Update 1-14-14

 

Hi,

 

My traveling should be done for a while, so these newsletters should go back on schedule.  A couple people wrote asking if I was OK, or if I'd lost their addresses, but I'm fine and so is the list.  I was in New Jersey for a week, mainly visiting my mother, and I ate in 7 different Italian restaurants in 7 days.

 

From Booker Gibson:  Hello to all the wonderful people who have been writing me.  It's a great surprise, and I  should  describe  my condition somewhat.     

    Tracing back to around 1967 and 1969, I suffered 2 major seizures -- which I don't remember at  all.  From then on, I was on heavy pills that make me feel sleepy and tired.  I think the daily teaching atmosphere helped me so much.

       Now, I  can't walk without a cane or a walker.  Also, I  gave up playing the piano because it's so tiring now to actually push the keys down.  Imagine that.  One night, I  just stood up and told the main boss at the Irish Coffee Pub that I no longer could -- or even wanted to -- work, though the money and the people were great.  A little detail is I miss my "Afro" now.  It's almost gone.  

    And I actually left out the most important zinger in my last half year, which is my spinal stenosis.  That can really hurt sometimes, and the doctor says I'm too old to operate on it.  However, I'm existing, and thanks again for everyone's encouragement and for thinking of me.  I certainly remember everyone.

 

Next, from the Southern Snooper:  Now that Camille R is off to college -- gee, we'll all miss her version of The Big Bopper singing and dancing to "Chantilly Lace" -- new reporters have taken her place.  No one is safe from prying eyes!  ...  Has Barbara B signed on for bassoon and oboe lessons so she can play in the orchestra next to her main squeeze Paul Z?  There's a girl that even a glass storm door can't stop -- she's always on the go!  ...  And let's hope Barnet K continues with his clarinet lessons because he will have no future in show business if he continues directing the class plays!  ...  Linda I and Danny O'H are more fun to watch at our football games than the gridiron action!  ...  Look out Albany, here come the triplets!  ...  And  what's with Andy D always talking sports -- football this, basketball that -- as class treasurer we know you have a future in banking -- just forget sports!  ...  We can't forget Richie E, stage manager of our class plays -- he's the go-to guy -- knows everything and keeps everyone on cue!  ...  But is it true that Linda P was suspended three days after the Senior Dinner for the comedy roast skit of the festivities, when in The Last Will and Testament reading, the Class of 65 bequeathed Betty Ann F a "C" for her last name???  Stay tuned for more ........

 

[Now, who wrote that?  Well, it came from Linda Passaro Feeney.  And she added:  "Mystery Solved!"  You can sleep well now Barbara B.]

 

And from Barbara B herself:  Condolences to the Parise/Occhiuzzo families regarding the passing of a Five Towns icon, Goldie Occhiuzzo.  He was proprietor of the Prima Donna Restaurant in Inwood and Goldie's in Valley Stream and just celebrated his 90th birthday a few weeks ago.  May wonderful memories be a source of comfort to the families.

 

Unrelated, Barbara added:  Some of you may have seen the question I posted on both the old and new Green Acres pages on Facebook and on the Valley Stream Baby Boomer page there.  It got an excellent response and started an important conversation, so I thought I'd add the same post here.

    Is anyone aware of or does anyone remember a crop duster spraying DDT or Agent Orange over Green Acres at any time?  A former resident, Stephanie Berger, is trying to get a confirmation on this question because the chemicals have caused her significant mental distress later in life.

    So far, there have been no posts or confirmations on any of the 3 pages mentioned above, but since Stephanie is at least 10 years younger than many of us who lived in Green Acres in the 60s, she may not recall the details as well as someone else.  So if you can add any information to the question, it might be useful.

 

Finally, a link sent by Helen David that connects to a fairly long article published last week in Slate and written by Bennett Muraskin.  It was sent to Helen by a Canadian cousin and is titled "Jewish Surnames Explained."  Here's an excerpt and the link.  There's a great map with the article, too:

 

    Ashkenazic Jews were among the last Europeans to take family names. Some German-speaking Jews took last names as early as the 17th century, but the overwhelming majority of Jews lived in Eastern Europe and did not take last names until compelled to do so. The process began in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1787 and ended in Czarist Russia in 1844.

    In attempting to build modern nation-states, the authorities insisted that Jews take last names so that they could be taxed, drafted, and educated (in that order of importance). For centuries, Jewish communal leaders were responsible for collecting taxes from the Jewish population on behalf of the government, and in some cases were responsible for filling draft quotas. Education was traditionally an internal Jewish affair.

    Until this period, Jewish names generally changed with every generation. For example, if Moses son of Mendel (Moyshe ben Mendel) married Sarah daughter of Rebecca (Sora bas Rifke), and they had a boy and named it Samuel (Shmuel), the child would be called Shmuel ben Moyshe. If they had a girl and named her Feygele, she would be called Feygele bas Sora.

    Jews distrusted the authorities and resisted the new requirement. Although they were forced to take last names, at first they were used only for official purposes. Among themselves, they kept their traditional names. Over time, Jews accepted the new last names, which were essential as Jews sought to advance within the broader society and as the shtetles were transformed or Jews left them for big cities.

 

The link:  slate . com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2014/01/08/ashkenazi_names_the_etymology_of_the_most

_common_jewish_surnames . html    (please remove the spaces -- in addition to the 2 between slate and com and the 2 between surnames and html, there's also one after most)

 

The class of '65  50th Reunion dates:  April 24 through April 26, 2015

 

The South '65 e-mail addresses: reunionclass65 . blogspot . com  (remove the spaces)

 

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

 

 

Rich