No. 40
September, 2008

A very beautiful end of summer here in the Northeast, but a little too quiet – I haven’t heard from many of you. Let’s continue the dialog we had at Reunion, and, for those of you who couldn’t make it, let us know what you did this summer. Write me!

I have the sad duty to inform you that Thomas W. Twele died on March 20, 2008. He was a physician in Anniston, Alabama. If you have memories of Tom, I hope you will send them to me so that I can share them here and in Columbia College Today.

Steve Clineburg is the first to respond to my plea for more photos from our 45th Reunion. I have posted them here (click this link to see them), and will gladly post more if you send them to me.

By the time you read this, we will be about to start the fifth year of our Second Thursday Class of ’63 lunches at the Columbia Club in NYC. So far, over 40 of your classmates have attended, and some of the regulars have been to over 30 of them. So plan on visiting NY and join us. The next gatherings are on September 11 and October 16 (note: the date has been re-scheduled a week later because of Yom Kippur).

In the meantime, let us know what you are up to, how you’re doing, and what’s next.

If this is your first visit here, 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. If you haven't seen any of the earlier newsletters, take a look -- there's a lot more news, pictures, and interesting articles than I have been able to include in Columbia College Today.

Table of Contents:

• Next Second Thursday Lunches - Join us on September 11 and October 16
• The Latest News From Your '63 Classmates

Next Lunches - Thursday, September 11 and October 16

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. I hope you can all join us at the next lunches on Thursday, September 11 and October 16. Let me know if you will attend so that we can reserve a big enough table; RSVP to Paul Neshamkin (pauln@helpauthors.com).

July lunch attended by eight '63ers

We had a great turnout for our July 10th lunch with eight classmates attended on a beautiful warm, summer day. Among the regulars pictured below were Jerry Dwyer, Doron Gopstein, Bob Heller, Bruce Kaplan, Paul Neshamkin, Larry Neuman, Tom OConnor, and Barry Reiss.

(Seated from left to right) Bob Heller, Paul Neshamkin, Doron Gopstein, Larry Neuman, Jerry Dwyer, Barry Reiss, Tom O'Connor, and Bruce Kaplan.

Lunch Archives

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

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

Latest News from the Class of 63

Lee Lownefish writes, “I received the handsome Seymour medal from SABR - Society for American Baseball Research - in June at their annual meeting.” (Lee told me, “Don't know if it is really gold but it is impressively heavy.”) Lee continues, “The University of Nebraska Press will be issuing a paperback of the book, Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman, in the spring. I will again be teaching the Sport History class in Columbia's new Sport Management graduate program administered by School of Continuing Education.”

Henry Black pointed out that Robert J. Lefkowitz, ’62 has been awarded the nation’s highest honor for science, National Medal of Science for contributions to the biological sciences by President Bush. Bob is a professor of biochemistry, immunology and medicine, and also a basic research cardiologist in the Duke Heart Center. He was honored for a lifetime of research into understanding the largest, most important and most therapeutically accessible receptor system that controls the body's response to drugs and hormones. Henry writes, “Bob started with us but graduated in three years. He really should win a Nobel Prize as well.”

Sid Kadish writes, “After many years of receiving brochures from the Columbia Alumni Association advertising cruises in the Mediterranean, one finally arrived this spring that really grabbed me. It read ‘Journey of Odysseus: Retracing the Odyssey through the Ancient Mediterranean.’ I caved when the cover of the brochure showed a detail from a Greek vase depicting a Siren playing a two horned flute before a frustrated Odysseus strapped to his mast.

The trip turned out to be terrific. We had four professors including Richard Sacks, a Columbia classicist, and three others: an archeologist, an art historian and a humanist from the U of Chicago who discussed the tension between Plato and Homer. We were back in college, but we had wonderful field trips in Turkey (Troy), some Greek islands, Malta, Sicily, and even Naples/Pompeii, land of the Cyclops. There were no papers and no exams.

The voyage was on a small cruise ship called Corinthian II. Food, service, and accommodations were great. The weather was invariably sunny, cloudless, and bright during the last two weeks of June. Best of all, our shipmates were interested and interesting, bright, intelligent, and well read people who greatly contributed to our enjoyment. Columbia people were in the minority. My wife Helen and I agreed; best trip ever!”

I received a press release from Steve Barcan’s law firm, Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, that he has been selected to appear by Chambers and Partners USA in its register of America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Steve is his firm's administrative shareholder and past chair of its Land Use and Environmental Team. He is also the past chair of the Land Use Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Mel Gurtov has “retired” from the faculty at Portland State University, but will be a Visiting Professor of Political Science at the University of Oregon. He writes, “I continue to serve as editor-in-chief of Asian Perspective, a quarterly international journal, and to write on Asian and international affairs. But my truly major change is to join with my wife, Jodi, in farming our 40 acres in Deadwood, Oregon --something I have no training for, but fortunately, she does!”

Patrick Cary-Barnard has posted some videos on You Tube about his efforts in Montreal to fight artificial turf. He writes, “There is actually a family of four of these "Westmount Park Videos" up on YouTube right now, all accessible at the user name Pimento3. I am also producing a film called “Fennario's War," featuring a reading by Canadian playwright, David Fennario, of a play for a single actor about World War I.” I don’t know how many of you have been experimenting with posting videos (or photos) on the Internet, but if you have anything posted you like me to link to from www.cc63ers.com, please let me know.

Classmates-Gone-Green Department: Barry Reiss, in addition to installing solar panels to generate his home's electrical needs, has owned a Zap Zebra (www.zapworld.com) for over a year. This three-wheel electric car, which seats four, can cruise along at 40 mph, and, according to Barry, is the perfect car to drive to the station or do local shopping. No pollution, no cost for gas, just charge it up every night. Let's hear what you're doing to end dependence on fossil fuels.

I hope you'll try to make one of our Second Thursday Class lunches. The next gatherings are on September 11 and October 16 (note: the date has been re-scheduled a week later because of Yom Kippur).

In the meantime, let us know what you are up to, how you’re doing, and what’s next.


When you send your notes in, please indicate if you would like to share your email address(or web site) with your classmates.

Always great to hear from you all.

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

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