Update 6-30-09

Hi,

Some expected notes.

First, from Helen David:  I am moved to write in support of Ralph Foster.  I taught across the hall from him for 29 years, with all our doors open, and I am well aware of those difficult moments.  I shared hundreds of department meetings with him and feel I knew him as a colleague and friend.  Let me assure you that basically and thoroughly he had the interests of his pupils and team members at heart.  And most of all, please, do not accuse him of anti-Semitism.  That really is a terribly unfounded statement, and those seeds should never be planted in anybody else's mind.
        Ralph was raised differently from most of us, with our sheltered middle class upbringing.  He was literally a "foster" child, perhaps battered.  Maybe that is how he got his surname.  Perhaps that was why his reactions were, at times, extreme.  Of course, these reflections are not significant to his pupils as adolescents.  I understand that.  Now, as adults, at his passing, you may wish to be a little more mellow.
   
    Next, from Larry Rugen:  All this about Ralph Foster after so many years?  He was, what he was, and I quit the team after a few weeks.  But these writings are a bit much, especially when the person and/or his family cannot defend the comments.  This boarders on defamation of character.  How long was he at South teaching?  Perhaps the problem was with management.  Enough, already.
   
    [Rich -- as I wrote Helen and Larry:  Thanks for writing about Ralph Foster.  My story and Neil Guberman's were largely affectionate, acknowledging that Foster could be crazy but allowing that, overall, his influence on us was good.  That's why Andy Altman's point of view was a shock.  And I thought about not repeating it, but that's kind of censorship, and I felt that my story and Neil's did enough to keep Andy's point of view in perspective.  As your points of view will also help when people read them.]
   
    Helen wrote back:  Sharing Andy Altman's thoughts was a wise decision.  Perhaps his remarks will stimulate more responses (and, I hope, of a positive disposition).
   
    And Larry wrote back:  Thanks.  Glad I don't have your job.   I vote you get a raise.
   
    Helen also added:  And now, to my dear friend, Hy Rosov -- Congratulations on your achievements.  You kept most of your talents, other than the obvious, hidden from us while you were at VSSHS.
        And to Booker Gibson:  We've shared so much together during our years at school.  I love you and love your wife, Frances.  You have brought much joy to the people, teachers included, of South High School.
        Also, my husband and I are doing well.  That is, if I overlook his Valley Fever, Arizona version.  We just hope that he will recover by August 25th, when we are to have a scheduled cruise around the British Isles.
        Love you all.  1956-1985 was a great period of my life, and may I remind you, once again, that we began as a young faculty, in a new building, full of hope.  We regarded ourselves as family, and for those of us who have survived, we still do.
   
    And, mentioning vacation travels, Larry added:  Nine days on the Caribbean Princess (out of Brooklyn) was the best vacation!  Fantastic.  My wife Joan and I went with friends on the June 2nd cruise.  As soon as we got out to sea, the weather turned sunny and warm, and it stayed that way until we returned to New York City.
   
    Eric Hilton also wrote:  Great stories.  I too joined Foster’s track team but realized -- after sprinting the quarter mile in less than 2 hours -- that my grandfather was right:  Jewish people should not play on teams… they should own them.  Besides, I found there was nothing I liked better than playing guitar, and you didn’t have to shower after practice.
        As for Hy Rosov:  What can I say?  He has always been one of my favorite teachers -- besides Charles Messner -- and he would always give positive advice or recognition.  When I won the shop award for building an electric guitar, Hy gave me such wonderful praise and made me feel great about my accomplishment… and I still do.  I truly feel fortunate to have had Hy as my teacher and still as a friend.
        Robert Fiveson’s birthday story was exciting but very scary.  It’s not like he was flying his son over the Hudson, where planes land all the time.  We’re talking about flying over rivers like the Zambowakeey or Lumgweezeey -- or any of their other rivers they named after Dr. Seuss.  Robert could have easily gone down in crocodile/piranha infested areas, and he's very lucky to be alive.  Glad you are okay, and happy birthday, Robert.
   
    Next, a pair of notes from two people more recently at South, the winners of this year's Booker Gibson and Vince Tampio scholarships:
   
    From Kimberly Faust:  Thank you so much for selecting me for this scholarship.  I will put it to good use at college.  I appreciate it.
   
    From Emily Sherman:  This is to thank all those involved with the selection of the recipient of the Vince Tampio Memorial Theater Award.  Music and theater have always been important parts of my life, and South High School enabled me to enjoy both of these pursuits.  I'd like to thank you for recognizing my achievements and enthusiasm for this art form.  This award has special meaning to my family and me as Vince Tampio was my mother's theater director during her time at South.  Please be assured that your generous gift will be put to good use as I further my education.
   
    [Rich -- Happily, both checks have cleared my account, so that's two fewer responsibilities for another year.]
   
    An updated e-mail address, for Richard and Bea Massa Brown:  richardbrownjr@comcast.net
   
    A recently lost e-mail address, for Ed Albrecht, no longer at:  sherloc98@aol.com.  If anyone's in contact with Ed, and he wants to update his address, that would be great.
   
    Finally, from some friends in Washington, DC.  I didn't intend to pass these notes along.  That's not why I asked how people were.  And I don't have permission to share their answers.  But I find them reassuring, so, maybe, other people will, too.
   
    Stu Borman:  It's my line, the Red Line, but the part of that line that was affected is on the other side of the city from me, closer to Silver Spring than Bethesda.  Also, I understand that the affected trains were inbound -- traveling toward downtown DC.  That would mean that they were probably not as crowded as if they had originated downtown, and also that none of my coworkers could have been on them, as we work downtown.
        Thanks for your concern.  I remember making inquiries like yours to New York City friends at the time of the World Trade Center crisis, and fortunately the current situation was not a case of terrorism.  I only experienced minor inconvenience -- my commute last night took an extra 45 minutes, and I was reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth at the time.  So I was more than usually patient as I experienced "the power of now" on my delayed train.
   
    Marilyn Horowitz Goldhammer:  My husband rides metro to and from work every day, but not that part of the red line.
   
    Irene Saunders Goldstein:  I haven't heard any bad news from friends, and I suspect that this kind of news travels at breakneck speed, so all's personally well.
   
    Karen Stagg Simon:  I was in DC yesterday, visiting my daughter and her family.  A friend of my son-in-law was in the train right behind the one that crashed into the train ahead of it.  The whole thing is horrific, but no one we know was on either train.
   
    Rachael Robinson and Ira Mitzner:  We are fine.
   
    Naomi Stein Miller:  Just reading about it in the Post.  Not good.  I don't know if anyone was on it that I know -- not yet, anyway.  I was on a train two weeks ago that hit someone -- she jumped onto the tracks.  That was the second time in a week that someone had done that.
   
    Jim Lamiell:  So far as I now know, no one I knew was involved.  But you're right:  it is horrible.
   
    Nelson Smith:  They just released the names, and, apparently, the former chief of the DC National Guard -- the guy who scrambled the jets on 9/11 -- was among the dead.
   
    Jeff Pargament:  Real tragedy. I  didn't know anyone involved.  Ironically, I am in New York on business now.
   
   
    The South '65 e-mail addresses:  reunionclass65.blogspot.com
   
   
    Rich