Update 9-16-03


Hi,

Ah, California politics:  this latest decision from those thoughtful folks who tried to take "God" out of the Pledge.

And, gee, I warned everyone that last week's update was full of e-mail forwards.  But people still thought that not-yet-geriatric Barbara had personally written about retiring to a Holiday Inn, and high-flying Jerry was zooming around the country with members of our armed forces.  Their cyber doppelgangers, maybe.  But Barbara and Jerry are more earthbound.  This week, actual letters:

From Peter Rosen:  please let everyone know how overwhelmed I was by the outpouring of warmth and sympathy I received from so many of our classmates.  I plan on getting back to all who wrote me individually, but wanted to let everyone know how good it felt, after the death of my Dad, to hear from old friends and even from people I didn't know very well.  Unfortunately, two weeks after my Dad's death, my father-in-law died.  But I do have to say, they both led long, fulfilling lives.

From Larry Rugen:  Jerry, thanks for a note that is so true.  9/11 -- it's almost here again.  I really thought I was over the emotional part, but with the note from Jerry, and the last funeral for a firefighter, which was yesterday, I've thought about visiting ground zero again in October with friends from Europe.  What happened that day will be forever with us.

From Denise Frango Baxter:  I just want to thank Jerry for sharing his story about his plane trip.  It was really worth printing.  To Barbara:  being in the geriatric field my entire career, trust me, if you can use a pool, get your meals, use a washer and dryer and even brush your teeth, you do not need a nursing home and would not even qualify to get into one.  The cost analogy unfortunately does not work.

From Barbara Blitfield Pech:  sorry to use the reunion page to respond to suggestions of what I do for a living, but I'm just too tired to add an additional note and name to my long and too-late evening, as I generally just forward "stuff" and crash.  But I do want to qualify my job description for Zelda.
     As much as I would like to be in business development, my position and job title is that of Apparel Business Retail Analyst, something of an "industry expert" (of course, working with "kids" 20 to 30 years my junior, anyone can qualify as an expert, using smoke, mirrors, and a well-worded resume).  I was just doing some phone fun work to help out for the upcoming industry trade shows that my company participates in.  My "real job" is a whup fest of gathering and crunching data into business plans and gross profit margins.  Every so often, I write some ad copy for our outside advertising, which, for this company, consists of the Sports Illustrated swim suit edition, FHM, and Maxim magazines, and most recently, the Redskin Cheerleaders' Calendar.  Yeah, guys, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.  And, yes, I am taking bribes for the next ride along for model castings and photo shoots.  Let the bidding begin.

From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  Wow!  You must have read my mind -- we could use more people to help us celebrate.  Can you change that "misery loves company, pain, and suffering" to "HELP US CELEBRATE!"  Lots of people are flying in, including Al Raitano -- our own USA's Most Talented Senior!  I was at your reunion, and now we'd love to see some of you at ours.  It will be at:  the Oceanside Knights of Columbus, Saturday, October 18th, 1:00 -- 6:00.  We're a partying group, and our not-yet old bodies will be having a ball!  If any of your siblings were in the Class of '61, please be sure to encourage them to attend.  For more information, contact me at:  cre8em@aol.com
     Also, I received the following messages from Al Raitano recently:
     9/8 -- "Well, I've got my plane ticket, and I'll see you all soon.  Looking forward to this."      9/9 -- "I hope to see a lot of the gang at the bash.  You did such a great job the last time, this could only be better.  If you think it would be cool, I'll bring a tape of the NBC win.  I have a video of the show that has been edited, and I use it for promotional purposes."

From Robert Fiveson, in case you're wondering what fills his mind and time:  This is a site which deserves serious consideration by anyone who ever doubted:  http://www.budgieresearch.homestead.com/memorial.html

Some thoughts from a friend of mine, Melody Myles Eckart, who, for the next few years, has been posted to Singapore with her husband Ken:  Some first week observations:  the grocery store is a trip!  Little did I know that eggs do not come by the dozen; they come in packages of 10, and they are on a shelf, not refrigerated!  Also, I should have known that you can not buy a 5 pound bag of sugar, and that there's no such thing as a half pound of turkey.  How about 250 grams of turkey?  I am learning to translate into metric quickly, necessity being the big motivator.  Still, the half loaves of bread are great, but where is the good ol' American wine?
        People are really nice here, but I swear they imported Miami drivers.  Driving was harder than I thought.  It took about 2 to 3 days to adapt, and I am not totally comfortable yet -- I just don't feel like I am going to kill anyone anymore.  Pulling out into traffic is the worst:  we are so ingrained to look left to see if anyone is coming.  Of course, they aren't!  They're coming from the RIGHT!  Ken's and my latest mantra:  "Look right, drive left.  Look right, drive left..."  Still, who had the bright idea to put the turn signal on the right, and the wipers on the left?  So when you're already in trouble, you hit the darn wipers and have these things flying in your face to totally add to your frustration and confusion.
        Also, there are no electrical plugs in the bathrooms, except for one shaver outlet!  So much for the blowdryer and shavers and epiladies.  Many concepts here are very logical though, such as the switch to turn on the hot water heaters for showers.  You just have to remember to turn it on before showering!
        I never thought I would say this, but I would kill for a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and a Publix supermarket!  It's so hard to find little things sometimes, like a mop and bucket!
        And the voices of our children, from halfway around the world, are music to our ears.

Finally, I thought I was pretty good at figuring out computer math tricks, but I have no idea how this one is done.  Could be it's less a math trick, than a computer program.  Can anyone else explain it?  http://digicc.com/fido

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


Rich