Update 3-31-15

Hi,

 

First, from Booker T. Gibson:  Hello.  I’m sorry I can’t be with you for at least part of your reunion weekend, but the only time I can leave the house is to visit one of my about 10 doctors.  What a racket some of them seem to  have.  I think of you all many, many  times, and I never forget Vince Tampio.  What an impression he made on so many people.  While watching my computer almost all day, I listen to jazz, classical music, opera, and almost anything.  My son installed a wonderful sound system, and it makes me feel like I’m in heaven.  Thanks again to all of you for supporting the scholarships.

 

[Rich – I wrote Booker:  I'm hoping to come visit you and Frances on the Saturday afternoon of the reunion, but that all depends on whether you're well enough to see me.  I may even bring a couple of friends.  Please let me know.  Meanwhile, I'll pass your greetings on to the class.]

 

Booker wrote back:  It's hard to check my schedule these days.  Last week, I went to my neurologist’s office, as I’ve done too many times before.  After his exam, he postponed the next step for about a week -- until the hospital is ready.  That step will take at least 10 days-or-so, plus some rehab at home or in the hospital.  So thanks for keeping in touch.  I hope I can tell you more positive stuff soon.  Meanwhile, please say "hello" to all my South High friends.

 

[Rich -- I wrote Booker:  I hope all goes well, and I’ll check in closer to the reunion.]

 

Speaking of which, from Jeryl Monsees DeNoie:  I've been noticing that only the smart, successful, and probably thin kids are going to the reunion, so I'll be there to represent the slackers.  My husband, Bayard,  and I will be there on Saturday.

    I'm definitely looking forward to seeing my BFF, Peggy Cooper Schwartz, and her husband Les.  Will Mr. Gibson be there?  He was such a great teacher, and I've told my husband so much about him.

    Looking forward to seeing you all.

 

[Rich – Speaking just for myself, I never made it much past the middle of anything, and I’ve had a great life.  I am still thin, but that’s not always good.  After seeing me in their pool, one of our neighbors’ kids asked, “Is Rich sick?”]

 

Also about the reunion, from Barnet Kellman:  I’m doing a bit of traveling this month, but I’m 9/10s positive I’ll be at the reunion.  It doesn’t depend on this, but is anyone else bringing a tennis racket?   It would be great to play on Saturday.

 

[Rich -- Maybe we should start a count to see if we need to reserve a court.  I know the class of '64 needed to make reservations to play golf.]

 

Jeryl, Bayard, and Barnet bring the tentative count to 36 class members, 8 spouses, and at least one guest.  The current list:

 

Joan Aires Cleven                       Friday to Sunday             Hotel 
Alison Altman                            Saturday to Sunday         Hotel 
Jay Berliner                               Saturday night 
Stu Borman                               Friday & Saturday                             and wife Elize 
Barbara Brill Frohman                 Saturday & Sunday 
Carol Bunim Okin                       Friday &/or Saturday       Hotel          and husband Bob 
Peggy Cooper Schwartz             Friday to Sunday             Hotel          and husband Les
Rich Eisbrouch                          Friday to Sunday             Hotel

Ellen Epstein Silver                    Friday to Sunday             Hotel
Mary Ferranti Khan                    Friday & maybe Saturday Hotel          and husband Bashir
Alan Finder                               Saturday & Sunday          Hotel 
Henry Gabbay                           Friday & Saturday night 
Peggy Galinger Menaker            Saturday to Sunday          Hotel 
Les Glasser                              Friday & late Saturday 
Neil Guberman                          Friday to Sunday              Hotel 
Art Halprin                                Friday to Sunday              Hotel 
Marilyn Horowitz Goldhammer    Friday to Sunday              Hotel 
Stu Kandel                               Friday & Saturday 
Barnet Kellman                         Friday to Sunday              Hotel

Ira Levy                                    Saturday & Sunday           Hotel 
Laura Littner Fulton                   Friday & maybe Saturday

Roz Minsky Hahn                     Friday & Saturday                            and husband
Martha Morenstein                    Saturday to Sunday          Hotel

Jeryl Monsees DeNoie               Saturday                                        and husband Bayard
Allen Moss                               Friday to Sunday              Hotel 
Valerie Nelson Gillen                 Friday to Sunday
Dennis Pizzimenti                     Saturday & Sunday          Hotel        and wife Benette

Peter Rosen                             Friday to Sunday              Hotel 
Larry Rugen                              Friday & Saturday 
Irene Saunders Goldstein           Friday to Sunday              Hotel       and fiancé Jerry
Bernie Scheidt                          Friday to Sunday              Hotel 
Dennis Shapiro                         Friday to Sunday 
Ray Sinatra                              Friday (maybe) & Saturday

Mary Sipp Green                      Saturday & Sunday 
Danny Stellabotte                     Friday to Sunday

Jay Tuerk                                 Saturday to Sunday           Hotel

 

Related, from Donald Faber:  I've been living in Hastings-on-Hudson for the past 20 years, and this posting from the local high school yearbook, circa 1950, caught my eye.  Thought you all might appreciate it, too.  Check out the upper right hand corner.  'Tis a small world, after all.
hohalumni . org/wp-content/themes/bpp/images/2010/01/1950-page1.jpg   (please remove spaces)

 

[Rich – I wrote Donald:  You just glance at that picture and know who it is.  He didn't seem to change much from his teens to his 30s.

 

Donald replied:  Kind of like the Portrait of Dorian O'Gray.  I couldn't help recognize that face when I saw it, either.  I honestly don't remember having had any direct contact with him.  I remember him more as a sort of benign but hovering peacekeeper than as a teacher.

 

Another link, unrelated, from Barnet Kellman:  My brother-in-law sent this to me, and I immediately got a lump in my throat and thought of you guys.
    The link led to:  This Time Around, Only a Nine-Year Run for ‘The Fantasticks’  

    “The Fantasticks,” the long-running Off-Broadway staple, will close (again) next month, succumbing to weak ticket sales in an increasingly competitive theater market.  The current production of the musical has been running since 2006 and has been a favorite for tourists.  The original production ran from 1960 until 2002.  The revival will close May 3 – the 55th anniversary of the show’s opening – after 3,510 performances at the Jerry Orbach Theater in the Snapple Theater Center and 17,162 performances in the original run at the Sullivan Street Playhouse.  “There just are not enough ticket sales to carry the show any more,” Daniel DeMello, a spokesman for the show, said.  “We can’t keep taking the hit.”
    The show, with music by Harvey Schmidt and a book and lyrics by Tom Jones, is a love story about two neighboring fathers who scheme to make their children fall for each other, and is based on Les Romanesques, a play by Edmond Rostand.  It opened to tepid reviews – Brooks Atkinson, writing in The New York Times, said, “Two acts are one too many to sustain the delightful tone of the first,” but it was entertaining, with several songs that have become show-tune standards.  It was also inexpensive to produce and for years was a highly profitable hit.  It has been widely produced by schools and professional theaters.

 

Robert Fiveson added:  I have sung "Soon It's Gonna Rain" to many a damsel over the years, but I had no idea the show was still around.  Amazing.  And nostalgic?  Yes, I would say so.

 

Finally, from Stu Borman, about the Green Acres history article:  Interesting that the plans for connected walking paths were dropped after the old section was built.  I guess by the time the war was over, builders realized they were then in the period of ticky-tacky little boxes, so why continue to provide amenities that took up land and therefore subtracted from the bottom line?  That's why the old section has a lot more charm than the new section, where many of us were.  Other evidence of this trend:  my current house was built in 1937 -- it will celebrate its centennial when I'm 90 -- and has a number of features that never would have been built into it had it been constructed 10 years later.  I just had an opportunity to look at the sales contract my parents signed for 105 Forest Road in 1954.  The price was $16,125, and the contract was signed by Irwin Chanin himself.  I wonder if Sotheby's can sell a document with an original Chanin signature for me.

 

[Maybe more of that Green Acres history article next week.  It depends how much space is free.]

 

The class of '65 50th Reunion:  Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26, 2015, Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge.

To make a hotel reservation:  Go online to hyatt.com, click on reservations, choose Hauppauge, and enter the reunion dates.  With an AAA card, an AARP membership, or using several other organizational connections, you can get the lowest price.  You can also cancel some reservations if you need to.

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

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


Rich