No, John. She was referring to the event itself. It was kind of long
and boring...
--- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, "tschibasch"
<tschibasch_at_y...> wrote:
>
> Joy,
>
> Of course there were names at the reunion that you did not know.
Just
> like there were people at my Halloween party that you did not know..
.
> You must accept that there are Olives who predate you. You joined
the
> group in 1980 - - how can you be accepted by those who joined in
1977?
>
> ;-)
>
> John
>
> --- In OliveStarlightOrchestra_at_yahoogroups.com, Joy McCann
> <jmmccann_at_s...> wrote:
> > It was kind of long and boring, and I didn't really know many of
the
> > people you discussed.
> >
> > --J
> >
> > On Oct 29, 2004, at 5:59 PM, tschibasch wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > To whom it may concern: Here is a description of the 25th
anniversary
> > > Samohi reunion. If you are not particularly interested, please
skip!
> > >
> > > ###
> > >
> > > The reunion was held at the FantaSea Yacht Club in Marina Del
Rey on
> > > Saturday, October 16th, 2004. It started at 6:30PM and ended
around
> > > midnight. A buffet dinner was served at 8:00PM.
> > >
> > > The event was hosted by "Elegant Reunions". They were charging
$90
> > > online and $100 at the door. To my knowledge, I was the only
> person of
> > > our extended group of friends ("Olives") who was attending.
> > >
> > > I arrived promptly at 6:30, and it was already dark and
sprinkling
> > > rain. After giving my car to the valet, I went inside and stood
in
> > > line. Just like the last reunion, there were people behind
tables
> > > checking our names. After finding mine, they gave me a very
unsticky
> > > rectangular nametag to put on my jacket. Besides your name, the
tag
> > > included your 1979 yearbook photo, which for me was blank since
I
> left
> > > in 1978. There was a second line after registration, now for
photos.
> > > These were going to be put on CDROM. Brad Wheeler and Jeff
> Condon, the
> > > first two folks I recognized were at the back of the line, and
I
> > > joined them. Photos were $20/$30, depending on what kind of
framing
> > > you wanted. None of us were thrilled at having to pay out any
more
> > > money; a lot of folks opted for the "no frame / no pay" option.
> > >
> > > I enjoyed speaking with Brad and Jeff. Brad is an architect,
and
> lived
> > > for a while in Italy and New York. And Jeff is an attorney
whose kids
> > > have gone to Franklin Elementary School. Brad, Jeff, and I had
a good
> > > laugh waiting in line for the photos. They very much seem like
people
> > > that I would like to stay in touch with, more often than just
at high
> > > school reunions!
> > >
> > > After the photos were taken, I started to mill about. There
were so
> > > few familiar faces! And yes, this was a repeat of the last
reunion I
> > > attended in 1999. I would see someone who was basically
> > > unrecognizable, and then look at the nametag. Again, I would
not know
> > > this person. The old graduating photo stuck on their jacket
didn't
> > > help either. Who was this person?? I would see them doing the
same to
> > > me: studying my face, looking at my name, frowning... A fear
started
> > > to come across me - - was I maybe at the wrong reunion? Well
no,
> since
> > > Brad and Jeff were here! I was at the right place...
> > >
> > > I then came up to Laura Karst and her husband. She asked me how
many
> > > people I was recognizing, and she was relieved when I told her
it was
> > > so few! She was with Ann Van Winkle and Kathleen Keane. At last
I was
> > > among people that I knew, though not terribly well. They still
> live in
> > > the area. Kathleen told me she went into law enforcement. We
all
> > > talked for several minutes, and I turned out to be a valuable
memory
> > > resource. They remembered a few teachers and bullies from Samo
and
> > > Lincoln. Who was the short bully? Fred Redman, as it turned
out. And
> > > who was that other troublemaker who got expelled? David Boring
> was the
> > > answer. I was able to recall names for them as long as they
asked the
> > > right questions. Overall, my trusty memory for names and dates
> came in
> > > pretty handy during the course of the evening. One of the women
said
> > > that she had heard of Fred Redman moving to Oklahoma. Nobody
had a
> > > clue where David Boring ended up, but the suspicion is not
good,
> based
> > > on information we had.
> > >
> > > Jon Arenberg was the chief organizer of this event, just like
for the
> > > 1999 event. He was the next person I bumped into. Over the
> evening, he
> > > seemed to spend a lot of time with Annette Herbst. Maybe she
had been
> > > involved in coordinating the event with him? It was nice to
speak to
> > > them both. Jon asked me if I had any news on Greg Turk, since
he had
> > > been looking for him some time back. I updated him on Greg's
> > > whereabouts. Jon is still an engineer, involved in research.
Annette
> > > now is in LA, but had lived in Colorado for a few years. She
works
> > > with children.
> > >
> > > I then met Douglas Gunson. He is now a lawyer living in North
> > > Carolina, and has 7 (!) kids. The oldest is 21 and wants to go
to
> > > UCLA. It was nice to speak with him. I never knew him too well
> back in
> > > school. In fact, the only class I had with him was Art in 8th
grade.
> > >
> > > Next came Jane Grafton and husband. She did not remember me
very
> well.
> > > I don't hold that against her, since we only had one class
together,
> > > in the 10th grade. Remember Mathematics with Harry Pappas? Jane
had
> > > lived in England for a few years in the 1980s, but now lives
back
> here
> > > in Venice. While were talking, Cheryl Pollock came over. She
was in
> > > another class with me in 10th grade. Neither of them remembered
being
> > > in these classes, or names of other people at that time. I was
> able to
> > > come up with a couple other names. This did not help them any..
.
> > > Anyway, Cheryl is still living locally, involved in computer
> graphics,
> > > and is unmarried.
> > >
> > > I next saw Mark Swartz, who looked the same as at the last
reunion.
> > > Talk about dressing down! He looked like he had come over to
> paint the
> > > place, all in work clothes. While I studied him, he cheerfully
> pointed
> > > out that maybe I had overdressed for this event. I think he did
> have a
> > > point, since not every guy there was wearing a suit and tie!
Mark now
> > > lives in Mar Vista, happy with his bachelor lifestyle.
> > >
> > > Then I saw Shauna Lockett. I had a super-8 film class with her
in
> > > Lincoln. Her recall of this was extremely good. She recalled
that she
> > > liked Mr. Wexler, the teacher. We both remembered other
characters in
> > > that class. Shauna now lives in Montana, where she manages a
dental
> > > clinic.
> > >
> > > Then a strange thing happened when I bumped into a certain Mike
> Smith.
> > > Friendly fellow. We did not know each other. Mike told me he
took
> > > Latin at Samohi... There was just one Latin instructor, a
brilliant
> > > linguist by the name of Michael Quinette, and I assumed only
one
> > > class. How many people study Latin?? I suggested some names of
people
> > > who were in the same Latin class, such as Robert Baker,
Caroline
> > > Sauls, Robert Tarquin, Lisa Greenwood, and of course Karen
Elizabeth
> > > "Bisbee" Jerome Shepherd Goldfarb! Mike did not remember any of
them.
> > > I now suspect there were two Latin classes at Samohi. Or maybe
Mike
> > > Smith never took Latin. Or maybe he never existed at all!?! The
mind
> > > wonders if maybe HE was at the wrong reunion... Well, whether
Mike
> > > took Latin or not, he told me that he became a plumber. Latin
is not
> > > needed for that.
> > >
> > > I went outside to get some fresh air. The rain had temporarily
> > > stopped, and the night air was fresh. I was joined by a bunch
of
> > > friendly smokers. Craig Allen was one of them. He works now in
> > > entertainment, and often visits Las Vegas. I do not know
exactly what
> > > he does. Then I spoke with Richard Cardenas at length. A very
nice
> > > guy, and definitely someone I never knew in high school. He
told me
> > > that he had been involved in track/long distance running, and
at 17
> > > years of age, he was hit by a car! He was in a coma for a week,
and
> > > after that, the doctors told him it was unlikely that he would
walk
> > > again. He managed to beat those dismal odds. Right after high
school,
> > > he got married and moved to Houston, Texas. He bought a house
and had
> > > three children. Richard went into the printing business, since
he
> > > enjoyed the shop class with Mr. Little at Lincoln so much. He
is now
> > > on marriage #2, and his oldest son (20) is married with kids of
his
> > > own. Anyway, Richard still lives in Houston, caring for his
ailing
> > > mother. He was not going to attend the reunion, and then at the
last
> > > minute got in his car and drove directly to LA.
> > >
> > > Richard Cardenas asked me if I remembered Nick Trifunovich.
Yes, I
> > > recalled a few classes with the guy at Lincoln – he was tall,
skinny,
> > > with blond curly hair. He was a prankster! Apparently, in 1984
Nick
> > > went to the hospital for some exploratory surgery on his
stomach.
> They
> > > put him under and he never woke up again. How awful.
> > >
> > > I went back in and milled around some more. It was now as full
as it
> > > was going to be. There were all told about 200 people, maybe
less. It
> > > was noisy and cheerful, and people were sitting at tables
enjoying
> > > dinner. I again looked around, and I don't think that I missed
> anyone.
> > > Some other people that I noticed and barely remember: Mandy
> > > Kamibayashi, Chris Kolodziejski, Frank Lempert, Glenn Sato. A
woman
> > > named Bonnie Kanner was overdressed, if I might say. Maybe too
early
> > > for Halloween, if you get the drift.
> > >
> > > Everybody was really nice, I must say. And they looked good –
happy
> > > and healthy. As I made the rounds, I usually managed to strike
a
> > > conversation as long as there was some other student or teacher
that
> > > we both mutually remembered. Even in cases where nothing was
found,
> > > there was still interesting information about someone's current
job,
> > > or where they are living. I was doing fine and enjoying meeting
> > > people...
> > >
> > > Well, almost.
> > >
> > > I then met Alison Raeder. The poor thing seemed a little off...
After
> > > the perfunctory "hello" and "how are you", she asked if I was
> married.
> > > She was genuinely sad to hear I was still single, and hoped I
would
> > > get married soon. She said she would pray for me... She then
told me
> > > that since the previous reunion, she had at last found her soul
mate.
> > > She now summoned her husband, Dave over to meet me. After a
warm
> > > handshake, it was his turn to ask if I were married! No, I
responded,
> > > I guess you might say that I am "married" to my work. And much
> happier
> > > about that now, by the way, compared to 1999! Dave explained
that he
> > > was from the Samohi graduating class of 1975. He was unkempt
and also
> > > a little off. He was also very big and loud! He looked exactly
like a
> > > character you might meet at a Star Trek convention. (Not that I
would
> > > know about such things.) Dave now launched into his obvious
favorite
> > > topic: comic books. Alison fell quiet, looking on adoringly as
Dave
> > > explained that he is an expert on "comic book technologies"; he
> > > matches weapons used by comic book characters with the correct
genre.
> > > He cited an example in Batman, where the Joker used a laser gun
that
> > > could not possibly have been invented yet. He told me that he
writes
> > > angry letters to publishers to protest such inaccuracies. He
was very
> > > knowledgeable about this subject, and would not stop talking
> about it,
> > > in fact. At a convenient pause I managed to excuse myself. I
> later saw
> > > Dave talking to Mark Swartz, giving him the same treatment.
> > >
> > > The dinner was superb, I must say. Very enjoyable.
> > >
> > > After dinner, more milling about, drinking good coffee. No new
faces.
> > > However, I heard the following names of people who were
reportedly
> > > doing okay but who did not attend the reunion: David Early, Tom
> > > Erspalmer, John Vidor, Jason Hoffs, David Kearney, Sandra Loh,
Damon
> > > Moore, Ted Lee, Dave Newdorf, John Nolind, Brian Yori, Ralph
> > > Slaughter, John Drexel. I have no other information about
them.
> Also,
> > > Michael Perlmutter did not attend.
> > >
> > > Many people commented on the low turnout of this reunion. It
was
> > > suggested that the really big ones are 10-year, 20-year, and
30-year;
> > > the 25-year is generally low. Really? I would not have expected
> > > that...
> > >
> > > Anyway, that's all, folks!
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Received on 2004-11-02 22:36:46