Philip Spiess

You're right, Ira.  I should have thought of that, as it's the sort of thing my son, who's an audio engineer, does occasionally.

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

This is becoming too frequent....I have just learned of the passing of our friend and classmate, John Adams. He will be remembered and missed. May John's memory be a blessing.

His obituary:

John Bennett Adams, 77, passed away peacefully on May 7, 2023 surrounded by his loving daughters and dear friends. He was born on February 26, 1946, in San Antonio, TX.  John was preceded in death by his parents, Bennett R. And Frances L. Adams, his sister, Ginger Schaffner, and his dear wife of 43 years, Melinda Adams. He is survived by his daughters, Alison (Mike) and Lindsay, and granddaughters, Ella and Tresa.

John was a man of great intellect and wit, who will be remembered for his mischievous sense of humor and his kind heart.

John attended Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, OH. He served in the Navy during Vietnam before completing a degree in Management Information Systems from Christopher Newport College and bringing his talents as a computer wizard to companies including IBM, GE, and First Union.  In his free time, John enjoyed flying kites, kayaking, building model trains, and completing crossword puzzles.

A celebration of John's life will be held on June 3, 2023, at Seaside Landing, 7265 Seashell Lane in Ocean Isle Beach, NC at 3 p.m..

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) in John's honor.  While John may no longer be with us, his snark and stubbornness will remain in the hearts and minds of those who loved him.

Richard Winter

I attended graduate student commencement at University of Nebraska yesterday where Ava Winter, the younger of my two kids, was awarded a Ph. D.  This was a big occasion for my family and featured a few profoundly moving moments.

But what did I think of when the band hit the big opening notes of Pomp & Circumstance? You guessed it:

Hail, P.H. McDevitt
Hail, Raymond and Bill.
We never did like you;
Don't think we ever will!

Isn't it remarkable that some parents watch their children graduate without thinking of these lyrics?  I wonder what that's like...

Richard Winter

I should add that I remember these lyrics in part because I found them so funny at the time and because the line "don't think we ever will" goes so perfectly with the music.

Remembering them at the moment of my child's graduation, so many years later, made me smile and feel like a member of a secret society of sorts.

Paul Simons

Just catching up with email and I have to say thanks Ann, Ira, and Phil for the information, all new to me. Many thanks! And sorry to hear that another classmate has passed on. Talk about lyrics - "People get ready, there's a train a-coming..." Yes, it is, I wonder what Gail would write when that damn train stops for me? I'm sure it would be kinder than if I wrote it myself, which would be "Skyline Chili, da bluz, and political outbursts. OK, got it, enough already."

Philip Spiess

Richard:  It seems we somehow immortalized "Ph. McDevitt, Raymond, and Bill" with our little song, doesn't it?

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

Our Pomp and Circumstance is ours and ours alone. It could be a secret code if members of our class had to prove they were really from the class instead of imposters.

I can't quite recall, but I once read something or saw a movie about WWII sailors in the Pacific theater learning  a song to sing as a code to prove they were Americans if they were ever captured. That song is also stuck in my head whenever I hear Stars and Stripes Forever. It goes: 

"Three cheers for our Jones Junior High; It's the best junior high in Toledo..."

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SPNP19450222.2.40

Philip Spiess

My father was in the South Pacific during World War II, and he and my mother (then newly married to each other) had worked out a secret code before he went overseas.  They had matching world atlases, and he would work page numbers and vertical-horizontal grid numbers into the text of his letters so that my mother could decipher where in the world he was.  

Bonnie Altman (Templeton)

I am with Richard. I just attended a graduation and had the same thoughts. 

Linda Karpen (Nachman)

Hello '64 Friends -- I regret that I won't be coming to our special Reunion due to Fred's illness. Having never had a "miss", I will be toasting you that June weekend. Of all the graduations I've attended over the years, not once did I not hum those revered four lines to myself. Next week when my granddaughter graduates, I'll  also be quietly laughing about our secret society!! Thanks, Ira and Ann, for your comments, so true. Wishing all 64ers good health and lots of fun reminiscences. Ever fondly, Linda                                                           

Philip Spiess

For those who like a little contextual history with their nostalgia and satire, let me remind you that that colorful tune we walked (stumbled?) down the aisle to in 1964 is the Trio of Sir Edward Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance Military March No. 1 in D" (1901).  It is the first of a set of five "Pomp and Circumstance" marches by Elgar (his Op. 39); a sixth march was sketched out but never finished before Elgar died in 1934 (the sketches were published in 1956 and the march was completed from the sketches in 2005-2006 by Anthony Payne).

The title is drawn from Shakespeare's Othello, Act III, Scene 3:  "Farewell . . . Pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war!"  The Trio (the famous part we all know) was used in 1902 with the words "Land of Hope and Glory" for a section of the Coronation Ode for the coronation of King Edward VII; it has since become a popular British anthem.  As to its use for high school and college graduations in the United States (and in Canada and the Philippines), this tradition began in 1905 at Yale University, when Samuel Sanford, professor of music, invited his friend Elgar to attend the commencement and receive an honorary doctorate of music.  Elgar accepted, Sanford made sure that Elgar and his music received star status at the event (the New Haven Symphony Orchestra performed), and the rest is history.

Except, of course, for our own modest contribution, which lives in the memory -- if not in the hearts -- of all who were there on that momentous occasion of our being hurled out into the world.

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

Hello everyone, I won't be there either.  Last week I had heart surgery. I am the proud owner of a new aortic valve.  Just getting used to it all and recuperating at home. I'm feeling good but no traveling now. 

Barbara

Ira Goldberg

Congratulations on your acquisition. May the warranty be an extended one. It is a miracle of life and medicine. 

Laura Reid (Pease)

Barbara and Linda,

We will miss you both at the reunion.  Barbara, congratulations on your new aortic valve!  It seems like many of us are getting replacement parts at this time in our lives and thankfully we can!  And Linda, we are thinking about you as a caregiver.  Many of our classmates are in the same situation.  At this point, we have around 57 attending for the weekend.  We are missing Rick.....his compassion, his wit, his leadership and his love for us all.

We will celebrate the class of '64 and we will miss thosel who cannot be with us.

Sending our best to you all!

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

I'm channeling Rick when I say that I'd love 64 of us to attend our reunion. We are close to that number so if you haven't RSVP'd and/or are still deciding, please let's do it for Rick!

Sandy Steele (Bauman)

Barb and Linda, so sorry we won't be seeing you at our reunion. I will miss seeing you both. Sending good thoughts for continued healing. Linda, I will send a toast your direction that weekend.

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

Laura, Sandy and everyone - Thank you for the good wishes! I was terrified going in but doing great. I have so much to live for.  I will be home until a short trip to Hilton Head Island in September. Where I live in Long Beach, NY (also an island)  is not that different from it in summer but it's a place we love to visit. 

Nothing will ever be the same without Rick but I know you will have a fabulous reunion.

Paul Simons

Congratulations and good luck Barbara. I happen to enjoy swimming in the ocean myself, at the New Jersey shore and I'm sure others here do too. Because of rising ocean temperatures the animals we encounter in the water are changing and in some cases becoming more of a threat to people.

https://www.inquirer.com/news/jersey-shore-shark-attack-stone-harbor-20230522.html

In addition to sharks there are the sting rays - 

https://catcountry1073.com/you-may-spot-some-stingrays-along-new-jersey-beaches-this-summer/

Have a great reunion and a great summer one and all but be careful!!

Philip Spiess

Paul, I have recipes for cooking both sharks and rays (I've eaten both; ray has lots of small bones).  If the ocean gets much warmer, I'll send you the recipes; the fish can cook right in the water, and you can eat them on the beach!

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

Thank you Paul, I don't fish but I do live around the corner from the ocean. We sometimes have whales swimming by.  You do sometimes see surf casting at the beach and of course there are lots of fishermen on the bays here too. I haven't seen cooking on the beach yet though Phil. 

Before my next trip south to Hilton Head Island I am hoping to have allergy testing. I seemed to develop a shellfish allergy in my old age. I want to know for sure so I don't take any chances with shrimp and lobster. I love them both but have experienced minor adverse reactions. 

Paul Simons

Thanks Phil and Barbara. Your comments have made me realize that I have to admit to being more comfortable cooking and eating sharks, lobsters, shrimp and other denizens of the depths than I am swimming around with them. I'm also starting to think that this website is a reunion of sorts and has been all along, allowing folks who might not have known one another while corralled beneath the "stately dome" to exchange what has come our way in the time between then and now. Fabulous !!

 Back to these monstrous fish - the link below details the differences between rays and skates.

https://otlibrary.com/resources/rays-skates/

Philip Spiess

Oh, c'mon Paul!  Anybody of our generation knows the difference between rays and skates.  Rays are those hidden beams both heroes and villains shot out of guns in science fiction movies from the 1930s through the 1950s.  Skates are those cumbersome contraptions you hooked onto your shoes and tightened with something now unknown to modern-day youngsters called a "skate key"; you then sailed down the sidewalk on wheels and under your own volition, bumping into other kids, crashing into metal garbage cans, in general causing panic and chaos to all pedestrians, and usually ending up sprawled face down in the neighbors' barberry hedge.

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

With each message it feels like a reunion of sorts. Some of you I did know and some I didn't.  For Paul and others, I did know you but now I feel like I missed out on a lot not paying more attention.  High School wasn't easy for me. That's the way it goes.  

I await reunion reports and pictures so thank you in advance. 

Paul Simons

I have at times been reticent to monopolize the conversation but I feel that I must address the issues raised here. In reverse order - Barbara you didn't miss out on anything - in high school I was a nerd, unpopular, introverted, and only a few experiences with LSD and other such things allowed me to become slightly normal but I'm still a nerd, and not a rich computer programmer nerd but a salaried one. 
Phil your alluding to the skates available when we were kids reminds me of how far that technology has come - from the clunky clanky metal skates to today's skateboards on which kids regularly and gracefully defy gravity. Something about this makes me remember how polio would put kids of our era into metal braces or worse iron lungs, until the polio vaccine put an end to that. Sadly this country is now, because of media empires that can very powerfully broadcast pure lies, become home to millions who refuse to accept that vaccines work. Yikes!!
 

Barbara Kahn (Tepper)

Paul, let me put forth my theory that we are all quite different people from what our awkwardly formed personalities were in HS. Thank goodness we have grown up and matured, most of us anyway. 

As for the skating, I know about those skates but I was never able to roller skate.  I lived near Cincinnnati Gardens and loved taking Ice skating lessons.