Linda Karpen (Nachman)

Hi 64ers! If you haven't seen this, it's our time, our memories and a very moving story/song.

"Hello Darkness My Old Friend"

Read the story below then listen to the Video

Beautiful Song!!  And now for the REST OF THE STORY…read it first!!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9z87viDmOo

Hello Darkness My Old Friend, a Simon and Garfunkel song inspired by a College roommate who went blind -  reveals an untold story.  Enjoy and then listen to the song itself. 

One of the best-loved songs of all time. Simon & Garfunkel's hit The Sound Of Silence topped the US charts and went platinum in the UK. 

It was named among the 20 most performed songs of the 20th century, included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and provided the unforgettable soundtrack to 1967 film classic The Graduate. But to one man The Sound Of Silence means much more than just a No 1 song on the radio with its poignant opening lines: "Hello Darkness my old friend, I've come to talk with you again." 

Sanford "Sandy" Greenberg is Art Garfunkel's best friend, and reveals in a moving new memoir, named after that lyric, that the song was a touching tribute to their undying bond, and the singer's sacrifice that saved Sandy's life when he unexpectedly lost his sight. 

"He lifted me out of the grave," says Sandy, aged 79, who recounts his plunge into sudden blindness, and how Art Garfunkel's selfless devotion gave him reason to live again. 

Sandy and Arthur, as Art was then known, met during their first week as students at the prestigious Columbia University in New York. 

"A young man wearing an Argyle sweater and corduroy pants and blond hair with a crew cut came over and said, 'Hi, I'm Arthur Garfunkel'," Sandy recalls. 

They became roommates, bonding over a shared taste in books, poetry and music. 

"Every night Arthur and I would sing. He would play his guitar and I would be the DJ. The air was always filled with music." 

"Still teenagers, they made a pact to always be there for each other in times of trouble. "If one was in extremis, the other would come to his rescue," says Sandy They had no idea their promise would be tested so soon. Just months later, Sandy recalls: "I was at a baseball game and suddenly my eyes became cloudy and my vision became unhinged. Shortly after that darkness descended." Doctors diagnosed conjunctivitis, assuring it would pass. But days later Sandy went blind, and doctors realized that  glaucoma had destroyed his optic nerves. 

Sandy was the son of a rag-and-bone man. His family, Jewish immigrants in Buffalo, New York, had no money to help him, so he dropped out of college, gave up his dream of becoming a lawyer, and plunged into depression. "I wouldn't see anyone, I just refused to talk to anybody," says Sandy. "And then unexpectedly Arthur flew in, saying he had to talk to me. He said, 'You're gonna come back, aren't you?'  "I said,: 'No, There's no conceivable way.' "He was pretty insistent, and finally said, 'Look, I don't think you get it. I need you back there. That's the pact we made together: we would be there for the other in times of crises. I will help you'." 

Together they returned to Columbia University, where Sandy became dependent on Garfunkel's support. Art would walk Sandy to class, bandage his wounds when he fell, and even filled out his graduate school applications. 

Garfunkel called himself "Darkness" in a show of empathy. The singer explained: "I was saying, 'I want to be together where you are, in the black'." Sandy recalls: "He would come in and say, 'Darkness is going to read to you now.' “Then he would take me to class and back. He would take me around the city. He altered his entire life so that it would accommodate me." 

Garfunkel would talk about Sandy with his high-school friend Paul Simon, from Queens, New York, as the folk rock duo struggled to launch their musical careers, performing at local parties and clubs. Though Simon wrote the song, the lyrics to The Sound of Silence are infused with Garfunkel's compassion as Darkness, Sandy's old friend. 

Guiding Sandy through New York one day, as they stood in the vast forecourt of bustling Grand Central Station, Garfunkel said that he had to leave for an assignment, abandoning his blind friend alone in the rush-hour crowd, terrified, stumbling and falling. "I cut my forehead" says Sandy. "I cut my shins. My socks were bloodied. I had my hands out and bumped into a woman's breasts. It was a horrendous feeling of shame and humiliation. "I started running forward, knocking over coffee cups and briefcases, and finally I got to the local train to Columbia University. It was the worst couple of hours in my life." 

Back on campus, he bumped into a man, who apologized. "I knew that it was Arthur's voice," says Sandy. "For a moment I was enraged, and then I understood what happened: that his colossally insightful, brilliant yet wildly risky strategy had worked." Garfunkel had not abandoned Sandy at the station, but had followed him the entire way home, watching over him. "Arthur knew it was only when I could prove to myself I could do it that I would have real independence," says Sandy. "And it worked, because after that I felt that I could do anything. 

"That moment was the spark that caused me to live a completely different life, without fear, without doubt. For that I am tremendously grateful to my friend." Sandy not only graduated, but went on to study for a master's degree at Harvard and Oxford. 

While in Britain he received a phone call from his friend - and with it the chance to keep his side of their pact. Garfunkel wanted to drop out of architecture school and record his first album with Paul Simon, but explained: "I need $400 to get started." Sandy, by then married to his high school sweetheart, says: "We had $404 in our current account. I said, 'Arthur, you will have your cheque.' "It was an instant reaction, because he had helped me restart my life, and his request was the first time that I had been able to live up to my half of our solemn covenant." 

The 1964 album, Wednesday Morning, 3 AM, was a critical and commercial flop, but one of the tracks was The Sound Of Silence, which was released as a single the following year and went to No 1 across the world. "The Sound Of Silence meant a lot, because it started out with the words 'Hello darkness' and this was Darkness singing, the guy who read to me after I returned to Columbia blind," says Sandy. 

Simon & Garfunkel went on to have four smash albums, with hits including Mrs. Robinson, The Boxer, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Amazingly, Sandy went on to extraordinary success as an inventor, entrepreneur, investor, presidential adviser and philanthropist. The father of three, who launched a $3million prize to find a cure for blindness, has always refused to use a white cane or guide dog. "I don't want to be 'the blind guy'," he says. "I wanted to be Sandy Greenberg, the human being." 

Six decades later the two men remain best friends, and Garfunkel credits Sandy with transforming his life. With Sandy, "my real life emerged," says the singer. "I became a better guy in my own eyes, and began to see who I was - somebody who gives to a friend. "I blush to find myself within his dimension. My friend is the gold standard of decency."  Says Sandy: "I am the luckiest man in the world"

The attached video:  The Sound of Silence

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9z87viDmOo

Paul Simons

Thanks for putting that up Linda. They sound fantastic. What a catalog - this and Mrs. Robinson and Graceland - wow!!

I can't count how many times, with my name, people say "Hey, where's Garfunkel?"  I settled on telling them "He's at the corner of 52nd Street and 8th Avenue having an Orange Julius." Then I began saying "Right now? He's with your wife."

If anyone's interested - I might have put this up before - I've been working on a collection of Buddy Holly and other tunes with Stan Hertzman who most will remember.

Some of them are at https://phsra8.wixsite.com/cd-electro

JoAnn Dyson (Dawson)

It's been a while since I've checked to read the running chat.  Comments are always interesting. 

I am adding my support to Ann's comment re the use of the word "slave".  In my opinion, too often the word is used in a fashion that recognizes the state of involuntary servitude, but does not recognize the breadth and depth of humanity of the enslaved person.  The slave is not recognized as a full human being so well demonstrated in the US Constitution.  Another example is the term "freed slave"--an oxymoron if ever there was one.  The term "freed slave" implies that the formerly enslaved person is not more than, and can never be more than the former state of enslavement. 

In the US, the term "slave" is so culturally connected to Africans who were kidnapped and taken forcibly from their homelands, families and lives that there is never an effort to define who is being referenced. The term is automatically assumed to be referencing a person of African descent.

Words do have meaning, and therefore potential power.  Just as the term "politically correct" conjures up (for me) an image totalitarian governments and their absolute power, so I never use it, the term "slave" (whether an enlaved person of the past or the present) in reference to a human being seems to strip that human being of his/her humanity and potential.

Steven Levinson

Words that have been common parlance for so long that, in some instances, their origins are unrecognizable to many, can certainly be hurtful.  "I was gypped" and "He tried to jew me down" are apt illustrations.

Paul Simons

I’m thinking that these words matter enormously as do the actions that they represent. I think this country has an absolutely hideous, abominable past that many refuse to acknowledge or even try to imagine. That’s what we must ALL do now - acknowledge it and imagine it - if we are ever going to approach being an honest country. Right now the level of deceit directly traceable to the gigantic and newly reinvigorated lie of white supremacy used to justify criminality by police and by those in and out of government who call themselves patriotic Americans is intolerable.

To use an example others have used - the experts say it will be very difficult, despite the evidence, to convict Derek Chauvin of murder. Say George Floyd was the cop, and he pressed his knee into immobilized on the pavement civilian Derek Chauvin's neck leading to his death. I don't think the experts would predict that a conviction would be difficult.

Gene Stern

Thank you Linda for that moving story about the Sounds of Silence! It will make the music so much more meaningful knowing the history behind the words.

Stephen (Steve) Dixon

Let me join the ranks of the people thanking you, Ann, for your comments and the article you posted.

I was feeling exceedingly squirmy as I read through a number of posts. The change in terminology doesn't;t make the horrible aspects of our history any easier to confront, but some respect for the feelings of many of our friends seems a small price to pay.

It seems to me to be a spurious beef to say, "Spare my feelings about the language I use, even if it hurts your feelings about your entire racial heritage."

Sorry, all. I felt like I had to say that.

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

St. Patty's Day tradition at Skyline... GREEN SPAGHETTI! 

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Paul Simons

The green spaghetti looks good, looks fine. Now this - I'm not sure if this is accurate:

Dale Gieringer

  Sad to see another great WHHS alumnus just passed on, former Metropolitan Opera Conductor James Levine (class of 61, I think).  Some of us might remember hearing Jimmy conduct the WHHS orchestra, though that was a few grades below his level of expertise.  Though Jimmy faced troublesome allegations of personal misconduct in recent years, we can be thankful that he left a lasting treasury of terrific recordings, such as his wonderful performance of "Tales of Hoffmann," which I was listening to on the Met's nightly downstream earlier this week.     - Dale G.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/james-levine-ruled-met-opera-dead-age-77-76511151

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Jon Marks wrote a touching tribute to "Jimmy" on Facebook. Perhaps he will share it here. 
James gave the world such marvelous music, but I knew him as Nell Custer Murphy's student who accompanied the à cappell choir, keeping us on tune.  I later learned that  he was also studying at The Julliard School  while attending WHHS. A prodigy for sure. 
 

Chuck Cole

I credit Jimmy with introducing me to opera.  I remember him saying one evening that it would be fun if a group of us got together one evening to listen to Wagner's complete Ring Cycle,  all 4 operas in a row, finishing sometime the next day.   He saw the Ring as the pinnacle of opera and imagined one day conducting it.  Little did any of us (probably including him) know that this would indeed come to pass.  I don't think he ever did all 4 in a 24 hour period but he did bring the complete Ring to the Metropolitan Opera and oversaw (at least) two complete versions with different staging, costumes, etc. 

The Cleveland Orchestra under Szell used to come to Oberlin three times each year and on one of those occasions he came along and I got to see him briefly. My wife and I with two friends went to see his return to the Met a few years back (I think for Verdi's Otello) after his long absence from the podium due to back problems and other issues.  

Becky Payne (Shockley)

Thanks, Chuck. Your story about Jimmy Levine is fascinating. By the way, I was never an opera fan until I was asked to accompany rehearsals for a full production of The Marriage of Figaro at Earlham College the year John taught there (1971-72). I worked with the singers and played continue during the 3 productions and we both got to know it really well and fell in love with Mozart Operas and the others followed. I love the Ring, too, though Tristan is about my alltime favorite opera! And the faculty member who conducted that production at Earlham (Charles Combopiano) went on to start the Whitewater Opera Co. in Richmond IN, which successfully mounted quite a few operas in the years that followed (often drawing on singers from IU).  Sadly it no longer exists.

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

Check out the Home Page for new reunion dates for our 75+1 Birthday Reunion in 2022.

Nancy Messer

Today I had my second cataract surgery at CEI (Cincinnati Eye Institute).  Obviously I don't know how successful everything was but I wanted to mention something that's involved in the process.  There are 3 different eyedrop medications that are required and can be a real pain to keep track of.  CEI deals with a compounding pharmacy in Montana that combines all 3 medicines in one so you're dealing with 1 drop however many times a day it's needed.  That's a lot easier than the old way of doing it.  If you will be having cataract surgery,  ask the provider how the practice deals with the eyedrop prescriptions. 

Florence (Now Jean) Ager

CATARACT SURGERY:  A CAVEAT 

       Congrats on completing your eye surgery, Nancy. I am confident you will be pleased with the outcome.and wish you well. Thanks for your suggestion about combined drops afterward. It is not surprising that CIncinnati Eye Institute has introduced this convenience, 

       CEI  has long been at the forefront of cataract surgery. Dr. Osher, now Director Emeritus, has developed many of the IOLs and surgical instruments used in cataract surgery. He has written 5 textbooks, founded a professional journal and has won numerous prizes for his films.  My mother was an early bebefactor of his IOl insertion. I was encouraged to watch her procedure on a camera in a separate room.  Hours later, Mother and I went out for dinner. What a change from my father's after-surgery week-long stay at Holmes Hospital, his head held between sandbags. 

           My personal journey with cataract diagnosis began over a decade ago at one of Philadelphia's premier eye hospitals,. An opthalmologist, frustrated by her inability to refract my eyes, blamed "rapidly developing cataracts. " I saw, in sequence, 3 "best doctors" in the field. In each case, I was first told that I had early cataracts and to come back in 6 months, again in 6 months, then suddenly advised that my eyes were worse and that I should have immediate surgery. I agreed to the 3rd physicians's recommendation, This surgeon then referred me fo get an external contact lens for the accompanying eye, 

           The contact lens specialist, an optometrist, told me that my small cataract was not yet affecting my vision! I cancelled the surgery as the hybrid monovision contacts he prescribed restored my vision to 20/20. That was 10 years ago! 
   
        In the interim, I traveled to Cincinnati to consult Dr, Osher at CEI.  After an amazingly thorough exam which took hours, he put the surgical recommendation in context and sent a 3-page evaluation to my internist. This explained that an eye condition (amblyopia in one eye) could limit the effectiveness of surgery, It is worthwhile for me to wait as innovation may provide a more certain prognosis. 
 
           Although cataract operations are among the safest, experience has taught me to proceed cautiously. The focus of surgeons is on doing surgery. They may have the patient return a couple of times before urging It and even suggest that it is preventative. As I see it, the purpose should remain that of restoring vision-- not necessarily enhancing it. In my experience, people who choose such surgery prematurely are often disappointed. Sometimes the vision you have is as good as it gets.

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Nancy, that one drop medication would have come in handy after my cataract surgery in 2014. I was given a chart to follow after my first eye was done for the three different drops I had to take at different times of day over the course of six weeks. That was complicated enough, but two weeks later, I had to incorporate a different chart for my other eye. That was a challenge, but came through it well. 
Jean, I'm sorry you have had so much difficulty, but found your history of CEI very interesting. One of the doctors at CEI, Dr. Khatana, who specializes in glaucoma,  performed my cataract surgery upon referral from my ophthalmologist. She, and the physician whose practice she took over had been monitoring my high intra ocular pressure for over twenty years. The former doctor took a watch and wait approach, but when the new physician took over the practice, in 2004, she determined the pressure was related to the beginnings of cataracts, but too early to remove. She performed a laser procedure (after I got a second opinion from one of the doctors at Midwest that David Schneider arranged for me) called an iridotomy. That procedure helped for nearly ten years, but the pressure began creeping up again as the cataracts grew. I would not have needed the cataract surgery at that time had it not been for the elevated pressure. I will never forget that Dr. Khatana, after examining both eyes post surgery, told me that my optic nerves were the best he would probably examine that day. With the implant lenses, I don't need to wear glasses except readers. 

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

Check out the Announcement at the bottom of the Home Page which provides details of the latest WHHS Theatre Department play produced and filmed in the Walnut Hills High School Rick Steiner Black Box Theater. Our Class of 1964 Performing Arts Fund is funding the streaming services of this original play. 

Let's support our WHHS theatre students and our class PAF! 

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Once again, US Nesws and World Report has ranked out alma mater tops in the state. Sursum ad summum!  Go Eagles!!!

https://amp.cincinnati.com/amp/4853030001

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Thanks, Ann, for reminding me.....

Here is the full US News and World Report on WHHS : #112 in the US!

Sursum ad summum!

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/search?name=Walnut%20Hills%20High%20School&ranked=true&public=true

Stephanie Riger

Dear Classmates,

I am cleaning out old memorabilia and have Remembrancers from 1960, 1961, 1963 (and possibly 1962 if my sister doesn't want it) to give away.  Anybody want them? If you do, please email me: stephanie.riger@gmail.com

I also have U of Michigan yearbooks from 1965 and 1966 that I'm happy to part with.

Warm regards to all,

Stephanie

Margery Erhardt (Feller)

Unfortunately, I have lost my Remembrancers. I had been hoping to refer to them for a name of a teacher I had in 9th grade who taught Ancient and Medieval history. She was in the annex and had reddish hair I believe. Judy, I believe you might have been in the class. Anyone know who she was…she was an awesome teacher and brought history alive for me! 

Dale Gieringer

 Marjorie -

   You are thinking of Mrs Bechle (or was it Baechle), pronounced "Beckly."
 

   - Dale   

Richard Murdock

Margery:

Being a colossal packrat, I happen to have Remembrancers for every year at WHHS.   There were 3 female history teachers at WHHS in 1961: 

Elda Baechle

Diane Cherry

Frances Sandlin

Dick

Margery Erhardt (Feller)

Thank you, thank you! She was an excellent teacher - better even than many history professors. Much of what she taught we see today in our current world. She was amazing and the reason I pursued history and taught history for several years! Thank you Dick and Dale!!!!