Update 6-5-12

Hi,

First, the cover story in Time this week -- the June 11th issue -- is by Joe Klein, and it's about his parents, Miriam and Malcom.  Some of us may remember the Kleins, since they lived on the corner of Eastwood and Jasmine Lanes while we were going up.  Joe went to Forest and to South for a couple of years, and he's kind of well-known.  And I didn't say this was a cheerful story.

On more ordinary matters, a follow-up about last week's Medicare article, this from Judy Hartstone:  Just wanted to mention that people should check with their insurance broker or directly with Social Security office regarding Medicare supplemental insurance because there are several variables to be considered.  I didn't read the article someone posted on last week's newsletter all that carefully because I have an appointment with my broker this week to go over the options.  Here's a brief explanation of the "open enrollment" period I found online: 
    "The best time to purchase a Medicare Supplement insurance policy (also called a Medigap policy) is during your Medigap open enrollment period.  This 6-month period begins on the first day of the month in which you are both age 65 or older and enrolled in Medicare Part B.  Once you enroll in Part B, your Medicare Supplement open enrollment period begins and cannot be changed.  During this period, an insurance company cannot use medical underwriting.  This means they can't refuse to sell you any Medigap policy that they offer, make you wait for coverage to start, or charge you more for a Medigap policy because of past or present health problems."

[Rich -- Judy and I had lunch last Friday.  We try to get together quarterly.  This time I brought one of my dogs, and Judy brought hers.  They behaved very well.  Judy also told me about a web site she's been using, which is good for the mind.]

From Judy:  At lunch, I was telling you about lumosity . com.  Although the neuroscience world continues to study the effectiveness of "brain training," I'm enjoying the challenge of the various games and activities on lumosity, which purport to help increase neuron growth.  Lord knows, I need all the help I can get with this aging brain!  I'm not a sales rep for lumosity, but I do encourage people to check it out -- I think they offer a free trial of nine or more of the thirty-five available games.  After that, it's $4.99 a month.

On a pair of entirely different subjects, from Art Halprin:   Yep, someone hacked my e-mail account again, but, unfortunately as far as I know, no one in our class sent me the $2000.
    This was an extreme hack.  My entire e-mail contact list was wiped out, and I had to go back through sent e-mails for five years to reconstruct it.  Microsoft would have been kind enough to reconstruct the list for me for only $259.  The e-mail account had been diverted to an address which was in Arabic, and I needed assistance from my son to get it back.
    My wife, Lee, and I are heading to Northern California in two weeks for my son's wedding.  When we return, we will visit Jerry Bittman's daughter Katie and his granddaughter.  Katie works at the same facility as my wife -- the Boulder Community Hospital.

[Rich -- On behalf of all of us, I offered Art our sympathy for his e-mail account and congratulations on his son's wedding.]

Next, from Steve Zuckerman in Puerto Rico:  I was interested in what you wrote a few weeks ago about working with coach Ralph Foster.  Were you on the track team when he coached us?  I was on the team for two years.  It might have been three -- I forget how long after all this time.  I went out for track with my good buddy Mike Floyd, who inspired me to be a sprinter like him.  Mike, I think, was a really good runner, and he also was a high jumper, which was his event of choice.  I could run, but my speed was nothing like some of the other guys.  So I found my passion in throwing the shot put -- just heaving a twelve-pound lead ball into the air, or the lighter one we used for indoor track practice on rainy days.  Josh Talkoff was on the shot put squad with me, and when he saw my dismal performance during a track meet, he became my personal trainer and coach and tried to turn me into a quality shot putter, at least one who wouldn't let the team down. 
    Remember the hard work coach Ralph Foster put us through, especially on Saturday morning practices?  We starting off with running cross-country and then did a battery of  push-ups and sit-ups.  I loved to see everyone on the team having to run, even the best sprinters and jumpers.  One of the fastest runners I ever saw was Dan Stellabotte, unless I imagined it.  I know for sure he turned back in a relay race once to pick up a dropped baton in his lane, and he still had the speed to  pass the baton to the next runner successfully in time.  That was something I never witnessed again.  Ken Nolan and Tom Connelly, great sprinters both, were also on the team.  We had an exceptional team due largely to the fact that we had those guys.

[Rich -- As I wrote Steve:  Yep, I was Ralph Foster's manager for the soccer and track teams in 8th and 9th grades, and I remember you and all the guys you were talking about.  I had a lot of fun working with the teams, even as minor support.  Track was busier because I had to collect all the scores at the meets.  With soccer, it was mainly a matter of keeping attendance and replacing cleats.]

And Steve wrote back:  I tried out for soccer, but Mr. Argenzio saw right away that -- as he said to me -- I had some decent speed, but lacked coordination and agility, especially passing the ball in play.  He was the one who suggested that I try my skills at Track and Field.  Undaunted, and determined to make my mark in varsity high school sports, I tried again, this time to get on the wrestling squad.  Only I didn't have enough power in my arms to pin anyone, even with some weight lifting after school.  And the idea of using my neck to get out of being pinned to the mat and to risk permanent spine injury ended any serious wrestling career.

[Rich -- As I've probably mentioned before, the only thing I ever did well enough in sports was being dumb enough to repeatedly tackle Ricky Glickman when we were playing football in front of Forest Road School.  Never hurt my neck, but I broke several pairs of glasses.]

A reminder that the South Awards assembly is Wednesday night -- that's tomorrow, June 6th -- at 7:00 in South Hall.

Finally, Zelda White Nichols sent some questions from the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas.  The original document is on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, and the exam was reprinted by the Salina Journal.  The test has made the Internet rounds frequently, and probably many of us have seen it, so here's just one easy question:
    A wagon box is 2 feet deep, 10 feet long, and 3 feet wide.  How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

[Yeah, well, none of those folks would know how to use a cell phone, either.]

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

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


Rich