Update 5-13-03


Hi,

Early edition.  I'm going away for a few days and don't want to take my laptop.
Some letters:  Four from us.  One, somewhat complicated one, from the Class of '61.

First, from Zelda Nichols White:  What nostalgia last week's update brought.  I was transported back to putting my books in my locker between classes, and the smell of the girls' locker room and gym, and wearing those yellow gym outfits with the bloomers -- yikes, did they really make us wear those things?  And I can still smell the food in the cafeteria.  Having been away for so long, I don't remember all the restaurants Barbara mentioned, but I do remember Wetson's, Tim Chan's Chinese Restaurant, and Jahn's Ice Cream Parlor.  They served Kitchen Sinks, and I've never seen them anywhere else.  In all the places I've lived, I've also never had Italian, Chinese, or seafood that comes close to my childhood memories.  There are some things that you can only get on Long Island.  You also don't forget childhood friends, and I'm really glad to be back in touch with Ellen Epstein and Janice Williams.  It's like time has stayed still, and we can pick up conversations as though we saw each other only last week, instead of those many years ago.  How many?  Once again, you do the math.  From everyone's writing in, I would say this is definitely an age of not getting old, just older and better.  None of us seem to have a problem with finding ourselves.  We all know exactly who we are, and we like who we are.  We are smart, savvy, and very interesting people, who know that relationships and friendships can be lifelong, even after all these years.

Second, from Barbara Blitfield Pech:  I've already booked my New York flight to the next mini-reunion on July 27th at Mark Yetman's.  Jet Blue has cheap flights from Miami, 59 bucks each way.  Can't afford to miss it at those prices.  Besides, the real bagels and lox are a nifty incentive.  (If anyone wants to send a care package, orders taken anytime.)  And did I mention that I briefly enjoyed the brisk 46 degree May mornings in New York?  I assume that by July, Long Island will be up to spring.  Right now, Miami is having an unseasonable 86 degree high.  Spring me outta here!

Third, from Larry Rugen:  Well, I got up the nerve and called the number you found on the Internet.  Dead end.  She is Herta Apfel, but not the Herta Apfel.  Who would have guessed that there'd be more than one, and both about the same age?
      Also, again, I've missed a mini-reunion.  I had a CIO seminar/meeting/cruise to attend for three days on the Adonia.  As we sailed out of Manhattan, I decided to glance at the attendee list and, to my surprise, saw a name from 40 years ago.  Bernie Scheidt!  At South, Bernie and I were Herta Apfel's star students.  Or was that someone else?  Oh, well.  Needless to say, Bernie and I had our own mini-reunion, and caught up on the many years which have passed by.  Small world.

Fourth, from Ray Staley:  I was in Valley Stream about a year ago, looking around at all the old haunts and hangouts.  There was one place Barbara didn't mention -- Goldie's Restaurant in Gibson.  That's where my very first job was, ever, aside from being a Newsday carrier.  Ron Ochal and I worked there as busboys in like 1963!  It was still there a year ago.  Did you see it, Barbara?

Finally, from our guest correspondent, Emily Kleinman Schreiber, Class of '61.  This is a pair of letters within a letter.  First, from Em:
      Hello, everyone!  What I'm sending is positive stuff -- good happenings for two of our classmates.  I hope you take the time to check it out.  Also, my big 6-0 is on Wednesday.  Hold my hand.  This is scary!  Be well.  Be happy.  And plan to attend the BBB on 10/18/03.  A flyer will be in the mail by the end of this month.
      Next, from Al Raitano:  I guess being over fifty has finally paid off.  You never know when that big break will finally come along.  All it takes is a little patience.  I auditioned for a new NBC-TV show called Second Chance -- America's Most-Talented Senior.  From over 2000 auditions held across the country, I was one of 10 people selected to appear on the show.  The show will be aired nationally on NBC, so watch for it and wish me luck.  Times will vary, but it should be in prime time on Sunday, June 1st, 2003.  They said it will be promoted in TV Guide and probably in the locals papers.  It should also be promoted on NBC in the days before.
      Then, from Irene Rock:  "Look at me.  I'm famous as can be.  Once again I are -- a movie star!"  Cut and paste this, and you'll see:
http://community.nursingspectrum.com/MagazineArticles/article.cfm?AID=9477
      If you follow to the website, in addition to Irene's photo, you'll read:  Irene Vigotty, RN, BS, has a law about coupons that’s well known at home and at work.
      "My fascination with cutting coupons began many years ago, in 1964.  My twin sister and I were brand new nurses at our first jobs at what is now Nassau University Medical Center, but was then Meadowbrook Hospital on Long Island.  We shared an old Plymouth which was such a gas guzzler that we had named it “Piggy.”
      We needed gas, but I, who was in charge of “Piggy” for the week (we rotated ownership), refused to stop at any gas station other than one that gave plaid stamps with each purchase.  So on the Meadowbrook Parkway that afternoon, we ran out of gas.  My memory of walking a mile dragging a gas can is still vivid.
      This did nothing to stop my preoccupation with coupon-saving.  Instead, it may have been the stepping stone.  And in recent years, when the practice of supermarkets doubling the face value of manufacturers’ coupons surfaced, I was ecstatic.
      I became a coupon fanatic.  I keep the Nursing Office at Franklin Hospital Medical Center in Valley Stream, NY, filled with all kinds of cookies and treats. When my co-workers say, "More cookies?  She bought more cookies!” I reply, “I had no choice.  I had a coupon.  I had to obey the law.”
      My “law” is quite well known, both at work and at home.  It reads, “If you have a coupon, you must buy it.  If you don’t have a coupon, you may not buy it.”
      I have worked the 3 PM to 11 PM shift for many years.  Now that my children are grown and out of the house, I often leave my husband alone to fend for himself at dinner time.  He enjoys Swanson Hungry Man dinners, and I try to keep them in stock for him.  But if we run out, and I have no coupons to buy more, well ... “Open a can of soup,” I tell him.
      I only use coupons for things I would ordinarily buy anyway, even though I may not need it that day.  Does 57 rolls of paper towels sound excessive?  Well, keep laughing, I’ll use them sooner or later.  I had to buy them -- I had a coupon!
      And I’ll be rich because my method of saving money is not the same as most people’s.  Most just enjoy seeing a deduction at the register, and go on their way. Not me!  I carefully count up exactly what was deducted, and put that amount of money into a jar.  On December 31st of each year, I open the jar and count my savings.  I always use it to buy myself a present.
      This past December 31st, I found $485.95 in my jar!  Who’s laughing now? Florida, here I come -- courtesy of my coupons."


Filler?  Who needs filler?

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


Rich