Class Gathering in Naples, Florida March 16 – 23, 2014

Nine of us got together for a week of memories and fun in Naples this past week:  Sue, Larry, and Laurie put the event together and hosted us; Will and Betsy buzzed down in Will’s Miata; Rachel, Mary P., and Karen H. flew in from their northern homes; and I drove down from Hollywood, MD.  And let’s not forget the spouses who put up with us for the week:  Paul, Rykken, and Patrick.

We hung around at Sue’s and Paul’s for much of our downtime to reminisce and watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico (I’ve yet to see the mythical flash of green) and freely invade their fridge and booze stocks.  Our excursions included:

• Lake Trafford and an airboat ride to look for alligators and birds;

• A trolley tour of Ave Maria, the catholic community being developed by the former owner of Dominoes Pizza;

• The Naples Botanical Gardens with this year’s wonderful Legos constructions;

• Corkscrew Swamp, and wonderful sanctuary for birds and swampy creatures;

• A pontoon boat cruise through early morning fog to bright and warm sunlight into Estero Bay;

• A bocce ball tournament at Larry’s & Rykken’s club.

And then there were the lunches and dinners…
To see all of my photos from the reunion, click here:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/9tt3vcngvfadvwr/fkMc9LnvS1

And here's a link to Laurie's photos:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/szmgj7miamc87rq/N_x6FrQfdJ

Don’t forget upcoming events:

1. WOSA/FWS reunion in Baltimore July 11-14.  Go to the FWS website to register.
2. A class gathering at Vivia’s, on Lake Norman, North Carolina, in September.

Posted by Hank.

Class Photo at the Lyre Tree – 2014

Thanks to Sue, here’s a photo of the class members who made the trip to Woodstock to celebrate the 50th anniversary year:

50 Class reunion photo at Woodstock in November:
You can probably identify us, (we look the same !!) but left to right using maiden names:  Will Manton, Carol McDearmid, Mary Pollock, Betsy Woodman, Joy Rice, Ted Chitambar, Larry Smith, Karen Anderson, Meherjee Cassinath, Esther Jantzen, and in front: Saroj Kapadia (staff) and Sue Turner.
And while I’m writing about Sue and class reunions, here are two class gatherings planned:
1.  Naples, Florida:  March 14-21, 2014.
2.  At Vivia’s in North Carolina on Lake Norman:  September 10-15, 2014.
Posted by:  Hank

Joy’s Photos from the Class 50th Reunion Trip to India

My apologies for posting these links so late, but for those of you who haven’t seen Joy’s wonderful pictures of last year’s class trip to India, here are the links to her Picasa albums:
1.  Pilgrimage to Woodstock:  https://plus.google.com/photos/107790107286584552927/albums/5952225014276285825?banner=pwa
2.  Dharamsala and Kangra:  https://plus.google.com/photos/107790107286584552927/albums/5952269471029548753?banner=pwa
3.  Kerala:  https://plus.google.com/photos/107790107286584552927/albums/5952285501409957905?banner=pwa
4.  Ajanta & Ellora:  https://plus.google.com/photos/107790107286584552927/albums/5952274839109763889?banner=pwa
Thanks, Joy!
Posted by Hank

50th Reunion Trip to Woodstock

I have just received a number of pictures and a “post” from Esther and Karen Holden, sent from Bhutan which they are visiting before moving on to Woodstock.  I’ll update this as I get more.
Esther says:

GNID CONTINGENT IN BHUTAN EXPERIENCING GROSS GROUP HAPPINESS

We've seen the Bhutanese king, we were blessed by a reincarnated saint, we saw the Number Two Prince shoot arrows at a target 140 meters away and hit it, and we've laughed hard at most of Ted's bad jokes.

Bhutan is an incredible experience, unlike anything we've done before. There are five of us here: Ted and Jackie Chitambar, Karen Holden, Esther Jantzen, and Will Manton. To our surprise we are getting along marvelously, but whether that is due to our boarding-school-trained personalities or because we're in a Buddhist country, we're not sure.

The weather has not cooperated in allowing us to see the Himalayas much, but today we caught a glimpse of second highest mountain in Bhutan for about five seconds. We have an incredible guide--a story-teller, a joke-maker, and a man very well informed about Bhutanese history, culture, and religion. It's required for tourists to have a guide here, and we feel very fortunate to have this one. In addition, our accommodations have ranged from good to excellent. We have buffet meals morning, noon, and night, and the vegetarians/vegan in our group are satisfied. We think Rajiv Mehra has done an exceptional job in planning and travel arrangements, and his representatives at each place have taken tender care of us.

We're looking forward to meeting up in a few days with our GNID comrades who've been in Dharmsala, and trekking Tehri road together our old stomping grounds.

Note:  photo comments are mine (Hank's), for the most part.

Ted, Karen, and Esther aboard the GoFlight to Bagdogara, on the way to Darjeeling and Bhutan.


Having met up with Ted and Jackie, the group bonds (or so they say).



Tiger’s Nest Monastery above Bhutan’s international airport in  Paro.  I’m not sure if they flew into Paro or drove, but if you’re interested in seeing a video of the tricky approach and landing of a Druk Air flight into the Paro airport, click here.



The Darjeeling hotel room looks a bit cold.
 

The Ghoom Railway station is the highest in the world and now a World Heritage Site.

Esther and Karen make peace at Darjeeling’s Peace Pagoda.




















The world’s tallest sitting Buddha, Bhutan.  This temple complex is still under construction and will, reportedly, include 100,000 small statuettes of Buddha when it is complete with an estimated total cost of over $100 million.


















Ted, needing all the help he can get, spins prayer wheels.


























Ted, still looking for help, opens the “world’s largest book.”





















Ted and Jackie out for a Bhutan stroll.

















And then there is Will, always looking for a fitting fashion, tries on a Bhutanese gho.

WOSA 2013; Maryville, TN

Sue, Vivia, Will, Ed and his wife Karen, Louisa and her husband Paul, and I showed our class spirit and colors at the super WOSA gathering in Maryville, TN this past weekend and had a great time.  But, we missed those of you who couldn’t make it.  As you know by now, because it was our 50th year since graduation, we were asked to do a 30 minute class presentation.  More about that below.
One of the highlights, at least for me, was catching up with Eva and Bob Forsgren who are the same wonderful people we knew so well as students.  Eva is the same witty, irreverent and “tell it as it is,, lovely lady, and Bob is still, well, Bob.
   
The weather during the reunion cooperated very well and we felt in sync with a monsoon weekend in Mussoorie. We saw a few spots of blue in the sky as we closed things up on Sunday night, but other than that it was heavy white clouds rolling through the mountains with rain coming and going.  The Sunday service’s offering, which totaled over $1,200, was tagged for the victims of Uttarakhand’s horrendous flooding and landslides this season.  (And Sue’s silent auction netted another $3,000+ for WOSA.)
For our class presentation, Sue had us decked out in class colors.  

We had a slide for each class member who sent pictures to me (and a few who I had pictures for) and talked briefly about what that classmate had done since Woodstock.  It seemed to go over fairly well, and thanks to Sue starting off with some laughing yoga, everyone was awake (9 PM after a good khana).  If you’re interested in seeing the slide show and all of the pictures you sent in to me, click here to go to the SkyDrive folder that contains them.  (You – or other prying eyes – cannot get to this folder without this link, and you will NOT need to open a SkyDrive account to follow this link.)  Each of you who sent pictures in has a separate folder identified by your name that contains them.  (Laurie's folder contains another that has a bunch of neat photos in it.) Also, when you open the WOSA 2013 folder the link takes you to, you’ll find two files named _Class Presentation.  The one with the .key appended to it is an Apple Keynote version, and you will need Keynote to view it.  The one with nothing appended is a Microsoft PowerPoint version and will run when you open it, whether or not you have PowerPoint installed on your computer.  Unfortunately, the slide show won’t be too exciting without our absolutely brilliant and witty, totally ad libbed narrative that went with it.
Next year’s reunion will be at Notre Dame University of Maryland, located very close to Baltimore’s Inner Harbour.  Block out July 11-14, 2014 for that event!
GNID!

An Itsy-Bitsy Chota GNID Reunion

Where just two or three are gathered, does that qualify to be called a GNID reunion?

On a cold, crisp, clear Sunday afternoon in January, three of us GNIDers gathered at Sue and Paul Hanifl’s near Chicago to gossip about all the rest of you who weren’t lucky enough to join us.

Just kidding. We really gathered to weep into our whine glasses about the suffering we experienced in our years at Woodstock.

Just kidding. We really gathered just because we could! Because we’re friends, we’re retired and can do what we want!

And, although we gathered at Sue’s because she had ankle replacement surgery in mid-December and is sitting captive in a wheelchair for a few weeks rather than traveling the world in a private plane, what we really talked about is how excited we are about our upcoming 50^th Reunion and our trip to India.

Who’s we? Karen Anderson Holden, who’s now an avid GNIDer and reunion attendee (even though she was at Woodstock in 1956 for less than the blink of an eye); and Sue, whom we all know as our beloved Class Secretary Extraordinaire; and me, Esther, now a happily homeless global nomad (I’m helping with care-taking for Sue for a few weeks; she's been a very good friend to me).

So the big question we have for you, dear classmate, is will you join us in India this fall? So far there are about 25 people seriously interested in attending. These include (in no particular order):

Bill and Marcia Tammeus
David and Gretchen Bonham
Karen (Eskildsen) and David Wilcock
Suzanne (Turner) and Paul Hanifl
Ted and Jackie Chitambar
Will and Gina Manton
Mary (Shannon) and Rich Murray
Joy (Rice) and John Grover
Larry Smith (and Rykken??)
Carol (McDearmid) Houghton (and Graham??)
Betsy Woodman
Esther Jantzen
Mary Pollock
Karen (Anderson) Holden 

Hank Lacy

The tour that’s being planned (you can choose what components of it you want to do) may well include a side trip to Darjeeling/Bhutan or Agra/Jaipur/Dharmsala prior to the trip to Woodstock. Then there would be the gathering in Mussoorie and Woodstock for several days. Finally there is the option to return to USA or go to South India (several places) and then possibly to Sri Lanka or back to other places in India.  

The dates are in the range of the last two weeks in October and first two of November, 2013. (We’re awaiting Woodstock calendar info before confirming dates.)

Larry Smith (our esteemed Class President) and Sue H, and Ted C (our esteemed, well, let’s call him our Supreme Communicator) are the masterminds behind the tour. Larry made a nice flow-chart to capture the ideas so far. If you want to input ideas or to put your name on the “probably-will-go” list or the “keep-me-informed,” please email Sue.

And as for our three-person + one spouse gathering in the cold of January, a good time was had by all. (Didn't our class party reports in the class minutes always end that way? :-))

Oh, almost forgot:  One more picture, this of Sue with her new ankle and in her cast in class colors!

Maine Reunion 2012

We're having a grand ole time here at the 2012 GNID reunion in Corea, Maine, at the house of Karen and David Wilcock. It's been raining like in the monsoons; when we go into stores or historic houses, there's more than a whiff of mildew. But we're all such great sports, it's no-never-mind. Yesterday we toured Woodlawn House (an antique-stocked superb sample of federalist architecture), then tasted beer and ice-cream in Bar Harbor, and ended up at Union Lobster Pot restaurant for choice lobster and other seafood. Today we went "ghooming" around the Schoodic peninsula, bought gifts at a real 5 & 10 store, had a fabulous lunch at the house that David and Gretchen Bonham are renting, and are now awaiting curry and rice dinner, an attempt to recover after disappointment that the Americans lost Ryder Cup. Karen and David are wonderful hosts--not to mention that Karen is becoming a wonderful weaver. The classmates that are here: Vivia, Sue, Larry, Betsy, Laurie, Karen W, Karen H, Bill T, David B, and Esther. We've been talking about the 2013 trip to India. Stay tuned, or email Sue to get on the list of potential travelers.

Paul Chaffee Writes About Shinnyo-en

Esther Jantzen brought Paul’s recent article from The Interfaith Observer to my attention and suggested that I post it here, and I’m happy to do so.  The title of Paul’s article is: “Shinnyo-en Memorial Ceremony Draws 40,000”.  It is partly about this impressive Honolulu Memorial Day event and Shinnyo-en, the young Buddhist order that is behind the event.  But it is about a more important need in the Interfaith movement.

Click here to see Paul’s article.  Thanks, Paul; well said (well, well written!).

Betsy’s Super Website is Now Live!

For those of you who missed Betsy’s Facebook post about her website, here’s the link:

http://www.betsywoodman.com/

Good show, Betsy!  Shabash!

Mini-Reunion in Naples, FL... Sunset Cruise!

Click here for Laurie's pictures of a gorgeous sunset cruise in Naples, FL with some of our classmates who hang out there, their spouses, and Jim and Nelda Miller.

Congratulations Betsy!

For those of you who have not yet seen Betsy’s Macmillan website for her first of three books, visit: 

http://us.macmillan.com/janabibisexcellentfortunes

Perhaps this will soon morph into betsywoodmansexcellentfortunes!

Gathering in Black Mountain

We had three GNIDers together in Black Mountain, NC at the memorial service for Doug Pickett:  Louisa, Dave Whetstone, and myself.  The fellow on the left is my brother Doug.  Dave and Debbie hosted me for four nights and it was nice to have some extended time with Hickory, NC’s finest, and to catch up with Louisa.

Sedona Reunion–Part III

Here’s a link to some great pictures taken by Laurie and Gia at the Sedona Reunion.  You can click on the slideshow to open the pictures in the GNID Picasa Web album.  Thanks, ladies!

Sedona Reunion—Part II

And here’s a picture of the entire group that made it to Sedona for this year’s reunion.  I’m promised yet more pictures, so stay tuned.  (By the way, doesn’t Ted look dapper with that stuff all over his face?)

Sedona Reunion–Part 1

Here’s a picture of the GNIDers attending the Sedona reunion with the exception of Marilee and her husband Dave, and Karen (Holden) and her friend John.  The absentees reportedly found better things to do than take jeeps up to the Sedona badlands – they were trying to track down the elusive Roadrunner.  I’m promised additional photos to post shortly.  Meanwhile I’m trying to hold my envy in check!

Mini, Mini Reunion

Dave, Debbie, and I got together over the weekend in Black Mountain, NC at Doug & Ann Pickett's home, and at Dave & Debbie's lovely home in Hickory.  Very nice to see them again!

So Where in the World Have You Been, Pray Tell?

At our GNID reunion at Hank’s in July 2010, some of us were sitting around talking about places we’d lived at some point in our lives.

And we started a list of GNID-visited countries. Wow, what an international group we are! I never knew that Larry was born in Algeria, and that Marilee’s been all over Africa, and....

The rule we followed was that you could “qualify” to say you’d lived in a country if you had spent at least four consecutive weeks there (maybe we said 6 weeks, I forget; for purposes of this list, I’m making a unilateral ruling that four weeks is sufficient).

So here’s a beginning of the list, with the initials of the class member who “lived” there. I only included on the list so far the names of those of us who were playing this game, although I know of other classmates who’ve lived elsewhere. I didn’t want to presume to add them without their permission.

Please feel free to make corrections and additions of any other countries and remember to include your name in the COMMENTS section at the end of this. I expect we collectively have lived in many more places. What a novel we could write!

NAME CODE

HL--Hank Lacy

KW--Karen Wilcox

TC-Ted Chitamber

MR--Marilee K Rhody

LS--Larry Smith

SH--Sue Hanifl

EJ--Esther Jantzen

WM--Will Manton

RF--Rachel Finney

COUNTRIES

Algeria--LS

Antartica--LS

Belgium--LS

Burkina Faso--KW

Burma--WM

Burundi--MR

Canada--MR, LS, RF

China--MR

England--RF, TC

Ethiopia--MR

Fiji--HL

France--KW

Germany--KW

INDIA--All of us, of course

Indonesia--LS, HL

Italy--KW

Japan--KW, LS, HL, MR, WM

Korea--KW

North Korea--HL

Laos--MR

Malaysia--HL

Mali--MR

Mexico--RF

Morocco--KW

Nepal--HL

Netherlands--RF

Niger--MR

Nigeria--SH

Pakistan--SH, MR, LS

Panama--TC

Philippines-- HL, KW, TC

Scotland--RF

Spain--EJ

Switzerland--KW

Turkey--RF

USA--All of us

Vietnam--TC

Zambia--MR