Update 8-19-14

Hi,

 

To start, a follow-up to last week's history lesson.

 

From Robert Fiveson:  As an insider footnote, I have a dear friend who was a major leaguer for the USSR at one time.  He told me the real-and-little-known reason those missiles were placed on Cuba was because the guidance systems in place at that time were so notoriously inaccurate and unreliable that no one on the "other team" had any confidence they could reach the USA, much less accurately take out a chosen target. Please believe me that if he said this it's because he knew.  You will not find that in any history book.

 

Next, from Marc Jonas:  I share Rich's reaction about Robin Williams.  He was the comic icon (manic version) of our times, and his death is a sobering reminder of the demons that the famous and not-so-famous people battle daily.  Some successfully, some not.  Wow, indeed.

 

Related, from Zelda White Nichols:  In memory of Robin Williams, a video clip not seen by many until now,  This was just sent to me from the FLIXXY site.  (please remove the spaces)

    flixxy . com/robin-williams-has-a-tickle-fight-with-a-gorilla.htm?utm_source=nl

 

Unrelated, but connected to another funny man, Tom Hanks, who's fortunately still with us -- an app that mimics the look and sounds of a mid-20th century typewriter.  (again, please remove the spaces)

    techcrunch . com/2014/08/18/tom-hanks-typewriter-app-shoots-to-the-top-of-the-app-store/

 

An exchange about the October class of '64 reunion between Tom McPartland and Bette Hansen and Ken Silver.

 

First, from Tom:  The party is less than 2 months away.  I mailed out 80 letters this past week, looking for further alumni because we need to make this reunion the best.  Again, there's a minimum of 60 people required to pay for the room Friday night, and we're currently 13 short.  For everyone's information:  the room can hold 100 people.

 

From Bette and Ken:  Wonderful job, Tom.  Thanks again, for all your hard work.  Now let's get everyone there.

    Don't even think about what you look like or act like -- we're all the same age, and we're all gray -- well, at least, the guys are.  We all enjoy a good old time with old friends and all need to stick near the bathrooms -- again, well, at least, the guys do.  Seriously -- and I don't really like to be serious -- Ken and I are really looking forward to seeing so many of you.  We're booked for Friday night and would love to golf either Friday or Saturday.  Anyone?

 

From Tom:  Golf?   I plan to play, and, remember, the hotel has rentals if need be.  It will be a fun day.  The only handicap I have is when I take my clubs out of the bag.

 

A list of some of the people coming to the class of '64 reunion:  Joe Caruso, Louis Adler, Thomas Anfora, Irene Bauer Bandy, Margaret Compton Beall, Alan Beck, Catherine Pinkey Bonnette, Robert Capriotti, Karen Mahoney Chapman, Judith Cohen, Steven Cohen, Scott Davis, Jay Ephraim, Kenneth Getnick, Karen Grimm, Alice Cintron James, Bruce Kauderer, Jack Lacertosa, Mike Landau, Stephen Leidner, Edith Mandel, Daniel Mangan, Sheldon Markman, Thomas McPartland, Robert Okin, Edward Orenstein, Francine Oro, Leonard Peres, Norman Schafler, Patricia Schroeder, Richard Sestile, Bette Hansen Silver, Kenneth Silver, Richard Sternhell, Irene Sundal, and Joan Endicott Tucci.

 

Finally, a well-known quote from Will Rogers and a related science lesson.

 

The quote:  There are three kinds of men.  The ones that learns by reading.  The few who learn by observation.  The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.

 

And the science:  A Brooklyn, New York, man was reportedly killed by urinating on the electrified third rail of a subway train line, but is that possible?

    Matthew Zeno, 30, was returning home from a bar early in the morning when he chose to relieve himself along the G-train subway line, according to the New York Post.  But some analysts are throwing cold water on these kinds of reports, saying it's not possible to be electrocuted by urinating on an electric line.  A stream of urine quickly separates into individual droplets, according to the television program "MythBusters." Because the urine isn't a steady stream, it would be highly unlikely that a powerful electric current could travel up it.
    Nonetheless, though it may be rare, there are a handful of cases in which an individual (always male, it seems) has died when a strong electric current traveled up his urine stream.  One story, according to the Straight Dope and recounted by Marshall Houts in "Where Death Delights" (Dell Books, 1968), involves a man named Joseph Patrick O'Malley, who was struck by a train in a New York City subway tunnel.
O'Malley's autopsy revealed "the burns on the head of the penis and on the thumb and forefinger were obviously electrical burns  … The stream of urine had come into contact with the 600 volts of the third rail. The current had coursed up the stream to cause the burns on his body as the electricity entered it." In other words, O'Malley was fried before the train hit him.
    "MythBusters" also found that peeing on an electric fence can be a shocking experience.  Because the fence is higher off the ground than a train track is, urine won't have time to separate into droplets, and the current can travel up the stream.  In any case, if you need to pee, it might be wise to find a restroom -- or a nice, private bit of non-electrified shrubbery.

 

The repeated upcoming reunion information:

 

The class of '64 reunion:  Friday, October 10, 2014, 6 to 11 PM.  $70 per person, cash bar.  Hyatt Regency, Hauppauge, New York.  Committee phone numbers:  Tom McPartland  570-223-2577.  Ken Silver: 631-463-2217.  Bette Silver: 631-463-2216.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

Rich