Update 10-18-05

Hi,

My mother, who still lives on Forest Road, said her basement is flooded.  My brother, who lives just off Rockaway Avenue, says his fortunately isn't.  But both say parts of Lynbrook are under water.  Hope you're all dry.

Some less soggy news from Valley Stream, from Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  As you know, I've gotten involved in South's 50th anniversary celebration plans, and I've just received the following e-mail from Madeline Silverman, a member of the planning committee and a teacher at South.  It regards upcoming events you might want to be part of, the first being this coming Saturday, October 22, 2005 -- the North-South Football Game and Homecoming.
    I've also been trying to convince South's principal Stephen Lando to have a Sock Hop as part of the 50th birthday party.  I think that would be fun since I'm still a kid at heart, and I love to dance!  What do you all think?
    And, as I may have mentioned, North and Central have had alumni associations for many years, and several other class reunion organizers want to be part of setting up an alumni association for South.  I hope that some of the interested people will come to South on Saturday because I really don't want to be all alone at the alumni table South is providing for us.  So please read the following, and let me know if you'll be able to attend any of the homecoming festivities and help carry the alumni banner.  And, yes, I know some of you are far away, but I didn't want you to feel left out.  My e-mail address is:  Cre8em@aol.com
    The forwarded information, from Madeline Silverman:  Please get the word out about the Homecoming Festival on Saturday, October 22, 2005.  Festivities begin at 10:00 AM in the Jedwood parking lot.  The presentation of seniors and class banners will begin at 12:45 PM, and there will also be banner presentations by the class councils, with each banner representing a different school decade.  The North-South football game follows at 2:00 PM.      It promises to be an exciting day for everyone who attends, and everyone is encouraged to wear their South red to show support for our team.  Emily Kleinman Schreiber will also be setting up a table so that people can register for our new alumni association.
    Also, please tell everyone about the March 11, 2006 Benefit Day.  Returning alumni and faculty will be welcomed with breakfast at 11:00 AM, followed by a building tour.  Beginning at 1:00 PM, there will be a concert, with music and theatrical performances from the various decades.  A silent auction will also run until about 5:00 PM.
    We are presently looking for performers.  We would like their contact information, the name of the piece they would like to perform, and the approximate length of the performance.  I will pass the information on to the person coordinating the concert, and she will get in touch with them about timing.
    Plus, we are ready to begin soliciting donations for the silent auction.  Last year, we were able to auction a wide range of goods and services, such as manicures, jewelry, art, photographs, gift certificates, books, games, baseball cards, bicycles, a flying lesson, and Broadway tickets with limousine service.  It's helpful if the donation includes a retail or appraised value.  All donors will receive a letter of thanks acknowledging their tax deductible contribution.
    A new item has been added to our fundraising efforts:  personalized, engraved bricks will be sold and then laid in a walkway in front of the school.  Each brick can be engraved with three lines of wording -- approximately 14 characters/spaces per line.  As soon as pricing is decided, I will update you.  They will probably be reasonably priced at around $50 or less, depending upon our final cost calculations.
    Donated items can be sent to:  Madeline Silverman / Nell Landman, Valley Stream South High School, 150 Jedwood Place, Valley Stream, New York 11581.  Please mark the outside of package:  Silent Auction  And please call me at  516-791-0300 if you have any questions.  Thank you for your continued support.

[Rich -- We should probably buy a brick with our class name on it and maybe a couple of words of inspired advice.  Any suggestions?]

Some people whose names I forgot at the 40th reunion, and I knew there'd be several:

From Wesley Eddy, Jr.:  I also sent in a $100 contribution.

From Bryna Schoffel Bloom:  You forgot me!  I came with Anne Dinoff Gubenko, Karin Tarowsky Schechter, and Ronnie Sherman Hirsch.  Although we only had eight
representatives from the class of '69, it was a great time, and I enjoyed seeing everyone.  I was especially happy to see Mr. Gibson who was one of my favorite teachers along with Mr. Tampio.

From Booker Gibson:  For Barbara Blitfield Pech's cheerful news column --a  hot item started by a Long Island high school:  their administration is canceling the future senior proms.  The reasoning is the "after prom" weekends of sex, drugs, drinking, and whatever.  People are really talking about this.  All I remember seeing at the many proms I went to is the very expensive gowns, the limos, and the rented hotel rooms.  My wife and I were happy to attend these parties and usually just marveled at the dancing.  A couple incidents at one Lido Beach, or Atlantic Beach, prom from about 1974:
    A male student who was "smashed" came up to me and called me by the name of a lady English teacher, then he asked me to dance with him.  Later, on our way outside in the very dense fog, we were carefully searching for our car, but students just ran screaming for theirs!  Naturally, we worried for them.  Our last prom was in my final year, 1986.  It was held at the top of one of the World Trade Center towers.  What a beautiful setting, and how little we knew.

And to Booker, from Lynn Nudelman Villagran:  I'd like to wish Booker a Happy Birthday.  His birthday is October 20th, I believe.  Also, I tried to scan my 40th reunion photo, but for some reason it didn't work.  I'll try again one of these days. 
Some further good news for Barbara's column, from Ryki Zuckerman '66:  I'm going to be a great-aunt!  My brother Steve's youngest daughter and her husband are expecting in March.

[Rich -- That's great.  Congratulations.]

My good deed for the week, connected to Ryki and Steve:  Through Ryki, I managed to put Steve back in touch with Donald Faber.  He and Donald had lost each other's e-mail addresses in various electronic shuffles.  Donald wrote, "Thanks much for being the go-between!  Uh-oh, an image of Peter Finch just flashed through my mind!"

And from Barbara, related to question from about a year ago:  Ryki Zuckerman just sent me an article which validated the blue wrapper on Nabisco Marshmallow Sandwich Cookies -- how could we forget that catchy name?  It also confirmed that they only exist in my memory and under all the residue "fluff' on my hips.  I suppose that in the bigger picture, no pun intended, that's a good thing.
    Also, eek, please don't tell me that Mello Roll is just another fond memory

Finally, from The Los Angeles Times, October 11th:  A man armed with a bow and arrow commandeered a Union Pacific freight train Sunday night and was shot and wounded by police.  Juventino Vallejo-Camerena, 43, of Pomona climbed onto one of the train's two locomotives about 10:45 p.m.  The engineer and conductor fled the train, which was stopped at a signal, and cut off fuel to the engine with an emergency button outside the cab. They were not harmed.  Alone in the cab, Vallejo-Camerena refused to drop his bow and arrow after Montclair police officers ordered him to do so.  He nocked and pointed the arrow at officers and threatened to take over the train.  Police then shot Vallejo-Camerena in the wrist and upper arm.
    The attempted train-jacking was "The first time I remember in 25 years something like this ever happening," Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said.  "How many times does somebody come and take over a train with a bow and arrow?"  Vallejo-Camerena was arrested on suspicion of train robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest.  He was treated for non-life-threatening wounds at Chino Valley Medical Center and is in custody at West Valley Detention Center.  Authorities said Vallejo-Camerena was homeless and did not disclose whether they knew why he tried to hijack the train.  Locomotives are not equipped with locking devices on doors, which could jeopardize the crew's safety if they needed to escape a train in an emergency.  The 71-car train was hauling retail goods from Salt Lake City to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and Sunday night's incident did not cause any major delays.