Daily Border Closing Ceremony Between India and Pakistan

I don't remember hearing that the India-Pakistan border is closed each day with a ceremony done "baadi smartness kisaath." Here's a great video of the event:

http://m.wimp.com/indiapakistan

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!

Mussoorie Writers’ Conference

Esther suggested that the following links might be of interest to classmates and asked that I post them.  She was unable to do so as she was otherwise occupied and unable to get to her computer.

 

The link to the Mussoorie Writers’ Conference, which is what Waggie participated in last year, I believe, is:

http://www.mussooriewriters.com

Another link she suggested is to Margo Warner Curl’s blog:

http://tehriroad.blogspot.com/

Enjoy!

Maine Reunion 2012 (by Bill Tammeus)

Karen (say it with me, CAR-un) Wilcock had prepared a full weekend for the Sept. 28-30 GNID reunion in Corea, Maine, full of boat trips and hikes and outdoor this and that.

And then Mother Nature, who clearly is a non-GNIDer, decided to make it rain all weekend.

But the 10 Woodstock classmates plus spouses and others who showed up didn’t care at all. They ignored the rain and had wonderful conversation, excellent meals (at a lobster restaurant as well as at the Wilcock home), trips through Acadia National Park, stops for ale-tasting and shopping in wet Bar Harbor, a visit to a museum/home and more.

They even sat in David and Karen Wilcock’s kitchen and posted Facebook entries about each other. And they discussed plans for the 50^th reunion in the October-November 2013 timeframe back at Woodstock School, with some possible side trips thrown in. The list of GNIDers interested in attending that reunion runs past two dozen and may grow.

It was a fabulous weekend and at last report everyone had made it home in one piece. Who was there? The GNIDers in the group photo taken at the Bonham's rented home (see Esther's post of a few days ago) here are: front row from left — Karen Wilcock, Sue Turner Hanifl, Esther Jantzen, Vivia Day Tatum, Laurie Burgess; back row from left — Betsy Woodman, Larry Smith, Bill Tammeus, Karen (CAR-un, making two of them) Holden and David Bonham.)

For a photo of the wet coastline along with a few thoughts about being there, see Bill’s blog at http://billtammeus.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/10/10-67-12.html. 

2012 Reading Recommendations

Classmates who attended the Maine reunion started a recommended book list. I don’t think everyone knew about it or got a chance to add their favorites, but here is what we have so far. If you want to make additional suggestions, please do so by emailing Sue or posting it to this blog. So many good books; so little time!


Recommended by Marcia Tammeus:
In the Bleak Mid-Winter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (part of a series)
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Faith: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh
The Paris Wife: A Novel by Paula McLain (about Hemingway’s first wife)
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

Recommended by Sue Hanifl
Under the Marble Sky: A Novel of the Taj Mahal by John Shors
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Getting Stoned with Savages: A Trip Through the Islands of Fiji and Vanuatu by J. Maarten Troost

Recommended by Karen Wilcock:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Catherine the Great by Robert Massy
Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Recommended by Betsy Woodman:
The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai (three novellas; the last is set outside Mussoorie)

Recommended by Esther Jantzen:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon (about autism)
Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zefon

I (Hank) didn’t attend the reunion, but here are some recommendations from me:

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee (described as a “biography” of cancer).

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

In the Garden of Beasts; Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin, by Erik Larson.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin.  (I’ve been listening to this six book series over the past year driving to and from DC.  It’s a huge commitment as each of the six books is close to 1,000 pages, but it’s great fun.)

IQ84 by Haruki Murakami

Recommended by Marilee:  Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese.

(Posted by Esther and Hank)

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.

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