Update 1-27-09

Hi,

A nice selection of notes, pretty much in the order they came in.
   
    First, from Helen David:  I'm so glad that these updates arrive on Tuesdays.  It is the one morning of the week that I don't have classes to attend, and the updates can be read at leisure, allowing me time to make downloads or to go to various web sites.
        Ruth Bushnell was a dear friend of mine.  She came as a day-to-day sub in the late fifties, and she was appointed as a full-time math teacher the following year.  She and I were both blond at the time, and we both wore eyeglasses.  Frequently, the pupils we had in common would address us by each other's name.  Her daughter Joan attended South High during this period, but when they passed in the hall, Joan was too embarrassed to "recognize" her mother.  Talking of the hall, poor Ruth frequently had to look the other way when she passed some of my more graphic biology exhibits in the showcase adjoining my room.  She retired in 1973.
        I had the pleasure of talking to Al Raitano this month, on the day of his performance in Sun City West, Arizona.  Al was as excited as I was to see each other again after 40+ years.  Of course, I was prepared for him, while he had no idea that I lived nearby and would show up.
        I've never made reference to Robert Fiveson, but believe me, I remember him well for his happy-but- mischievous smile.  Obviously, that has carried him far.
   
    From Shirley Hess Deutsch:  So sorry to hear of the passing of Ruth Bushnell.  She was my seventh grade math teacher, and she taught us modular arithmetic.  I had a tough time with that, and based on my performance, I wasn't recommended for eighth grade algebra.  I knew Mrs. Bushnell had misjudged me, but I held no grudges.  I aced geometry with Mr. Benevento, and even started tutoring it while I was taking it, and then I went on to take Algebra 2 during the summer after tenth grade, so I could pull ahead.  I took Math 12 with Mr. Maggio -- and forever quoted his description of SOHCAHTOA for the trig. functions -- and eventually took calculus in twelfth grade, again with Mr. Benevento.  I became a math teacher and tutor for many years, mainly due to my great math background at South High that began with Mrs. Bushnell.
        A little side note -- when I had to drag myself all summer to Central High School for that Algebra 2 course, I decided to take typing, so I wouldn't be going for just one class.  To this day, I still say that typing is the most valuable course I ever took.  I learned how to type really well, which was a true asset when computers became a major part of our lives, but I had decided not to bother learning where the numbers were.  Who would ever need them?  I only knew where to find the 8, since that's where the apostrophe used to be on the old typewriters.  Who knew I'd one day be teaching keyboarding for computers and typing up math tests?
   
    Moss in Maine here.  I was so sorry to hear about the passing of Ruth Bushnell.  If my sixty-two-year-old memory still serves me, she taught eighth grade math and was a wonderful, warm and dedicated teacher.  I always enjoyed her class.  She was always helpful and easy to talk with.  I was never a great math student and had been incredibly traumatized by having Jennie Bono for seventh grade math.  Although Ms. Bono was a more than capable teacher, as I remember, she would not rank up there with Mr. Chips for relating warmly to her students.  I remember thinking that she was always "all business" and I was incredibly intimidated by her.  The following year I had Ruth Bushnell, and I felt I could breathe again in math class.
        To Robert Fiveson:  kudos on an incredible video.  I felt like I was riding with you and your son.
        We are just digging out from an incredible snow storm in my little home town.  Nineteen inches of snow in Brunswick -- beautiful.
        Happy New Year to all.  Let us hope that 2009 is a better one than 2008.  What a pleasure to listen to a new, dynamic, bright and articulate President of the United States.  It has been a long eight years...
   
    From Eric Hilton, in response to Joan Shapiro Polner:  I remember playing cowboys and having a very cool two-gun holster and twin “Fanner 50” handguns -- I just saw them on e-bay for about $250.  And since my dad was a fur designer, I also had a real Davy Crockett coonskin cap.
        Life was easier back when I was allowed to walk to my friend Frank Longmore's house, three blocks away, and come home alone after dark.  Not once was I ever assaulted, mugged, or approached by “nogoodnicks”
   
    From Zelda White-Nichols:  Thank you, Jerry Bittman.  Bornagainamerican.org is probably the best thing since Pete Seeger’s “This Land Is Your Land.”
   
    From Mary Sipp Green:  It was ten degrees below zero in the Berkshires this morning, but I braved the cold to get to the library to send you this e-mail request.  Here is my new address:  msippgreen@gmail.com. Would you please make the change?
        Also, if you are in the mood to look at art, the Findlay Gallery just opened a new space in LA.  I heard it's pretty nice.  If you get there, let me know what you think.
        That's all for now.  Hope things are going well for everyone.  Best regards to all.
   
    From Ira Mitzner:  Here's the Washington report.  Rachael and I couldn't get tickets to the inaugural.  The parade was delayed due to Kennedy and Bryd's health issues, and it was freezing, so we passed on that.  But at the last minute, we got tickets to the Neighborhood Ball and were about thirty feet from the President and Mrs. Obama when they danced their first dance after his being sworn in.  Beyonce sang "At Last" and had tears in her eyes.  We also saw Mary J. Bilge, Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and others.  It was an absolute blast, and I've never seen so many celebrities in one place.  The President rocked out.
   
    From Irene Saunders Goldstein:  Thanks for the invitation to contribute to the newsletter. Here's my two cents worth.
        Tuesday in the Washington, DC, area was beyond exhilarating.  I had a front row seat at the inauguration -- in front of the TV, that is -- but the spirit of the day was amazing even so.
         Although it just wasn't feasible for me to get into Washington from Arlington -- they closed the bridges from Virginia into DC -- I reminisced a little about Jimmy Carter's inauguration.  At that time, I worked as a business writer at the National Press Building, half a block from Pennsylvania Avenue.  My press pass took me beyond the police barriers, so I got to see the Carters, and, even better, all the marching bands, right up front as they passed by.  Later that day, I even went to an inaugural ball -- wearing a long gown with one shoulder bare.  Looking back, the excitement I felt as I took part in the festivities all those years ago pales by comparison to the strong emotions I felt last Tuesday.  It's good to be in Washington again, and it's good to be an American.
   
    From Barbara Blitfield Pech:  What a handy tool.  This is the coolest thing since the invention of the TV remote control.  Just point and click.  http://www.allmyfaves.com/   Then pick a site, and boom, there it is.
   
    Finally, from Steve Cohen, who in a note about several other things, mentioned that he’s been instrumental in producing a short film that’s now on the web site of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.  You can view this film and learn all kinds of other things about the previous inhabitants of this planet at:  vertpaleo.org.
   
    The South '65 blog:  reunionclass65.blogspot.com
   
   
    Rich