Update 7-9-02


Hey,

More American history (from Jerry Bittman, who, it turns out, was listening in class):  Have you ever wondered what happened to the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence?  Five were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.  Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.  Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army.  Another had two sons captured.  And nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

(I didn't say it was cheerful history.)

Other news from Jerry:  Just wanted to update you all about  my condition.  I've heard from a bunch of other classmates, and it's nice to know that people are concerned.  As Barbara Blitfield Pech recently wrote, I was in the hospital after suffering my 7th heart attack.  I'm doing as well as can be expected.  They say that a cat has 9 lives --
well, I'm hoping to have more.  I also came to the realization that the Lord is either not ready for me, or he doesn't want me.
      One more thing, and this is directed to everybody who reads the updates:  I know this is summer, and we are all making plans.  However, please continue to send little messages about yourself or your family to this home page.  We have a nice thing going, and I know everybody had come down from the reunion, but let's continue to communicate.

(Glad you're better, Jerry, and you're welcome to some of my lives.  I'm not planning to use them all.)

From Peggy Cooper Schwartz:  I still remember learning The Pledge of Allegiance at Clearstream Avenue Elementary School, and wondering each day as we recited it, "Just who is this Richard Stands?"  Happy Healthy Summer to everyone.

From Barbara Blitfield Pech:  While no one has ever suggested that I am shy, sometimes it pays off, in a very special way, not to be.  We were out for the day "sale-ing" at the flea market mall near Pompano, and while I was standing near the entrance to one of the shops, a man brushed past me.  I was close enough to be eyeball-to-pocket with his T-shirt, and in the embroidery and monogram, I noticed the letters "V.S.F.D."  Well, of course, I was obliged to stop him and ask, "Would that be the Valley Stream Fire Department?"  To which he bellowed, "Yes!  Yes, it is!  Do you know MY town?"  "Your town?" I asked, and you can guess the rest of that part of this story.  But, afterwards, we played a little bit of Valley Stream Do You Know...?  and it turned out this stranger was none other than Robert Schuenhoff, a retired Valley Stream Fire Department captain and the son of dear Mrs. Marie Schuenhoff, the attendance office secretary -- also, my personal mentor, providing the class pass for 2nd and 3rd periods so I could deliver attendance sheets to every class room.  Robert was also an original South student, entering into the first 10th grade when the high school opened -- he mentioned that the 9th grade stayed at Memorial and moved to South the following year rather than leave after the 8th grade -- and he was a member of the first full-term graduating class.  He is in the process of moving to Boca and will be in transit over the next weeks.  But he asked that I share his e-mail address (shoebob344@aol.com) as he would like to keep in touch with "us kids."  It was really a nice experience, one that I don't suggest we all do on a regular basis, but once in a while, under the right circumstances, talking to strangers is good (living on the edge at 54 -- Woo-hoo!)
      Also, I got a note from Ellen Epstein Silver -- world traveler and All-State South High Greeter:  she and Grace Dibble will hook-up over the summer in Texas when Grace travels to visit her son.  Plus, I have to mention that y'all are cordially invited to join Robin Feit and me in Orlando, August 7th to the 11th,  I will be celebrating my 5 year anniversary of my cancer recovery and remission, and Robin, in all forms of friendship, made herself available to accompany me during my mammogram.  Then, we're off to O-town, though the Mouse is not on our guest list.  But everyone else is welcome -- details on request.
      Finally, I tried, one more time, to access the home page independently of the highlighted address.  I typed in "hometown.aol.com/falcons1965a" and nada.  The message read, "No such person.  No such home page."  Speaking of which, did Jerry Bittman ever forward his pictures?  He promised me a copy of one of them, and I'm still waiting to see it on the home page.  But I know he's been busy entertaining doctors.

(If anyone else is still having trouble opening the home page, please tell me, and I'll see if I can do anything.  I also recently opened the home page from a very old computer---a 486---and the backgrounds that should have been grey were yellow.  It seems that every computer's slightly different.)

Business:  Nah, 2005 is a long way off.

Finally, from Judy Hartstone:  And Ted Williams died.  Since my family was originally from Boston (well, originally from eastern Europe), and my grandfather was a baseball nut, we knew the Red Sox, and my cousin -- who's in her second term in the state legislature, representing Santa Barbara -- has a great picture of herself with Ted on her campaign brochure.

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


Rich