Update 4-15-08

Hi,

Yep, tax day -- my 40th, I think.  And, happier, my sister-in-law's birthday.
   
    Less happy:  Unfortunately, Ken Ulric's mother died this past week.  Ken and Laura are in Florida for the funeral, but they might like to hear from friends when they get back.
   
    Somewhere in between:  Ellen Epstein Silver's daughter, Lisa, continues to recover from her recent stroke.  Ellen said Lisa's doing well, but that strokes aren't the sort of thing you get over quickly, like colds.  It's going to take some time.
   
    Food news:  As some of you know, Peter Rosen is in Los Angeles for a conference this week, so Saturday night, Peter, Paul Zegler and his partner Becky, Tom Romano, and I all had dinner at Duke's of Huntington Beach.  The fish was great, and, as Peter said later, "The evening went by so quickly.  I had an absolutely great time."
   
    Scholarship news:  The present Tampio scholarship total is $360, coming from 7 donors.  The Gibson scholarship total is $328, also coming from 7 donors.  So we still need $140 for this year's Tampio scholarship and $172 for this year's Gibson scholarship.
        Joanne Shapiro Polner asked two very good questions about the scholarships:  Could we make the check out to the project name?  And could we send the check directly to South, to whomever manages the scholarship fund? 
        I wrote Joanne:  If you prefer, you can make the check out to The Booker T. Gibson Music Scholarship or The Vincent Tampio Theater Scholarship, or the Tampio / Gibson Scholarships.  But please put my name in the bottom left hand corner of the check as administrator.  That way, I can deposit the check.  And it's still simpler if the check is made out to me with the scholarship designation in the bottom left corner.
        Also, South does nothing to administer the funds, so sending your check to them would only be confusing.  They like getting two 500 dollar checks from me, one made out to each of the winners.
        Joanne also nicely reminded me to repeat my contact information each week for easy reference.  It's:  Rich Eisbrouch, 23030 Dolorosa Street, Woodland Hills, California  91367.
   
    Other news, first from Ira Mitzner:  I was recently in Savannah on business and drove over to Hilton Head to have dinner with Bill and Anne Linkner.  They look great.  The change from blond to gray on Bill is hardly noticeable.  He's in pretty good shape, although I wouldn't recommend he wrestle with the Rob Kelman in Rob's prime -- the new Rob is definitely too trim and out of the heavy classes.  The view from Bill and Anne's house is spectacular.  We talked about old times, old matches, and probably bored everyone around us.  Bill sends regards to all.
   
    From Barbara Blitfield Pech:  I am sending a “shout out” to a former neighbor, twice removed, a Forest Road School graduate, Bob Spath.  When we moved into our Miami home in 1979, the community was new, and all the neighbors moved in within weeks of each other.  My over-the-side- fence neighbor had a vaguely familiar name, but as we had lived in Florida less than two years, I didn't give it much thought,  Until Jewish Geography was inevitably played, and it turned out our neighbor, Bob Spath, had lived the same distance from me in Green Acres, on Forest Road, just next door to Bill Zuckerman.  I recently spoke to Bob, who now lives in St. Petersburg, and he asked about friends from his class.  As he's now 62, I would assume he graduated in 1963.  So if there is anyone who reads this newsletter and wants to say "Hi" to Bob, I have his e-mail address.
        Also, I found a few enjoyable web sites when I Googled "baby boomers" recently.  This link is for a newsletter that I now receive from one of the sites.  I thought some of you might be interested.
    www.bbhq.com/nlarch.php?041408
   
    From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  At the last meeting of the South High School Alumni Association, it was decided that we should sponsor another Booker Gibson Night at the Irish Coffee Pub.  The planned date is Wednesday, August  6th, 2008.  If you want to attend, just call the restaurant, make your own reservation, and show up there on the 6th.  The Alumni Association is not reserving tables, and we're not laying out any money.  Last year, we did it this way, and more than 100 alumni and retired teachers showed up and had a wonderful time.   Here's the contact information.  The restaurant:  The Irish Coffee Pub, 131 Carleton Avenue, East Islip, New York 11730.  The phone number:  631-277-0007.  I don't know if they'll take reservations now for August, but you can give it a try.
   
    More from Emily:  Yesterday, I received a note from an old Forest Road and South High School friend, Ronnie (Smolkin) Ragona.  Basically, she wrote that her husband Bobby was watching The Tonight Show, and when Jay Leno did his weird ad bit, it was an ad from our own Al Raitano.  That ad claims that Al can sing any song, even the ones he doesn't know.  Bobby called Al, who was not aware that his ad had been used again.  He said it was previously on the Leno show about five years ago.  Al also thought that if enough e-mail was sent to the Leno show, he might have a chance to appear on it.  Wouldn't that be great?  The address that everyone can write to is:  tonightshow@nbc.com
        This is what Ronnie wrote to Jay Leno:  Hey Jay, I was watching your show the other night, and you showed an ad about Al Raitano.  Wow, was I surprised!  Are you aware that he was the winner of America's Most Talented Senior on NBC a while back?  He is an awesomely talented person.  Please get him on your show, and let your viewers find out what he means when he says he can sing any song -- even ones he doesn't know.  I have seen him perform in New York City, and he can truly sing any song he doesn't know.  He is a fabulous performer with a great charming personality.  Please have him on your show.  You won't be disappointed.
   
    [Rich -- Finally, there's something that comes up every time I get together with people from South.  First, I have to assure them that it only takes me an hour each Monday night to edit the newsletter.  Next, people wonder why more people don't write in.  Several theories have formed, the first based on satisfied curiosity, the second on shyness, and the third on not wanting to show off.
        The satisfied curiosity theory centers on the idea that people really do want to see old friends, and they often honestly intend to stay in touch once they've reconnected.  But there's also a certain curiosity that's been satisfied once contact has been reestablished, and that reduces the urgency to connect again.
        The second theory suggests that just because people know how to contact each other or know how to write to the newsletter doesn't mean they will.  It suggests that people are afraid that other people won't remember them or won't want to be remembered by them.  It goes on to say they're also afraid that what they have to share will seem boring.
        The last theory has to do with flaunting.  There are several people who are comfortably retired and can do pretty much what they choose to, including traveling the world.  They'd like to share their stories, but they're afraid that other people will think they're showing off.  So they say nothing.
        People also seem to wonder why sometimes people respond to what others have written, and other times, interesting things just seem to pass by.  I have no theories -- well, actually, I do, but they're pretty groundless.  Still, I am always surprised how happy people seem to be about the newsletter, and how ready they are to read or scan it each week.  But if they don't feel any need to write back, that's fine.  As I've said before, I keep the newsletter going as a conduit.]