forty65, vol. i, no. 2, 30 may 2005

  TJ

class

  of

1965

happy Memorial Day!

why don’t I recognize these people?

If you’ve been to the website, seen the Reunion Committee members, and wondered who those people are, you’re not alone. The Committee members themselves have wondered the same. When we first began meeting last fall, we politely refrained from saying, “What’s your name again? I never heard of you!”  But finally we confessed to what we were thinking, and most of us didn’t have a clue who the others were.  

The good news is that even if we didn’t remember each other from high school, and even if our 40-year journeys have taken us on wildly different paths, we still share common ground from TJ days. Even better, we like knowing each other now. We hope you too will have a “Wow! Wish I’d know you better longer sooner” experience with classmates you meet or get to know again through our 40^th reunion communications and activities.    

Do be in touch. We want you to send your memories and reflections – and we’ll start sharing some of ours as well. 

John Jay Schwartz (Johnny, in TJ days), our convener and chair, says, “High school was a time of learning and experimenting – intellectually (I had little intellect), socially (as I became more involved in activities outside of school), and personally (as I came out of my shell). Though I really wanted to participate, sports were out of the question because I often worked after school in our family supermarket business – and I frankly needed the money for anything I wanted to do.” John challenged the Committee to find at least 300 of the 454 members of our class. To date, we’re at 323. If you know how to reach any of our “missing persons” (the list is on the website), please contact us. 

Charles Douglass (some of us still call him Charlie), the wonder behind our website, is learning to design and manage websites as we go – ours is his first. Charlie recalls taking slide rule at TJ instead of typing – because he thought he would always have a secretary to do his typing for him! He also recalls an AP Physics class with Mr. Uram that met before school. Some days they dropped things out of the lab window. Were they testing gravity, or playing with water balloons? You decide. (For evidence, see the 1965 Monticello, p. 68, or the website.)

You can also see a “then” photo of Larry Bernstein, who will be our DJ on Saturday, on our website. (Remember to send him your favorite songs and your dedications.) Larry’s favorite classes were Miss Sutton’s jewelry classes. Remember when initial rings and ID bracelets were “in”? Working in silver, Larry made his own.   

the junior stunt night question

Tom Adair (now in Charlotte , NC ) was the first to respond with the name of our Junior Stunt night: “Route 65” – a parody of TV’s “Route 66.” Tom played a bongo drummer. Larry Bernstein was a police officer, and when he took a pratfall, he accidentally threw his baton into the audience. Larry thinks Ricky Hoffman and Lee Forb wrote the script. Does that sound right?

let us know

• Who, or what, or where were you for   “Route 65”?
• Did you have a favorite teacher or class?
• Was there something you wanted to do in high school that you never got the chance to do?
• Did you ever drop things out of windows? what things? which windows? why? on whom?