Update 1-7-03


Hi,

The post-holiday swell of mail, as everyone snuggles down for a long winter -- well, not the folks in L.A.

From Hiram Rosov:  Great reading all the news about so many former students.  The letter from Bernie Cohen was very nostalgic.  Happy New Year to all, and if any of you get a chance, drop me a line at:  ChaiHy@aol.com.  I would love to hear from anyone who still remembers South from 1959-1985.

From Janice Williams Teeuwe:  Thank you for getting me back on track with the reunion letters.  I really missed the contact and hearing about everyone.  It's almost like being reborn.
      I just started a class in anthropology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, and I am so excited about it.  The weather has been much too warm here for winter.  I need more snow to go skiing, one of my very favorite pastimes.  Today, it's 57 degrees out, and, at 9500 feet above sea level, it feels about 70 degrees, and it's just beautiful.  I guess I won't complain; instead, I'll be thankful for the beauty of Colorado.
      I hope all of you have a wonderful and blessed New Year, and I am really looking forward to the next reunion.

From Marc Jonas:  What the heck.  Maybe I should have resisted, but these should be good for a laugh or two.  From the archives -- there should be two pictures attached.
      Hope everyone's well.  Have a happy and healthy new year.

(The pictures are of Marc and his bar mitzvah friends.  I'll try to get them online by spring, though Marc has said I don't need to.  Still, to make the nice guy really squirm... )

From Barbara Blitfield Pech:  New Year's greetings, and it's official -- forgetting earlier aspirations to be the next Pearl Mesta, I am now signing on as Lois Lane Pech, volunteer correspondent from the good state of Florida.
      I had a brief, but very meaningful, visit with Irene Saunders Goldstein and family, poolside in Pompano.  The out-of-towner was the obvious one in the swim suit.  Yours truly had the long sleeves on, as anything under 70 degrees is winter in these parts.
      Also, I've e-mailed Barbara Endy, arranging for lunch during the weekend of January 17th in Ft. Lauderdale.
      And in the Just because we're still the craziest class ever to graduate from South department:  shortly after 11 PM on New Year's Eve, Bea Massa Brown called via cell phone -- to surprise me!  And she surely did.  As luck would have it, I was not quite over the top yet, and had most of my facilities still available.  So, a rip roaring greeting was shared.  I will always have a special place for my Brooklyn Avenue / Harbor Road pals.
      Also, to prove the value of patience and networking, I just got this from Steve Cahn, '70 (Genghisaha@aol.com):  Sorry, I'm not from '65, but I saw your posting on the Valley Stream website.  I can't tell how old it is, but '65 has a website, and you can get there from the '70 website.  If you have any info about any other class's website, please let me know.  Meanwhile, Happy New Year, from another old South grad.  I wrote back:  Greetings, and thank you so very much for your note.  My posting is well over 3-years old, and you are my first response.  As luck would have it, the class of '65 caught up to me via word of mouth, and we all had an amazing turnout, over 125 classmates, last April for our 37th year reunion.

(The class of '70 website has been linked on our home page for over a year.  So far, I haven't heard of any other, similar South websites.)

An instructional greeting, from Booker Gibson:  First, Happy New Year everyone.  Also, I've forgotten whether I've mentioned my favorite singer, Eva Cassidy, an American blonde guitarist who died of skin cancer at 33 in 1996.  Now,  she's finally getting some renown in America -- she's already huge in England, Ireland, Australia and many other places.  You've probably heard her sing "Fields Of Gold."  Her problem was that she refused to be channeled into one category.  She sang blues, gospel, rock, country, jazz and standard stuff, so no major label would sign her.  I bet you when you hear her sing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" you'll be reduced to tears.  She never imitated anyone.  She was a stylist!  Enjoy her, and please let me know if you've heard Eva Cassidy.

The latest New York social reminder, from Paul DeMartino:  Hi, gang.  Just a short message to let you all know that there will be another gathering of Falcons on Sunday, February 2nd, at Lily Flanagans in Rockville Centre, starting at 1 PM.  Dennis Shapiro and I hope that everyone will be able to attend, and we encourage all who have not attended in the past to do so.  Please let any of our classmates know, especially those without e-mail.  We may also discuss having a party or an outing later this year.  If you need more information, please e-mail me at:  PINA_1@msn.com.  Or call me at:  516-799-1590.  Hope to see you there.

A bit of nostalgia, taken from a longer piece forwarded by Zelda White Nichols:  "Remember when it took five minutes for the TV to warm up, and your Mom made you turn it off when a storm came?  When no one ever asked where the car keys were, because they were always in the ignition, and house doors were never locked?  Remember eating Kool-Aid powder with sugar from the palm of your hand?

A  less joyful note, from Ralph Kramer:  I just wanted to inform people that my sister, Harriet Kramer, died on December 23rd after a 21-month struggle with ovarian cancer.  She had just turned 53.  The service was beautiful.

Finally, from Barnet Kellman:  I just saw About Schmidt.  Is there any way we can organize an intervention and get Jerry Bittman out of Nebraska?  How did he get there anyway?  It's one thing to be sent to the principal's office -- but Nebraska?

The home page address:  http://hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a


Rich