Update 10-21-08

Hi,

As mentioned last week, people like to hear from each other.  So here are some notes.

From Peggy Cooper Schwartz:  Just wanted to share some nice news -- our daughter Sarah was married to Zev Kanter on September 7th.  It was a beautiful, outdoor ceremony at Wood End, the Audubon Estate, in Chevy Chase Maryland.  Also, this past summer, my husband Les and I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of Jeryl Monsees Denoi's son Spencer to his lovely bride Deanna.
        Best wishes to all.
   
    From Eric Hilton:  I just wanted to tell you how much the reunion newsletter has meant to me.  Since it was started, I have become acquainted and reacquainted with fellow schoolmates.  Some whom I have been talking to, like Danny Stellabotte, have brought back wonderful memories that I have forgotten.  Some, I have gotten together with here in Florida and some in New York.  But I can’t thank Diane Fruzzetti enough for making me fly up to New York to go to the earlier reunion, the 37th, which reunited me with some of the most special people I can remember.  I don’t always recall everyone who is mentioned in the newsletter, but we all share a special bond that no one else but a South High graduate from the 60s could relate to.  I feel very fortunate to have grown up in a place like Valley Stream and am proud to call it my home town.  I think we should all meet at Jahn's one night and share a few Kitchen Sinks.  Thank you all again for keeping the memories alive.  And, yes, if the presidential election were based on looks, I, like Jerry Bittman, would vote for Linda Iaquinto and Robin Feit.
   
    From Jay Berliner:  I must say I’m honored that Jerry Bittman not only remembered my name but also used it, along with Ira Mitzner’s, to name the prize for journalism.  However, it is aptly awarded, and I am glad to note the newsletter will continue.
        We all lead busy lives, and I am one of the people who hardly ever contributes to the newsletter but who reads it religiously every week.  The notes have allowed me to renew my friendship with Steve Gootzeit and have led me to contact Jerry, Ira, and others sporadically.  Still, as I have been one of the silent readers, I would like to update my file.
        The down days for me were in the early 1980s, when I was just about bankrupt.  In contrast, today, I own two microscope companies -- ACCU-SCOPE and Unitron -- and we have just moved into a building that we purchased in the Hauppauge Industrial Park here on Long Island.  I also have the pleasure of working with one of my sons-in-law.
        I've been married for thirty-eight years, and my wife Sharyn and I have three daughters, Michelle, Jennifer and Andrea.  They are all married, and Sharyn and I must have done something right as all our daughters have jobs.  Michelle works part-time in the adoption field and is married to Brian, who I work with. They also have three daughters, Allison, Jamie, and Sydney.  This might also be a good time to mention that granddaughters are great.  My second daughter, Jennifer, is a cardiologist in Chicago and has just married Matt, who will be a cardiologist shortly.  Now Jennifer can treat me for the heart attacks she gives me, and I can get a second opinion.  My third daughter, Andrea, is a high school guidance counselor in the Washington, DC area, and she married David a few years ago.   He just received his Ph.D. and got a job with American Cancer, which promptly sent him back to school for another Master's degree.
        For those who knew me in high school, I always thought of myself as a little lazy.  But I think I am making up for that now.  My wife and I are so proud, and my family is truly blessed.
        Again, the newsletter is appreciated, and, Rich, if you are having a problem seeing your award, you’re always welcome to use one of my microscopes.
   
    A follow-up from Joanne Shapiro Polner:  Thanks for the inclusion of my verse and the class of ‘59 reunion paragraph in last week’s newsletter and for your offer to receive information from any former class of '59 member who wishes to send it.  Thanks, also, for the explanations about what's happening to the class web site, but that leads me to some remarks and questions.
        Last week, you asked if you should list e-mail addresses of non-class-of-'65 people who receive the mailings.  You may certainly list my e-mail address.  Also, there’s a "Follow this Blog" note on the new blog.  Do I have to sign in with my e-mail address and a password?   I have never been part of a blog before, so I don’t know.  And am I the only one who needs some instruction on what to do?   Please let all of us know in the newsletter, just in case.
        Or, if we don't sign in, if we have something to say to all, are we supposed to reply to whatever e-mail address you write to us from for the weekly newsletter?  And what e-mail address shall I expect to see in place of reunionclass65@aol.com?  Is there, or will there be, a separate addresses for the blog?  Thanks in advance for answering my questions.  As usual, best to everyone.
   
    [Rich -- As many of you already know, there are several levels of participation with blogs, none required.  You can simply go to the blog and read what's on it as you can on many web sites.  Or you can leave a comment on something you've read on the blog, often without signing in.  Or you can register with the creator of the blog and have a notice automatically sent to you any time a new entry is added.  Some creators blog several times a week.  Some are compulsive bloggers.  One of my cousins is a serial blogger:  he starts a blog, promises this time, he'll keep it up, then abandons it, only to start a fresh blog a year-or-so later.
        I'm just using our new blog as a free, fake web site.  I'm not going to post regularly on it.  The point is to have a place to keep our contact information current and accessible, both to class members who already know it's there and need a site for quick reference and to former class members who are wondering if they can possibly contact someone they haven't seen in, say, forty years.  Putting our e-mail addresses out into cyberspace is the equivalent of listing our phone numbers in a phone book:  we may attract calls we want, or we may attract cranks.  On the Internet, the cranks largely appear in the form of spam.
        The newsletter will come weekly just the way it has for the last several years -- from the class AOL address, reunionclass65@aol.com.  That's also the address I'd like people use to contribute to the newsletter.
        Hope this helps.  It sure makes me sound like I know more about what I'm talking about than I actually do.]
   
    Another quick follow-up, from Barbara Blitfield Pech:  Whatever cyber-glitch happened last week that stopped delivery of my weekly newsletter is all clear now.  There it was, bright and early, my first and best read of the day.  No, make that week.
   
    A note about the success of Homecoming from Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  South's Homecoming '08 was wonderful for those who took the time to come back to the school.  The alumni from the class of '58, South's first graduating class, were honored as they celebrated their fifty-year anniversary.  Pictures from the event will be posted on the Alumni Association web site and will also appear in the next Association Bulletin.
   
[Rich -- But who won the game?]

Finally, a quartet of notes I'm adding not because I need more thanks, but because I like seeing all these people's names up here.

From Lynn Nudleman Villagran:  thanks for your efforts to transfer the reunion page and for keeping up the newsletter.  I do appreciate it.

From Robin Seader Cottmeyer:  Thanks for all you've done.  Stay well.

From Amy Bentley:  I love the newsletter.  If you want, you can add my e-mail address to the contact list on the blog.

From Tom Romano:  I always look forward to reading the newsletter, and I want you to know how much I appreciate your work to keep it coming.

[Rich -- You're welcome.  As my aunt said about her long career in advertising:  "It was so much fun, I would have done it for nothing."]