Update 3-1-05

Hi,

Easy week, with enough mail so I didn't have to do my threatened online address clean-up. Instead, I faced my taxes.

First, from Zelda White Nichols: An Update. We have moved into our house in Lexington, North Carolina, but are still in the process of unpacking 350 boxes. The trip was mostly uneventful until we hit Georgia, where I started coughing, three cats started howling, we arrived just in time for a massive ice storm, and my husband Dave's SUV started hiccupping. Fortunately it got us to North Carolina before needing to be towed from the hotel parking lot. I ended up with a roaring case of the flu which I am finally recovering from.
   We are really starting to love North Carolina: beautiful countryside (we are amidst cotton fields, cow pastures, and forest), great for sports, and the people are wonderful. You know all those "Remember When" e-mails that circulate? Well, I don't need to remember any longer; I feel like we are back in those times with the slower pace. Lifestyles seem easier here, and there is still a sense of innocence that is very sweet. One local restaurant (luncheonette) even has Fried Twinkies on their menu.
   Sorry about all that rain you're having in California. A friend who lives here asked that we bring some California sunshine with us, so we did. It's been mostly sunny since we arrived. Want to think about relocating? LOL.
   Finally, I am hoping to attend the reunion, but cannot commit yet.

[Rich -- Fried Twinkies?]

Next, from Booker Gibson: Sometime last year, a group of about eight former South people came to visit me in the restaurant where I play the piano. That group was from the late 70s, and their teacher, Linda Murtagh, was with them. She left South about 1988, after I left in '86.
   Anyway, I talked about Vince Tampio, and a couple of the girls -- there I go again; I have to remember they're working adults -- came up to sing with me. One person, Sherry Finkel Murphy -- Neil Murphy was the student lighting designer while they were at South -- always likes to sing the song that Vince and I wrote. She has a wonderful voice and range, but never thought she could try for show business because she was too short. Whenever I see or hear Bernadette Peters, I think of our Sherry Finkel. Nevertheless, she's a "big-time" businesswoman in Manhattan.
   Later, I invited her to visit here sometime -- we both live in Merrick -- and we could rehearse the song, "Even In A Crowd." She also was a helluva Winifred in Once Upon A Mattress.
   Please excuse my rambling sentences. I should have had Janet Porter Rylander for English, too.

[Rich -- I think it would be great if Sherry came to the reunion and sang Booker and Vince's song.]

From Stu Borman: Since you're updating the class contact sheet, this would be a good time for me to request that you change my e-mail address on your home page and weekly e-mail routing list to: sborman@gmail.com
   Also, thanks for the weekly e-mails, which I read religiously (or perhaps in my case atheistically). Regards.

[Rich -- I kind of write them godlessly, too, though, unfortunately, I'm not as charmingly rude as Chris Rock was to George W. Bush Sunday night at the Oscars. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know -- no politics.]

From Steve Cahn, '71: Quick Question -- were any of these people in your class? Judy Greenberg, Gene Barkin, Diana Lipton, Michael Landau, Ken or Richard Getnik, Peter Blumenthal, Fred or Andy Cagan, Sherry or Randi Gordon, and Valerie Nelson?

[Rich -- I wrote Steve the following: Valerie Nelson, yes, and we'd love to find her. Gene Barkin, class of '66. Ken Getnick, class of '64, I think. Richard Getnick, earlier I think, but I'm not sure. Nothing on the rest.]

Steve wrote back: Thanks for the reply. All these people were my neighbors in the newly-constructed "new section" of Green Acres. Even though these people were four and five years older than I was, it almost seemed as if they were connected with a different decade. I guess music and the general outlook of the nation changed so much in the time from '65 to '70.
   Unfortunately, I have no leads as to Valerie Nelson's whereabouts. But I will ask a few people to see if we can come up with anything.

[Rich -- Yup, as Kurt Vonnegut put it in Happy Birthday, Wanda June: "Something big must have happened while we were lost for eight years in that jungle."]

Alex MacLeod sent the link to that frequently mentioned website for nostalgia and jokes: www.thestatenislandboys.com/U_thrill_me/

Linda Fenton Goodgold sent the following to update her profile on the home page, but until I get organized, here's what she's been doing: I'm now the Vice President of Business Development for Real Estate Arts, a New York City design firm, and I oversee New Jersey development. I previously worked for New Jersey Goodlife magazine handling New Jersey real estate, and then moved to the Gannett New Jersey Newspaper Group. At Gannett, I started in print advertising, and then went to "IN Jersey," the Internet arm of the Asbury Park Press as Sales Manager and Online Manager.
I have two children, Michael and Steven. Michael is married to Laura, a fabulous lady, and they have two children, Natalie, age 3, and Andrew, 3 months. My grandchildren are the joy of my life. Michael owns and operates Commercial Printing companies with offices in New York City, Chicago, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Steven is a talent agent for Chaotica Music and lives and works in New York City while traveling all over the world with his clients. His life has been a little too exciting, but he has finally met an awesome lady, and I think this may be "the one."
I think I will be going to the reunion and can't wait to see all my friends.

Ira Mitzner writes: Bill Linkner is not sure he can come to the reunion, but he'll give it a try. Meanwhile, he's given the OK to list his address. It's boomerlinkner@aol.com (in honor of his dog).

Finally, from Allen Moss in Maine: Many thanks to Mr. O'Brien, Mr. Gibson, and others who helped track down Janet Porter Rylander -- from the "boy who was clamoring," and that... "be me!" I sent Janet an e-mail this morning, and I hope she chooses to attend the reunion, as it would be great to see her. I also hope Ms. Rea is able to attend this time around. It would not be the same without her and many of our wonderful teachers.
   I reminded Janet about her love affair with her little VW "bug." I always remember her tooling around the parking lot in it. That also brought to mind Mr. Tampio's 1964 Mustang. Both are great collectors' items today. And I reminded Janet, with a smile, about the smart-ass behavior that Greg Kaplan and I exhibited in her classroom. She knew EXACTLY how to deal with it as well -- just a quick, dry-witted comment beginning with, "Mr. Moss and Mr. Kaplan, would you mind..." That was accompanied by an icy stare (and a little bit of a smile). Lots of fun and, certainly, as with Toni Rea, a supportive and encouraging teacher who made English and the written word such an important part of my life after high school. It was so nice to read what a full life she has had... and continues to have.
Just an aside: for an incredible TV nostalgia buff like me, the creation of the DVD has been a gift from the gods. I am amazed at how much television programming from the 1950s is literally pouring out of the manufacturers. Everything from "Have Gun-Will Travel" to "Medic" to "Bat Masterson." And the quality of some of these fifty-year-old shows is truly remarkable. I happened to surf on a site that brought back some REALLY old memories -- "Andy's Gang" and "Terrytoon Circus." If you have "Real Player" on your computer, you can watch a kinescope clip from the early 1950s showing the famous call-up to "Froggy, the Gremlin" by Andy with those famous words, "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy." In a puff of smoke on the tall clock comes this dime store-looking bathtub toy that starts talking to Andy. What an incredible hoot! And there they were as I watched, the baby-boomer kids in the audience -- our peers -- laughing their asses off. And I am sure that I was, too, as I sat in front of my Philco set in the living room! Ditto for the kinescope clip on Terrytoon Circus with Claude Kirschner... scary!
   I have been a VERY happy camper in Maine these last few weeks: bitter cold and 18 inches of snow about a week-and-a-half ago, with another 5 yesterday, and 4 more expected to be added tonight. I know. I know. I am nuts! But what better state to live in if I love cold weather and snow?
   Best to all. Looking forward to the 40th.

The repeating reunion information:
When: August 5th, 6th, 7th (Friday night through Sunday noon)
Where: Hilton Long Island/Huntington, 598 Broadhollow Road, Melville, New York, 11747
Cost: $100 per person
Phone Number: 631-845-1000, during daytime business hours. Ask for the Reservations Desk and mention our class reunion discount. Hotel rooms should be $129/night.
Reunion Package Includes:
Friday night cocktail party with snacks and cash bar (7:00 PM -- Midnight)
Saturday night buffet with open bar & DJ (7:00 PM -- Midnight; Dinner at 8:00)
Lobby area with cash bar available both nights to continue parties
Teachers comped for both parties
SEND: Checks to Dennis Shapiro. 495 Wateredge Avenue, Baldwin, New York, 11510. Please make them out to: VSS 40th Reunion.
Also: Since there are a limited number of Friday night hotel rooms being held, please e-mail Dennis Shapiro when you've made your reservations so he can lobby for more. His e-mail address is: dshapiro@optonline.net
The home page: http://hometown.aol.com/vssouth65

Rich