Update 4-27-10

Hi,

As promised, the final financial report on this year's Booker Gibson / Vince Tampio scholarships.  We have the money we need.  In fact, we have forty-five bucks extra, as three checks came in this weekend.  I'll put the extra safely aside till next year, and now all we need are the names of the honorees from South's representative, Liz King Giordano.  Then I'll send Liz the checks.

    For the record, there were twenty-two contributors this year, and there are two students who'll want to thank each of you personally -- as I do.  But we'll probably have to settle for a group note 

Next, Stu Borman and I have been working on a little project this week.  I had eight years worth of class-related photos on my computer, and I kept promising to get them to Stu for the class photo web site.  Finally, I have -- at least, I got most of them to him; I keep finding little pockets of photos that I wonder if I sent Stu.  Once we get this batch settled in -- and I think there are about 500 photos -- I'll try to compare what Stu's put online with what I haven't yet sent him.

    About 100 of these photos have names attached.  The other 400, I still haven't identified for Stu -- who hasn't seen some of these people in forty-five years, when they looked a bit different.  It's a little time consuming to connect names and photos.  You have to try to remember who looked like what at which reunion.  But if you want to play, go online, look at these pictures, and then send the answers to Stu.

    And please copy those answers to me, so I don't use what little is left of my brain to do work that's already been done.  And just so you don't redo work I've done, I've already sent Stu the names of most of the first 80 photos in the 37th reunion folder.

    Stu's done an amazing job getting these pictures all online as quickly as he did, especially when all I've done since the AOL photo site went down several years ago was hoard the photos.  The site address is at the bottom of all these updates, along with the  soon-to-be-updated address list.  But just in case you want the link immediately, it's:  picasaweb.google.com/SouthHS65   And have fun.

Third, some excerpts from Stu's notes to me this week:    

    I'll be happy to post the photos.  Are they captioned?  I hope so.
    The first group of photos you sent me has been posted on the South High School photo site, mostly in a new album called "40th Reunion."  The web site numbers the photos, so if classmates would like to provide caption information on specific photos, please send the information to me at:  sborman@gmail.com and let me know the album name and the number of each photo you would like to caption.
    Thanks for the 40th Reunion caption information.  I added first names where you hadn't.
    I now have all the photos from the 37th reunion on the site.  I didn't caption anything, and the new content is in the following folders:  37th Reunion, Bob Fiveson, Jean Cohen, Mostly Mugs, Classes, and Marc Jonas. I'll enter captions as people send them to me.
    As for your question about how hard it would be to move already-captioned photos from one album to another:  I just did an experiment.  When a captioned photo is moved, the caption moves with it.  So photos can be moved into different albums at any time.  Also, if you or others would like to suggest ways the photos can be reorganized, I'd be happy to make that happen.
    I realize that some of the photos were named on the files and that captions could have been extracted from those file names.  Also, I know who some of the people are.  But uploading the photos was a bit of work, so I got lazy after doing that.
    Please don't overemphasize the amount of work at all.  I know you appreciate it, and that people in the class will.  But the Picasa Web Albums site works so well that it only took a couple of hours to upload all the photos, put them in the right albums, and delete some duplications.  The site permits you to upload tens of photographs at a time, as long as all the photos in a single upload are going into the same album.
    If you wouldn't mind writing a few captions and then sending them to me by e-mail, I'll be more than happy to copy and paste them into the proper places.  Using last names as we knew them in high school for captions is fine.  As you can see, I've been trying to add first names in most cases.  Luckily, I still have my 1965 Legend, which is invaluable for this purpose.

[Rich -- the first person who sees Stu needs to buy him a drink for all this work.]

Also from Stu:  What is the negotiated rate at the Wind Watch?  And what is its proper name?  I don't see Wind Watch listed.  I think the name has been changed to the Hyatt Regency Long Island.
    Also, could you please mention again that I'm looking for someone in the class to share a room in the hotel for Friday night only.  That would be helpful.

[Rich -- The rate, according to Irene Saunders Goldstein is $129 a night.  And the correct name for the hotel seems to be:  Hyatt Regency Wind Watch.  As in the past few weeks, there's contact information and the reunion dates at the bottom of this newsletter. 

Related, from Neil Guberman:  I'll be driving in from Pittsburgh for the reunion on that Friday and have two seats available.  I am already picking up Arthur Halprin at his sister's home.

    I expect to be getting to New York in the afternoon, so if anyone needs a ride from Kennedy or LaGuardia, we can probably figure something out.  I know traffic will be nuts, but that's ok.  First come, first served -- however, money talks, if you get my drift!  You can e-mail me at:  neilg9100@comcast.net  to initiate your reservation!.  Thanks.  Your pal, Neil.

Unrelated, from Eric Hilton:  I was reading about the photography exhibit for AIDS and saw Barbara Dorin Hayden's name.  After I got out of the Navy, her dad gave me my first photography job in his studio in Green Acres, and then I went on to commercial photography.  Hy Dorin was a very nice man, and he gave me my first taste of working in the retail environment.
    As I've mentioned before, I've been the official Sarasota Pride photographer for the last ten years, and I always volunteer when there is something to help fight AIDS.  I also shoot some gay/lesbian weddings and events.

A video link Larry Rugen sent last week that I forgot to include:  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=RobaJKGMMiE   Larry notes:  It's in German, with some English, but it's worth the ending.

From Emily Kleinman Schreiber:  Please remind everyone that Booker Gibson Night at the Irish Coffee Pub is May 5th -- that's a week from this Wednesday.  Thanks.

[Rich -- Also a reminder to send nominations and an accompanying resume or bio for the Distinguished Alumni Awards to Emily at: cre8em@aol.com.  And Anne Barnett -- Joe Barnett's sister -- said she's trying to get a resume from Joe.  But she also pointed out that this is a man who's never written a resume -- or owned a car.]

A couple of medical items from Barbara Blitfield Pech:  The first:

    Good Morning.  Needless to say, this has not been a spectacular week for moi.  I am just back from seeing my cardiologist, for an intense follow-up from my hospital stay.  We went over every test, and while the tests are "paper good," my blood pressure is still out-of-control and fluctuating.  So it's back on Monday, for a kidney scan, as -- apparently -- there's a vital artery there that sometimes causes a blockage to the heart.  And lord knows what other fun things my doctor has planned.  I am now on weekend blood pressure medication, along with associated, colorful, mind-and-body altering pills.  This is to see what works or doesn't.  Woo hoo!  Welcome to the Golden Years!  Get out the jewelry polish -- we have some tarnish to remove!

And a second note, a bit later:  My aortic kidney and carotid artery scans never happened today, as the bean brain who "scheduled" them never did.  She told me to come in at 8 AM, but never wrote the order for the tests.  So... I'm back on 5/11.  I think.  I Hope.  I Guess.  I Assume!
    Until further notice, presume I'm still here and good to go.  If e-mails suddenly stop, please call or just break into my house.  I'll likely be near the refrigerator, with a half-eaten cheese cake in my clenched fist.

Finally, a riddle, one of five forwarded by someone whose e-mail address I can't figure out.  This is kind of like "What's My Line?"

    A murderer is condemned to death and has to choose between three rooms.  The first is full of raging fires.  The second is full of assassins with loaded guns.  The third is full of lions that haven't eaten in three years. Which room is the safest?    

    [Answer at the bottom.]

Reunion information:

The date: Friday, July 16th to Sunday, July 18th
The place: Hyatt Regency Wind Watch in Hauppauge, New York 

The phone number: 631-784-1234 

 

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

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

[Riddle answer:  The safest room -- the third one.  Lions that haven't eaten for three years are dead.]

Rich