» On 4/01/2024 12:05:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Zoomiversary #4, 03April2020 - 03April2024. 

The first ZoomFest was among four members of our Westfield [MA] High School track team. We've kept in touch over the years, but the pandemic brought us a lot closer together, in a series of semimonthly Zoom meetings. The group quickly expanded to six, and then ten, regulars, and often included special guests, like our spouses, partners, kids, pets, and even our old coach. The next get-together is this coming Friday, with participants Zooming in from Lakewood Colorado, Mesa Arizona, Philomath Oregon, Suffield Connecticut, Niwot Colorado, Fougères France, San Diego California, Virginia Beach Virginia, and Swampscott Massachusetts. Special thanks to Jim Gusek, who sparked the whole idea, and to COVID-19, for creating this unexpectedly welcome side benefit.

Remember the old TV shows from the 50s and 60s, when a group of guys would get together for Poker Night? They smoked cigars, drank beer and told dirty jokes. Well, some of us see the ZoomFest as Poker Night, without the cigars. 😉

--1968-71, top 2 rows, L-R: Jim Gusek, moi, Patrick Kamins, Michael Rood, Bert Cashman, Robert Grace, Michael Kay, Stephen FitzGerald, Bruce LaPointe, and Bill Walthall.
--5 decades later, bottom 2 rows!

Founding members of Westfield High's Cross-Country team in the Fall of 1968, L-R:
Al Baird, Coach Reign Rix, Jim Gusek, (Bob Grace), Dan Fountain, Bert Cashman, Mike Rood.

WHS Track, Spring 1969, Row-Column, Front-Back: Bert Cashman 1-1, Bob Grace 1-2,
Mike Kay 2-2, Al Baird 2-9, Bill Walthall 2-10, Steve FitzGerald 2-12, Mike Rood 3-1,
Bruce LaPointe 3-2, Jim Gusek 3-9. (Pat Kamins graduated in 1968.)

Glory Days, Friday Night Lights, Facebook posting, 05Apr2024 ZoomFest, 1969 track records

Labels: whs, z4, ZoomFest

 
» On 3/27/2024 06:00:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
R.I.P. Christopher Worth (07 Aug 1951 - 25 Mar 2024; Age 72). 

My classmate, my teammate, my friend. Safe travels, Chris.

His Facebook page, and the GoFundMe page (archive) that chronicled his final illness.
The Chelmsford [MA] HS teams we were on together: '65 x-country ~ '66 track ~ '66 x-country ~ '67 track ~ '68 winter track. That last photo brings back a lot of powerful memories. Chris and I are in the second row. As you can see, he was a tall drink o' water. Funny as h*ll, too. He went on to earn his living by playing music on the streets of France and Japan, among other places. I was always amazed by his adventures. His older brother Kim (front row) went on to become a standup comic and the 1st runner-up in Jeopardy's 1998 Tournament of Champions. I sat in the studio audience and was impressed by his accomplishments, too. Kim won nearly 80 grand in less than a year. The guy sitting at Kim's left (BP) went on to become a convicted murderer. I guess none of us really knew what the future would bring.

Labels: cw

 
» On 3/16/2024 02:50:00 PM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
R.I.P. Emily Griffin (Oct1981-Mar2024; 42yo). 

Sad news on a sign hit me this morning, when I walked into my local supermarket. Emily was a bright light, always smiling and upbeat. She worked mostly in the self-checkout area, and I interacted with her quite a bit. She was very helpful, and I sometimes "invented" a small problem for myself so that she would come over to my checkout machine. She was super-stylish, with her close-cropped blonde hair, and I loved to hear her giggle, so I created jokes for us.

While checking out today, I talked with another Fry's employee who happened to know her well. The woman said that Emily had survived breast cancer, but it entered her bones, and she passed away four days ago, at the age of 42. So Emily knew what was coming, but she chose to spread good cheer anyway.

This fancy new Fry's opened in 2020, and I moved from the smaller, dingier Fry's which is still open, 2.4 miles to the east. In the early days, I justified the extra mileage by saying there was a Starbucks inside the new store, but chats with Emily soon became most of the equation. Boy, I'll miss her. 💔

Emily's social media accounts: Facebook, Nextdoor.
UPDATE: This photo I posted on Nextdoor received 19.9K Views, 457 Reactions, and 122 Comments in 2 weeks.

 
» On 3/15/2024 06:45:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
In Memoriam list for our NBC Page class. Requiescat In Pace. 

L-R, T-B [tap image to enlarge]:
Mark Steven Traub 1958-2022 age 64
Stephen W. Weinheimer 1954-2013 age 59
Ramon M. Plaza, Jr. 1953-2018 age 65
Gregory P. Pavlis 1958-2000 age 42
Louis Padilla Jr. 1956-1995 age 38
James Edward Ellis 1957-2014 age 56
Kenneth F. Delahanty 1947-2020 age 73
Nancy Beresford Henze 1954-2019 age 65
Neal J. Bamonti 1957-1988 age 30
"The life of the dead is placed in the memories of the living."
--Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC)

Labels: acbpage, rip

 
» On 3/05/2024 09:33:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
1980 Convention Season. 

July and August 1980: two great NBC Page assignments, working at the conventions. In Detroit, it was the Reagan & GHW Bush coronation. But in Manhattan Square Garden, President Jimmy Carter & Senator Ted Kennedy ripped the Democratic party apart.
>>FYI: Secret Service lapel pins are impossible to obtain. I know. I tried. 😉
[tap to enlarge]

Labels: acbpage, conv

 
» On 3/04/2024 11:32:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
Letterman Before The Beginning. 

13Jun1980: David Letterman starts dress rehearsals for his morning show w/Rich Hall, Valri Bromfield, Wil Shriner, Edie McClurg, etc. Final airdate: 24Oct1980. (Late Night then ran from 01Feb1982 to 25Jun1993, when Jay Leno knifed Dave in the back.) [tap to enlarge]

UPDATE: I was a Key Page (supervisory) for the audience on that show, and we had a lot of trouble finding enough people to fill the seats. But our biggest challenge was the homeless guy who came every day and sat in the same seat... and peed in it. The smell was horrendous. After a few weeks, nobody would sit next to him. What to do, what to do? Should we ban him, and lose a dedicated audience member, or should we let him stay and pee in the seat? What would YOU do? 😉

Labels: acbpage, dl

 
» On 3/03/2024 11:31:00 AM Mountain Standard Time, Alan wrote:
NYC Page SNL Invitations, 1979/80. 

SNL 4th & 5th end-of-season parties - NYC Page invitations:
(Left) 26May1979: Edie Baskin hand tint.
(Right) 24May1980: Buck Henry. [tap to enlarge]
In the Promenade Cafe at Rockefeller Center (outdoor skating rink in winter).
NY Times 31Jan2014: Lives of the After-Party

Labels: acbpage, inv