Philip Spiess

Jerry:  Yeah, my particular watch just changed from Eastern Standard Time to Eastern Daylight Savings Time; does anybody else feel like this is a crock?  (As I ask every half year, why don't they just move it half an hour -- and leave it?) When I was a young child, the line between Eastern and Central Standard Time was the Ohio-Indiana border; by the time I was an undergraduate at Hanover College in Indiana, the dividing line had moved to the Indiana-Illinois border (I think it's now even farther west).  BUT -- in the summers, Cincinnati (Ohio) was on Eastern Daylight Savings Time, as was Louisville (Ky.), while Hanover, Indiana, half way between (which I'd occasionally visit in the summer to do work at my fraternity house and to buy fireworks [see above]), was on Eastern Standard Time, an hour's difference!  I once asked a local Indiana farmer who I knew what the hell was going on with this, and he looked at me out of the sides of his eyes and replied, laconically, "The cows don't know the difference!"

Another scam of this sort is "Groundhog Day" (February 2).  Now, setting aside the obvious folk myth of this whole set-up (and what folk or ethnic group came up with this idea, anyway, and when?), whatever "cuteness" it may have had in the past is now completely eviscerated by the commercial fraud of the whole thing:  whether it's "Punxatawney Phil" in Pennsylvania or some other rodent/ruminant (why don't we watch the shadow habits of deer at the equinoctal sunrise?) elsewhere, all of those TV cameras focusing and shining Klieg lights at dawn on the poor exploited creature is bound to cast a shadow -- thereupon "guaranteeing" us six more weeks of winter (despite, I might add, "global warming," which I believe in -- we haven't had an Ice Age since the glaciers carved out Lake Erie, flattened most of Ohio, stopped at Cincinnati, giving us the "terminal moraine" of our Seven Hills, and turned the Ohio River from south-north flowing to east-west flowing -- oh, and our refrigerator just died unexpectedly, so those little frozen water "globules" we call "ice cubes" are certain "warming," even as I write).

Uh, Jerry, did you ask something about being watched, i.e., observed?  If so, stay off of Observatory Avenue!

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

With great sadness, I write of the death of our classmate Lillian Vendig-Bandyk.

Lillian was born on July 9, 1946 and passed away on Thursday, March 16, 2017. Lillian was a resident of Phoenix, Ohio at the time of her passing. She was married to Edward. Graveside services Monday March 20 11:00 A.M. at New Hope Cemetery 5375 Sidney Road Cincinnati Ohio 45238. Shiva will be observed Monday evening at Adath Israel Congregation 3201 East Galbraith Road Cincinnati Ohio 45236 Tuesday-Friday at Temple B?nai Sholom in Huntsville Alabama. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions to Temple Bnai Sholom 103 Lincoln Street S.E. Huntsville Alabama 35801 or Temple Kol Ami 15030 N. 64th Street Scottsdale Arizona 85254 would be appreciated.

Lillian's name has been added to our In Memory page. Please post your remembrances of Lillian on her In Memory page.

May Lillian's memory always be a blessing.

Nelson Abanto

OK, I know I already have a "yellow card" for political commentary, but I want to ensure that everyone on this website is aware of FBI Director Comey's testimony before congress today.  I am not trying to start a political discussion.  You should know the following:

1) Comey's comentary today was a bombshell.  I will not try to paraphrase or summarize.  Check it out for yourself on YouTube.

2)  This news is not in the stock market.

3)  The stock market is up ca. 3000 pts (18%) since election day.  This is about as one way a market as it gets.

You've been warned.

Love,

Nelson

Philip Spiess

Nelson:  You could write an opera about all of this, calling it -- oh, I don't know -- Un Ballo in Maschera, let us say, or something of the sort.

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Rick, Mike, Harold, Ben, and now Lillian. Too many, so close together.  They soar on eagles' wings. 

Laura Reid (Pease)

How sad.  I remember Lillian well.  She was so sweet, quiet and very intelligent.  We were good friends in high school, and I was very fond of her.  Yes, too many leaving us in a short period of time.....on eagle's wings.

Rest in peace Lillian.

Stephen Collett

Sorry, sorry for posting twice on Chuck Berry. Cyber clumsy. 

I guess your message is that I should be glad I don´t have stock, Nelson? Has there been a general shift from bonds to stock with the hope of deregulation, or is the market just in a surge of hope? How about gold? I am way too late on that.

Stephen Collett

I am getting seriously closer to considering AirB&Bing my house. So that I can get paid vacations. Has anyone else gotten into that? 

Stephen (Steve) Dixon

Nelson puts one little post on the WHHS64 blog and the Dow goes down 238 points. 

Just how much stock do (did) you guys own?

David R. Schneider

Ann-

Add to the list Michael White, who passed away in September, I believe.  Too many have passed in such a short number of weeks.
 

Steven Levinson

David R, not to be morbid -- and I don't think it is -- but just the right number have passed in the last several weeks, and the right number will pass in the several weeks to come, and the right number will pass in the several weeks after that.  That's the way it works.  And we'll all live in memory, which is one reason why our little friendship circle is so important.  We remember.  Our year book wasn't the Remembrancer for nothing, after all!

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

"... through the years we'll all be friends wherever we may be, M-I-C (see ya real soon!)

K-E-Y (Why? Because we like you!) M-O-U-S-E..."

Mickey Mouse Club, YAY!!!!!

Philip Spiess

Thank you, Steve Levinson.  We are all -- suddenly -- at the "end of days," sooner or later, and, as I think I said to Steve in an earlier private message, I can't believe how short life is!  Because my memory stretches back to when I was one-and-a-half (and I think I've given you all ample indications of how strong my memory is in these Forum entries), I still think of myself as living somewhere in my late 20s - early 30s.  This, of course, is not real; I turn 71 this month.  My mother is now 95, and descending into serious dementia with hallucinations.  So may we go, whether Jewish or Christian or other, into the future afterlife (if we believe in such, as I do), as optimistically as we can (and rest in peace all those who have gone before). 

Larry Klein

I doubt we'll be hearing from Mr Spiess today. It's his BIRTHDAY! What with all the cake, steak, and wine casks, poor Phil won't be able to find his keyboard.  Nevertheless, I'm sure the class joins me in wishing Phil a very Happy Birthday.  Despite your last post here, Phil, you are nowhere near your "end of days".  Enjoy and come back to visit tomorrow when your cobwebs have cleared.

Bruce Fette

Happy Birthday Phil!

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

I have just learned that Patti Randall, a classmate who came to WHHS from Clifton School and transfered to Aiken after 10th grade, died in Albuquerque on December 22, 2016 after a long battle with cancer. Patti's married name was Patricia Randall McCarron. May she rest in peace.

Philip Spiess

Ah, Larry and Bruce, unfortunately for you fellow correspondents, my keyboard is never very far away.  "Cake, steak, and wine casks"?  Pretty close, Larry.  Gourmand that I am (a far more appropriate term than the current word "foodie"), and dipsomaniac as well, since I am not on Facebook, I shall share my birthday menu with you here:

It was the first truly wonderful day of Spring in northern Virginia, so it was the first time this season that we had our cocktails on the backyard patio, facing the woods and the "waterfall," I with a "Golden Dawn" cocktail, and my wife Kathy with her usual white wine (Sauvignon Blanc); the dog had water.  This was followed by a Shrimp Cocktail; then came Old Plantation Peanut Soup (a traditional Virginia recipe) (white wine was still aboard; I was now onto my favorite, Chardonnay).  After some digression and digestion came the main course:  Filet Mignon; Scalloped Potatoes in Cheese Sauce; a mixed green salad with chopped vegetables and anchovies atop; and a stir-fried melange of green peppers, onions, and mushrooms, all washed down with a delicate Champagne.  But the cake?  No, I am a devotee of Pecan Pie, any way, anyhow (though soaked in Bourbon is nice).  ("Let them eat cake!" I once said, and the thought turned out to be revolutionary, leading to such other desserts as Napoleons, bombes [during the Anarchist period] and, a little over a century later, American Dough Boys [they were "over the top"].)  Tia Maria (the liqueur, not the singer nor your Hispanic auntie) concluded our Lucullan mastications (make sure you read that last word correctly!).

So, as you can see, now that I'm 71 (and my son turned 26 on the same day), I'm packing in as much pleasure as I can before "the eternal Footman hold[s] my coat, and snicker[s]."  Since I'm quoting T. S. Eliot here, I'll end with my favorite quote from him (Burnt Norton):  "Time past and time future / What might have been and what has been / Point to one end, which is always present."

Richard Murdock

Phil:

Froehliche Geburtstag - as Frau Kitzmann would have said.  And the same day as your son.  Amazing !  How did you and your wife manage that one ?   My brother and I are born on the same day but 5 years apart.  Never figured that one out either.   From your postings, you seem quite full of life to me - which I think is one of the best ways to stick around longer.  I believe your mind and your mental attitude definitely have an impact on your body.  Besides I definitely want to see you at the next reunion.  

Dale Gieringer

Phil -

   70+ years and we're running on empty.    Nothing like a good drink to extend the journey though. 

 Come to think of it, 71 isn't divisible by anything, so that must mean you're in our prime!  - D.G.

Philip Spiess

Richard:  Danke fur den Deutsch-gespracht! -- and hoist a Seidel of beer in memory of the good Frau Kitzmann (did I tell you she taught my father German 25 years before us at Hughes High School?  He must have made his mark, because when she read my name off the roll the first year I took German, she looked up and said, "Oh, god!  Not another one!").  As to my son being born on my birthday, at 6:00 a.m. in the morning, it seemed like an obvious thing; at 10:30 that night, I was saying to my wife, "Push, damn you, push!"  (And as I was studying for my doctoral exams in "19th-Century Studies" that day, I happened to be reading Thomas Malthus on over-population -- go figure!)  So how did your parents do it five years apart for you and your brother?  (Talk about family planning!)  I can't quite figure out my own mind:  many things from my early childhood are as clear to me as what happened yesterday (hmm -- best not to go into what happened yesterday -- totally inappropriate for the WHHS Forum!).  Yes, I'll see you at the next reunion (if not somewhere, somehow, before).

Dale:  I'm primed to see you in a week and a half!  (And I'll ensure you a good drink or more!)

Nelson Abanto

Phil,

Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Geburtstag!  Entschuldigung für die Verspätung.

Nelson

Philip Spiess

Nelson:  Ich vergebe dir, mein lieber Schwann.

Jerry Ochs

I always enjoyed the annual Science Fair.  How about you?

Cornelia (Teedee) Spelman

Jerry kindly told me I had posted this message to myself and not to all of you so I THINK I have now  posted it on the message board?  Kind of mortifying to be so tech-ignorant when I'm bragging about doing a podcast! But honestly, my old brain gets spinning from all the different interfaces and menus and passwords in The Labyrinth of My Cyber Life.  So here's a new cartoon idea I had: gravestone: inscription, No More Passwords.

Hello old friends!  I have not been on this page for about two years, and I see that some of you (thank you) kindly sent me birthday greetings long ago.  Sorry about that.  I have been tres occupee (my "Fwench") being a grandmother to my daughter Kate's two little ones -- rented a one room apt in NYC in her building and we go back and forth, the most wonderful way to be a grandparent, except living in the same town would be even better, but that will never happen -- and now the Radiances are older I am less tired.  We all turned 70, didn't we, except, sadly, for our friends who left us too early.  This is the age for assessing and looking back, don't you think? we all do it and think about our lives which are mostly behind us.  To my surprise I am feeling very much more in life than I had been, because though I had been working for some years on a second memoir, I didn't know if it would ever see the light of day, and then it happened through circumstances following the Election (ah hem) that I had the chance to create a PODCAST and so that memoir, and 35 years of diaries that fed the stories I have written, and my social work interest in emotional life and relationships and how we can help one another, and my life as a recovering alcoholic (I have almost 40 years, one day at a time) all have come together in this project.  So I invite you to listen, if you care to, on  the website wwww.diarieslettersstories.com, or with your podcast app.  My wise parents' old friend William Maxwell once wrote, "The view from seventy is breathtaking." I will go around this site now and see what you are all up to.  An affectionate hello to you all.

Mary Vore (Iwamoto)

For those of you who mourned the passing of the Rabbit Hash General Store - it is open again!  It has been refurbished and officially opened April 1.  Here is the link with lots of pictures, etc.  Enjoy!

https://www.rabbithash.com/