Part of The New York Times story on the same subject: March 29 -- Nineteen people were killed and at least 26 were wounded in a series of terrorist incidents in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan, the prosecutor general Rashid Kadyrov said today. He also told reporters that the deaths involved two bombings, two attacks on police officers, and an explosion that killed 10 people at a building where bombs were being assembled. Kadyrov blamed Islamic militants, who have been the target of strong crackdowns in Uzbekistan, where the United States has a key military base near the border with Afghanistan. "These were terrorist acts," he said. "There is reason to believe they were prepared over a long period and coordinated from a center, possibly abroad." The United States Embassy cautioned Americans in Uzbekistan to be on "highest alert" and said, "Other terrorists are believed still at large and may be attempting additional attacks." Uzbekistan has been a strategic ally of the United States as it pursues terror groups since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
A note on my reading habits, from the erudite Donald Faber: If you're reading New York and the New Yorker regularly, you may as well add the New York Observer to your list. If you're unfamiliar with it, it's a weekly newspaper, largely media gossip, with trenchant filler on politics, real estate, society, etc. It's been around since the 80's, and here's a link: http://www.observer.com/index_go.html. It's published every Wednesday, so if you're intrigued, there's a new issue available tomorrow. Res Ipsa Loquitar.
[Rich -- I'll check it out, though I have no idea what Res Ipsa Loquitar means. I'm guessing it's Latin and hoping I haven't insulted anyone.]
Finally, a couple of fast obituaries you may not have seen, also from the Times:
March 28 -- Jan Berry, a member of the duo Jan & Dean, which had the 1960's surf music hits "Dead Man's Curve," "Surf City," and "The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)," died on Friday. He was 62. Mr. Berry had a seizure and stopped breathing at his home, and was pronounced dead Friday evening at a hospital here, said his wife. He had been in poor health recently from the lingering effects of brain damage from a 1966 car crash. Jan & Dean had a string of hits and 10 gold records in the 1960's. Mr. Berry was considered the creative force behind Jan & Dean and pioneered, along with his friend and Beach Boys member, Brian Wilson, the surf music sound of driving drums and guitar and falsetto harmonies. Mr. Berry wrote the lyrics to "Surf City" and "Dead Man's Curve" with Mr. Wilson. William Jan Berry was born on April 3, 1941, in the wealthy Bel Air area of Los Angeles to a large family. His father, William, was an engineer who helped build Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose airplane. Mr. Berry's hitmaking career with Dean Torrence, a friend whom he met while playing high school football in West Los Angeles, was cut short in 1966 when his speeding Corvette hit a parked truck and he suffered brain damage that left him partly paralyzed and unable to talk. Mr. Berry's recovery was slow, but eventually he was able to resume singing and writing songs.
March 29 -- Peter Ustinov, the British actor-writer, died today, at 82. When he was knighted by the Queen of England in 1990, his main worry was how to reply to the invitation from Buckingham Palace. Recounting his concern, he said: "The invitation said, "Delete whichever is inapplicable: I can kneel; I cannot kneel." But there was nothing for those who can kneel but not get up."
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Thursday, July 7, 2016
Update 3-23-04
Hi,
A handful of school things, then a lot of really educational filler.
First, from Larry Rugen: Those old homes around South high -- with Mom's passing in 2002, we finally sold that old house at 19 Virginia Place. Well, the address will not ring a bell, but think back. Leave South on Jedwood heading towards Mill Road. Hang a left on Cluett (the first and only street that let out onto Mill, besides Jedwood) and 1/2 way on Cluett on the way to Mill Road was the corner house (Cluett and Virginia place) with that white picket fence -- yes, it was wood and my brother Jim and I were never too enthused when that 350 foot of fence was due for a painting. Next door were the Searings, still there. Then there are the Millers, and Joan Aires across the street. There were so many changes over the years, but much remains the same. Somehow, that house, and those days at South, will always bring back warm memories.
Next, from Marc Jonas: Looking at Stu Borman's pictures sent me foraging, and here's what I found. Throw a party, and you're surrounded by good lookin' women.
Also, do you still have the cub scout group shot I emailed you some time ago? It might get some smiles.
By the way, Rich, nice shot of you in Stu's gallery.
[The picture Marc just sent is one he's sent me before, and one I've been trying to squeeze onto the home page. It's of Marc's bar mitzvah, and he's surrounded by eight -- count 'em, 8 -- lovely young women, all from our class.
The second photo is another I've described: it's of a father-son cub scout dinner, at the Valley Stream Park Inn, around 1958, and the additional problem of squeezing it onto the home page is it needs to be huge, so you can see all the detail. As I've just explained to Marc, I really need to rethink the home page, but I just don't have time right now -- and all this is separate from the fact AOL still hasn't been able to figure out how to fix their jam.
And the picture of me in Stu's gallery is more interesting for the fact it also documents the early days of the Green Acres Shopping Center. There still weren't enough stores to fill the space, and the management was bringing in touring exhibits. I don't remember this one, though Stu mentioned a while ago that it gave him an early interest in science. The exhibit I remember was a publicity tour for the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was mostly scenery, which may have given me an early interest in that.
Finally, there are already a dozen shots from Marc's photo scrapbook on the home page, and if you haven't looked at them recently, they're worth the time. Just click on Marc Jonas' Photos on the index, and you'll be suddenly transported back to Andy Dolich's basement, some time in the early 60s.]
Third, from Paul DeMartino: I've been in contact with Robin Feit and Dennis Shapiro, and we are calling a meeting for Sunday, April 4th to begin discussing plans for the 40th Reunion. We will kick around ideas and set up an action plan to contact hotels on Long Island and determine where we can get the best deal. We will also discuss possible dates, a hospitality suite, and the entertainment. This meeting is open to all interested parties who wish to participate, and all are encouraged to attend. For those who wish to help, but cannot participate in the actual planning, we will need volunteers to help locate our still-missing 100-or-so classmates. Anyone needing more information should contact me at: (new e-mail): Pdem070@msn.com, or call: 516-799-1590. Thanks.
Fourth, I just asked Booker Gibson if there was a scholarship in his name at South, honoring all the work he'd done there over thirty years. He said there wasn't, and that he was flattered I'd even asked. But I don't think flattery in this case is enough, and, as I also told Booker, I don't think we need to wait the (I hope) at least twenty more years till he's no longer with us to start a scholarship. What do you all think?
The filler: A bit of consumer vigilance, condensed from March 20's New York Times: Last year, of some $200 million lost to online fraud, nearly half the 166,000 complaints were about online auctions, a 130 percent increase from 2001. While the Federal Trade Commission does not break out figures by companies, the vast majority of online auctions are conducted on eBay. "It's gone nuts since November of last year," said Greg Schiller, a computer and network technician in Aztec, New Mexico, who says he reports hundreds of fraudulent listings every day to eBay.
EBay estimates that of the 20 million or so items that are for sale on its Web site at any given time, only about 2,000 items, or one-hundredth of 1 percent, are fraudulent. But that figure reflects only those cases that are settled through the eBay buyer protection claim process. Mark Seiden, a computer security consultant in Manhattan, says the actual number of fraudulent auctions is considerably higher. "EBay's protections don't apply to many kinds of transactions like Western Union scams, so they go uncounted. Rob Chesnut, eBay's vice-president for rules, trust, and safety, countered that the company frequently warns its members to be wary of traps set to steal their account information. Further, he said, the site is now peppered with various warnings about unsafe practices, like sending money via Western Union and going off eBay to complete a transaction.
The company also routinely alerts winning bidders of fraudulent auctions, telling them not to complete the transaction. A fraudulent seller almost always asks for payment via Western Union, and often there is no feedback from other users. Further, the seller usually offers to sell the item at a much lower price if the buyer agrees to leave eBay and close the purchase privately. Another common ploy is to set up an auction under the identity of a legitimate eBay user who has received positive responses from buyers in the past. Brad Celmainis, an eBay member in Calgary, Alberta, said that warning signals go up as soon as he sees a seller's history and spots incongruities. "You'll get some lady who was selling teapots and baby clothes and all of a sudden she's an electronics kingpin," said Mr. Celmainis, who alerts bidders and eBay users whose accounts have been hijacked.
A piece for our time, also condensed from the Times, March 21: As scandals ripple through the corporate world, some business schools have introduced ethics courses and tweaked existing ones. Yet many business school professors, deans, and students say that change is happening gradually. Fred J. Evans, dean of the College of Business and Economics at California State University at Northridge said many business school professors are not yet well prepared to teach the subject. In an informal survey last spring, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business found that only 35 percent of its member schools required students to take an ethics course. That was virtually unchanged from the results of a more formal study in 1988.
Some elite schools, like Harvard, have started requiring ethics courses this year. But other business schools have made no changes to their ethics curriculums. Even when an ethics course is required, many students say the material is general or detached from the rest of the graduate curriculum. Dr. Amitai Etzioni, a sociology professor at George Washington University who taught ethics at Harvard Business School in the 1980's, said that while many business schools had begun offering ethics courses, "They ghettoize the class. And most of the time the message to students is, 'Find a good lawyer so you can justify what you're doing.' It doesn't tell you there are some basic values, that certain things are wrong."
Archie Carroll, a management professor who teaches ethics at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, says that adding ethics training does not appear to be a priority at many schools. Though not long after corporate scandals began unfolding in late 2001 and early 2002, a group of professors and business executives began lobbying the business school accrediting association to require M.B.A. students to take a course in ethics. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which has required M.B.A. students to take an ethics course since 1975, will begin offering a Ph.D. program in business ethics next fall. The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh dropped its ethics requirement last year in favor of steeping every class with ethics. Professors are now required to take a course in ethics training. The Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley recently started the Center for Responsible Business, which includes seven new ethics courses. The program will require first-year students to visit executives in jail.
You'd think I only read the Times, though I also read New York and the New Yorker. Still, a final condensed piece from the 21st's Times, on a subject you probably haven't thought about for a while, unless you have high school-aged kids: Regents exam scores were released last week. The statewide pass rate for math was 84.5 percent, down slightly from 86 percent the year before. Statewide, 87 percent of students passed the English exam, down from 89 percent in 2002. In a sign of improvement, however, the proportion of graduates receiving Regents diplomas -- meaning they passed at least eight exams, including two each in math and science and one in a foreign language -- grew to 33 percent, from 31.8 percent in 2002 and 28 percent in 2001. The test scores show the final results for the class that entered high school in September 1999 and graduated in June 2003. This is the first class required to pass Regents exams in five subjects: English, math, science, United States history and government, and global history and geography in order to graduate. A minimum score of 55 is needed to graduate with a local diploma. A score of 65 is needed to qualify for a Regents diploma. More detailed figures for all students are available from the state online at www .nysed.gov.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
A handful of school things, then a lot of really educational filler.
First, from Larry Rugen: Those old homes around South high -- with Mom's passing in 2002, we finally sold that old house at 19 Virginia Place. Well, the address will not ring a bell, but think back. Leave South on Jedwood heading towards Mill Road. Hang a left on Cluett (the first and only street that let out onto Mill, besides Jedwood) and 1/2 way on Cluett on the way to Mill Road was the corner house (Cluett and Virginia place) with that white picket fence -- yes, it was wood and my brother Jim and I were never too enthused when that 350 foot of fence was due for a painting. Next door were the Searings, still there. Then there are the Millers, and Joan Aires across the street. There were so many changes over the years, but much remains the same. Somehow, that house, and those days at South, will always bring back warm memories.
Next, from Marc Jonas: Looking at Stu Borman's pictures sent me foraging, and here's what I found. Throw a party, and you're surrounded by good lookin' women.
Also, do you still have the cub scout group shot I emailed you some time ago? It might get some smiles.
By the way, Rich, nice shot of you in Stu's gallery.
[The picture Marc just sent is one he's sent me before, and one I've been trying to squeeze onto the home page. It's of Marc's bar mitzvah, and he's surrounded by eight -- count 'em, 8 -- lovely young women, all from our class.
The second photo is another I've described: it's of a father-son cub scout dinner, at the Valley Stream Park Inn, around 1958, and the additional problem of squeezing it onto the home page is it needs to be huge, so you can see all the detail. As I've just explained to Marc, I really need to rethink the home page, but I just don't have time right now -- and all this is separate from the fact AOL still hasn't been able to figure out how to fix their jam.
And the picture of me in Stu's gallery is more interesting for the fact it also documents the early days of the Green Acres Shopping Center. There still weren't enough stores to fill the space, and the management was bringing in touring exhibits. I don't remember this one, though Stu mentioned a while ago that it gave him an early interest in science. The exhibit I remember was a publicity tour for the movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was mostly scenery, which may have given me an early interest in that.
Finally, there are already a dozen shots from Marc's photo scrapbook on the home page, and if you haven't looked at them recently, they're worth the time. Just click on Marc Jonas' Photos on the index, and you'll be suddenly transported back to Andy Dolich's basement, some time in the early 60s.]
Third, from Paul DeMartino: I've been in contact with Robin Feit and Dennis Shapiro, and we are calling a meeting for Sunday, April 4th to begin discussing plans for the 40th Reunion. We will kick around ideas and set up an action plan to contact hotels on Long Island and determine where we can get the best deal. We will also discuss possible dates, a hospitality suite, and the entertainment. This meeting is open to all interested parties who wish to participate, and all are encouraged to attend. For those who wish to help, but cannot participate in the actual planning, we will need volunteers to help locate our still-missing 100-or-so classmates. Anyone needing more information should contact me at: (new e-mail): Pdem070@msn.com, or call: 516-799-1590. Thanks.
Fourth, I just asked Booker Gibson if there was a scholarship in his name at South, honoring all the work he'd done there over thirty years. He said there wasn't, and that he was flattered I'd even asked. But I don't think flattery in this case is enough, and, as I also told Booker, I don't think we need to wait the (I hope) at least twenty more years till he's no longer with us to start a scholarship. What do you all think?
The filler: A bit of consumer vigilance, condensed from March 20's New York Times: Last year, of some $200 million lost to online fraud, nearly half the 166,000 complaints were about online auctions, a 130 percent increase from 2001. While the Federal Trade Commission does not break out figures by companies, the vast majority of online auctions are conducted on eBay. "It's gone nuts since November of last year," said Greg Schiller, a computer and network technician in Aztec, New Mexico, who says he reports hundreds of fraudulent listings every day to eBay.
EBay estimates that of the 20 million or so items that are for sale on its Web site at any given time, only about 2,000 items, or one-hundredth of 1 percent, are fraudulent. But that figure reflects only those cases that are settled through the eBay buyer protection claim process. Mark Seiden, a computer security consultant in Manhattan, says the actual number of fraudulent auctions is considerably higher. "EBay's protections don't apply to many kinds of transactions like Western Union scams, so they go uncounted. Rob Chesnut, eBay's vice-president for rules, trust, and safety, countered that the company frequently warns its members to be wary of traps set to steal their account information. Further, he said, the site is now peppered with various warnings about unsafe practices, like sending money via Western Union and going off eBay to complete a transaction.
The company also routinely alerts winning bidders of fraudulent auctions, telling them not to complete the transaction. A fraudulent seller almost always asks for payment via Western Union, and often there is no feedback from other users. Further, the seller usually offers to sell the item at a much lower price if the buyer agrees to leave eBay and close the purchase privately. Another common ploy is to set up an auction under the identity of a legitimate eBay user who has received positive responses from buyers in the past. Brad Celmainis, an eBay member in Calgary, Alberta, said that warning signals go up as soon as he sees a seller's history and spots incongruities. "You'll get some lady who was selling teapots and baby clothes and all of a sudden she's an electronics kingpin," said Mr. Celmainis, who alerts bidders and eBay users whose accounts have been hijacked.
A piece for our time, also condensed from the Times, March 21: As scandals ripple through the corporate world, some business schools have introduced ethics courses and tweaked existing ones. Yet many business school professors, deans, and students say that change is happening gradually. Fred J. Evans, dean of the College of Business and Economics at California State University at Northridge said many business school professors are not yet well prepared to teach the subject. In an informal survey last spring, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business found that only 35 percent of its member schools required students to take an ethics course. That was virtually unchanged from the results of a more formal study in 1988.
Some elite schools, like Harvard, have started requiring ethics courses this year. But other business schools have made no changes to their ethics curriculums. Even when an ethics course is required, many students say the material is general or detached from the rest of the graduate curriculum. Dr. Amitai Etzioni, a sociology professor at George Washington University who taught ethics at Harvard Business School in the 1980's, said that while many business schools had begun offering ethics courses, "They ghettoize the class. And most of the time the message to students is, 'Find a good lawyer so you can justify what you're doing.' It doesn't tell you there are some basic values, that certain things are wrong."
Archie Carroll, a management professor who teaches ethics at the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, says that adding ethics training does not appear to be a priority at many schools. Though not long after corporate scandals began unfolding in late 2001 and early 2002, a group of professors and business executives began lobbying the business school accrediting association to require M.B.A. students to take a course in ethics. The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, which has required M.B.A. students to take an ethics course since 1975, will begin offering a Ph.D. program in business ethics next fall. The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh dropped its ethics requirement last year in favor of steeping every class with ethics. Professors are now required to take a course in ethics training. The Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley recently started the Center for Responsible Business, which includes seven new ethics courses. The program will require first-year students to visit executives in jail.
You'd think I only read the Times, though I also read New York and the New Yorker. Still, a final condensed piece from the 21st's Times, on a subject you probably haven't thought about for a while, unless you have high school-aged kids: Regents exam scores were released last week. The statewide pass rate for math was 84.5 percent, down slightly from 86 percent the year before. Statewide, 87 percent of students passed the English exam, down from 89 percent in 2002. In a sign of improvement, however, the proportion of graduates receiving Regents diplomas -- meaning they passed at least eight exams, including two each in math and science and one in a foreign language -- grew to 33 percent, from 31.8 percent in 2002 and 28 percent in 2001. The test scores show the final results for the class that entered high school in September 1999 and graduated in June 2003. This is the first class required to pass Regents exams in five subjects: English, math, science, United States history and government, and global history and geography in order to graduate. A minimum score of 55 is needed to graduate with a local diploma. A score of 65 is needed to qualify for a Regents diploma. More detailed figures for all students are available from the state online at www .nysed.gov.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 3-16-04
Hi,
Several address changes, a little business, and the last of the backlogged mail.
From Rob Kelman: Thanks to Jean Cohen Oklan's e-mail, which pointed out that I netted instead of com'd on my website address, I now know that I had a senior moment. My website address should have read: www.muralmagicinc.com, though my e-mail address was correct (RKDesigns@cox.net) Thanks again.
From Jay Gladky: My new e-mail address is: james_gladky@yahoo.com Please delete my AOL e-mail address and replace it with my Yahoo e-mail address.
From Henry Gabbay: Please add my e-mail address, hgabbay235@aol.com, to the list. Thanks.
From Liz King Giordano, secretary to South principal Stephen Lando: The Awards Assembly this year will be on Wednesday, June 9th, at 7:00 PM, at the high school. During this assembly the first Vince Tampio Scholarship will be presented.
From Robert Fiveson: I want to tell you that I am excited about the plaque and scholarship named for Vince. I think it's so appropriate, and I am proud to be part of it. I hope someone from the inner circle will be able to attend each year and perhaps say a few words about who Vince was, and how he affected both theater at the school, as well as inspired the large percentage of students who went pro.
[Rich -- I asked Robert, since he'd stayed in touch with Vince over the years, but was unable to get to the West coast funeral, if he was possibly available to present the first year's award.]
From Robert Fiveson: I am so very honored to be able to do this, you have no idea. I always felt I owed the man a great deal. The date is now reserved, and, short of a calamity, I will be there.
From Barbara Blitfield Pech: Just wanted to pass this along, as it is multilevel interesting. If you go to www.realtor.com and type in our old zip code, 11581, it seems like all of Valley Stream is for sale -- or at least a home similar to our old ones, on our old home streets. (As happens, all the houses I lived in -- 26 Garden, 16 Jasmine, and my parents last address, 15 Valley Lane North -- are currently for sale. Kinda makes me weirdly uncomfortable.) If you are living out of town, this is a great way to visit. A lot of homes have virtual tours, and you can go right on in. Pass the popcorn ... and tissues. (Re: current asking prices -- yowzer!!!!!!)
A bit of political action, forwarded by Tom Calise from the Internet, and condensed: I hear gas is going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer. Want gasoline prices to come down? Phillip Hollsworth offered this idea, which makes more sense than the Don't buy gas on a certain day campaign that was going around earlier.
For the rest of this year, don't buy any gas from the two biggest companies (which now are one), Exxon and Mobil. If they're not selling any gas, they'll have to reduce their prices, and then the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers.
To start to do that, I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more, and those 300 send it to at least ten more, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation, we will have reached over three million consumers! If those three million pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! Acting together we can make a difference.
If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. And hold out until the oil companies lower their prices to the $1.30 range and keep them there.
Finally, the latest report from Terri Donohue Calamari's daughter, Trish: Two weeks ago, I had my first, "Oh my God, I'm in Uzbekistan Moment." On Valentine's Day, I had to take a language assessment test, right around the corner from my home. My language teacher said to, "Go to Nasiba's (my host sister's) school." My test was at 11 AM.
That morning, after studying and enjoying the break from the pre-service training commotion, I left my house at 10:40 AM and arrived at the test site about 10 minutes later. There was no one from the Peace Corps to be found. As I walked into the building, I was approached by a woman who turned out to be the director of the school. I eked out, in broken Russian, that I was with the Peace Corps and was there to take a test. At that point, it was clear that I was at the wrong school, and I began trying discretely to leave.
The director rushed me to her office. She was accompanied by a couple of secretaries. Everyone in the room was speaking Ruzbek. They called my host mom to the office (she's the librarian) and pulled my sister out of class. There is another school in my neighborhood, and I thought that perhaps that's where the test was taking place. My mom called the other school to find out. Meanwhile, the director kept on saying, "Oh, so you're with the Peace Corps. We could use some more teachers. Wanna teach?" Since one of my colleagues got in a similar situation a few weeks earlier, and before he knew it, he was in front of about thirty 4th grade students, suffice it to say, I was freaking out.
As it turned out, the test site was not at the other school, either. "But why don't you stay for some tea!" the director offered. At that point, I was a bit frazzled and wanted to get out of there before I found myself in front of a Level 9 English class. After escaping, I called the Peace Corps and arranged to take the test a week later. (Aced it, too!) Soon after, I found out that my teacher was not referring to "Nasiba, my host sister," but "Nasiba, the Uzbek teacher," whose "school" was a nondescript, Soviet-style split-level house. Later that same night, I committed my first act of cultural insensitivity, at the dinner table.
My family was serving fish that evening. Mind you, Uzbekistan is a landlocked country, and the only sources of fish are from the Aral Sea or the Chirchik River. Both bodies of water are like Love Canal. Uh ...yeah ... So needless to say, I unequivocally declined to have dinner that night.
I'm sorry -- I'll put up with breakfast hot dogs, and cold, bullion-flavored mashed potatoes in the name of grassroots diplomacy, but radioactive fish is where I draw the line. (Though, the Pepto Bismol chasers after those breakfasts can also put a strain on US-Uzbek relations.)
Lingual and culinary episodes aside, things are going well here. I have one more month left of training before I get sworn in as a volunteer. Yesterday, I received my site assignment for the next two years. In April, I will be living in Samarkand, which is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the country, if not the world. It was a major trading site along the Silk Road. I will be working for an NGO that specializes in women's rights and reproductive health. They're akin to Planned Parenthood, in both their mission and prominence in the field. I will be assisting with management, volunteer development, and public relations. In two weeks, I will visit Samarkand, meet with my counterpart (supervisor), visit the organization, and also meet the host family I will live with for the first three months. I'll have a full report upon my return.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
Several address changes, a little business, and the last of the backlogged mail.
From Rob Kelman: Thanks to Jean Cohen Oklan's e-mail, which pointed out that I netted instead of com'd on my website address, I now know that I had a senior moment. My website address should have read: www.muralmagicinc.com, though my e-mail address was correct (RKDesigns@cox.net) Thanks again.
From Jay Gladky: My new e-mail address is: james_gladky@yahoo.com Please delete my AOL e-mail address and replace it with my Yahoo e-mail address.
From Henry Gabbay: Please add my e-mail address, hgabbay235@aol.com, to the list. Thanks.
From Liz King Giordano, secretary to South principal Stephen Lando: The Awards Assembly this year will be on Wednesday, June 9th, at 7:00 PM, at the high school. During this assembly the first Vince Tampio Scholarship will be presented.
From Robert Fiveson: I want to tell you that I am excited about the plaque and scholarship named for Vince. I think it's so appropriate, and I am proud to be part of it. I hope someone from the inner circle will be able to attend each year and perhaps say a few words about who Vince was, and how he affected both theater at the school, as well as inspired the large percentage of students who went pro.
[Rich -- I asked Robert, since he'd stayed in touch with Vince over the years, but was unable to get to the West coast funeral, if he was possibly available to present the first year's award.]
From Robert Fiveson: I am so very honored to be able to do this, you have no idea. I always felt I owed the man a great deal. The date is now reserved, and, short of a calamity, I will be there.
From Barbara Blitfield Pech: Just wanted to pass this along, as it is multilevel interesting. If you go to www.realtor.com and type in our old zip code, 11581, it seems like all of Valley Stream is for sale -- or at least a home similar to our old ones, on our old home streets. (As happens, all the houses I lived in -- 26 Garden, 16 Jasmine, and my parents last address, 15 Valley Lane North -- are currently for sale. Kinda makes me weirdly uncomfortable.) If you are living out of town, this is a great way to visit. A lot of homes have virtual tours, and you can go right on in. Pass the popcorn ... and tissues. (Re: current asking prices -- yowzer!!!!!!)
A bit of political action, forwarded by Tom Calise from the Internet, and condensed: I hear gas is going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer. Want gasoline prices to come down? Phillip Hollsworth offered this idea, which makes more sense than the Don't buy gas on a certain day campaign that was going around earlier.
For the rest of this year, don't buy any gas from the two biggest companies (which now are one), Exxon and Mobil. If they're not selling any gas, they'll have to reduce their prices, and then the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact, we need to reach millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers.
To start to do that, I'm sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more, and those 300 send it to at least ten more, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation, we will have reached over three million consumers! If those three million pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! Acting together we can make a difference.
If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. And hold out until the oil companies lower their prices to the $1.30 range and keep them there.
Finally, the latest report from Terri Donohue Calamari's daughter, Trish: Two weeks ago, I had my first, "Oh my God, I'm in Uzbekistan Moment." On Valentine's Day, I had to take a language assessment test, right around the corner from my home. My language teacher said to, "Go to Nasiba's (my host sister's) school." My test was at 11 AM.
That morning, after studying and enjoying the break from the pre-service training commotion, I left my house at 10:40 AM and arrived at the test site about 10 minutes later. There was no one from the Peace Corps to be found. As I walked into the building, I was approached by a woman who turned out to be the director of the school. I eked out, in broken Russian, that I was with the Peace Corps and was there to take a test. At that point, it was clear that I was at the wrong school, and I began trying discretely to leave.
The director rushed me to her office. She was accompanied by a couple of secretaries. Everyone in the room was speaking Ruzbek. They called my host mom to the office (she's the librarian) and pulled my sister out of class. There is another school in my neighborhood, and I thought that perhaps that's where the test was taking place. My mom called the other school to find out. Meanwhile, the director kept on saying, "Oh, so you're with the Peace Corps. We could use some more teachers. Wanna teach?" Since one of my colleagues got in a similar situation a few weeks earlier, and before he knew it, he was in front of about thirty 4th grade students, suffice it to say, I was freaking out.
As it turned out, the test site was not at the other school, either. "But why don't you stay for some tea!" the director offered. At that point, I was a bit frazzled and wanted to get out of there before I found myself in front of a Level 9 English class. After escaping, I called the Peace Corps and arranged to take the test a week later. (Aced it, too!) Soon after, I found out that my teacher was not referring to "Nasiba, my host sister," but "Nasiba, the Uzbek teacher," whose "school" was a nondescript, Soviet-style split-level house. Later that same night, I committed my first act of cultural insensitivity, at the dinner table.
My family was serving fish that evening. Mind you, Uzbekistan is a landlocked country, and the only sources of fish are from the Aral Sea or the Chirchik River. Both bodies of water are like Love Canal. Uh ...yeah ... So needless to say, I unequivocally declined to have dinner that night.
I'm sorry -- I'll put up with breakfast hot dogs, and cold, bullion-flavored mashed potatoes in the name of grassroots diplomacy, but radioactive fish is where I draw the line. (Though, the Pepto Bismol chasers after those breakfasts can also put a strain on US-Uzbek relations.)
Lingual and culinary episodes aside, things are going well here. I have one more month left of training before I get sworn in as a volunteer. Yesterday, I received my site assignment for the next two years. In April, I will be living in Samarkand, which is one of the most beautiful and historic cities in the country, if not the world. It was a major trading site along the Silk Road. I will be working for an NGO that specializes in women's rights and reproductive health. They're akin to Planned Parenthood, in both their mission and prominence in the field. I will be assisting with management, volunteer development, and public relations. In two weeks, I will visit Samarkand, meet with my counterpart (supervisor), visit the organization, and also meet the host family I will live with for the first three months. I'll have a full report upon my return.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 3-9-04
Hi,
I hate to start the week with sad news, but I have a double batch of it:
From Alison Altman: Please post that Donny Morenstein, class of '68, Martha Morenstein's brother, passed away last week. Thanks.
And from Ray Staley: Just to let you know, so you can pass it on to anyone who may have known him, my brother Marc Staley passed away suddenly on Sunday, February 29th, 2004. I think he was in South's class of '58, but I'm not really sure. Thanks.
[Rich -- I've sent my best both to Martha and Ray, and I'm sure they'd appreciate hearing from their friends.]
To even slightly begin to offset those losses, a note from Rachael Robinson Rizzo, whose name it's a pleasure just to say: Although I've been getting the weekly newsletter via a friend, I thought I'd send you my new e-mail address. It's: nightengale34654@yahoo.com Thanks.
Similarly, from Rob Kelman: Please use the following e-mail address to reach me: RKDesigns@cox.net Also, to let you know what I've been doing, check out this website: www.muralmagicinc.net
Also, some further people listed on Classmates.com, with hints of information about their present lives. If any of you were their particular friends and think a note mentioning your name might lure them into contacting us, please let me know, and I'll send them a blind e-mail through Classmates. Alphabetically:
Ellen Brody (Pilger)
Barbara Button (Married, 2 kids, living in Arizona)
Gary Gray (Divorced and conservative)
Roberta Grodin (Savarick)
Jack Hubbard
Carole LaDuca (Mascarini)
Janice Muller (Savoia) (Married, 3 kids, living in New Jersey)
Deborah Susner (Sack) (Married, 2 kids, living in California)
George Smith (Married, no kids, living in Alabama)
Robert Smith (Cross-referenced with Andersen Air Force base, 1968-70)
Pam Wagner (Sacaridiz) (A new Classmates listing, after we lost track of her -- separated, 3 kids)
Judy Weltner (Romano)
Robert Zelin (Widowed, 2 kids, living in New Jersey)
Linda Ziegler Anthony) (Cross-referenced with SUNY at Stonybrook)
Also, Kathleen and Pete Adamo are listed -- and I think we've had contact with her before, but I can't remember her maiden name (5 kids, living in Blacksburg, Virginia)
The final follow-up I've been waiting for about the Vince Tampio scholarship, from Liz King Giordano, the assistant to South's present principal Stephen Lando: I spoke to Dr. Lando about the plaque, and we can hang it in the main hallway. Do you want to purchase and send it to me, or would you like me to coordinate the purchase from someone we use locally? (We could order something with 10 nameplates on it, and then update the recipients annually.) The committee is meeting the last week in March to discuss all scholarships, and we close for Spring break April 5th through April 13th. I will contact you the week we get back to give you the winner for the check. That will give you plenty of time to mail it to me for our June presentation. Lastly, I will have the recipient write something for your newsletter, and I will be sure you receive it before school ends on June 25th.
[Rich -- I'll be in touch this week with the people who are funding the scholarship, to decide what we want to do about the plaque. I'll also start collecting this year's contributions. Paul DeMartino told me that since it's a relatively small amount annually, and since I'm mainly acting as the messenger, I don't have to do any fancy accounting. And with Martha Stewart as a current negative example, I'm certainly going to be honest.]
Robert Fiveson keeps sending me strange little animations, which he says can be captured by logging onto: www.incredimail.com But I haven't, presently, had the guts.
Additional music notes from Booker Gibson: Thanks for mentioning me and Eva Cassidy's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." She recorded many, many songs in her boyfriend's studio. That's why more albums are still coming out 8 years after her death. That "Rainbow" song still has the most powerful impact on most people, especially the build-up to the ending. Turn up the volume and enjoy.
If you get a chance to read her biography, Songbird, or read the evacassidy.org website, you'll see so many examples of how well her work is received. I was ambushed the first time I heard "Rainbow," but I can take it most times now.
From Allen Moss in Maine: Hi, Vermont neighbor Jean Cohen Oklan! It's nice to know that us deep freeze die-hards can find beauty amidst the New England "frozen tundra." Thanks for sharing. Saw my first set of chickadees (the Maine State Bird), so Spring is not too far away. Hope all other falcons are well ... in whatever climate you currently reside!
Speaking of which, Barnet Kellman forwards the following from a friend: With all the news on TV lately about the sub zero weather and snow that the East coast and upstate New York areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Southern California has its share of devastating weather also. There is a photo attached illustrating the excessive damage caused to a home from a West coast storm that passed through the Los Angeles area a couple of days ago. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take life for granted!!! (The attached photo shows a picture, on a placid, flower-boxed deck, of a delicately tipped over lawn chair.)
Still, we do have bad weather here -- though not yesterday when I was biking around in my shorts 'cause it was in the mid-80s. But here's a follow-up on the Fall fire damage, from Zelda White Nichols: Firestorm 2003, this past October, was such a major event that I thought I would bring people up-to-date. Then, I realized this is a very depressing subject and isn't relevant to anyone but myself and others who may live in California. Still, in case you're interested:
I was in the Cedar Fire -- the largest. The Paradise Fire was occurring simultaneously.
Paradise Fire -- 56,700 Acres burned; Cedar Fire -- 273,246 Acres burned
Paradise Fire -- 221 Homes lost; Cedar Fire -- 2,232 Homes lost
Paradise Fire -- 2 Deaths; Cedar Fire -- 14 Deaths
Four months have passed since these fires, and this area still looks like a war zone. Only 15% of home owners who were burned out have cleared their properties. Roads are still being repaved where they burned, utilities are still being replaced, and people are still trying to pick up their lives. It's probably why I haven't written in a while. There is so much to be done here, my energies have been going into trying to help friends who are victims, and I'm just not relating to most of what is being discussed otherwise right now. The longer that time passes and land is cleared, the more I'm noticing missing buildings. Just yesterday, I realized another home was gone, as I drove up my mountain and was able to see damage that wasn't noticeable before. This has tremendously affected everyone who lives in East County (our part of San Diego, and the most rural). My husband Dave and I are going to visit Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina at the end of April to see if we want to consider relocating. Humidity is a factor for Dave -- we are so spoiled here -- and allergies will be a factor for me.
[Rich -- There are still a couple of more backlogged letters, but they'll have to wait till next week.]
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
I hate to start the week with sad news, but I have a double batch of it:
From Alison Altman: Please post that Donny Morenstein, class of '68, Martha Morenstein's brother, passed away last week. Thanks.
And from Ray Staley: Just to let you know, so you can pass it on to anyone who may have known him, my brother Marc Staley passed away suddenly on Sunday, February 29th, 2004. I think he was in South's class of '58, but I'm not really sure. Thanks.
[Rich -- I've sent my best both to Martha and Ray, and I'm sure they'd appreciate hearing from their friends.]
To even slightly begin to offset those losses, a note from Rachael Robinson Rizzo, whose name it's a pleasure just to say: Although I've been getting the weekly newsletter via a friend, I thought I'd send you my new e-mail address. It's: nightengale34654@yahoo.com Thanks.
Similarly, from Rob Kelman: Please use the following e-mail address to reach me: RKDesigns@cox.net Also, to let you know what I've been doing, check out this website: www.muralmagicinc.net
Also, some further people listed on Classmates.com, with hints of information about their present lives. If any of you were their particular friends and think a note mentioning your name might lure them into contacting us, please let me know, and I'll send them a blind e-mail through Classmates. Alphabetically:
Ellen Brody (Pilger)
Barbara Button (Married, 2 kids, living in Arizona)
Gary Gray (Divorced and conservative)
Roberta Grodin (Savarick)
Jack Hubbard
Carole LaDuca (Mascarini)
Janice Muller (Savoia) (Married, 3 kids, living in New Jersey)
Deborah Susner (Sack) (Married, 2 kids, living in California)
George Smith (Married, no kids, living in Alabama)
Robert Smith (Cross-referenced with Andersen Air Force base, 1968-70)
Pam Wagner (Sacaridiz) (A new Classmates listing, after we lost track of her -- separated, 3 kids)
Judy Weltner (Romano)
Robert Zelin (Widowed, 2 kids, living in New Jersey)
Linda Ziegler Anthony) (Cross-referenced with SUNY at Stonybrook)
Also, Kathleen and Pete Adamo are listed -- and I think we've had contact with her before, but I can't remember her maiden name (5 kids, living in Blacksburg, Virginia)
The final follow-up I've been waiting for about the Vince Tampio scholarship, from Liz King Giordano, the assistant to South's present principal Stephen Lando: I spoke to Dr. Lando about the plaque, and we can hang it in the main hallway. Do you want to purchase and send it to me, or would you like me to coordinate the purchase from someone we use locally? (We could order something with 10 nameplates on it, and then update the recipients annually.) The committee is meeting the last week in March to discuss all scholarships, and we close for Spring break April 5th through April 13th. I will contact you the week we get back to give you the winner for the check. That will give you plenty of time to mail it to me for our June presentation. Lastly, I will have the recipient write something for your newsletter, and I will be sure you receive it before school ends on June 25th.
[Rich -- I'll be in touch this week with the people who are funding the scholarship, to decide what we want to do about the plaque. I'll also start collecting this year's contributions. Paul DeMartino told me that since it's a relatively small amount annually, and since I'm mainly acting as the messenger, I don't have to do any fancy accounting. And with Martha Stewart as a current negative example, I'm certainly going to be honest.]
Robert Fiveson keeps sending me strange little animations, which he says can be captured by logging onto: www.incredimail.com But I haven't, presently, had the guts.
Additional music notes from Booker Gibson: Thanks for mentioning me and Eva Cassidy's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow." She recorded many, many songs in her boyfriend's studio. That's why more albums are still coming out 8 years after her death. That "Rainbow" song still has the most powerful impact on most people, especially the build-up to the ending. Turn up the volume and enjoy.
If you get a chance to read her biography, Songbird, or read the evacassidy.org website, you'll see so many examples of how well her work is received. I was ambushed the first time I heard "Rainbow," but I can take it most times now.
From Allen Moss in Maine: Hi, Vermont neighbor Jean Cohen Oklan! It's nice to know that us deep freeze die-hards can find beauty amidst the New England "frozen tundra." Thanks for sharing. Saw my first set of chickadees (the Maine State Bird), so Spring is not too far away. Hope all other falcons are well ... in whatever climate you currently reside!
Speaking of which, Barnet Kellman forwards the following from a friend: With all the news on TV lately about the sub zero weather and snow that the East coast and upstate New York areas are experiencing, we shouldn't forget that Southern California has its share of devastating weather also. There is a photo attached illustrating the excessive damage caused to a home from a West coast storm that passed through the Los Angeles area a couple of days ago. It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take life for granted!!! (The attached photo shows a picture, on a placid, flower-boxed deck, of a delicately tipped over lawn chair.)
Still, we do have bad weather here -- though not yesterday when I was biking around in my shorts 'cause it was in the mid-80s. But here's a follow-up on the Fall fire damage, from Zelda White Nichols: Firestorm 2003, this past October, was such a major event that I thought I would bring people up-to-date. Then, I realized this is a very depressing subject and isn't relevant to anyone but myself and others who may live in California. Still, in case you're interested:
I was in the Cedar Fire -- the largest. The Paradise Fire was occurring simultaneously.
Paradise Fire -- 56,700 Acres burned; Cedar Fire -- 273,246 Acres burned
Paradise Fire -- 221 Homes lost; Cedar Fire -- 2,232 Homes lost
Paradise Fire -- 2 Deaths; Cedar Fire -- 14 Deaths
Four months have passed since these fires, and this area still looks like a war zone. Only 15% of home owners who were burned out have cleared their properties. Roads are still being repaved where they burned, utilities are still being replaced, and people are still trying to pick up their lives. It's probably why I haven't written in a while. There is so much to be done here, my energies have been going into trying to help friends who are victims, and I'm just not relating to most of what is being discussed otherwise right now. The longer that time passes and land is cleared, the more I'm noticing missing buildings. Just yesterday, I realized another home was gone, as I drove up my mountain and was able to see damage that wasn't noticeable before. This has tremendously affected everyone who lives in East County (our part of San Diego, and the most rural). My husband Dave and I are going to visit Nashville, Tennessee and Charlotte, North Carolina at the end of April to see if we want to consider relocating. Humidity is a factor for Dave -- we are so spoiled here -- and allergies will be a factor for me.
[Rich -- There are still a couple of more backlogged letters, but they'll have to wait till next week.]
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 3-2-04
Hi,
Yeah, yeah, yeah: I don't pass on news for one week and instead send the contact list, and suddenly I have all these letters. Some of them, in the order received. More next week.
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber: I was happy to see the message from Booker Gibson. He introduced me to Eva Cassidy two years ago, and I now listen to almost all of her CDs. My husband works out every morning (so disciplined!) while she sings in the background. So, my advice to you is, "Buy Eva -- you'll love her, too."
[Rich -- Actually, I just bought an Eva Cassidy CD, Songbird, the one Booker mentioned. I popped it in my car's CD player on the way home, tracked to the recommended "Over the Rainbow," and suddenly, on an otherwise grey and drizzly day, there was a hundred-and-eighty degree rainbow arcing high across the San Fernando Valley. Unbelievable. Only the second one that size I've ever seen. Now I can't guarantee you that result, but Ms. Cassidy does sing very nicely.]
From Jean Cohen Oklan: I wanted to send part of last week's update (or the week before) to my brother. Went into archives and couldn't find any February newsletters. Do you wait for the end of the month to post the past news?
Speaking of my bro... he can be seen in the show Third Watch on Friday, February 27th and also the following week's show because of it being a two-parter. I'm not sure if this is a speaking part, and I was going to play Where's Waldo? and have you try to find him, but, alas, you probably never met him. So here's a hint: he's one of the bad guys dressed up as a Hasid. I believe he said he racked up 3 minutes!
To change the subject a bit... Allen Moss's blanket of snow remark was totally understood. Allen, how about those blankets of snow that look as if millions of diamonds have been embedded in the snow? When a thin layer of ice is created on that "blanket of snow," and the sun hits it just right, it turns into meadows of diamonds. And how about the Aurora Borealis! I'm lucky enough to see that a few times each year. Definitely worth the cold temps.
Speaking of cold temps, I surprised my husband today for his birthday, and we took a 2-hour snowmobile tour in the woods of Stowe, Vermont. I've never been on a skidoo and never liked them much, but I'm up for trying something at least once. Handwarmers, a pair of UGGS, and long-johns made for a fun day! (And we only tipped over once.)
[Rich -- I usually post the Updates on the home page soon after I send them out, but, as I've mentioned, the main section of the home page is currently frozen because of an AOL glitch. AOL is still apologizing for the problem, to me and several thousand others, but they can't seem to fix it, and I'm afraid the home page is going to be stuck till I strip everything off it and start over. That's why I sent the contact list last week, so everyone would have that handy. Meanwhile, you can still view what's been posted, and I can squeeze small things onto other sections of the site. Just not onto the main page.]
Speaking of glitches, I made a mistake on last week's contact list, as Roz Minsky Bobrow quickly noticed. From Roz: Not that I hear from many classmates, but you have my address listed incorrectly. It should read: rm.bobrow@comcast.net There is no Comquest that I know of.
[Rich -- Now that I'm not hoarding your address for myself, Roz, maybe you'll start hearing from other people. Meanwhile, I'm really sorry. And if anyone else catches address mistakes, please tell me.]
More from Emily Kleinman Schreiber: This is not some chain letter or hoax; it's a real correspondence from me to you -- and a serious one at that! Please respond if you also feel the empathy.
I'm writing because I have a strong concern about the 2,500 children of Bam, Iran, who are now orphans because of the disastrous effects of the December earthquake. Many are without families, homes, friends, and hope. Persian/American friends of mine are organizing a dinner to raise money for the orphans, and the fund will be administered by ERFO (Earthquake Relief for Orphans) -- a charitable organization under the IRS 501c3 code. Since US sanctions on monetary contributions from ERFO have been lifted only until March 27, 2004, time is of the essence! No money can be sent to Iran after that date.
Hopefully, you'll be able to help. Perhaps you would even be interested in attending the event. Checks should be made payable to: ERFO and sent to Dr. M. Farivar, PO Box 256, Rockville Centre, New York 11571-0256. Please e-mail RNaghavi@optonline.net for more information about the fundraising effort and/or the March 14th event. Or you can contact me at: Cre8em@aol.com. Thanks.
Fast follow-up from Jean: I knew you were having an AOL problem, but didn't associate it with the newsletter page. This just reinforces my theory that my brain got fried in the 60s, and all those expensive vitamins I've been taking aren't helping. I could have been vacationing in California every year instead of sending the owner of the local health food store.
From Jerry Bittman, about his niece, Robin Schwartz -- condensed from Daily Variety:
Veteran network and cable programmer Robin Schwartz has been tapped prexy of Regency Television. Schwartz, who also has a background as a small-screen scribe, is leaving her job as VP of programming for ABC Family Channel. She replaces Peter Aronson as head of Regency, the boutique studio that's a partnership between News Corp.'s Fox TV Studios and Arnon Milchan's Regency Enterprises.
Fox TV Studios topper David Grant said he took his time looking for a replacement for Aronson because, "There just aren't that many people right to run a high-end boutique studio. What's really worked well for us is having someone who has real ties to the creative community and yet also understands how the business side works. It's tailor-made for someone who's ready to make her mark, and she felt very right."
Grant said Aronson first suggested Schwartz as his replacement. He didn't know much about Schwartz, but said he soon was impressed. "When the rumor got out that I was talking to her, I got a lot of unsolicited, genuine 'We love this person' (remarks). I was sort of floored by that." From her perspective, Schwartz says she's landed "the best job in TV."
During her brief stint at ABC Family, Schwartz developed a successful brand of romantic comedy pics for the cabler, with such creative talent as Lisa Kudrow, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Britney Spears, and Kathy Baker. She also helped develop and launch a successful teen programming block that included the hit reality skein Switched, which increased the cabler's female teen demos by 92%.
From both Fran Bellucci and Barbara Blitfield Pech: Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill -- important legislation for women. If there was ever a time when our voices should be heard, this is one of them. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy," where women are forced to go home hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctors. Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year, over half the House signed on. Please sign the petition by going to: http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html There's no cost or monetary pledge involved. You don't need to give more than your name and zip code, and this will take about 2 seconds. Thanks.
Finally, some roving Internet advice, attributed to Will Rogers: There are three kinds of men: The ones who learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
Yeah, yeah, yeah: I don't pass on news for one week and instead send the contact list, and suddenly I have all these letters. Some of them, in the order received. More next week.
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber: I was happy to see the message from Booker Gibson. He introduced me to Eva Cassidy two years ago, and I now listen to almost all of her CDs. My husband works out every morning (so disciplined!) while she sings in the background. So, my advice to you is, "Buy Eva -- you'll love her, too."
[Rich -- Actually, I just bought an Eva Cassidy CD, Songbird, the one Booker mentioned. I popped it in my car's CD player on the way home, tracked to the recommended "Over the Rainbow," and suddenly, on an otherwise grey and drizzly day, there was a hundred-and-eighty degree rainbow arcing high across the San Fernando Valley. Unbelievable. Only the second one that size I've ever seen. Now I can't guarantee you that result, but Ms. Cassidy does sing very nicely.]
From Jean Cohen Oklan: I wanted to send part of last week's update (or the week before) to my brother. Went into archives and couldn't find any February newsletters. Do you wait for the end of the month to post the past news?
Speaking of my bro... he can be seen in the show Third Watch on Friday, February 27th and also the following week's show because of it being a two-parter. I'm not sure if this is a speaking part, and I was going to play Where's Waldo? and have you try to find him, but, alas, you probably never met him. So here's a hint: he's one of the bad guys dressed up as a Hasid. I believe he said he racked up 3 minutes!
To change the subject a bit... Allen Moss's blanket of snow remark was totally understood. Allen, how about those blankets of snow that look as if millions of diamonds have been embedded in the snow? When a thin layer of ice is created on that "blanket of snow," and the sun hits it just right, it turns into meadows of diamonds. And how about the Aurora Borealis! I'm lucky enough to see that a few times each year. Definitely worth the cold temps.
Speaking of cold temps, I surprised my husband today for his birthday, and we took a 2-hour snowmobile tour in the woods of Stowe, Vermont. I've never been on a skidoo and never liked them much, but I'm up for trying something at least once. Handwarmers, a pair of UGGS, and long-johns made for a fun day! (And we only tipped over once.)
[Rich -- I usually post the Updates on the home page soon after I send them out, but, as I've mentioned, the main section of the home page is currently frozen because of an AOL glitch. AOL is still apologizing for the problem, to me and several thousand others, but they can't seem to fix it, and I'm afraid the home page is going to be stuck till I strip everything off it and start over. That's why I sent the contact list last week, so everyone would have that handy. Meanwhile, you can still view what's been posted, and I can squeeze small things onto other sections of the site. Just not onto the main page.]
Speaking of glitches, I made a mistake on last week's contact list, as Roz Minsky Bobrow quickly noticed. From Roz: Not that I hear from many classmates, but you have my address listed incorrectly. It should read: rm.bobrow@comcast.net There is no Comquest that I know of.
[Rich -- Now that I'm not hoarding your address for myself, Roz, maybe you'll start hearing from other people. Meanwhile, I'm really sorry. And if anyone else catches address mistakes, please tell me.]
More from Emily Kleinman Schreiber: This is not some chain letter or hoax; it's a real correspondence from me to you -- and a serious one at that! Please respond if you also feel the empathy.
I'm writing because I have a strong concern about the 2,500 children of Bam, Iran, who are now orphans because of the disastrous effects of the December earthquake. Many are without families, homes, friends, and hope. Persian/American friends of mine are organizing a dinner to raise money for the orphans, and the fund will be administered by ERFO (Earthquake Relief for Orphans) -- a charitable organization under the IRS 501c3 code. Since US sanctions on monetary contributions from ERFO have been lifted only until March 27, 2004, time is of the essence! No money can be sent to Iran after that date.
Hopefully, you'll be able to help. Perhaps you would even be interested in attending the event. Checks should be made payable to: ERFO and sent to Dr. M. Farivar, PO Box 256, Rockville Centre, New York 11571-0256. Please e-mail RNaghavi@optonline.net for more information about the fundraising effort and/or the March 14th event. Or you can contact me at: Cre8em@aol.com. Thanks.
Fast follow-up from Jean: I knew you were having an AOL problem, but didn't associate it with the newsletter page. This just reinforces my theory that my brain got fried in the 60s, and all those expensive vitamins I've been taking aren't helping. I could have been vacationing in California every year instead of sending the owner of the local health food store.
From Jerry Bittman, about his niece, Robin Schwartz -- condensed from Daily Variety:
Veteran network and cable programmer Robin Schwartz has been tapped prexy of Regency Television. Schwartz, who also has a background as a small-screen scribe, is leaving her job as VP of programming for ABC Family Channel. She replaces Peter Aronson as head of Regency, the boutique studio that's a partnership between News Corp.'s Fox TV Studios and Arnon Milchan's Regency Enterprises.
Fox TV Studios topper David Grant said he took his time looking for a replacement for Aronson because, "There just aren't that many people right to run a high-end boutique studio. What's really worked well for us is having someone who has real ties to the creative community and yet also understands how the business side works. It's tailor-made for someone who's ready to make her mark, and she felt very right."
Grant said Aronson first suggested Schwartz as his replacement. He didn't know much about Schwartz, but said he soon was impressed. "When the rumor got out that I was talking to her, I got a lot of unsolicited, genuine 'We love this person' (remarks). I was sort of floored by that." From her perspective, Schwartz says she's landed "the best job in TV."
During her brief stint at ABC Family, Schwartz developed a successful brand of romantic comedy pics for the cabler, with such creative talent as Lisa Kudrow, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Britney Spears, and Kathy Baker. She also helped develop and launch a successful teen programming block that included the hit reality skein Switched, which increased the cabler's female teen demos by 92%.
From both Fran Bellucci and Barbara Blitfield Pech: Breast Cancer Hospitalization Bill -- important legislation for women. If there was ever a time when our voices should be heard, this is one of them. There's a bill called the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which will require insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It's about eliminating the "drive-through mastectomy," where women are forced to go home hours after surgery, against the wishes of their doctors. Lifetime Television has put this bill on their web page with a petition drive to show your support. Last year, over half the House signed on. Please sign the petition by going to: http://www.lifetimetv.com/health/breast_mastectomy_pledge.html There's no cost or monetary pledge involved. You don't need to give more than your name and zip code, and this will take about 2 seconds. Thanks.
Finally, some roving Internet advice, attributed to Will Rogers: There are three kinds of men: The ones who learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 2-24-04
Hi,
Not a lot of mail this week, and nothing that won't keep. So, especially since all five advisories from the AOL tech people couldn't unlock the home page, which means I still can't update the home page mailing list, here's something I've been meaning to send out again to everyone: my crib sheet for South addresses.
The ones in blue are valid e-mail addresses that have been receiving the newsletter every week.
The ones in blue with the notation (no longer responding) may still be valid e-mail addresses, but the updates bounce back each week as undeliverable. So the addresses may be blocked to me, or blocked by a spam filter, or just no longer in existence.
The ones marked PHONE mean the people don't use e-mail, but can be contacted by phone, and I either have the number or know some way to get it.
The ones marked c/o Someone Else's Name mean the second person is the contact person for the first one and can usually be reached by e-mail.
The ones with a name and no other notes mainly mean that during the great alumni hunt of 2001, Paul DeMartino was able to able to talk to that person's answering machine or talk with someone who knew that person was still alive, but was never actually able to get a response from that person.
The ones marked c/o CLASSMATES.COM mean that person is currently listed on Classmates.com, but hasn't responded when I've sent them blind e-mail. Of course, Ken Seelig is still listed on Classmates.com, though I've tried politely pointing out to their webmaster that, unfortunately, Ken died almost three years ago. But Classmates doesn't seem to care about that, as evidentially, their success rests on numbers.
The one marked WANTS NO CONTACT is just that. There are other folks who also don't seem to be interested. But they didn't say it quite so bluntly.
The list:
Acquasanta PHONE
Aires PHONE
Akers WANTS NO CONTACT
Albrecht Sherloc98@aol.com
Altman Reclusetoo@aol.com
Altshul
Andrews C2464@aol.com (no longer responding)
Atkins c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Augustin sunnieami@portjeff.net
Baum C/O PHYLLIS DIAMOND
Bellucci bellucci04@yahoo.com
Bendel Leebencats@Hotmail.com
Berliner SBERLINE@hotmail.com
Berne Bernie9652@aol.com
Biener
Bittman crazygeronimo@yahoo.com
Blitfield planb18@hotmail.com
Bodner
Borman stu_borman@yahoo.com
Bouza jkoster@stny.rr.com
Brill PHONE
Brown Ken
Brown Roger RJB4611@msn.com
Buchsbaum rbuchsbaum@massaudubon.org
Buck PHONE
Bunim theokins@optonline.net
Calise twc1@mindspring.com
Cassillo RRRosebudd@aol.com
Catania c/o Carmine DeSanto
Chanes lindaabel@mindspring.com
Churnin TRIXINORTN@aol.com
Ciliberti Stangav@aol.com
Clamp myjrussel@yahoo.com
Cohen Michele Mac8247@netscape.net
Cohen Linda Lgreenseid@yahoo.com
Cohen Jean doklan@yahoo.com
Coleman c/o RoseMarie Cassillo
Concillo Zanne29@aol.com
Cooper Pegles150@aol.com
Croton junebugdec@aol.com
Davidson ELLEND411@aol.com
Davis GARYD310@aol.com
Deery Nezagui@aol.com
DeGenarro Gucu@aol.com
DeMartino PINA_1@msn.com
DeSanto desantc@sunynassau.edu
Devine sodiv1ne@aol.com (no longer responding)
Diamond wd1tt@aol.com
Dibble glkincade@juno.com
DiOrio GOODFELA68@aol.com
Dolich ADolich@Grizzlies.com
Donohue terrcal@cs.com
Doubrava moneyman@ntcnet.com
Dowie jad@foxinternet.net
Duncan RDuncan3@optonline.net
Eddy WesEddy@aol.com
Eichinger curtmom@aol.com
Eisbrouch reisbrouch@aol.com
Elderkin
Endy Barbjian@aol.com
Epstein alan.silver@comcast.net
Ewig Cnd1123@aol.com
Faber dpf@entertainmenteventsinc.com
Fasano
Fashbinder Jax7277@cs.com
Feit fivefootzip@yahoo.com
Feldman c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Fenton Lgoodgol@injersey.com (no longer responding)
Ferber esondheimer@sbcglobal.net
Finder finder@nytimes.com
Fishman Marclf47@aol.com
Fiveson 5son@5son.com
Flomp (Floyd) court84@hotmail.com
Forbes junetate@aol.com
Foster bluspks@optonline.net
Frango powellsh@msn.com
Fruzzetti PHONE
Gabbay PHONE
Gaffney Metrocake@yahoo.com
Galinger Pegmen1@aol.com
Ganz cabotganz@hotmail.com
Garfield ngarf1234@aol.com
Genin c/o Peggy Cooper
Geraldi c/o Judy Jacobsen
Gibson, Booker bgibson@optonline.net
Gilmore
Gladky jaymetpath@aol.com
Gladstone PHONE
Glaser, Les kgmuffins@aol.com
Glaser, Stu c/o Les Glasser
Gleichmann PHONE
Glickman (Wall) rwall@mail.bnl.gov
Gold c/o Alan Finder
Goldberg mpoloo@aol.com
Gootzeit steve2677@aol.com
Gordon gordon@sonoma.edu
Grandt marv123us@yahoo.com
Greenberg szucker@socal.rr.com
Grimm c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Grodin c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Gross Pfjg@aol.com (no longer responding)
Grubmeyer gretaholb@aol.com
Guberman RJC2119@aol.com
Halprin arthalprin@msn.com
Harris
Hartstone JudyInfo@aol.com
Hernandez jamar1946@yahoo.com
Higgins ladybreit@msn.com
Hilton the_photomaker@yahoo.com
Hoenig Sharibarry@yahoo.com
Holecek jamesholecek@yahoo.com
Horowitz MGoldhammer@verizon.net
Hyland Kathy@kwf.us
Iaquinto laohddse@aol.com
Ingolia wwmom10@optonline.net
Jacobsen PHONE
Johnson c/o Judy Jacobsen
Jonas mjonas8@comcast.net
Kandel skandel@nwwm.net
Kaplan Kaplan1289@charter.net (no longer responding)
Karl c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Kellman Barnet bkkellman@aol.com
Kelman Robert tkmk@cox.net
Kinder jayk@strongman.com
Kleinman-Schreiber Cre8em@aol.com
Klerman PHONE
Koop PHONE
Kramer rkramer@swva.net
LaChere PHONE
LaDuca PHONE
Levin c/o Rich Eisbrouch
Levy iralevy1@aol.com
Licht duvala@worldnet.att.net (no longer responding)
Litner
Lobell c/o Nancy Nudelman
Londner evel@egleyroad.fsnet.co.uk
Longmore Longmore@mich.com (no longer responding)
Lorey JVL478@aol.com
Lucarelli c/o Linda Iaquinto
MacLeman PHONE
MacLeod AMacleod@aol.com
Malchow klmalchow@msn.com (no longer responding)
Manzo
Markowitz nmarkow1@hfhs.org
Marshall mindmolder@aol.com
Martin Jan.Martin@cf.se
Massa c/o Roger Brown
Meis splashmick@aol.com
Meisner ET1126@aol.com
Mercurio c/o Joan Aires
Messina nickmsr@bellsouth.net
Minsky rm.bobrow@comquest.net
Mitzner mitzneri@dsmo.com
Molloy B.Molloy@worldnet.att.net
Monsees c/o Peggy Cooper
Morenstein mmflnyc@aol.com
Moss beagle2@gwi.net
Muhlbauer c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Muro
Nelson Ron vettebad@aol.com (no longer responding)
Nolan pn216@aol.com
Nudelman Ellen ELLEND411@aol.com
Nudelman Nancy NancyLobell@aol.com
Nudelman Lynn Concha411@aol.com
O'Bannon c/o RoseMarie Cassillo
O'Brien Bernie ob11@optonline.net
Ochal RTO47@aol.com
O'Hara laohddse@aol.com
Olsen AudreyOlsn@aol.com
Passaro BLFeeney@aol.com
Pedersen
Perlman maperl@pcisys.net
Peters j.sylvan@cox.net
Pizzimenti bpizziment@aol.com
Powitz grandprints@earthlink.net (no longer responding)
Raphan c/o Jay Kinder
Rea, Toni TRLN79@aol.com
Robinson rachael@rueed.com (no longer responding)
Romano tromano520@aol.com
Rosen PFROSEN@aol.com
Rosov, Hy chaihy@aol.com
Ross jcrspr@erols.com (no longer responding)
Rugen larry1800@aol.com
Ruzow jmtiell@aol.com
Sanicki
Saunders ireneedit@compuserve.com
Scheidt bssteddy@hotmail.com
Schimmel Paulindadi@aol.com
Schulman c/o Jane Wolff
Schwartzman bassistkis@yahoo.com
Seader rcottmeyer@earthlink.net
Senzer
Shapiro dshapiro@optonline.net
Shields terrys@mdli.com
Shine PHONE c/o his mother in Valley Stream
Silvestri c/o Carmine DeSanto
Sinda Lindkon@aol.com
Singer Toby THOL47@aol.com
Singer Robin rtaylor@madison.k12.wi.us
Sipp bstudio@berkshire.net
Sorrentino PHONE
Spector stephens@sonic.net
Stagg KJaneSimon@aol.com
Staley HempPD100@aol.com
Stein c/o Rich Eisbrouch
Stellabotte DStellabotte@cpiaero.com (no longer responding)
Taddler c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Tannen daniel0847@aol.com
Tuerk jtuerk111@comcast.net
Ulrich gayler@infionline.net
Varricchio c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Velardi TVelardi@LLNS.com
Velmachos
Velte
Vicinanza LMarrs@ix.netcom.com
Viscecchia RV220@aol.com (no longer responding)
Wachtel emjay47@erols.com
Wagner psacarid@slc.edu (no longer responding)
Waldman
Weinger doctorel@aol.com
Weiss c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Weltner c/o CLASSMATES.COM
White zelda.nichols@cox.net
Wiemer Lsbeckert@hotmail.com
Wilber dwilber@hearstelectroweb.com
Williams janice_bud@yahoo.com
Wilson Jim7273@AOL.COM
Wohlgemuth
Wolff BarrrKattt@aol.com
Yetman Yetti244@aol.com
Zdunczyk Jwokie@aol.com
Zegler paulez@yahoo.com
Zinger, Barnett barnhel405@adelphia.net
Zinger, Judy judezee@bellsouth.net
Zingman BLBPSYCH@aol.com
Zuckerman stevie00681@yahoo.com
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
Not a lot of mail this week, and nothing that won't keep. So, especially since all five advisories from the AOL tech people couldn't unlock the home page, which means I still can't update the home page mailing list, here's something I've been meaning to send out again to everyone: my crib sheet for South addresses.
The ones in blue are valid e-mail addresses that have been receiving the newsletter every week.
The ones in blue with the notation (no longer responding) may still be valid e-mail addresses, but the updates bounce back each week as undeliverable. So the addresses may be blocked to me, or blocked by a spam filter, or just no longer in existence.
The ones marked PHONE mean the people don't use e-mail, but can be contacted by phone, and I either have the number or know some way to get it.
The ones marked c/o Someone Else's Name mean the second person is the contact person for the first one and can usually be reached by e-mail.
The ones with a name and no other notes mainly mean that during the great alumni hunt of 2001, Paul DeMartino was able to able to talk to that person's answering machine or talk with someone who knew that person was still alive, but was never actually able to get a response from that person.
The ones marked c/o CLASSMATES.COM mean that person is currently listed on Classmates.com, but hasn't responded when I've sent them blind e-mail. Of course, Ken Seelig is still listed on Classmates.com, though I've tried politely pointing out to their webmaster that, unfortunately, Ken died almost three years ago. But Classmates doesn't seem to care about that, as evidentially, their success rests on numbers.
The one marked WANTS NO CONTACT is just that. There are other folks who also don't seem to be interested. But they didn't say it quite so bluntly.
The list:
Acquasanta PHONE
Aires PHONE
Akers WANTS NO CONTACT
Albrecht Sherloc98@aol.com
Altman Reclusetoo@aol.com
Altshul
Andrews C2464@aol.com (no longer responding)
Atkins c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Augustin sunnieami@portjeff.net
Baum C/O PHYLLIS DIAMOND
Bellucci bellucci04@yahoo.com
Bendel Leebencats@Hotmail.com
Berliner SBERLINE@hotmail.com
Berne Bernie9652@aol.com
Biener
Bittman crazygeronimo@yahoo.com
Blitfield planb18@hotmail.com
Bodner
Borman stu_borman@yahoo.com
Bouza jkoster@stny.rr.com
Brill PHONE
Brown Ken
Brown Roger RJB4611@msn.com
Buchsbaum rbuchsbaum@massaudubon.org
Buck PHONE
Bunim theokins@optonline.net
Calise twc1@mindspring.com
Cassillo RRRosebudd@aol.com
Catania c/o Carmine DeSanto
Chanes lindaabel@mindspring.com
Churnin TRIXINORTN@aol.com
Ciliberti Stangav@aol.com
Clamp myjrussel@yahoo.com
Cohen Michele Mac8247@netscape.net
Cohen Linda Lgreenseid@yahoo.com
Cohen Jean doklan@yahoo.com
Coleman c/o RoseMarie Cassillo
Concillo Zanne29@aol.com
Cooper Pegles150@aol.com
Croton junebugdec@aol.com
Davidson ELLEND411@aol.com
Davis GARYD310@aol.com
Deery Nezagui@aol.com
DeGenarro Gucu@aol.com
DeMartino PINA_1@msn.com
DeSanto desantc@sunynassau.edu
Devine sodiv1ne@aol.com (no longer responding)
Diamond wd1tt@aol.com
Dibble glkincade@juno.com
DiOrio GOODFELA68@aol.com
Dolich ADolich@Grizzlies.com
Donohue terrcal@cs.com
Doubrava moneyman@ntcnet.com
Dowie jad@foxinternet.net
Duncan RDuncan3@optonline.net
Eddy WesEddy@aol.com
Eichinger curtmom@aol.com
Eisbrouch reisbrouch@aol.com
Elderkin
Endy Barbjian@aol.com
Epstein alan.silver@comcast.net
Ewig Cnd1123@aol.com
Faber dpf@entertainmenteventsinc.com
Fasano
Fashbinder Jax7277@cs.com
Feit fivefootzip@yahoo.com
Feldman c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Fenton Lgoodgol@injersey.com (no longer responding)
Ferber esondheimer@sbcglobal.net
Finder finder@nytimes.com
Fishman Marclf47@aol.com
Fiveson 5son@5son.com
Flomp (Floyd) court84@hotmail.com
Forbes junetate@aol.com
Foster bluspks@optonline.net
Frango powellsh@msn.com
Fruzzetti PHONE
Gabbay PHONE
Gaffney Metrocake@yahoo.com
Galinger Pegmen1@aol.com
Ganz cabotganz@hotmail.com
Garfield ngarf1234@aol.com
Genin c/o Peggy Cooper
Geraldi c/o Judy Jacobsen
Gibson, Booker bgibson@optonline.net
Gilmore
Gladky jaymetpath@aol.com
Gladstone PHONE
Glaser, Les kgmuffins@aol.com
Glaser, Stu c/o Les Glasser
Gleichmann PHONE
Glickman (Wall) rwall@mail.bnl.gov
Gold c/o Alan Finder
Goldberg mpoloo@aol.com
Gootzeit steve2677@aol.com
Gordon gordon@sonoma.edu
Grandt marv123us@yahoo.com
Greenberg szucker@socal.rr.com
Grimm c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Grodin c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Gross Pfjg@aol.com (no longer responding)
Grubmeyer gretaholb@aol.com
Guberman RJC2119@aol.com
Halprin arthalprin@msn.com
Harris
Hartstone JudyInfo@aol.com
Hernandez jamar1946@yahoo.com
Higgins ladybreit@msn.com
Hilton the_photomaker@yahoo.com
Hoenig Sharibarry@yahoo.com
Holecek jamesholecek@yahoo.com
Horowitz MGoldhammer@verizon.net
Hyland Kathy@kwf.us
Iaquinto laohddse@aol.com
Ingolia wwmom10@optonline.net
Jacobsen PHONE
Johnson c/o Judy Jacobsen
Jonas mjonas8@comcast.net
Kandel skandel@nwwm.net
Kaplan Kaplan1289@charter.net (no longer responding)
Karl c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Kellman Barnet bkkellman@aol.com
Kelman Robert tkmk@cox.net
Kinder jayk@strongman.com
Kleinman-Schreiber Cre8em@aol.com
Klerman PHONE
Koop PHONE
Kramer rkramer@swva.net
LaChere PHONE
LaDuca PHONE
Levin c/o Rich Eisbrouch
Levy iralevy1@aol.com
Licht duvala@worldnet.att.net (no longer responding)
Litner
Lobell c/o Nancy Nudelman
Londner evel@egleyroad.fsnet.co.uk
Longmore Longmore@mich.com (no longer responding)
Lorey JVL478@aol.com
Lucarelli c/o Linda Iaquinto
MacLeman PHONE
MacLeod AMacleod@aol.com
Malchow klmalchow@msn.com (no longer responding)
Manzo
Markowitz nmarkow1@hfhs.org
Marshall mindmolder@aol.com
Martin Jan.Martin@cf.se
Massa c/o Roger Brown
Meis splashmick@aol.com
Meisner ET1126@aol.com
Mercurio c/o Joan Aires
Messina nickmsr@bellsouth.net
Minsky rm.bobrow@comquest.net
Mitzner mitzneri@dsmo.com
Molloy B.Molloy@worldnet.att.net
Monsees c/o Peggy Cooper
Morenstein mmflnyc@aol.com
Moss beagle2@gwi.net
Muhlbauer c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Muro
Nelson Ron vettebad@aol.com (no longer responding)
Nolan pn216@aol.com
Nudelman Ellen ELLEND411@aol.com
Nudelman Nancy NancyLobell@aol.com
Nudelman Lynn Concha411@aol.com
O'Bannon c/o RoseMarie Cassillo
O'Brien Bernie ob11@optonline.net
Ochal RTO47@aol.com
O'Hara laohddse@aol.com
Olsen AudreyOlsn@aol.com
Passaro BLFeeney@aol.com
Pedersen
Perlman maperl@pcisys.net
Peters j.sylvan@cox.net
Pizzimenti bpizziment@aol.com
Powitz grandprints@earthlink.net (no longer responding)
Raphan c/o Jay Kinder
Rea, Toni TRLN79@aol.com
Robinson rachael@rueed.com (no longer responding)
Romano tromano520@aol.com
Rosen PFROSEN@aol.com
Rosov, Hy chaihy@aol.com
Ross jcrspr@erols.com (no longer responding)
Rugen larry1800@aol.com
Ruzow jmtiell@aol.com
Sanicki
Saunders ireneedit@compuserve.com
Scheidt bssteddy@hotmail.com
Schimmel Paulindadi@aol.com
Schulman c/o Jane Wolff
Schwartzman bassistkis@yahoo.com
Seader rcottmeyer@earthlink.net
Senzer
Shapiro dshapiro@optonline.net
Shields terrys@mdli.com
Shine PHONE c/o his mother in Valley Stream
Silvestri c/o Carmine DeSanto
Sinda Lindkon@aol.com
Singer Toby THOL47@aol.com
Singer Robin rtaylor@madison.k12.wi.us
Sipp bstudio@berkshire.net
Sorrentino PHONE
Spector stephens@sonic.net
Stagg KJaneSimon@aol.com
Staley HempPD100@aol.com
Stein c/o Rich Eisbrouch
Stellabotte DStellabotte@cpiaero.com (no longer responding)
Taddler c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Tannen daniel0847@aol.com
Tuerk jtuerk111@comcast.net
Ulrich gayler@infionline.net
Varricchio c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Velardi TVelardi@LLNS.com
Velmachos
Velte
Vicinanza LMarrs@ix.netcom.com
Viscecchia RV220@aol.com (no longer responding)
Wachtel emjay47@erols.com
Wagner psacarid@slc.edu (no longer responding)
Waldman
Weinger doctorel@aol.com
Weiss c/o CLASSMATES.COM
Weltner c/o CLASSMATES.COM
White zelda.nichols@cox.net
Wiemer Lsbeckert@hotmail.com
Wilber dwilber@hearstelectroweb.com
Williams janice_bud@yahoo.com
Wilson Jim7273@AOL.COM
Wohlgemuth
Wolff BarrrKattt@aol.com
Yetman Yetti244@aol.com
Zdunczyk Jwokie@aol.com
Zegler paulez@yahoo.com
Zinger, Barnett barnhel405@adelphia.net
Zinger, Judy judezee@bellsouth.net
Zingman BLBPSYCH@aol.com
Zuckerman stevie00681@yahoo.com
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 2-17-04
Hi,
The three-day weekend special. In order of seniority ... er ... respect:
From Booker Gibson: It took me a little while, but I finally found a secretary at South who had the information about Vince Tampio's scholarship. So, I'll mail you a check at the end of the month. That's one of the few things I miss about school teaching -- we got paid twice monthly, instead of once.
Also, if you remember, I've been raving about the almost-unknown American singer Eva Cassidy, who died from skin cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. Her voice is finally being heard more and more in this country. England and other countries have been doing their best to spread her reputation, since they heard her before most Americans -- except for some people who live in the Baltimore-Washington area, where she grew up and sang. Robin Seader Cottmeyer told me she saw her.
I'm going through all this again because I thought about you and West coast TV when I got a call from a lady who's the daughter of one of my closest college friends. I sent the mother some Cassidy CDs, and she forwarded them on to her daughter, who is music director of the NBC soap The Days Of Our Lives. I believe her name is Amy Burkhard Evans. They will be using Eva's famous recording of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on February 18th for a "death scene." On the phone, Amy said the entire cast was shaken up by the recording. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.
Amy's mother was one of the most beautiful and talented musicians I've ever known, but in recent years she's been hurt by Parkinson's Disease, and that's how I last saw her two years ago at our 50th reunion. Now, she can't play piano or organ, so that's another reason why she sent the CDs down to Amy in L.A. (She and her retired husband live up in a very quiet section of Northern California called Downieville.)
Rich, I don't think you work at NBC, but if you do and meet this music director, Amy, please say hello. Bye now.
[Rich -- I don't work at NBC, and I only know a couple of music directors in the business -- and there are lots. But if anyone else runs into Amy, and there's always a chance, because it's a large business and a small business at the same time, please say hello to Amy. Meanwhile, let's all go buy some Eva Cassidy CDs.
Also, as I just wrote Booker, I haven't started collecting the money for the Vince Tampio scholarship, because there are a few details still being worked out with South, and I've also been meaning to write Paul DeMartino to ask about accounting legalities (Hi, Paul). But, soon, I'll call in those pledges.]
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber: I got this from Arthur Wachtel: "Just spoke to Stu Kaplan. He had a triple bypass on Wednesday. He is fine and will be going home on Saturday or Sunday."
I thought some of you would want to know about that. In case you want to contact Stu, his address is: 4128 Windhaven Lane, Dallas, Texas. His phone number is: 972-248-7810, and his e-mail address is: Studad2@aol.com
From Art Halprin, evidently envious that everyone else seems to be changing e-mail addresses: My new e-mail address is: arthalprin@msn.com Thanks.
From Barbara Blitfield Pech: just an update of sorts...thought i hit upon a class find...[and the story goes...] from my account call list, I needed to send samples to Vogue S.A [magazine]....my [new] contact person is Valerie Beiner..."hey..paydirt"...I thought to myself.."time to play Jewish geography"...then the reality of where I live..and who she works for set in..fast...her name is...but she is from Guatemala and pronounces it Bee-i-ner.. although..she was "fascinated" by my...northern story..had no idea that [anyone] outside of her immediate family shared the same name???...and certainly never heard of..Alan, Jeff..or Beiner Chevrolet...etc....[check please]..."hugs"...bbp
From Robert Fiveson: By the way, the picture of the iceberg Linda Cohen Greenseid forwarded to you is a famous doctored photo.
[Rich -- Yeah, I knew that. The photo showed a side view both above and below the water. The last person who was able to do something like that non-digitally was, reportedly, Moses.]
Philosophy, forwarded by Jerry Bittman: Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance.
[Rich -- Speaking of which, Happy birthday, Andy Dolich. Happy birthday, Alan Finder. Happy birthday to me -- who's almost a whole year older than Alan, but six days younger than Andy.[
Finally, about the home page freeze: Over the past week-and-a-half, I've sent a series of notes to AOL, asking for help unlocking something called My FTP Space. On its troubleshooting site, AOL promises to get back to customers within 72 hours, so I was patiently sending notes every fourth day. Nothing. Then, this afternoon, simultaneously, I got replies from five different AOL technicians offering me solutions to the problem. They're long, and they're involved, and I don't have time to compare and contrast them just now, let alone follow their complicated directions. But I do have my evening free tomorrow, and I hope to unlock the home page then. That should let me update the latest e-mail addresses and post the recent updates. Meanwhile, you can still read all the information previously posted, and if I don't solve the problem tomorrow, I'll let you know next week.
And that should let me go to bed.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
The three-day weekend special. In order of seniority ... er ... respect:
From Booker Gibson: It took me a little while, but I finally found a secretary at South who had the information about Vince Tampio's scholarship. So, I'll mail you a check at the end of the month. That's one of the few things I miss about school teaching -- we got paid twice monthly, instead of once.
Also, if you remember, I've been raving about the almost-unknown American singer Eva Cassidy, who died from skin cancer in 1996 at the age of 33. Her voice is finally being heard more and more in this country. England and other countries have been doing their best to spread her reputation, since they heard her before most Americans -- except for some people who live in the Baltimore-Washington area, where she grew up and sang. Robin Seader Cottmeyer told me she saw her.
I'm going through all this again because I thought about you and West coast TV when I got a call from a lady who's the daughter of one of my closest college friends. I sent the mother some Cassidy CDs, and she forwarded them on to her daughter, who is music director of the NBC soap The Days Of Our Lives. I believe her name is Amy Burkhard Evans. They will be using Eva's famous recording of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on February 18th for a "death scene." On the phone, Amy said the entire cast was shaken up by the recording. It's nice to know I'm not the only one.
Amy's mother was one of the most beautiful and talented musicians I've ever known, but in recent years she's been hurt by Parkinson's Disease, and that's how I last saw her two years ago at our 50th reunion. Now, she can't play piano or organ, so that's another reason why she sent the CDs down to Amy in L.A. (She and her retired husband live up in a very quiet section of Northern California called Downieville.)
Rich, I don't think you work at NBC, but if you do and meet this music director, Amy, please say hello. Bye now.
[Rich -- I don't work at NBC, and I only know a couple of music directors in the business -- and there are lots. But if anyone else runs into Amy, and there's always a chance, because it's a large business and a small business at the same time, please say hello to Amy. Meanwhile, let's all go buy some Eva Cassidy CDs.
Also, as I just wrote Booker, I haven't started collecting the money for the Vince Tampio scholarship, because there are a few details still being worked out with South, and I've also been meaning to write Paul DeMartino to ask about accounting legalities (Hi, Paul). But, soon, I'll call in those pledges.]
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber: I got this from Arthur Wachtel: "Just spoke to Stu Kaplan. He had a triple bypass on Wednesday. He is fine and will be going home on Saturday or Sunday."
I thought some of you would want to know about that. In case you want to contact Stu, his address is: 4128 Windhaven Lane, Dallas, Texas. His phone number is: 972-248-7810, and his e-mail address is: Studad2@aol.com
From Art Halprin, evidently envious that everyone else seems to be changing e-mail addresses: My new e-mail address is: arthalprin@msn.com Thanks.
From Barbara Blitfield Pech: just an update of sorts...thought i hit upon a class find...[and the story goes...] from my account call list, I needed to send samples to Vogue S.A [magazine]....my [new] contact person is Valerie Beiner..."hey..paydirt"...I thought to myself.."time to play Jewish geography"...then the reality of where I live..and who she works for set in..fast...her name is...but she is from Guatemala and pronounces it Bee-i-ner.. although..she was "fascinated" by my...northern story..had no idea that [anyone] outside of her immediate family shared the same name???...and certainly never heard of..Alan, Jeff..or Beiner Chevrolet...etc....[check please]..."hugs"...bbp
From Robert Fiveson: By the way, the picture of the iceberg Linda Cohen Greenseid forwarded to you is a famous doctored photo.
[Rich -- Yeah, I knew that. The photo showed a side view both above and below the water. The last person who was able to do something like that non-digitally was, reportedly, Moses.]
Philosophy, forwarded by Jerry Bittman: Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here, we might as well dance.
[Rich -- Speaking of which, Happy birthday, Andy Dolich. Happy birthday, Alan Finder. Happy birthday to me -- who's almost a whole year older than Alan, but six days younger than Andy.[
Finally, about the home page freeze: Over the past week-and-a-half, I've sent a series of notes to AOL, asking for help unlocking something called My FTP Space. On its troubleshooting site, AOL promises to get back to customers within 72 hours, so I was patiently sending notes every fourth day. Nothing. Then, this afternoon, simultaneously, I got replies from five different AOL technicians offering me solutions to the problem. They're long, and they're involved, and I don't have time to compare and contrast them just now, let alone follow their complicated directions. But I do have my evening free tomorrow, and I hope to unlock the home page then. That should let me update the latest e-mail addresses and post the recent updates. Meanwhile, you can still read all the information previously posted, and if I don't solve the problem tomorrow, I'll let you know next week.
And that should let me go to bed.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 2-10-04
Hi,
A week in which it was so cold that people, even in Florida, have nothing better to do than change their e-mail addresses. The contenders:
From Michele Cohen Collins: Just a short note -- my new e-mail address is: mac8247@netscape.net. Thanks.
From Barnett Zinger: Effective immediately, please change my e-mail address to: barnhel405@adelphia.net. Take the old one off. Thanks.
From Judy Zinger: Just a quick note to tell you how much I enjoy the newsletter you send out to our class. Also, please change my e-mail address to: judezee@bellsouth.net. Thanks.
And a confirmation from Carole Ganz: Any mail for Carole Ganz, for Mariel Cabot, or for us as a family, should continue to go to: cabotganz@hotmail.com. Personal e-mail for Jamie Cabot should go to cabotganz@mac.com. Thank you. (If you received this communication before, I'm sorry, but a lot of my contacts reported not getting it the first time.)
In photographic news, from Jerry Bittman: This is for The Things Just Never Change Department -- I just received a photo from Lynn Nudelman that was from our Junior Prom. I knew 40 years ago that I had the privilege to be with the prettiest girl, and now, 40 years, later I realize I was correct in my belief.
[Rich -- I did finally manage to post the cheerleader photo Lynn sent me last week as a consolation prize for not going to the Junior Prom with her. It can be seen by going to the home page, then clicking on Forest Road and Harbor Road Photos, then scrolling down to South Photos and clicking on Cheerleaders.
Also, I'm having trouble with the home page at the moment. That's why I haven't posted last week's newsletter, and why I can't post this one. Plus, I won't be able to change the e-mail addresses listed above or catch up on the ones I've backlogged. I thought I finally might be out of web space, so I deleted some of the extra 2002 barbecue pictures, but that didn't help. I'm currently waiting for AOL Help to get back to me, but who knows how long that will take? So please be patient. Thanks.]
Linda Cohen Greenseid also forwarded a photo, an impressive shot of an iceberg her son Jamie had forwarded to her. It showed the damned thing from the tip we usually see to the base, many leagues below. As Linda (or Jamie) pointed out, it's no wonder the Titanic sank. (If you want to see the photo, write Linda.)
More thanks to Stu Borman, from Allen Moss: Way to Go, Stu Borman! -- for finding those INCREDIBLE pictures that are now posted on our home page. It was really fun to look at the "little people" on the Boy Scout trip, and then click forward to the reunion pictures and see them all grown up! Amazing to see how so many of the gang really have not changed that much. Makes me want to look for my bar mitzvah pictures from 1960. Henry Gabbay, Linda Iaquinto, Steven Boughner, and, quite poignantly, Bobbie Friedman, were some of my guests, along with several others.
Hope all is well with the gang all over the U.S. Best from Maine.
Additional thanks from Barnet Kellman: Stu Borman’s new pix are fantastic! Who knew what a great photojournalist he was! I don’t remember the central courtyard at South -- it looks pretty.
Also, a friend of mine sent me the following e-mail: "I am also writing to introduce you to a very talented former USC Cinema student of mine named Anna Kang. I recently met Anna at a Sundance Screenwriters Lab-sponsored reading of her script, which was a comedy feature about an Asian girl and her mother. It was a very funny story about an Asian family growing up on Long Island, and the girl tells everyone she is Jewish so she can be accepted into the social life at school. Her mother doesn't understand, and the scenes with the rabbi and her mother are hilarious. The script was very well written, and I am surprised it hasn't been produced yet."
I thought this sounded funny, so I called the writer. Turned out she’s from Green Acres and went to Forest Road and South! I’m reading the script now.
Hope you all are well.
From Robin Seader Cottmeyer, in answer to my question about how the Beatles 2 Concert had gone: Thanks so much for remembering. How did you manage to do that?
The concert was as Fab-ulous, as I knew it would be. The cold may have kept some folks away (it was about 8 degrees and blowing about 25 -- yikes!) but 13 of us weathered the "storm" -- 9 made the trip north from the Maryland/DC area, and 4 from New York City and Long Island. Unfortunately, I didn't run into any of our classmates currently living in the New York area, but three South High alums (classes of 1967 and 1969, I believe) were in our crowd. The concert was a sell-out for two nights -- truly, it was JUST like being at a Beatles concert. Please take a look at the website and, if you ever get the opportunity, please try to see them (1964thetribute.com). I guarantee an excellent concert experience.
We are far from "thawing" here in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. I like the cold, but this is a bit ridiculous! It is going to be a long 2 months until spring (it's times like this when I wonder why I never moved to California!) I'd like to get out to the West Coast this year and hope we can get together when I do. My tentative plan is to visit San Diego, the Bay area (MUST see Terry and Joni Shields), Seattle, and Vancouver, British Columbia, most likely in the August -September time frame. I'll definitely keep you all posted.
From Robert Fiveson, regarding last week's cultural peek at Hamlet: Rich, don't Bogart -- or tell us all that you made all that up... please! Where the hell are you hanging out these days? DO NOT EVER AGAIN HAVE THE MUSHROOM OMELET! I will never again read the update before I go to sleep -- I'm serious. Holy moley! Sounds like a Freddy Kruger movie. HILARIOUS (for those of us not there).
Finally, more news from Terri Donohue Calamari's traveling daughter, Trish:
Greetings! On Sunday, I celebrated my first Muslim Holiday, Hiyat. In theory, it's a week-long celebration where a lamb is slaughtered and shared among family and friends. Also, it is high season to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
In the grand scheme if Islam, the Uzbeks are the equivalents of Unitarians, and the holiday is only officially observed by the government for one day. In lieu of the lamb sacrifice and trip the Mecca, my entire extended host family got together to play Let's Get the American Fat and Drunk. I found that my Italian heritage served me well, because every time I was asked about my marital status, I had a few thousand calories dalloped on my plate.
Periodically, my family watched the State Iman on TV. They paid him the same regard as we would to the Yule Log on Channel 11 on Christmas Eve. Within about 10 minutes, they would flip the channel back to One Million Years BC with Raquel Welch or The Empire Strikes Back.
Later on that night (or should I say the next morning), we went to the ambassador's house to watch the Super Bowl. Kickoff was at 4:20 AM Tashkent Time, though it didn't get good until about 7:30 AM (Justin and Janet notwithstanding). I had to leave during the last three minutes of 4th Quarter to go to Russian class, and I was assuming the game was over, when, in fact, it was really just beginning. But hey, the Pat's won! That's all that really mattered.
So, in a nutshell, that was my cross-cultural, interfaith experience of the week. Tune in next time for another installment. Cheers!
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
A week in which it was so cold that people, even in Florida, have nothing better to do than change their e-mail addresses. The contenders:
From Michele Cohen Collins: Just a short note -- my new e-mail address is: mac8247@netscape.net. Thanks.
From Barnett Zinger: Effective immediately, please change my e-mail address to: barnhel405@adelphia.net. Take the old one off. Thanks.
From Judy Zinger: Just a quick note to tell you how much I enjoy the newsletter you send out to our class. Also, please change my e-mail address to: judezee@bellsouth.net. Thanks.
And a confirmation from Carole Ganz: Any mail for Carole Ganz, for Mariel Cabot, or for us as a family, should continue to go to: cabotganz@hotmail.com. Personal e-mail for Jamie Cabot should go to cabotganz@mac.com. Thank you. (If you received this communication before, I'm sorry, but a lot of my contacts reported not getting it the first time.)
In photographic news, from Jerry Bittman: This is for The Things Just Never Change Department -- I just received a photo from Lynn Nudelman that was from our Junior Prom. I knew 40 years ago that I had the privilege to be with the prettiest girl, and now, 40 years, later I realize I was correct in my belief.
[Rich -- I did finally manage to post the cheerleader photo Lynn sent me last week as a consolation prize for not going to the Junior Prom with her. It can be seen by going to the home page, then clicking on Forest Road and Harbor Road Photos, then scrolling down to South Photos and clicking on Cheerleaders.
Also, I'm having trouble with the home page at the moment. That's why I haven't posted last week's newsletter, and why I can't post this one. Plus, I won't be able to change the e-mail addresses listed above or catch up on the ones I've backlogged. I thought I finally might be out of web space, so I deleted some of the extra 2002 barbecue pictures, but that didn't help. I'm currently waiting for AOL Help to get back to me, but who knows how long that will take? So please be patient. Thanks.]
Linda Cohen Greenseid also forwarded a photo, an impressive shot of an iceberg her son Jamie had forwarded to her. It showed the damned thing from the tip we usually see to the base, many leagues below. As Linda (or Jamie) pointed out, it's no wonder the Titanic sank. (If you want to see the photo, write Linda.)
More thanks to Stu Borman, from Allen Moss: Way to Go, Stu Borman! -- for finding those INCREDIBLE pictures that are now posted on our home page. It was really fun to look at the "little people" on the Boy Scout trip, and then click forward to the reunion pictures and see them all grown up! Amazing to see how so many of the gang really have not changed that much. Makes me want to look for my bar mitzvah pictures from 1960. Henry Gabbay, Linda Iaquinto, Steven Boughner, and, quite poignantly, Bobbie Friedman, were some of my guests, along with several others.
Hope all is well with the gang all over the U.S. Best from Maine.
Additional thanks from Barnet Kellman: Stu Borman’s new pix are fantastic! Who knew what a great photojournalist he was! I don’t remember the central courtyard at South -- it looks pretty.
Also, a friend of mine sent me the following e-mail: "I am also writing to introduce you to a very talented former USC Cinema student of mine named Anna Kang. I recently met Anna at a Sundance Screenwriters Lab-sponsored reading of her script, which was a comedy feature about an Asian girl and her mother. It was a very funny story about an Asian family growing up on Long Island, and the girl tells everyone she is Jewish so she can be accepted into the social life at school. Her mother doesn't understand, and the scenes with the rabbi and her mother are hilarious. The script was very well written, and I am surprised it hasn't been produced yet."
I thought this sounded funny, so I called the writer. Turned out she’s from Green Acres and went to Forest Road and South! I’m reading the script now.
Hope you all are well.
From Robin Seader Cottmeyer, in answer to my question about how the Beatles 2 Concert had gone: Thanks so much for remembering. How did you manage to do that?
The concert was as Fab-ulous, as I knew it would be. The cold may have kept some folks away (it was about 8 degrees and blowing about 25 -- yikes!) but 13 of us weathered the "storm" -- 9 made the trip north from the Maryland/DC area, and 4 from New York City and Long Island. Unfortunately, I didn't run into any of our classmates currently living in the New York area, but three South High alums (classes of 1967 and 1969, I believe) were in our crowd. The concert was a sell-out for two nights -- truly, it was JUST like being at a Beatles concert. Please take a look at the website and, if you ever get the opportunity, please try to see them (1964thetribute.com). I guarantee an excellent concert experience.
We are far from "thawing" here in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. I like the cold, but this is a bit ridiculous! It is going to be a long 2 months until spring (it's times like this when I wonder why I never moved to California!) I'd like to get out to the West Coast this year and hope we can get together when I do. My tentative plan is to visit San Diego, the Bay area (MUST see Terry and Joni Shields), Seattle, and Vancouver, British Columbia, most likely in the August -September time frame. I'll definitely keep you all posted.
From Robert Fiveson, regarding last week's cultural peek at Hamlet: Rich, don't Bogart -- or tell us all that you made all that up... please! Where the hell are you hanging out these days? DO NOT EVER AGAIN HAVE THE MUSHROOM OMELET! I will never again read the update before I go to sleep -- I'm serious. Holy moley! Sounds like a Freddy Kruger movie. HILARIOUS (for those of us not there).
Finally, more news from Terri Donohue Calamari's traveling daughter, Trish:
Greetings! On Sunday, I celebrated my first Muslim Holiday, Hiyat. In theory, it's a week-long celebration where a lamb is slaughtered and shared among family and friends. Also, it is high season to make the pilgrimage to Mecca.
In the grand scheme if Islam, the Uzbeks are the equivalents of Unitarians, and the holiday is only officially observed by the government for one day. In lieu of the lamb sacrifice and trip the Mecca, my entire extended host family got together to play Let's Get the American Fat and Drunk. I found that my Italian heritage served me well, because every time I was asked about my marital status, I had a few thousand calories dalloped on my plate.
Periodically, my family watched the State Iman on TV. They paid him the same regard as we would to the Yule Log on Channel 11 on Christmas Eve. Within about 10 minutes, they would flip the channel back to One Million Years BC with Raquel Welch or The Empire Strikes Back.
Later on that night (or should I say the next morning), we went to the ambassador's house to watch the Super Bowl. Kickoff was at 4:20 AM Tashkent Time, though it didn't get good until about 7:30 AM (Justin and Janet notwithstanding). I had to leave during the last three minutes of 4th Quarter to go to Russian class, and I was assuming the game was over, when, in fact, it was really just beginning. But hey, the Pat's won! That's all that really mattered.
So, in a nutshell, that was my cross-cultural, interfaith experience of the week. Tune in next time for another installment. Cheers!
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 2-3-04
Hi,
Super Bowl week. Heavy on excitement. Light on letters. Here's the batch:
From Booker Gibson: Thanks very much for directions to Stu Borman's pictures. I've always loved teaching. This can help show why.
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber: You even have some of us oldsters from the Class of '61 in the 2nd photo down on the left -- at the Forest Road Celebration! Judy Egor and her brother Greg (I think that's his name) are next to me (the one in blue and red hair). Betcha' didn't think I'd find us!
From Lynn Nudelman Villagran: I was wondering if you'd be interested in adding a photo I found from South to the Reunion web page. It's of the freshman cheerleading squad, when we were in 7th grade, I think, and includes: Nancy Nudelman, Andrea Gladstone, Ellen Nudelman, Gwen Camhi, Terry Aquasanto, Judi Fingerhut, Mary Sipp, Carol Bunim, Valerie Nelson, and me.
[Rich -- I'll try and get the photo on the home page by the end of the week. Just now, I'm really busy at school.]
From Robert Fiveson: I have been thinking more and more about the tribute to Vince. Let's make sure that there is a mechanism to see to it that the scholarship not only continues past our stewardship, but that succeeding generations know who the man was, and why there is a memorial fund in his name. I am not sure how that is done, but it should be attended to somehow. In that I have now made these suggestions, please know, too, that I will contribute whatever native skills or energy I can bring to that effort.
[Rich -- Right now, we've pledged to keep the scholarship going for 10 years, and I think we have just enough donors to make that possible. We'll have to see what happens as we go along. Meanwhile, I got the official confirmation letter from South today.]
From Anthony Iadevaio, president of the Valley Stream Central High School District Board of Education: I am pleased to advise you that at its meeting on January 13, 2004, the Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the establishment of The Vince Tampio Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $500 for 10 years.
The South High School Awards Committee will select the student based on the following criteria: the student must be a theatre student (actor/actress or production technician), must be a senior high student in grades 11 or 12, and has made a major contribution to the theatre program.
Please accept the Board's sincere appreciation.
Barbara Blitfield Pech contributes her latest Internet find, a website devoted to Fifties' nostalgia. It can be found at: www.fiftiesweb.com and includes a section on the original names of famous dead people. Barbara also notes: Just doing my good deed for the day. Check this out and enjoy. Feedback welcomed.
It must be really cold in Nebraska, because Jerry Bittman keeps sending pictures of Hawaiian women in their native dress. He also includes this bit of history (relax, Robert, it's not a test): Do you know what happened this week back in 1850? California became a state. The state had no electricity, the state had no money, almost everyone spoke Spanish, and there were gun fights in the streets.
So, basically, it was just like California today -- except the women had real breasts.
Finally, some more traditional culture. But let me preface this by saying, I am not now in Cairo, I have never been to Cairo, and I don't expect to spend any time, ever, in any part of Egypt. This was forwarded by a friend, and was reportedly written by Stancil Campell.
What do you get when you combine ballet, murder, the circus, square dancing, nightmares, opera, movie soundtracks, Restoration costumes, Scarlett O’Hara, Captain Kangaroo, fog, 18th century scenery, a 15-foot head of Michelangelo's David, and a dwarf? I call it The Barnum and Bailey Hamlet.
Last night, I witnessed one of the strangest performances I've ever seen, performed at Cairo's National Theatre, in Arabic, of course. Add to the all the above, mysterious new characters appearing in the play for the first time, and some, occasional, good acting, when not obscured by the director. My favorite scene was the torturous nightmare Hamlet endures as he meets his father’s ghost.
Hamlet is discovered sleeping, then is awakened by 4 dwarfs and 4 demons, all with white hair and skeleton heads. The dwarfs tie Hamlet with 2 long red cloths, perhaps 30 feet each, representing Hamlet’s blood ties to the ghost. That figure appears in his usual fog, but not before Ophelia dances a ballet of death. Is her partner Laertes? Oh, the incestuousness! Hamlet is then pulled by the red cloth, which nearly strangles him. Tugged to the right, then to the left, then up- and downstage by the dwarfs, he finally fully wakes, aided by Ophelia, who's somehow survived her ballet.
Next, The Players enter, straight from Fellini. The troupe is maybe 20-strong, each with an individual entrance. A particular delight was the tiniest dwarf, maybe 30 inches high, and able to walk under tables without disturbing his top hat. Whenever he was on stage, he stole the show, simply by being there. Who was he? No one in Shakespeare's play. Sometimes, he seemed to be a servant; at other times, Hamlet's alter-ego. The highlight of his performance was some pre-recorded Yanni melodies he "played" on a flute -- while Hamlet conducted with a baton.
Unfortunately, we had to leave at midnight, to catch the last train. This was just after the Murder of Gonzago was performed by circus clowns. As we hurried away, we noticed the walls of the National Theatre were stained and reeking of urine, with fresh pools every several feet. Apparently, every Egyptian man who could had pissed on the production.
I wondered how it all ended, what I missed, and what other extraordinary things the dwarf did to upstage Hamlet? And Shakespeare! -- poor old Will.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Hi,
Super Bowl week. Heavy on excitement. Light on letters. Here's the batch:
From Booker Gibson: Thanks very much for directions to Stu Borman's pictures. I've always loved teaching. This can help show why.
From Emily Kleinman Schreiber: You even have some of us oldsters from the Class of '61 in the 2nd photo down on the left -- at the Forest Road Celebration! Judy Egor and her brother Greg (I think that's his name) are next to me (the one in blue and red hair). Betcha' didn't think I'd find us!
From Lynn Nudelman Villagran: I was wondering if you'd be interested in adding a photo I found from South to the Reunion web page. It's of the freshman cheerleading squad, when we were in 7th grade, I think, and includes: Nancy Nudelman, Andrea Gladstone, Ellen Nudelman, Gwen Camhi, Terry Aquasanto, Judi Fingerhut, Mary Sipp, Carol Bunim, Valerie Nelson, and me.
[Rich -- I'll try and get the photo on the home page by the end of the week. Just now, I'm really busy at school.]
From Robert Fiveson: I have been thinking more and more about the tribute to Vince. Let's make sure that there is a mechanism to see to it that the scholarship not only continues past our stewardship, but that succeeding generations know who the man was, and why there is a memorial fund in his name. I am not sure how that is done, but it should be attended to somehow. In that I have now made these suggestions, please know, too, that I will contribute whatever native skills or energy I can bring to that effort.
[Rich -- Right now, we've pledged to keep the scholarship going for 10 years, and I think we have just enough donors to make that possible. We'll have to see what happens as we go along. Meanwhile, I got the official confirmation letter from South today.]
From Anthony Iadevaio, president of the Valley Stream Central High School District Board of Education: I am pleased to advise you that at its meeting on January 13, 2004, the Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the establishment of The Vince Tampio Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $500 for 10 years.
The South High School Awards Committee will select the student based on the following criteria: the student must be a theatre student (actor/actress or production technician), must be a senior high student in grades 11 or 12, and has made a major contribution to the theatre program.
Please accept the Board's sincere appreciation.
Barbara Blitfield Pech contributes her latest Internet find, a website devoted to Fifties' nostalgia. It can be found at: www.fiftiesweb.com and includes a section on the original names of famous dead people. Barbara also notes: Just doing my good deed for the day. Check this out and enjoy. Feedback welcomed.
It must be really cold in Nebraska, because Jerry Bittman keeps sending pictures of Hawaiian women in their native dress. He also includes this bit of history (relax, Robert, it's not a test): Do you know what happened this week back in 1850? California became a state. The state had no electricity, the state had no money, almost everyone spoke Spanish, and there were gun fights in the streets.
So, basically, it was just like California today -- except the women had real breasts.
Finally, some more traditional culture. But let me preface this by saying, I am not now in Cairo, I have never been to Cairo, and I don't expect to spend any time, ever, in any part of Egypt. This was forwarded by a friend, and was reportedly written by Stancil Campell.
What do you get when you combine ballet, murder, the circus, square dancing, nightmares, opera, movie soundtracks, Restoration costumes, Scarlett O’Hara, Captain Kangaroo, fog, 18th century scenery, a 15-foot head of Michelangelo's David, and a dwarf? I call it The Barnum and Bailey Hamlet.
Last night, I witnessed one of the strangest performances I've ever seen, performed at Cairo's National Theatre, in Arabic, of course. Add to the all the above, mysterious new characters appearing in the play for the first time, and some, occasional, good acting, when not obscured by the director. My favorite scene was the torturous nightmare Hamlet endures as he meets his father’s ghost.
Hamlet is discovered sleeping, then is awakened by 4 dwarfs and 4 demons, all with white hair and skeleton heads. The dwarfs tie Hamlet with 2 long red cloths, perhaps 30 feet each, representing Hamlet’s blood ties to the ghost. That figure appears in his usual fog, but not before Ophelia dances a ballet of death. Is her partner Laertes? Oh, the incestuousness! Hamlet is then pulled by the red cloth, which nearly strangles him. Tugged to the right, then to the left, then up- and downstage by the dwarfs, he finally fully wakes, aided by Ophelia, who's somehow survived her ballet.
Next, The Players enter, straight from Fellini. The troupe is maybe 20-strong, each with an individual entrance. A particular delight was the tiniest dwarf, maybe 30 inches high, and able to walk under tables without disturbing his top hat. Whenever he was on stage, he stole the show, simply by being there. Who was he? No one in Shakespeare's play. Sometimes, he seemed to be a servant; at other times, Hamlet's alter-ego. The highlight of his performance was some pre-recorded Yanni melodies he "played" on a flute -- while Hamlet conducted with a baton.
Unfortunately, we had to leave at midnight, to catch the last train. This was just after the Murder of Gonzago was performed by circus clowns. As we hurried away, we noticed the walls of the National Theatre were stained and reeking of urine, with fresh pools every several feet. Apparently, every Egyptian man who could had pissed on the production.
I wondered how it all ended, what I missed, and what other extraordinary things the dwarf did to upstage Hamlet? And Shakespeare! -- poor old Will.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65
Rich
Update 1-27-04
Hey,
Wanna see me make the ground shake? All I have to do is gloat about the warm weather in California. I have that power. Meanwhile, some news:
From Stu Borman: After many moons of procrastination, I've finally updated the site containing my South High School photos. The URL hasn't changed, so the existing link to my photo page on the main South High School Class of '65 Reunion home page still works. The revised site uses frames, and a major enhancement is the fact that people now don't have to look at my mug to view the page. Thumbnail images for a few Forest Road School class photos that I've added to the site can be found at the very bottom of the left frame. I hope you like the new page design. I think you'll find it easier to use and more accessible than the former one.
Also, one of my sons and I saw Touching the Void last night, and we enjoyed the great privilege of participating in a Q&A session with the movie's main subject, Joe Simpson. He was also kind enough to autograph a promotional flyer for my 13-year-old. I would highly recommend this movie. It's an absolutely incredible story of endurance and hope, and after seeing what Mr. Simpson had to go through to survive, it was very moving to see him actually walk into the theater. When Mr. Simpson signed my son's flyer, he asked my son if he had enjoyed the movie. When Daniel said, "Yes," Mr. Simpson asked him to tell his "mates" to see it. So I'm effectively doing that in this message.
[Rich -- As I just wrote Stu: nice update to his site. Though I also mentioned we liked seeing his face, and he's welcome to add it back in -- or you can check it out on the South home page.]
From Jean Cohen Oklan: I'm thoroughly enjoying reading all the updates on these cold Tuesday mornings. But now I have to dutifully check in with the Northwestern Vermont stats. We have over three feet of snow and had a temperature of 28 below zero last week -- and that is what we call "February weather" up here. What's going to happen in February is anyone's guess!
When our son was young and the temp reached 25 below or less, we would boil one cup of water on the stove, and as soon as it reached boiling temperature, we would run out onto our front porch and toss the water up into the air. It would instantly vaporize and hiss, causing a trail of fog that would hang in the cold air. My lame explanation is that the molecules are being forced into a smaller molecular size. You see? We really do have fun up here.
In other news, one of my brother's avocations is acting, and he has recently started taking acting lessons again in New York City after many years of being in the educational field. He has landed a gig (they LOVE his face) on the show Ed as Ed's uncle. (This is not to be confused with Mr. Ed -- my brother is not a horse.) This show is filmed in Piermont, New York, a mile from where he lives. I'll let you know when it's going to air!
And with that, I wish everyone a very happy, healthy, and fun year. Take care, and have a great winter.
From Allen Moss: Hello from Maine! LOVED the New England Temperature Conversion Chart! What a hoot. Being a die-hard dog-lover, my spoiled beagle pup gets to sleep indoors (and with Papa) ALL the time. And I remind him often of how lucky he is!
Other than that, I could probably attest to some of those items on the list, especially the door-to-door Girl Scout cookie sales, which are just about to start. Would love to hear from our other New England Falcons, Judy Peters Sylvan, Jean Cohen Oklan, and Dennis Pizzimenti on the subject!
By the way, Portland, Maine broke a record last week during the incredible cold snap. Brunswick didn't break or tie any records, but we did get down to 14 degrees below zero one night, with a windchill factor of 35 below. Ahhhhh, it reminds me of the good old days in Windy Chicago! The best thing about that Brunswick night was that it was crystal clear with no clouds. The stars and moon were absolutely brilliant against the pitch black sky, and there was still a nice layer of snow on the ground, so the whole scene was bathed in this beautiful white glow against the reflections of the sky. Really wonderful!
Best to all.
[Rich -- See, like, Allen thinks a "nice layer of snow," is something to applaud.]
A note within a note, from Terri Donohue Calamari: I'm finally settling into Naples, and I'd love to hear from Barbara Blitfield Pech and the rest of our Floridian alum. Again, my e-mail address is: terrcal@cs.com.
Also, I've attached an e-mail that might be of interest from my daughter Trish, who has just entered the Peace Corps. From Trish:
Zdravstvuyte! Or "Hello" in Russian. I've been in Uzbekistan for a week, and so far so good. My first few days in the country were in a town called Qibray, which is outside of the capital where we were sequestered in orientation. Then, on Wednesday, I met and moved in with my host family in a town called Chircik. It's about 20 miles from Tashkent, and it's a military town, but it used to be a manufacturing hub for cotton during the Soviet Era. Between the agricultural scandals of the '80s and the independence movement of the '90s, the factories were largely abandoned, and they still are at this point in time.
My adopted family is really great -- they've hosted Peace Corps volunteers before. Originally, they emigrated from China, where they lived in the Ugaray region near the Kazah border. They have a daughter who speaks English, who's been helpful in communicating with the family, and they've been helping me with my Russian as well. At this point, my time is divided between Russian lessons and technical training, so, in essence, my life has been eat, sleep, and school.
I did go to the capital yesterday, which is a pretty modern city with exception of a couple of mosques built in the 14th Century. Most of the other structures were built during the Soviet era, the oldest buildings created toward the latter end of the Stalin era. Also, there's been a lot construction since the country declared independence in 1991.
On the whole, I feel pretty safe here. I live in a Russified city, so it has more of a European feel, as opposed to a Middle Eastern one. Though it is an Islamic country, the people are not as religious in comparison to their counterparts. At most, people pray once-a-day to Mecca as opposed to the requisite five times as dictated by the Koran. In other words, it's Islam Light.
Also, there's been a resurgence of Christianity and Judaism since the fall of the Soviet Union. In general, many former Easter Bloc and Soviet Satellite countries have had religious exploration and resurgences since the fall of Communism. It's a big trend throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This was evident when I was in Prague and Budapest in 1999.
From now on, I'm going to switch to my Yahoo account. If everyone could respond to: psquid2002@yahoo.com, that would be appreciated. Also, if you could include your snail mail addresses, that would be great.
As far as supplies that I need sent to me, I just need thermals (Size L, dark colors), a copy of Barron's Say It in Russian phrasebook/dictionary, Lonely Planet: India,The Great Game by Timothy Bissel, and photos of everyone to show to my host family. Also, I was wondering if I could get the following things for my host family:
Peanut butter
Wine (note: declare it as juice for US Customs; anything in the $5-$10 range is fine)
Pop music. If anyone can burn a CD of Teeny Bopper stuff (aka: Brittany, the Boy Bands, Beyoncee, Sean Paul, JT, etc.), that would be great)
Stickers of cartoon characters or pop bands
I hope everyone is doing well in the States. I'll try to send an e-mail within the next week to 10 days. My best to everyone. Take care.
[Rich -- I don't think Trish's requests were specifically addressed to us, but if anyone would like to help out, please coordinate with Terri. And, Terri, keep sending us these updates.]
From Liz King Giordano ("Who?" you ask -- she's the secretary to South's present principal, Stephen Lando): In their January meeting, the Valley Stream Board of Education approved the Vincent Tampio Scholarship, and they will soon be sending you a letter of confirmation. Thanks again for offering this.
[Rich -- Mainly thanks to the people who are contributing. I'll give this group more information as we make the final arrangements. Meanwhile, Liz is checking to see if we can also put up a plaque.]
Finally, from The Associated Press, January 18: Chester, Illinois -- Before Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy were the stars of a beloved comic strip, they walked the streets of this little town where their creator grew up. Popeye's real-life alter ego, residents say, was Frank Fiegel, a one-eyed, pipe-smoking man with a penchant for fistfights. Dora Paskel was unusually tall and thin and wore a bun at the nape of her neck. And J. William Schuchert, a theater owner, so loved hamburgers that he would send his employees out between performances to buy them.
Popeye made his debut in the funny pages 75 years ago, walking onto Elzie Segar's "Thimble Theatre" comic strip on Jan. 17, 1929. The colorful locals from Mr. Segar's hometown had evolved into a pipe-tooting spinach-chomping hero, the "goil" he was always rushing to save, and a man with a paunch to prove his passion for hamburgers. In honor of Popeye's 75th anniversary, the Empire State Building is shining its lights spinach-green this weekend, a 3-D animated movie will be broadcast before Christmas on Fox, and Chester, population 5,200, will hold its annual picnic for Popeye fans after Labor Day. All for a character who humbly declares "I yam what I yam" and got his start when Mr. Segar cast his eyes around his hometown, about 60 miles from St. Louis.
Locals say they do not know if Mr. Segar ever acknowledged his inspiration, but around town, it seemed obvious that Popeye, Wimpy, and Olive Oyl got their start in Chester, especially considering Mr. Fiegel's jutting chin, wiry frame and pipe. "This is the folklore of Chester and you've got to listen to it," said Laurie Randall, who runs a Popeye museum in town. Ernie Schuchert, 75, has spent his entire life in Chester and remembers finding Mr. Fiegel kind of creepy when he passed by. "He'd sit on a stoop outside his house, which was really dilapidated. I don't know that he ever knew he was Popeye."
Mr. Fiegel was a little guy like Popeye, Mr. Schuchert said, but without the dash of sweetness in his swagger. He often got into fights at Wiebusch's tavern, and he did not lose many. Mr. Schuchert's great-great-uncle, J. William Schuchert, hired Mr. Segar to run the lights in his Chester Opera House, a job that helped Mr. Segar pay for a correspondence course in drawing. The elder Mr. Schuchert sent Mr. Segar and others who worked for him around the corner to Wiebusch's to buy hamburgers between performances. Like Wimpy, he was on the roly-poly side. Dora Paskel looked like the character she inspired, but was otherwise unlike the daffy and devoted Olive Oyl. Children watched her long, shadowy figure behind the counter at the general store she owned, but they would seldom go in. And she would seldom come out. "We were kind of scared of her," Mr. Schuchert said.
Mr. Segar did not visit Chester much after he left in the early 1920s, though by the time he died in 1938, nine years after Popeye's debut, the strip was appearing in more than 500 newspapers. The opera house now holds the Spinach Can Collectibles store and the Popeye Museum. "He's an American icon," said Ms. Randall, who runs both. "He stands for being who you are and standing up for the little guy. Ms. Paskel, Mr. Schuchert and Mr. Fiegel all died in the 1940s and early 50s. "These were just our friends and family," Ernie Schuchert said. "We're just happy the rest of the world knows them, too."
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a
Rich
Hey,
Wanna see me make the ground shake? All I have to do is gloat about the warm weather in California. I have that power. Meanwhile, some news:
From Stu Borman: After many moons of procrastination, I've finally updated the site containing my South High School photos. The URL hasn't changed, so the existing link to my photo page on the main South High School Class of '65 Reunion home page still works. The revised site uses frames, and a major enhancement is the fact that people now don't have to look at my mug to view the page. Thumbnail images for a few Forest Road School class photos that I've added to the site can be found at the very bottom of the left frame. I hope you like the new page design. I think you'll find it easier to use and more accessible than the former one.
Also, one of my sons and I saw Touching the Void last night, and we enjoyed the great privilege of participating in a Q&A session with the movie's main subject, Joe Simpson. He was also kind enough to autograph a promotional flyer for my 13-year-old. I would highly recommend this movie. It's an absolutely incredible story of endurance and hope, and after seeing what Mr. Simpson had to go through to survive, it was very moving to see him actually walk into the theater. When Mr. Simpson signed my son's flyer, he asked my son if he had enjoyed the movie. When Daniel said, "Yes," Mr. Simpson asked him to tell his "mates" to see it. So I'm effectively doing that in this message.
[Rich -- As I just wrote Stu: nice update to his site. Though I also mentioned we liked seeing his face, and he's welcome to add it back in -- or you can check it out on the South home page.]
From Jean Cohen Oklan: I'm thoroughly enjoying reading all the updates on these cold Tuesday mornings. But now I have to dutifully check in with the Northwestern Vermont stats. We have over three feet of snow and had a temperature of 28 below zero last week -- and that is what we call "February weather" up here. What's going to happen in February is anyone's guess!
When our son was young and the temp reached 25 below or less, we would boil one cup of water on the stove, and as soon as it reached boiling temperature, we would run out onto our front porch and toss the water up into the air. It would instantly vaporize and hiss, causing a trail of fog that would hang in the cold air. My lame explanation is that the molecules are being forced into a smaller molecular size. You see? We really do have fun up here.
In other news, one of my brother's avocations is acting, and he has recently started taking acting lessons again in New York City after many years of being in the educational field. He has landed a gig (they LOVE his face) on the show Ed as Ed's uncle. (This is not to be confused with Mr. Ed -- my brother is not a horse.) This show is filmed in Piermont, New York, a mile from where he lives. I'll let you know when it's going to air!
And with that, I wish everyone a very happy, healthy, and fun year. Take care, and have a great winter.
From Allen Moss: Hello from Maine! LOVED the New England Temperature Conversion Chart! What a hoot. Being a die-hard dog-lover, my spoiled beagle pup gets to sleep indoors (and with Papa) ALL the time. And I remind him often of how lucky he is!
Other than that, I could probably attest to some of those items on the list, especially the door-to-door Girl Scout cookie sales, which are just about to start. Would love to hear from our other New England Falcons, Judy Peters Sylvan, Jean Cohen Oklan, and Dennis Pizzimenti on the subject!
By the way, Portland, Maine broke a record last week during the incredible cold snap. Brunswick didn't break or tie any records, but we did get down to 14 degrees below zero one night, with a windchill factor of 35 below. Ahhhhh, it reminds me of the good old days in Windy Chicago! The best thing about that Brunswick night was that it was crystal clear with no clouds. The stars and moon were absolutely brilliant against the pitch black sky, and there was still a nice layer of snow on the ground, so the whole scene was bathed in this beautiful white glow against the reflections of the sky. Really wonderful!
Best to all.
[Rich -- See, like, Allen thinks a "nice layer of snow," is something to applaud.]
A note within a note, from Terri Donohue Calamari: I'm finally settling into Naples, and I'd love to hear from Barbara Blitfield Pech and the rest of our Floridian alum. Again, my e-mail address is: terrcal@cs.com.
Also, I've attached an e-mail that might be of interest from my daughter Trish, who has just entered the Peace Corps. From Trish:
Zdravstvuyte! Or "Hello" in Russian. I've been in Uzbekistan for a week, and so far so good. My first few days in the country were in a town called Qibray, which is outside of the capital where we were sequestered in orientation. Then, on Wednesday, I met and moved in with my host family in a town called Chircik. It's about 20 miles from Tashkent, and it's a military town, but it used to be a manufacturing hub for cotton during the Soviet Era. Between the agricultural scandals of the '80s and the independence movement of the '90s, the factories were largely abandoned, and they still are at this point in time.
My adopted family is really great -- they've hosted Peace Corps volunteers before. Originally, they emigrated from China, where they lived in the Ugaray region near the Kazah border. They have a daughter who speaks English, who's been helpful in communicating with the family, and they've been helping me with my Russian as well. At this point, my time is divided between Russian lessons and technical training, so, in essence, my life has been eat, sleep, and school.
I did go to the capital yesterday, which is a pretty modern city with exception of a couple of mosques built in the 14th Century. Most of the other structures were built during the Soviet era, the oldest buildings created toward the latter end of the Stalin era. Also, there's been a lot construction since the country declared independence in 1991.
On the whole, I feel pretty safe here. I live in a Russified city, so it has more of a European feel, as opposed to a Middle Eastern one. Though it is an Islamic country, the people are not as religious in comparison to their counterparts. At most, people pray once-a-day to Mecca as opposed to the requisite five times as dictated by the Koran. In other words, it's Islam Light.
Also, there's been a resurgence of Christianity and Judaism since the fall of the Soviet Union. In general, many former Easter Bloc and Soviet Satellite countries have had religious exploration and resurgences since the fall of Communism. It's a big trend throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. This was evident when I was in Prague and Budapest in 1999.
From now on, I'm going to switch to my Yahoo account. If everyone could respond to: psquid2002@yahoo.com, that would be appreciated. Also, if you could include your snail mail addresses, that would be great.
As far as supplies that I need sent to me, I just need thermals (Size L, dark colors), a copy of Barron's Say It in Russian phrasebook/dictionary, Lonely Planet: India,The Great Game by Timothy Bissel, and photos of everyone to show to my host family. Also, I was wondering if I could get the following things for my host family:
Peanut butter
Wine (note: declare it as juice for US Customs; anything in the $5-$10 range is fine)
Pop music. If anyone can burn a CD of Teeny Bopper stuff (aka: Brittany, the Boy Bands, Beyoncee, Sean Paul, JT, etc.), that would be great)
Stickers of cartoon characters or pop bands
I hope everyone is doing well in the States. I'll try to send an e-mail within the next week to 10 days. My best to everyone. Take care.
[Rich -- I don't think Trish's requests were specifically addressed to us, but if anyone would like to help out, please coordinate with Terri. And, Terri, keep sending us these updates.]
From Liz King Giordano ("Who?" you ask -- she's the secretary to South's present principal, Stephen Lando): In their January meeting, the Valley Stream Board of Education approved the Vincent Tampio Scholarship, and they will soon be sending you a letter of confirmation. Thanks again for offering this.
[Rich -- Mainly thanks to the people who are contributing. I'll give this group more information as we make the final arrangements. Meanwhile, Liz is checking to see if we can also put up a plaque.]
Finally, from The Associated Press, January 18: Chester, Illinois -- Before Popeye the Sailor, Olive Oyl, and Wimpy were the stars of a beloved comic strip, they walked the streets of this little town where their creator grew up. Popeye's real-life alter ego, residents say, was Frank Fiegel, a one-eyed, pipe-smoking man with a penchant for fistfights. Dora Paskel was unusually tall and thin and wore a bun at the nape of her neck. And J. William Schuchert, a theater owner, so loved hamburgers that he would send his employees out between performances to buy them.
Popeye made his debut in the funny pages 75 years ago, walking onto Elzie Segar's "Thimble Theatre" comic strip on Jan. 17, 1929. The colorful locals from Mr. Segar's hometown had evolved into a pipe-tooting spinach-chomping hero, the "goil" he was always rushing to save, and a man with a paunch to prove his passion for hamburgers. In honor of Popeye's 75th anniversary, the Empire State Building is shining its lights spinach-green this weekend, a 3-D animated movie will be broadcast before Christmas on Fox, and Chester, population 5,200, will hold its annual picnic for Popeye fans after Labor Day. All for a character who humbly declares "I yam what I yam" and got his start when Mr. Segar cast his eyes around his hometown, about 60 miles from St. Louis.
Locals say they do not know if Mr. Segar ever acknowledged his inspiration, but around town, it seemed obvious that Popeye, Wimpy, and Olive Oyl got their start in Chester, especially considering Mr. Fiegel's jutting chin, wiry frame and pipe. "This is the folklore of Chester and you've got to listen to it," said Laurie Randall, who runs a Popeye museum in town. Ernie Schuchert, 75, has spent his entire life in Chester and remembers finding Mr. Fiegel kind of creepy when he passed by. "He'd sit on a stoop outside his house, which was really dilapidated. I don't know that he ever knew he was Popeye."
Mr. Fiegel was a little guy like Popeye, Mr. Schuchert said, but without the dash of sweetness in his swagger. He often got into fights at Wiebusch's tavern, and he did not lose many. Mr. Schuchert's great-great-uncle, J. William Schuchert, hired Mr. Segar to run the lights in his Chester Opera House, a job that helped Mr. Segar pay for a correspondence course in drawing. The elder Mr. Schuchert sent Mr. Segar and others who worked for him around the corner to Wiebusch's to buy hamburgers between performances. Like Wimpy, he was on the roly-poly side. Dora Paskel looked like the character she inspired, but was otherwise unlike the daffy and devoted Olive Oyl. Children watched her long, shadowy figure behind the counter at the general store she owned, but they would seldom go in. And she would seldom come out. "We were kind of scared of her," Mr. Schuchert said.
Mr. Segar did not visit Chester much after he left in the early 1920s, though by the time he died in 1938, nine years after Popeye's debut, the strip was appearing in more than 500 newspapers. The opera house now holds the Spinach Can Collectibles store and the Popeye Museum. "He's an American icon," said Ms. Randall, who runs both. "He stands for being who you are and standing up for the little guy. Ms. Paskel, Mr. Schuchert and Mr. Fiegel all died in the 1940s and early 50s. "These were just our friends and family," Ernie Schuchert said. "We're just happy the rest of the world knows them, too."
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a
Rich
Update 1-20-04
Hi,
A couple of notes, some medical news, an observation, and a joke.
First, from Henry Gabbay: I enjoy reading the weekly updates and, since the reunion, have been in contact with Marc Jonas. Last weekend, Susan and I met Marc and Claudia in Manhattan for brunch and Movin' Out...a little nostalgia. We were going to have dinner together, and Marc and Claudia were planning to stay at our home Saturday evening, but everyone was fighting the flu, so our evening plans were postponed. I look forward to the next weekly update and Happy New Year to everyone.
Next, from Barbara Blitfield Pech: please "forgive" my recent lack of "participation." I've been...busy...but never too busy to keep in touch. Just a quick note for now though. Hope it's not too late to extend my best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year. I am somewhat bemused at the importance of needing to include the "healthy" portion of any greeting. Speaking of Marc Fishman's date notation: yikes, has it all come down to this? By the way, I just got a nice note from Irene Augustin, who has announced the August arrival of her grandmother title. And speaking of arrivals: just in time for the thaw, Jerry Bittman has been CONVINCED to get out of the cold and will be a welcome guest at the newly renovated Pech Palace. Still have a few rooms left poolside for anyone else who wishes to visit...escape...hide out....chill (no pun intended). I am also looking forward to my next Long Island visit to Robin's "Hamish Hacienda" (warm house, loosely translated). She mentioned that she had run into June Croton, and they are "lunching" as soon as they can clear schedules. Also, and very briefly, if I may just "use" the reunion page for some of my overdue correspondence: Nancy Garfield, thank you for the "validation." Wish I had "known" how not alone I was, academically. And yet we all excelled in our own unique ways, in spite of our "guidance handicap." Terry Donohue Calamari, welcome to Florida. I'm a short hour east of you. Let's "do lunch," FOR SURE. I will eventually get in touch...or beat me to it. Either way, it's all good! (Thanks, Rich...I owe you a 37 cent stamp!)
The medical news, from Zelda White Nichols: This is so amazing, I had to send it to everyone. My dad had countless skin cancer growths removed from his head, face, neck and hands over a period of 10-15 years. It seemed like he was going to the doctor every other month to be checked. Like many others of his generation, he spent summers in the sun getting a "good healthy tan." If you weren't tan in the summer, it meant you weren't well. He loved to fish (as do I) and back then there was no such thing as sun block. Because of all he went through, and knowing what is involved with treatments, I had to share this. If any of you know of anyone with skin cancer or have it yourselves, there is hope.
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Researchers at an Australian university believe they have developed a breakthrough showing skin cancer can be stopped by the common cold virus.
Skin cancer, or melanoma, is the fifth most common form of cancer, and Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world, with one out of every two people likely to develop some form of the disease. A team led by Professor Darren Shafren at the University of Newcastle has established that malignant melanoma cells can be destroyed by infecting them with coxsackievirus, the common cold virus. Their work is to appear in the January 2004 edition of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"We believe this is a significant breakthrough in the development of the treatment of melanoma," Dr. Shafren said in a statement released by the university Wednesday. He said the results achieved so far using human cells and in animal studies had been "very exciting." "If we can replicate that success in human trials, the treatment of this often fatal disease could be available within the next few years," he said. Dr. Shafren said the team believed the treatment could even be effective for people with advanced melanomas.
According to the university researchers, the projected process begins by injecting the common cold virus into a melanoma. The virus replicates itself and then, according to the projection, begins killing off the melanoma. Within weeks, there is a reduction in the size of the melanoma, and it eventually disappears. When the secondary action begins, the team expects the virus to circulate through the body, finding and killing off melanomas. The effect is that the virus will seek and destroy melanomas that may be undetectable.
Dr. Shafren noted that the coxsackievirus was not a manufactured drug or a genetically altered virus. Instead, it was a virus that occurred in the community. "Viruses are seen as unhealthy organisms, but we have identified a potential way they can be used by the body to fight and destroy disease," he said.
The observation, condensed from Dan Barry's column in The New York Times: Beginning around midnight on January 16th, and lasting for a few fleeting hours, the official temperature of Manhattan dropped to 1 degree. By four in the morning, the temperature had doubled — to 2 — but that brief 1-degree period granted curious distinction to the day: it tied the record for the coldest January 16th in city history, a mark established in 1893
In one sense, this seems the slimmest of connections between days separated by 111 years. In another, there was odd comfort knowing that this very cold was felt on this day in this city at a time when a Tammany Hall lackey named Gilroy was mayor, and the economic calamity known as the Panic of 1893 was but months away.
By 12:30, ice-sharp winds from the Northwest were dodging the edifices of Midtown to send streetlights swaying. It was as good a hint as any to stay indoors, and yet a deliveryman on a bicycle was wobbling down Lexington Avenue, balancing on his handlebars a box containing someone else's pizza. The gothic building that once housed the Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital loomed over the intersection of First Avenue and 30th Street; though ancient in appearance, it had yet to be built in 1893. On First Avenue near 56th Street, a steam pipe jutted from the middle of the mostly deserted street. White plumes poured out, as though the only heat to be found.
It was not a night to strike up casual conversation. A worker at the Department of Sanitation gave little more than a grunt as he shoveled rock salt onto a glazed sidewalk. A deliveryman for Poland Spring quickly shared that some of the water in his truck hold was frozen solid. "It's coming -- I see it coming," a man standing rock-still in a bus shelter near Marcus Garvey Park said of his bus. Exchanges like these were few though, because it takes two to talk.
Along a deserted stretch of Riverside Drive, the wind whistled across the Hudson River to rattle chains that hung from a billboard and to cause an unsettling banging at ghostly Grant's Tomb. The tomb was under construction in 1893. "It's 1 degree and clear in Midtown," a radio news broadcaster said, delivering an assessment that was truer than he realized. At 2:30, the zipper news that moves across the buildings of Times Square played to an audience of none, though in the meatpacking district, a single, underdressed woman stood hugging herself on a corner. At 3 AM, with the wind-chill factor making it feel like minus 20, above New York Harbor hung a crescent moon. It was time for anyone still out there to come in from the cold.
Finally, considering the cold, a helpful New England Temperature Conversion Chart
60̊ F: Southern Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in New England sunbathe.
45̊ F: New Yorkers try to turn on the heat. People in New England plant gardens.
32̊ F: Distilled water freezes. Italian and English cars won't start. People in New England drive with the tops down.
15̊ F: New York landlords finally turn up the heat. People in New England have their last cookout.
0̊ F: Everyone in Miami dies. Girl Scouts in New England sell cookies door-to-door.
30̊ below zero: Californians flee to the equator. People in New England throw on flannel shirts.
100̊ below zero: Texas shatters. New Englanders close the windows.
250̊ below zero: Washington, DC runs out of hot air. People in New England wear caps.
460̊ below zero (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale): All atomic motion stops. People in New England let the dogs sleep indoors.
500̊ below zero: Hell freezes over. The Red Sox win the World Series.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a
Rich
Hi,
A couple of notes, some medical news, an observation, and a joke.
First, from Henry Gabbay: I enjoy reading the weekly updates and, since the reunion, have been in contact with Marc Jonas. Last weekend, Susan and I met Marc and Claudia in Manhattan for brunch and Movin' Out...a little nostalgia. We were going to have dinner together, and Marc and Claudia were planning to stay at our home Saturday evening, but everyone was fighting the flu, so our evening plans were postponed. I look forward to the next weekly update and Happy New Year to everyone.
Next, from Barbara Blitfield Pech: please "forgive" my recent lack of "participation." I've been...busy...but never too busy to keep in touch. Just a quick note for now though. Hope it's not too late to extend my best wishes to all for a happy and healthy new year. I am somewhat bemused at the importance of needing to include the "healthy" portion of any greeting. Speaking of Marc Fishman's date notation: yikes, has it all come down to this? By the way, I just got a nice note from Irene Augustin, who has announced the August arrival of her grandmother title. And speaking of arrivals: just in time for the thaw, Jerry Bittman has been CONVINCED to get out of the cold and will be a welcome guest at the newly renovated Pech Palace. Still have a few rooms left poolside for anyone else who wishes to visit...escape...hide out....chill (no pun intended). I am also looking forward to my next Long Island visit to Robin's "Hamish Hacienda" (warm house, loosely translated). She mentioned that she had run into June Croton, and they are "lunching" as soon as they can clear schedules. Also, and very briefly, if I may just "use" the reunion page for some of my overdue correspondence: Nancy Garfield, thank you for the "validation." Wish I had "known" how not alone I was, academically. And yet we all excelled in our own unique ways, in spite of our "guidance handicap." Terry Donohue Calamari, welcome to Florida. I'm a short hour east of you. Let's "do lunch," FOR SURE. I will eventually get in touch...or beat me to it. Either way, it's all good! (Thanks, Rich...I owe you a 37 cent stamp!)
The medical news, from Zelda White Nichols: This is so amazing, I had to send it to everyone. My dad had countless skin cancer growths removed from his head, face, neck and hands over a period of 10-15 years. It seemed like he was going to the doctor every other month to be checked. Like many others of his generation, he spent summers in the sun getting a "good healthy tan." If you weren't tan in the summer, it meant you weren't well. He loved to fish (as do I) and back then there was no such thing as sun block. Because of all he went through, and knowing what is involved with treatments, I had to share this. If any of you know of anyone with skin cancer or have it yourselves, there is hope.
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Researchers at an Australian university believe they have developed a breakthrough showing skin cancer can be stopped by the common cold virus.
Skin cancer, or melanoma, is the fifth most common form of cancer, and Australia has the highest rate of melanoma in the world, with one out of every two people likely to develop some form of the disease. A team led by Professor Darren Shafren at the University of Newcastle has established that malignant melanoma cells can be destroyed by infecting them with coxsackievirus, the common cold virus. Their work is to appear in the January 2004 edition of Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"We believe this is a significant breakthrough in the development of the treatment of melanoma," Dr. Shafren said in a statement released by the university Wednesday. He said the results achieved so far using human cells and in animal studies had been "very exciting." "If we can replicate that success in human trials, the treatment of this often fatal disease could be available within the next few years," he said. Dr. Shafren said the team believed the treatment could even be effective for people with advanced melanomas.
According to the university researchers, the projected process begins by injecting the common cold virus into a melanoma. The virus replicates itself and then, according to the projection, begins killing off the melanoma. Within weeks, there is a reduction in the size of the melanoma, and it eventually disappears. When the secondary action begins, the team expects the virus to circulate through the body, finding and killing off melanomas. The effect is that the virus will seek and destroy melanomas that may be undetectable.
Dr. Shafren noted that the coxsackievirus was not a manufactured drug or a genetically altered virus. Instead, it was a virus that occurred in the community. "Viruses are seen as unhealthy organisms, but we have identified a potential way they can be used by the body to fight and destroy disease," he said.
The observation, condensed from Dan Barry's column in The New York Times: Beginning around midnight on January 16th, and lasting for a few fleeting hours, the official temperature of Manhattan dropped to 1 degree. By four in the morning, the temperature had doubled — to 2 — but that brief 1-degree period granted curious distinction to the day: it tied the record for the coldest January 16th in city history, a mark established in 1893
In one sense, this seems the slimmest of connections between days separated by 111 years. In another, there was odd comfort knowing that this very cold was felt on this day in this city at a time when a Tammany Hall lackey named Gilroy was mayor, and the economic calamity known as the Panic of 1893 was but months away.
By 12:30, ice-sharp winds from the Northwest were dodging the edifices of Midtown to send streetlights swaying. It was as good a hint as any to stay indoors, and yet a deliveryman on a bicycle was wobbling down Lexington Avenue, balancing on his handlebars a box containing someone else's pizza. The gothic building that once housed the Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital loomed over the intersection of First Avenue and 30th Street; though ancient in appearance, it had yet to be built in 1893. On First Avenue near 56th Street, a steam pipe jutted from the middle of the mostly deserted street. White plumes poured out, as though the only heat to be found.
It was not a night to strike up casual conversation. A worker at the Department of Sanitation gave little more than a grunt as he shoveled rock salt onto a glazed sidewalk. A deliveryman for Poland Spring quickly shared that some of the water in his truck hold was frozen solid. "It's coming -- I see it coming," a man standing rock-still in a bus shelter near Marcus Garvey Park said of his bus. Exchanges like these were few though, because it takes two to talk.
Along a deserted stretch of Riverside Drive, the wind whistled across the Hudson River to rattle chains that hung from a billboard and to cause an unsettling banging at ghostly Grant's Tomb. The tomb was under construction in 1893. "It's 1 degree and clear in Midtown," a radio news broadcaster said, delivering an assessment that was truer than he realized. At 2:30, the zipper news that moves across the buildings of Times Square played to an audience of none, though in the meatpacking district, a single, underdressed woman stood hugging herself on a corner. At 3 AM, with the wind-chill factor making it feel like minus 20, above New York Harbor hung a crescent moon. It was time for anyone still out there to come in from the cold.
Finally, considering the cold, a helpful New England Temperature Conversion Chart
60̊ F: Southern Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in New England sunbathe.
45̊ F: New Yorkers try to turn on the heat. People in New England plant gardens.
32̊ F: Distilled water freezes. Italian and English cars won't start. People in New England drive with the tops down.
15̊ F: New York landlords finally turn up the heat. People in New England have their last cookout.
0̊ F: Everyone in Miami dies. Girl Scouts in New England sell cookies door-to-door.
30̊ below zero: Californians flee to the equator. People in New England throw on flannel shirts.
100̊ below zero: Texas shatters. New Englanders close the windows.
250̊ below zero: Washington, DC runs out of hot air. People in New England wear caps.
460̊ below zero (absolute zero on the Kelvin scale): All atomic motion stops. People in New England let the dogs sleep indoors.
500̊ below zero: Hell freezes over. The Red Sox win the World Series.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a
Rich
Update 1-13-04
Hi,
A friend of mine said it was -8 degrees last night in central Pennsylvania. My mind doesn't even understand less than 55 anymore.
On a warmer note, from Jerry Bittman: Things here are normal. The temperature in Nebraska has been in the low 90s, with very little humidity. The other day, I went scuba diving in the Platte River. Tomorrow, I might try para-sailing. The sun here is really strong, so you must use # 30 sun block. And if you believe any of this, I'll tell you that our next President will be from Nebraska.
More truthfully, Jerry added: Right now, at 5:45 AM, the temperature is a freakin' minus 11. It's so cold that the snowman I built asked if he could come inside or could I, at least, give him some hot coffee? Can you do me a favor, Rich? Send me some California beach sand and a picture of the sun?
[Rich -- If I could include it here, Jerry, it would be on the way.]
Another perspective, from Marc Fishman: I recently reviewed a medical record that included a detailed social security disability benefit analysis. At the conclusion, it said, "Prior to September 1, 2003, the claimant was a person approaching advanced age, but as of September 1, 2003, he may be deemed an individual of advanced age." The claimant was born in 1949.
Speaking of Disaster Preparedness, Zelda White Nichols' complete article on that subject: Last year, when war with Iraq was imminent, and there was great concern about bio-terrorism, San Diego County's public libraries (including the one in my hometown, Alpine) offered a free book on how to prepare for any natural and man-made disasters. Are You Ready?, written and published by FEMA, was a godsend when the fires occurred in October, and, since then, I have heard many people say they were taken by surprise when told to evacuate and had no idea what to take or what to do. If I hadn’t picked up this book, I would have been in the same bewildering position as so many others, so that's why I'm writing. The book can be found at: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/ or you can download it at: http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa122702a.htm.
My husband and I moved to Alpine five years ago from Massachusetts. At that time, we were told that we should have emergency evacuations kits on hand in case of an earthquake. Since the East Coast doesn’t have major brush fires or earthquakes, we didn’t take this advice seriously, but once the war with Iraq started, and there was so much discussion in the news about bio-terrorism, we decided to rethink our survival strategies. We gathered almost everything the book recommended and had four good-sized bins loaded with emergency foods, camping gear, and pet supplies always in a handy area for grab-and-run. My husband was in Washington, D.C. when the fire hit on October 26th, but I didn’t have to think about what to take because it was already packed. Fortunately, I also knew about the fire early in the day so had time to load up my car with additional items that were important to us as well.
For evacuation purposes, Are You Ready? gives some advice that saved me untold stress. It said to figure out where you would evacuate to ahead of time and to consider destinations in several directions. Also, to have a plan, should the need arise, of how to contact each other should you be separated during the evacuation. You also need to plan what you will take if you have time to pack extras. Consider what's most important to you of a personal nature, and what are your priorities? For many people, the choice is photo albums, though for me, it was certain silver family heirlooms, as I will always have photos in my memory.
You should also have at least several bottles of water per person, as well as non-perishable foods and snack bars, a manual can and bottle opener, decontamination water tablets, and a first aid kit. This book tells you specifically what you'll need in that. Most importantly, you should keep a certain amount of cash in your wallet or handbag that you can forget about in normal times and only use in an emergency situation. When Alpine was without power for six days, and ATMs were not accessible, I fell back on this emergency cash. It also helps to always keep your gas tank at least half full. When it came time to evacuate, I wanted to take my husband's SUV, as it could hold more, but he had less than a quarter tank of gas, so I ended up taking my car. Heading into less populated areas, you certainly don’t want to be without gas. Further, stockpile candles and batteries in various sizes and keep a battery-operated radio on hand, as well as battery operated lamps.
If you have pets, have an emergency bin for them that includes water and food bowls, a can opener, food, their leashes (that was the one thing I forgot), a small cat pan, and a bag of litter. A brush to scoop up litter off the hotel room floor and toys or blanket that your pets are familiar with are handy extras. Hotels that don’t normally allow pets will make an exception at critical times such as the fire, so out of respect for their good will, and in the hope that they will continue to do this in the future, the brush for clean-ups is a good way of saying "thank you." Having something from home also makes pets feel a little more secure, and it's also a good idea to have bottled water from your home tap for them. Water from a strange area, even though safe to drink, can still cause stomach distress in your pets.
Zelda further adds: To decide ahead of time where to evacuate to, my husband and I got on Google. Once we chose three towns that we might head for, I looked up websites for each town that listed hotels. I made two copies of our destinations, one for Dave's truck and one for my car. When I was evacuating and stopped at a resort 30 miles east of our home, I was told their motels were already full, and so was every other hotel until the town of El Centro. Since that happened to be one of the towns we had chosen as a destination, I whipped out my list and called a hotel from my car. I was able to get a room when I was still 90 minutes away, which was a great idea, because, by the time I got to the hotel, there were no vacancies, and people were being told to go even further east, to Yuma, Arizona. With three cats and a dog in the car, I would have freaked if I had been one of those people. The additional driving would have been just too much stress.
On more ordinary business, Stu Borman notes: I'd like to get Emily Kleinman Schreiber's e-mail address, which doesn't seem to be accessible on the reunion web site. Is there some other way I'm supposed to retrieve such information, other than bothering you for it?
[Rich -- Good point. There are several people outside our class who regularly contribute to the updates. I hadn't thought to add their e-mail addresses to our home page, but I'll ask their permission. I also need to update the home page with address changes made in the past few months. Meanwhile, if you need someone's e-mail address and can't find it listed, or if it doesn't work, please write and see if I have more recent information. It's no bother.]
Other business, Booker Gibson inquires about the Vince Tampio Award. What's happening with it?
[Rich -- We now have 400 dollars pledged annually for the next 10 years and are hoping to make that 500. If you want to pledge 10 or 20 bucks each year or just make a one-time donation, please let me know. Also, Steve Cohen, from the Class of '64, asked if some kind of plaque couldn't be placed on the wall near South Hall. Since I know there are a lot of plaques and trophies from athletic events in the gym lobby, the school might allow one more plaque, for Vince, but I'll have to ask. Too many plaques, and the place might start looking like the Hollywood Forever memorial.]
Barbara Blitfield Pech forwarded an e-mail warning that, "At New York's Kennedy airport, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a triangle, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement."
[Rich -- I'd go on, but I promised Robert Fiveson, "No more Math jokes."]
Also, concerning the song from Avenue Q, Mr. Fiveson wrote: Is that what the computer geeks are referring to when they use the phrase "multi task?" I always wondered. Thank you for changing my life.
Finally, totally unrelated to our class, a flash from AOL Irrelevant News: A 7-year-old boy had to be rescued with the help of a locksmith after crawling into a supermarket's stuffed animal game machine. "He was sitting right there with the toys," said Shift Commander Mark Zittel of the Sheboygan Fire Department, adding that the boy had crawled through an 8-by-10-inch chute where the toys come out. "His dad was three feet away at a pay phone."
Zittel also said the boy stayed calm and didn't panic as firefighters responded to the Piggly Wiggly store and got a locksmith to open the main toy loading door. "The process took about an hour, but there was no panic. We could have broke the glass if there was an emergency."
The boy was not injured or traumatized, but desperately needed to go to the bathroom.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a
Rich
Hi,
A friend of mine said it was -8 degrees last night in central Pennsylvania. My mind doesn't even understand less than 55 anymore.
On a warmer note, from Jerry Bittman: Things here are normal. The temperature in Nebraska has been in the low 90s, with very little humidity. The other day, I went scuba diving in the Platte River. Tomorrow, I might try para-sailing. The sun here is really strong, so you must use # 30 sun block. And if you believe any of this, I'll tell you that our next President will be from Nebraska.
More truthfully, Jerry added: Right now, at 5:45 AM, the temperature is a freakin' minus 11. It's so cold that the snowman I built asked if he could come inside or could I, at least, give him some hot coffee? Can you do me a favor, Rich? Send me some California beach sand and a picture of the sun?
[Rich -- If I could include it here, Jerry, it would be on the way.]
Another perspective, from Marc Fishman: I recently reviewed a medical record that included a detailed social security disability benefit analysis. At the conclusion, it said, "Prior to September 1, 2003, the claimant was a person approaching advanced age, but as of September 1, 2003, he may be deemed an individual of advanced age." The claimant was born in 1949.
Speaking of Disaster Preparedness, Zelda White Nichols' complete article on that subject: Last year, when war with Iraq was imminent, and there was great concern about bio-terrorism, San Diego County's public libraries (including the one in my hometown, Alpine) offered a free book on how to prepare for any natural and man-made disasters. Are You Ready?, written and published by FEMA, was a godsend when the fires occurred in October, and, since then, I have heard many people say they were taken by surprise when told to evacuate and had no idea what to take or what to do. If I hadn’t picked up this book, I would have been in the same bewildering position as so many others, so that's why I'm writing. The book can be found at: http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/ or you can download it at: http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa122702a.htm.
My husband and I moved to Alpine five years ago from Massachusetts. At that time, we were told that we should have emergency evacuations kits on hand in case of an earthquake. Since the East Coast doesn’t have major brush fires or earthquakes, we didn’t take this advice seriously, but once the war with Iraq started, and there was so much discussion in the news about bio-terrorism, we decided to rethink our survival strategies. We gathered almost everything the book recommended and had four good-sized bins loaded with emergency foods, camping gear, and pet supplies always in a handy area for grab-and-run. My husband was in Washington, D.C. when the fire hit on October 26th, but I didn’t have to think about what to take because it was already packed. Fortunately, I also knew about the fire early in the day so had time to load up my car with additional items that were important to us as well.
For evacuation purposes, Are You Ready? gives some advice that saved me untold stress. It said to figure out where you would evacuate to ahead of time and to consider destinations in several directions. Also, to have a plan, should the need arise, of how to contact each other should you be separated during the evacuation. You also need to plan what you will take if you have time to pack extras. Consider what's most important to you of a personal nature, and what are your priorities? For many people, the choice is photo albums, though for me, it was certain silver family heirlooms, as I will always have photos in my memory.
You should also have at least several bottles of water per person, as well as non-perishable foods and snack bars, a manual can and bottle opener, decontamination water tablets, and a first aid kit. This book tells you specifically what you'll need in that. Most importantly, you should keep a certain amount of cash in your wallet or handbag that you can forget about in normal times and only use in an emergency situation. When Alpine was without power for six days, and ATMs were not accessible, I fell back on this emergency cash. It also helps to always keep your gas tank at least half full. When it came time to evacuate, I wanted to take my husband's SUV, as it could hold more, but he had less than a quarter tank of gas, so I ended up taking my car. Heading into less populated areas, you certainly don’t want to be without gas. Further, stockpile candles and batteries in various sizes and keep a battery-operated radio on hand, as well as battery operated lamps.
If you have pets, have an emergency bin for them that includes water and food bowls, a can opener, food, their leashes (that was the one thing I forgot), a small cat pan, and a bag of litter. A brush to scoop up litter off the hotel room floor and toys or blanket that your pets are familiar with are handy extras. Hotels that don’t normally allow pets will make an exception at critical times such as the fire, so out of respect for their good will, and in the hope that they will continue to do this in the future, the brush for clean-ups is a good way of saying "thank you." Having something from home also makes pets feel a little more secure, and it's also a good idea to have bottled water from your home tap for them. Water from a strange area, even though safe to drink, can still cause stomach distress in your pets.
Zelda further adds: To decide ahead of time where to evacuate to, my husband and I got on Google. Once we chose three towns that we might head for, I looked up websites for each town that listed hotels. I made two copies of our destinations, one for Dave's truck and one for my car. When I was evacuating and stopped at a resort 30 miles east of our home, I was told their motels were already full, and so was every other hotel until the town of El Centro. Since that happened to be one of the towns we had chosen as a destination, I whipped out my list and called a hotel from my car. I was able to get a room when I was still 90 minutes away, which was a great idea, because, by the time I got to the hotel, there were no vacancies, and people were being told to go even further east, to Yuma, Arizona. With three cats and a dog in the car, I would have freaked if I had been one of those people. The additional driving would have been just too much stress.
On more ordinary business, Stu Borman notes: I'd like to get Emily Kleinman Schreiber's e-mail address, which doesn't seem to be accessible on the reunion web site. Is there some other way I'm supposed to retrieve such information, other than bothering you for it?
[Rich -- Good point. There are several people outside our class who regularly contribute to the updates. I hadn't thought to add their e-mail addresses to our home page, but I'll ask their permission. I also need to update the home page with address changes made in the past few months. Meanwhile, if you need someone's e-mail address and can't find it listed, or if it doesn't work, please write and see if I have more recent information. It's no bother.]
Other business, Booker Gibson inquires about the Vince Tampio Award. What's happening with it?
[Rich -- We now have 400 dollars pledged annually for the next 10 years and are hoping to make that 500. If you want to pledge 10 or 20 bucks each year or just make a one-time donation, please let me know. Also, Steve Cohen, from the Class of '64, asked if some kind of plaque couldn't be placed on the wall near South Hall. Since I know there are a lot of plaques and trophies from athletic events in the gym lobby, the school might allow one more plaque, for Vince, but I'll have to ask. Too many plaques, and the place might start looking like the Hollywood Forever memorial.]
Barbara Blitfield Pech forwarded an e-mail warning that, "At New York's Kennedy airport, an individual later discovered to be a public school teacher was arrested trying to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a triangle, and a calculator. At a morning press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-Gebra movement."
[Rich -- I'd go on, but I promised Robert Fiveson, "No more Math jokes."]
Also, concerning the song from Avenue Q, Mr. Fiveson wrote: Is that what the computer geeks are referring to when they use the phrase "multi task?" I always wondered. Thank you for changing my life.
Finally, totally unrelated to our class, a flash from AOL Irrelevant News: A 7-year-old boy had to be rescued with the help of a locksmith after crawling into a supermarket's stuffed animal game machine. "He was sitting right there with the toys," said Shift Commander Mark Zittel of the Sheboygan Fire Department, adding that the boy had crawled through an 8-by-10-inch chute where the toys come out. "His dad was three feet away at a pay phone."
Zittel also said the boy stayed calm and didn't panic as firefighters responded to the Piggly Wiggly store and got a locksmith to open the main toy loading door. "The process took about an hour, but there was no panic. We could have broke the glass if there was an emergency."
The boy was not injured or traumatized, but desperately needed to go to the bathroom.
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a
Rich
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)