Update 4-24-12

Hi,

Yep, sadly, Dick Clark died, at merely eighty-two.  He wasn't exactly Mike Wallace, but maybe he was better for it.

Next, lots of business:  a Los Angeles fundraising reminder, some e-mail address changes, and some pet warnings.  Once you get through all that, some thoughts about senior discounts.

First, from Paulinda Schimmel by way of Facebook:  Happily Ever Laughter, the second annual fundraiser for the Ovarian Cancer Circle -- which was inspired by Paulinda's late daughter Robin Babbini -- will be held at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 26th.
    It stars the comedian and actor Sinbad and features Troy Rawlins, Bobbie Oliver, Vargus Mason, and Darren Carter.  The event will be hosted by Jeanette Rizzi and includes "food, drinks, and an amazing silent auction."  Paulinda notes that "Tickets are going fast."  For more information, go to:  theovariancancercircle . org 

Next, the address changes.  As with the address just above, please remove the spaces:

For Donna Chirico Mungo:   dmnjm55 @ verizon . net

For Ira Mitzner (and Rachael Robinson Mitzner):  mitzneri @ dicksteinshapiro . com

For Eve Londner:  elondner @ revner . co . uk

Some pet warnings, forwarded by Zelda White Nichols from her friend Lori Stowe, who compiled them:
    1.  Planning on mulching your yard?  Cocoa Shell Garden Mulch smells really good.  However, it can be highly lethal if your dog or cat decides it tastes as good as it smells.  The issue is Theobromine, and the bags do not carry a warning.
    2.  If your pets love to play with tennis balls, please do not use the Tretorn X balls.  Evidently, they contain an inert substance which presumably helps them bounce.  However, when the pet pops open the tennis ball while chewing, the substance makes a terrible gooey mess in its mouth and presents an aspiration hazard.
    3.  Dog food problems:  Avoid Kirkland canned lamb and rice dog food with an expiration date of 2013.  Apparently, there have been some issues and dog deaths with this food.

A quote from Will Rogers, lifted from Lori Stowe's e-mail:  If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Next, forwarded by Barbara Blitfield Pech:  As someone I know was waiting in line behind an older gentleman at Wendy's recently, she heard him ask for his senior discount.  The girl at the register apologized and charged him less.  When my friend asked the man what the discount was, he told her that seniors over fifty-five gets ten percent off everything on the menu, every day.
    Being within this age group herself, my friend figured she might as well ask for the discount, too.  As she waited for her turn, she thought about the consequences of doing so:  If the cashier asked her for ID, it could be embarrassing, having to show her license.  But if the cashier didn't ask for proof, she would get depressed that she really did look "old" and didn't need to prove it.  Since she always like to save money -- and don't we all -- she boldly asked for the discount.  Sadly, the cashier just rang up the discount, even though my friend is convinced she doesn't look a day over fifty-four.
    Anyway, this incident prompted me to do some research, and I came across a list of restaurants, supermarkets, department stores, travel deals, and other types of offers which give various discounts with different age requirements.  I was actually surprised to see how many there are and how some of them start at the young age of fifty.  For example, Dunkin' Donuts gives free coffee to people over fifty-five.  Of course, you have to buy a donut first.  But if you're paying for a cup of coffee every day, you might want to start getting it for free.  (Following is a list of seventy-five-or-so restaurants, clothes stores, supermarkets, hotels, motels, movie theaters, and uncategorized places like AT&T and Home Depot.  The point is, if you even suspect there's a discount -- and these range from five to twenty percent -- just ask.)

[Rich -- A pair of Kiviat corrections from several weeks ago:  The older brother Eric and his wife live in San Diego, not San Francisco.  The middle brother Doug's wife's name is Jane, not Julie.  I had it right earlier, and then I got it wrong.]

[Rich -- An unrelated, random piece of information:  Years, ago, there was a Spencer Tracy / Katharine Hepburn movie called The Desk Set.  It concerned a researcher, Hepburn, whose job was about to be replaced by a computer program designed by the character played by Spencer Tracy.  Yesterday, The New York Times ran an article titled "Facing a Robo-Grader?  Just Keep Obfuscating Mellifluously."  In it, I discovered that a computer program can do all the work I do annually in one of my pleasant retirement jobs in under forty seconds.  If you'd like to read the article, go to the Times site and search on the article name.]
Finally, belaboring a joke, on ValleyStreamTimes . com , the Holy Name of Mary students are still being honored from October 11th.  That reminds me that I just saw a brilliant production of Waiting For Godot.

The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com

The South '65 photo site: picasaweb . google . com / SouthHS65

(Yep, take out the spaces.)


Rich