Update 10-20-09

Hi,

Some reunion and other thoughts, pretty much in the order the notes arrived.
   
    From Lynn Nudleman Villagran:  I would be interested in a small reunion.  Washington, DC, would be my preference, but New York would also be fine.
   
    From Eric Hilton:  Val Manzo’s piece was wonderful.  Her description of her 40th reunion was exciting, and I could almost feel the electricity.  I, too, went to Brooklyn Avenue School, and I would like to contact Val.  Do you have her e-mail address?
        Val had mentioned Joe Santigate passing away, and I believe he was a friend of my brother, Ed, who also passed away, ten years ago.
        Also, count me in for the 45th reunion, as long as it's catered by Leo and Molly's Mill Sweet Shop or the Casa Tina in Gibson.  And I wonder if Jay's ever got in the large gym shorts I ordered?
   
    From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  Val Manzo's e-mail address is:  valmanzo@aol.com
   
    From Irene Saunders, by way of Facebook:  A 45th reunion sounds great to me!  I miss my old friends.
   
    From Barnet Kellman, by way of Facebook:  Summer is the best chance for me.
   
    From Henry Gabbay:  I would like to make a suggestion regarding planning for the next reunion if you decide to go forward with an event like the 37th reunion.  It seems to me that the issue is lead time.  If you first identify where and when the reunion will take place, then you can ask the caterer for the minimum number of guests required and the date when the caterer would have to secure a deposit.  Once you know the time line, you would circulate a note and ask for a deposit from those people who are interested.  If you receive the minimum deposit by the date determined by the caterer, you can go forward -- no one should assume the personal financial liability of making the deposit.  If you don’t receive the minimum deposit, then you can have a Plan B that will require no financial commitment -- like picking a restaurant or a bar.  I think, given the current state of economic affairs, there is most likely a greater degree of flexibility in negotiating with a caterer in terms of the minimum deposit and the timing needed to secure one.  I'm not certain if this makes sense to you, but it's just a suggestion.
   
    [Rich -- It makes a lot of sense, but I think we're already in Plan B, based on the attendance at other reunions of South's classes near ours.  The pattern seems to be that a single reunion after fifteen or twenty years can generate a lot of participation -- around a hundred people.  But once people have reconnected and built new lines of communication, actual reunion attendance diminishes to under twenty.]
   
    From Valerie Nelson Gillen:  I would love to go to a 45th reunion, especially since I have missed all the others!  I still live on Long Island, in Suffolk County, and I would love to see everyone.  I am ready to party.
   
    From Amy Miller:  What is this about Rick Goldsmith's movie -- the one mentioned in Val Manzo's reunion piece?  Rick was my neighbor, two doors down, on Darewood Lane.  Is the movie premier next September or this past one?
   
    Again, from Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  I don't know anything about Rick Goldsmith's movie.  Who is he?
   
    [Rich -- I've added Val to our mailing list for this week.  Maybe she can answer.]
   
    From Paul Zegler:  Please let Marc Jonas know that I will make sure he gets the "Valiant Falcons discount" any time he shows up for a show I'm in -- and that goes for all the Valiant Falcons from our class.
   
    [Rich -- And Paul's latest show -- Guys and Dolls -- was great.  I saw it last Friday night.]
   
    From Mary Sipp Green:  Thought I'd put in an early vote for the next reunion -- there will be one-right?  Location -- Long Island.  It just seems obvious to me to have it be a stone's throw from South High and all its nostalgia.  Please keep me posted.
        Also, I would like to send a note to Allen Moss:  About three years ago in this season, I drove from the Berkshires all the way up to Cherryfield, Machias, and several other small towns in the northern part of Maine, in search of the blueberry barrens.  At this time of the year, those fields were a carpet of red as far as my eye could see.  Not the red like the poppy fields in France or Italy.  This was a more earthy, Maine red.  The barrens are really interesting, and I'd like to return to them and do some work one day.  It took me a long time to drive there, but it was worth the trip. You are lucky to live so close, Allen.
   
    From Pete Rosen:  Count me in for a 45th.  I'd be happy to travel from Atlanta to wherever it is, but not just for a dinner at a restaurant.  My vote is to offer a few more low key options to get together over the weekend. I am looking forward to hearing the thoughts of others.
        Also, I'm trying to consolidate my e-mails to only my business address.  That's: peter.rosen@hrsas.com   So please update my contact point.  Thanks.
        Next, a message to Andy Dolich:  We whopped your ass last week.  If we play you again, try to come out this way for the game, so I can give you some grief in person.
        Finally, this weekend, the Rosen household will be hosting a lot of family to celebrate my mother's 90th birthday.  Does anyone remember having her as a substitute teacher at South?  She went on to a great career as an English teacher at Lawrence High School.  It included her being the advisor to their yearbook and newspaper.
   
    From Stu Borman:   I would like to attend the proposed East coast 45th reunion.  If there's interest in a Washington, DC, venue, I could have the event at my house in Bethesda, Maryland.  This might include Saturday night dinner -- deli brought in from Whole Foods -- Saturday night sleep-overs, Sunday morning breakfast, and Sunday lunch leftovers.
        I have about three extra single beds and two extra double beds.  Other people would need to bring sleeping bags, and all rooms would be shared.  The house has four-and-a-half baths, parking in the neighborhood is available, and so is public transportation.  Menu planning and post-event cleanup assistance would be welcome.
   
    [Rich -- As I wrote Stu:  A Big Chill-type sleep-over weekend is a neat idea.  And even if it doesn't happen for the large group, we could certainly try it for a smaller one.]
   
    And a whole series of notes from Barbara Blitfield Pech, sometimes intercut with my answers:
   
    1.  As you may already know, I have started a grass roots campaign from my Facebook and Hotmail address books, expanding on Allen Moss's mention of our 45th reunion.  So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive, and we need to start planning something for the summer.  Unfortunately, I am too far from Long Island to know where to start looking, but perhaps one of our closer class members can begin to get the ball rolling.
   
    [Rich -- Can you keep track of how many people have responded, and where and when they want to meet?  This is the kind of information we need before we stick some well-meaning person in the same financial hole Paul, Robin, and Dennis found themselves in for the 40th reunion.  As Henry mentioned, people need to commit early and send money immediately, before any reservations are made.]
   
    2.  I'd be glad to keep count, but I have to laugh at the irony of it after 61-plus years of my struggling with every number that's crossed my path -- including counting money, balancing a checkbook, or estimating a tip.  I have come to know and be diagnosed as discalculate, a little known, but increasingly widespread group of people.  It's basically the same as dyslexic but with numbers, and it also includes keeping game scores  -- especially bowling -- playing games like chess, and solving those darn "if the train leaves the station" conceptual math problems.
        Just let me know who you have heard from, and I'll add them to my list.  I'll keep track of their names, but please don't ask me to count them.
   
    3.  Ten so far, if we include you, me, and everyone interested above
   
    4.  Do you have any idea from the reunion address list who would be a good person to find a location or at least scout some, I assume on Long Island?  Also, if we are opening this to other classes, maybe someone who has coordinated another class's reunion can advise us.  Plus, I have family and friends in Nassau and Suffolk counties who can make suggestions.
   
    [Rich -- I don't think we should even start worrying about details until we have twenty-five people interested, and they've each handed over some money.  Let's aim for June or July, Long Island or Washington, depending on what people interested in attending decide.]
   
    5.  Yeah, but by the time we get a firm twenty-five, I do think that the word should go out and some dates be considered.  That should make a final commitment easier to get to.  Also, I don't recall how it was done last time, but taking a deposit can assure any seriousness of intent, with the balance being due at the time of arrival at the hotel.  Many of us need to plan well in advance, as we will have to put in for time off and make flight arrangements.
   
    [Rich -- From the experience Paul, Robin, and Dennis had last time, the balance is due to the hotel and to the caterers well before people start arriving for the reunion -- and it's a reasonably large balance.]
   
    6.  I left one more person off the "yes" list.  So that's eleven.
   
    7.  Now, twelve.
   
    Finally, from Chuck Gleichmann:  I'm retired but still living in Florida, and I'm just starting to make the transition from working 24/7 to seeing what life is about.  My daughter suggested I post on Facebook, so here I am.
        I have had no contact with anyone from either high school or college since we moved from New York, so I would be interested in joining the class mailing list.  People can reach me through Facebook or by writing my e-mail address.  That's:  cgleichmann@earthlink.net  Thanks.
   
    The South '65 e-mail addresses:  reunionclass65.blogspot.com
   
    The South '65 photo site:  picasaweb.google.com/SouthHS65
   
   
    Rich