Update 8-19-08

Hi,

Yeah, yeah, yeah:  you can't watch the Olympics and proofread at the same time.  And the Wetson's -- not Weston's -- spelling error wasn't Ronnie Churnin DeLuca's; it was mine.  Though Ronnie did have Wetson's in the wrong place, and I knew it, but even after kind of looking at a map, I couldn't figure out the right cross street.  However, some other people figured it out for us.
   
    First, from Jeff Powitz:  Hi, this is Steve Powitz's "little" brother, Jeff, class of 1971.  I couldn't let this typo go uncorrected:  It was Wetson's Hamburgers on Sunrise Highway.  See the attached logo.   
        By the way, Steve's doing just fine.  He lives with his wife in Silver Spring, Maryland, and he's retired from his career at the Library of Congress.  That happened about ten years ago.  He visits his son and grand-kids in Israel once-or-twice a year and takes occasional jaunts to various locales worldwide to broaden his horizons.  He tells me he will be connecting to the Internet soon, as soon as he fixes the broken wheel on his chariot. 
        My best to all.
   
    Next, from Paul DeMartino:  Just to set the record straight, Wetson's was not on the corner of Sunrise and Rockaway but was further east on Sunrise Highway, right past the Dunkin' Donuts.  There is a firehouse just behind the Dunkin' Donuts.  Later, the Wetson's was torn down, and a bank was built on the site.
   
    Further, from Claire Brush Reinhardt:  Wetson's Hamburgers was on the corner of Sunrise Highway and Astor Place, not on the corner of Rockaway Avenue, and this location is definitely in Valley Stream.  The space is now occupied by a nursery school / daycare center called "Precious Kid Cargo."  I am quite sure of this, so if anyone is interested about the exact location of Wetson's, that was absolutely it.
   
    [Rich -- So that's where I saw my first Dunkin' Donuts.  Now, I have Wetson's, Carvel, White Castle, Dunkin' Donuts, and McDonald's all firmly accounted for.]
   
    Unrelated to snack food, from Judy Hartstone:  I'd love to pass along my regards to Dolores Stein, who was a wonderful teacher.  I had her for fourth grade and remember her patience and kindness as well as her enthusiasm and genuine love of teaching.
   
    [Rich -- I've asked Naomi Stein Miller to pass on Judy's thoughts the next time Naomi speaks with Dolores Stein.]
   
    Also related to grade school teachers, from Barnet Kellman:  Attached are two Forest Road School snapshots, one of Mr. Kaufman and one of Miss Patterson.  I think that's Jay Berliner with Miss Patterson, but I'm not sure.
   
    [Rich -- I just posted these photos on the home page -- go to Photos and then to Barnet Kellman's Forest Road Photos -- so maybe Jay can identify himself.  I squinted at the picture of the boy for a while, and I think it's Jay, but I can't be certain.  I'm also less sure of the guy sitting in the background.  I thought it was Stu Borman, but it might be Mike Floyd.
        I also squinted at the girl in the photo with Mr. Kaufman -- whose first name might be Richard -- and the girl may be Roberta Grodin.  But someone else will have to verify that as we're not directly in touch with Roberta though a posting a while back on classmates.com indicates she's still around.  I remember that Miss Patterson's first name is Nancy, and I think her married name is Stark.  But I wouldn't bet on that, either.]
   
    Larry Kincade forwarded a great slide show of some biplanes, but when I asked if it came from the National Air and Space Museum, so I could find the link, Larry said he didn't know.  It was just something a friend sent to him, and Larry remembered our interest in airports a few weeks back.
        Larry did add, however, that he has a new granddaughter.  His daughter Christy had Abigail four months ago, and Abigail may even have red hair, like her grandmother Grace.
   
    [Rich -- And I was reminded by Jeff Powitz's e-mail that he and his family live less than fifteen miles from me.  I always thought they were on the East Coast, near his brother Steve.
        I also finally checked out an address of one of Barbara Blitfield Pech's cousins.  Barbara sent it to me a month ago; the street name sounded familiar, and the house number is in a sequence heading towards ours.  But I was too unmotivated to do anything more.  Then, the other day, I was ducking freeway traffic and went right near the house.]
   
    Speaking of Barbara, she just wrote:  Check out www.menupages.com for restaurant listings.  The site will initially open to New York, but you can redirect it to your home city or to one you might be visiting.
   
    And from a land bridge between a pair of continents, a note from Robert Fiveson:  I just dropped Terri Donohue Calamari at the Panama City airport after she stayed with my wife and me for a week.  What a great time we had.  We drove all over and ate and ate and ate.  One of the places we went is called Porto Bello, and it dates back to the 1650s.  It's where the Spanish housed and counted their plunder before it was sent on to Spain.  Of course, the place was also sacked by pirates such as Henry Morgan and has been the destination of many other true pirates of the Caribbean.
        As some of you may remember because I've mentioned it here before, I've piloted a gyrocopter for these last four years.  It's named Jungle Jet, I've had it shipped here, and it's in customs as I write this.  While Terri was here, I needed to shoot up to the Ultralite Club, where my coptor will be hangared.  Terri came along and managed to snag a ride in a Magni Gyrocopter, which is nothing less than the Cadillac of gyros.  Terri is still the same Terri -- game and good to go.  As she would tell you, she's "Fabulous!" and the truth is... she is.  We had a great time.
        For those keeping track, I no longer live in the jungle.  After my last report from there, my boat's engine gave out mid-channel, and in trying to get it repaired, my back went b-o-i-n-g!  After MRIs and x-rays, I was told I needed super major surgery involving shaving a disk and installing pins and other hardware on three vertebrae.  It seems that living in the jungle, jumping on and off boats, pulling and dropping anchors, and carrying bunches of bananas and tanks of propane all proved too much for this old city boy.  So now my wife and I live in an area of the city that might as well be the Upper West Side of Manhattan except for the trash.  As I write this, I'm looking out toward the amazing skyline I sent you a picture of a few weeks ago, and beyond the buildings to the ships in the Pacific waiting to transit the canal.  I've traded six billion stars for six million windows and exchanged the sounds of fish jumping for that of car alarms.  I may now go stuff my head into the oven.
   
    Some business news from Emily Kleinman Schreiber, which it may just take Dennis Shapiro to translate:  The IRS has determined that our Alumni Association is now exempt from Federal income tax under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.  That means that your dues and other contributions will be tax deductible under section 170 of the code.  We are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers, and gifts under section 2055, 2106, or 2522 of the code because the IRS has determined that our Alumni Association is a public charity.  Going through this application and approval process has been quite a learning experience.
   
    [Rich -- And that's it.  I will now go get a donut and a hamburger and go back to watching the Olympics.]