Update 5-25-04


Hi,

To begin with, a note from Robert Eichinger's wife Ronnie: Thank you for your kind thoughts. You are correct -- it was way too soon and very sudden. He really enjoyed the Valley Stream reunion and frequently commented on those high school days. Thanks again for taking the time to contact me. I will still read all the great stories on the reunion website.

Gently related, a cautionary note from Neil Guberman: Here's some personal news I've decided to share with everybody, not to solicit feelings for me or to get up on a soap box, but to make us all aware, "This can happen to you." I'm 56 years old, 5'-11", 160 pounds. I work out daily and, year-round, do things like bike, kayak, and cross-country ski. I'm also a semi-vegetarian -- I eat fish and some dairy. I'm very careful about my fat, salt, and sugar intake. I don't smoke. I drink in moderation -- usually. I take 81 mg aspirin daily. I don't have high blood pressure or diabetes. My cholesterol is slightly up at 225. I see my doctor and get yearly physicals that include blood work and prostate screening. Overall, I'm definitely one healthy guy, right?
     In February, I had open heart surgery.
     I didn't have a heart attack. I never felt any pain in my chest or back. I wasn't tired or short of breath. I didn't have feelings of heartburn or shooting pains in my left arm. I had no classic symptoms of heart disease at all. I simply asked my doctor for a stress test after experiencing, on three consecutive days, what I felt were minor muscular aches in my left elbow area and my left rib cage while doing my regular Nordic track workout. I told him I just wanted to be sure it was nothing serious, because both my parents had heart/artery problems later in life, and the unusual feelings on the left side of my body concerned me.
     Both parts of the stress test -- treadmill and nuclear dye photos -- turned up positive. Three days later, I had a heart catherization, which showed a 90% blockage on the main, left descending artery, though there were no other measurable problems anywhere else, and no heart damage. The next day, surgery was done.
     I asked how this could have happened, given my lifestyle, and my cardiologist said, "Heredity is the number one contributor to potential heart/artery disease, followed by smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, lack of exercise, and diet." He also explained that, had I not been taking care of myself, I most likely would have experienced major heart/artery problems ten-or-more years ago.
     Why am I telling everyone all this? Because you don't want to go through this. Know your family history. Know your body. Stop smoking. Watch your diet. Exercise. See your doctor yearly. Get a stress test if you've never had one. Don't take anything for granted. There are people out there who love and care about you, and who you love and care about. Stay healthy. Stay alive.
     Anyway, I'm fine now, fully recovered and able to do everything I did before -- except read anything by Fiveson or Bittman. I'm taking a blood thinner and meds for cholesterol -- Lipitor, which works great and has dropped my reading to 164. Sorry for going into all the details, but I felt the story needed to be told.
     I hope all is well with all of you, and, please, take care.

Cheerier thoughts from Peter Rosen: My kids are throwing a 35th wedding anniversary party for Phyllis and me on June 5th in Atlanta. In case anyone is visiting Atlanta that evening, they're welcome to stop by. Please write me for details.
     Also, I just got a call from Irene Saunders, and Robin (Seader or Singer) will be in town, so Irene is organizing a breakfast for Saturday morning. I'll let you know how it turns out.

The awards update: First, a reminder that the ceremony is at South at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, June 9th, and everyone is invited. Next, the inscriptions on the plaques that will be permanently installed in the school's main corridor.
     The Vince Tampio Theater Award: Vince Tampio was an actor, director, and designer, as well as inspiration and mentor. From 1961 to 1969, he worked in New York theater, while also teaching at South. In 1970, he moved to Los Angeles, where after 30 years, he retired as head of the CBS-TV Scenic Shop. His legacy lives on, both in the number of entertainment industry and teaching professionals he launched from South, and in the hearts of all those whose interest in the arts he awakened.
     The Booker Gibson Music Award: Booker T. Gibson taught at South from 1956 to 1986, enthusiastically imbuing in his students a love of, and appreciation for, music of all kinds. From opera to jazz, rock to Broadway, his obvious love for music was contagious, and his rapport with his students was legendary.
     The inscription for Vince was a collaborative effort, created by Robert Fiveson, Nancy Garfield, Barnet Kellman, Amy Lieberman, Ken Ulric, and me. We asked Booker to write his own inscription, and he wrote back: My wife and I thought it would be better to turn to a former student who knew me as a classroom teacher and chorus director, and who was a "perceptive" observer. I often exchange e-mail with Alissa Ballot '73 (2nd in Class -- I'm never sure of spelling Salutatorian). She's held a very responsible position in West Palm Beach, Florida for years.
     The people presently supporting these awards include, in no particular order: Robin Seader Cottmeyer, Marilyn Horowitz Goldhammer, Ellen Epstein Silver, Lynn Nudelman Villagran, Alison Altman, Carol Ewig Duran, Zelda White Nichols, Neil Guberman, Rich Eisbrouch, Peggy Cooper Schwartz, Marc Fishman, Robin Feit Baker, Robert Fiveson, Barnet Kellman, Ken and Laura (Waxman) Ulric, Nancy Garfield, Booker and Frances Gibson, Amy Lieberman, and Steve Cohen. Further supporters will always be welcome.

A request from Barbara Blitfield Pech: I am sending you the site address to sign a petition for an Ovarian Cancer Awareness stamp. This is the third year we are trying to get a stamp approved by the Postmaster General, and we need 26,000 signatures by July. Last year, we had over 27,000, but they didn't issue a stamp because they felt they had other, more important requests. So we are trying again.
The address is: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/ovca2004/petition.html Please pass this on to your family and friends. We need this stamp. This disease has to be brought to the public's attention. Thank you!

Another request, this one from Peggy Galinger Menaker: About the next reunion -- please ask those who are planning it to set dates as early as possible. Thank you.

A note from Paul Zegler: Just to let you know I haven't received any updates for the last two weeks. Have you been sending them? If you have them and can figure out why I'm not getting them, please let me know.
     Also, I just got a new job, as special finance manager and Internet manager at Beverly Hills Ford. It's quite exciting. Hope everyone's well.

[Rich -- Yep, the updates have continued weekly, and if anyone's having trouble getting them by e-mail, you might check the settings for your spam filters. Also, Paul was writing in reply to a warning I'd sent around midweek. Just in case you didn't open it, here it is again: Allen Moss just wrote that Terri Donohue Calamari warned him not to open any e-mail from her. Her computer is infected by a virus.]

A warning forwarded from the Internet by RoseMarie Cassillo: It was about 1:00 in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have 4 children (high school and college age) and have always told them never to pull over to the side of the road for an unmarked car, but rather wait until they get to a public place like a gas station. Lauren had listened to her parents' advice, and promptly called #77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away. She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her.
     The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was, and there weren't, so he told her to keep driving, remain calm, and that he had back-up already on the way.
     Ten minutes later, four cop cars surrounded her and the unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side, and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist, wanted for other crimes.
     I never knew about the #77 Cell Phone Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently, police have to respect your right to keep going to a "safe" place. You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledge them (i.e., put on your hazard lights) or call #77 like Lauren did.

[Rich -- Before passing this on, I checked Urban Legends for verification and found this: Whether this particular tale is true or not, women driving alone have been sexually assaulted by rapists pretending to be police officers, so the advice it gives (to not pull over in deserted areas when signaled to do so by an unmarked police vehicle) is well worth heeding. Keep driving until you get to a well-lit area where there are others about. Call 911 and tell them what's happening. Although in at least in some U.S. states, #77 on a cell phone will immediately connect you to that state's highway patrol, that code is not universal. Some states use #77, but others use *55, *47, or *HP, and some don't have any special code at all. Rather than frantically trying to figure out which one will work in the area you're in, get around the problem by going straight to 911.]

There are a couple other e-mail forwards I'll include next week, but, finally, this week's Robert Fiveson contribution: And now, my fellow Falcons, I give you what little I have to give of myself. No, not my soul -- I gave that away years ago. And not my manhood -- I also gave that away, though more recently. No, I give you what will be my legacy to the class, the world's most entertaining url: www.chickenhead.com

The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65

Rich