No. 11
January 5, 2006

Welcome to the eleventh issue of the Columbia College Class of 1963 eNewsletter.

I hope that you are all enjoying the first signs of a new spring. I write these notes during the first cold days of the New Year. I suppose it’s because of the Holiday season, but I haven’t heard from many of you (you could have sent a card). The Second Thursday, Class of 1963 lunches continue to be a lively place for discussions and reminiscences. Our last two lunches of the year brought David Alpern, Bruce Kaplan, Steve Barcan, Larry Neuman, Paul Neshamkin, and Herb Soroca in November, and in December, Steve and Paul returned (I’m always there) and were joined by Jerry Dwyer and Larry Apple. You should plan on joining us at one of the upcoming lunches. The next few dates are January 12, February 9, March 9, April 20, and May 11.

At the request of many of you, I've added a link to an archives page, which in turn, will link you to the past issues of the Class of 1963 eNewsletter.

I hope that you are finding this eNewsletter interesting, I have had a great time hearing from all of you. Judging from the number of people who have been asking me to put them in touch with old friends mentioned here, I think that many of you share my desire to reconnect with old friends. I have heard from close to a hundred of the you since I started as your class correspondent a year ago. The class luncheon in New York has been attended by over 30 of you, and many of you have become regulars. I hope many more of you will attend. Keep those notes coming, and share with us your memories and your recent news.

Lost Classmates

Here again is the list of lost classmates that you have sent me:

Scott M. Blue
Christian (Chris) Rieger
Bill Sprague
Robert Vargas

I know that there must be many more who have lost contact with Columbia. If you know how to contact any of these classmates, please let me know. And send me the names of any other lost friends, and we will try to find them.

Next Lunch - Thursday, January 12

Columbia University Club of New York

Every Second Thursday of the Month, 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Columbia College Club - 15 West 43rd Street, NYC

Please join your classmates for an informal lunch at the Columbia Club every second Thursday of the month. It is our hope that these gatherings will renew old friendships and foster improved relationship with our class and the College. This month, Thursday, January 12, 2006.

December Lunch Attended By Four Die-hard 63ers

The eleventh Second Thursday Class of 1963 lunch was held on December 8 -- a cold, damp day in NYC, perhaps explaining our small numbers. Larry Apple in from Ohio returned for his second lunch and was joined by fellow Second Thursday Club members, Steve Barcan, Jerry Dwyer, and Paul Neshamkin.

Here's the gang.

(From left to right) Larry Apple, Steve Barcan, Paul Neshamkin, and Jerry Dwyer.

I hope you can all join us (please encourage your friends to come with you) at the next lunch on Thursday, January 12. Let me know if you will attend so that we can reserve a big enough table; RSVP to Paul Neshamkin (pauln@helpauthors.com).

Lunch Archives

If you like to see our previous lunches, click on the dates below:

December 9, 2004

January 13, 2005

February 10, 2005

March 10. 2005

For information and inquiries call Paul Neshamkin at 201-714-4881 or email at pauln@helpauthors.com.

Latest News from the Class of 63

Here is the total of the unedited (and unexpurgated) notes and news that you have sent in the last month (not much, is it?):

Peter Landecker (landecker@cyberdude.com) writes, “I am happily living in Manhattan Beach, CA. That is a little different from Manhattan, NY. Information about me is available at http://geocities.com/plandecker. I welcome correspondence from other CC '63 class members.” Peter's web site states that he has "1400 (scuba) dives and about 1200 underwater hours in 29 countries." I couldn't help but notice that his skin was amazingly unwrinkled. Peter, after seeing your web site, I am making my New Year's resolution to get out and have more fun!

Mike Hassan, who is currently the CEO of Kenya Direct Co. Ltd, responded to my plea for some fresh news, and wrote (all in lower case, as you will note), “i noticed the paucity of stories so i thought i'd drop you a line. i've been living in nairobi, kenya for the past year. now that southern sudan has become peaceful, all the business men here are rushing to the area to research the opportunities. since these people have almost nothing due to 26 years of civil war, the door is wide open for just about everything. usaid is spending 1/2 billion usd here as well as the un and of course, the south will now get some of the oil revenue that the north has been hoarding due to the comprehensive peace plan that is in place. i head there tuesday (December 6) for my own explorations and will try to report next newsletter on my findings.”

It's been a month and I'm still waiting for further news. Mike, I sure hope you made it back safely from your trip. Let us know.

When you send your notes in, please indicate if you would like to share your email address(or web site) with your classmates, I've been inundated with requests to pass this information on. Always great to hear from you all.

Share your news and views with your classmates. Contact your Class Correspondent, and let him know what you would like posted here or in Columbia College Today (CCT).