Another Mini-Bio

You know, the length of any Mini-Biography anyone wishes to submit for publication - solely at your own risk, of course - is limited only by your own self-imposed limits. Clarification: don't send a book either...we'll just have to refer you to a reputable publisher. Reputable? Us? Hah!

Another classmate and friend, not necessarily in that order, has boldly stepped in to be published. Welcome, Maria Isabel Riera - known now as Isabel Fara.

M. Isabel Riera - Signum '68

"HI Jeannette, Raquel and everyone else

Here is my story: I was a dental assistant for a while, later married at 26 years old and have 2 boys, oldest one is 32 and youngest one is 30, one is Vice President of Smith Cartage, Inc., a service carrier and the youngest one works at Zephyrhills. In 1978 became a legal secretary and worked for 23 years in that field.

In 12/2001 became a widow and changed jobs and worked as processor/closer/post-closing at Doral Title for six years until real estate market went sour. Now I recently started at Randstad which works for the government's division Pension Benefits Guaranty Corporation, which takes over the pension plans from companies that have gone under or are in bankruptcy.

Enough, hope to see you all and remember all good times.

Isabel (Riera) Fara"

That was short but sweet, Isabel - we, the Infernals and surely your Class of '68 friends as well, thank you for your words. All of you are encouraged to tell your stories, submit your images and anything else which defines who you are - and were - so we may get to know you better.

How many Quirogas does it take to fix a broken...ticket purchase link??

Answer: two - one to explain the problem for the other - the smart one - to fix it. And she DID repair what was broken, without resort to baling wire, duct tape, or any other rig job, the kind done by Shade Tree Mechanics and Infernal Bloggers. Thank you, Mrs. Q - you're hereby anointed as one of the support persons for the Class of '68 Reunion Technical Shoestring Operation. Your Worst Half just knew, almost 28 years ago, you would be needed to help with this event! Thus we signed the contract! Whether that was wise on your part may be debatable...

Or as Ms. Q puts it, "Mom - what were you thinking??"

Now there is NO excuse not to buy your tickets. As friend Larry would say, "She's done been fixed and ah ain't talkin' 'bout the dawg, so git-r-done!" You now have two links to access the PayPal page and you do not need a PayPal account to do the buying. However, remember: you can only buy ONE ticket at a time. That small inconvenience we cannot fix for you. Thank you for hanging in there patiently - but whip out your "plastique," and get yer tickets! Please...

Before we forget, an IP - Important Announcement - is in order. Classmate Adrianna F. Ramirez who found us on her own, has very kindly volunteered to design, build, and maintain a web site for the Class of '68. It is under construction, but already is looking fantastic - she needs your help and contributions to make it a great "meet and greet" site now and in the future; but go see for yourself. You will be very pleased.

How many Quirogas does it take to fix a broken...whatever?

The answer is: three. One to actually fix it, and the other two to stand around and comment on how great English sports cars were back in...England. Oil leaks, dubious electrics, and all. Aye lads! She still runs! Or is it a "he?"

This bit of playful irrelevancy takes us to the subject at hand: WE - meaning all of us who try or have tried to purchase tickets through the link on this blog - are having some problems with the PayPal page which is supposed to be enabled in order to allow said purchases. Your brave, yet inept, blog mechanic has now attempted repairs twice, testing the link four times. Yet, the problem surfaced again. It appears to be a PayPal "quirk."

The first thing is, when you click on the link it should take you to a page with the header "Immaculata-La Salle High School," and underneath the header, a sub-header titled "Class of 1968 Reunion Eveing." Yes, it should be "Evening," but it is not. The point being, if the page does not have those two headers, you are in the wrong PayPal site and will not be able to buy admission for the Friday school event. Although the link is working even as this is being written, just like the classic Jaguar XKE, it may be working now, and then again next time you 'crank 'er up,' it may just conk out on you.

Why this happens is, to paraphrase Churchill, a "mystery wrapped within an enigma." Curiously, if you enter the PayPal site via the post titled "A Lil' Technical Difficulty...has been overcome" then things magically work and so far this method of accessing the problematic page has given no trouble. Sorry this has been so vexing for all of you who have attempted to make your purchase, but please try again! If at first you don't succeed...blame the Blog Shade-Tree Mechanic! He knows how to break things all by his little self, no help wanted!

Poor Mr. Mooney...fortunate Mr. Masterson

A vignette of Life at LaSalle, courtesy "Infernal" Committe Member Ricardo Reimundo, lovingly known as "Lumumba," is hereby offered, unedited and unexpurgated, to the readership. Those of you who are contemplating taking up the teaching profession as a second career, should perhaps consider this a Cautionary Tale, although in the end, the Tale ends well.

Image from Signum '65 - page 83

"We were in our Junior Year and had Mr. Mooney for Business Math class. We had this class right after lunch, obviously, there had been corn on the menu that day. Mr. Mooney had a piece of corn stuck in his teeth and kept playing around with his lip and tongue trying to get that darn piece of corn loose. Well, the whole class suddenly had a piece of corn stuck in their teeth too, as we all began to imitate his every noise, facial contortion, etc. I distinctly remember Bill O'Malley and Bill Martin kept asking him all sorts of bonehead questions, just so he couldn't teach. I kept complaining that I had a stomach ache and it was an emergency that I go to the restroom, he wouldn't let me go. This was all a fake. Meanwhile, the bonehead questions continued, we were bombarding him with them. Finally, he just slammed the book shut, stood up and said, 'I can't take this anymore, I can't stand it' and walked out the door to the faculty parking lot. And us, being the nice respectful boys that we were, what was the proper thing to do? Well, we went to the balcony of the classroom, we were in 703, and as we were waving said 'good bye Mr. Mooney, bye Sir.' We never saw him again! Then of course, we had to remain quiet fearing the wrath of Br. Alexis and detention for the rest of your life! Boy, what memories!"

We ask: And what memories did the unfortunately-surnamed Mr. Mooney take with him, having experienced lunacy at the hands of The Boys From Room 703? At least, to our knowledge, he did not commit seppuku...

Ricardo's narrative continues.

"I remember the first day that Mr. Masterson came to teach us. He taught POD, Problems of Democracy. This was our Senior year. Several of us had home room together, then according to your schedule, you would not see some of your buddies until 2 classes later. But, we'd sure see each other during the class changes! 'Hey, how's the new teacher? What's his name? Any homework?' Well, when we found out his name was Masterson, we thought, 'He deserves a song!' So, I (even though I was not the only one, I will accept responsibility. I haven't asked the guys if it's ok to use their names, and 2 of them are now ATTORNEYS) being a very nice, mellow and polite boy, walked in singing in a very low tone of voice, because we were ADJACENT to the Main Office; and you know what that means, the wrath of Br. Alexis and detention for a lifetime once again, (whew) 'Oh when the West was very young, there was a man named Masterson......' All this man did was smile. And T H A T my friends, set the tone for the res t of the year! A very nice man Mr. Masterson, learned quite a bit in that class, but I now suffer from CRS, so .........it was a fun class."

What a contrast! We do remember Mr. Masterson, or "Meester," as he was baptized by the LaSalle crowd, quite fondly - his easygoing, affable character made an impression - easygoing or not, he somehow managed to keep his charges under control and they actually learned a thing or two from him! Efforts are being made to find him and maybe entice him to come to the Reunion. He made our 20th, in fact himself making the successful effort to find us back then.

20th Reunion picnic photo - l-r Ricardo Reimundo, Nelson Orta, Don Masterson, Fernando Vidal, Alberto Quiroga

Although the publisher made a diligent search through the '66-'67-'68 yearbooks, no period portrait of Mr. Masterson was found in any; he missed his yearbook photo op for one reason or other. Looks as if Albert and Fernando had chosen matching uniforms for the occasion, but this was purely coincidental. There were no Official Uniform Standards for the 20th Reunion.

Thank you for enlightening us with your interesting recollections of interesting times, Mr. Reimundo. Ladies...perhaps you now realize the wisdom of non-coed classes in the Immaculata-LaSalle of those times. Then again, perhaps the Beasts in Us might have been somewhat tamed under the influence of the fairer sex!

Pray you've had a Blessed and Happy Easter!

Consider this a mini-mini-mini biography - no, more like a diary entry...rest assured your blogger classmate and family - not including the little girl on the left - she's a niece - did it right.
Went to church, thanked God for the gift of Easter and all His blessings, and later joined family to share in love and fellowship the gifts we sometimes forget to appreciate. Hope you did too.

And thank God for nice brothers-in-law who drive down to Key Largo Fish Company, mile marker 99 if you want to know, to bring back yet another of God's wonders, the great Florida stone crab! Do not wear your Sunday best when cracking claws prior to feasting on them, however. It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it...

God Bless you all - won't be long before we see you!

Lynne, Alberto, Lauren - in exactly that order.

Mini Biographies - An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Do not get too excited, you automotive freaks out there - yours truly being one of the worst ones...this has nothing to do with Mini-Cooper stories, although bet there are some good stories out there involving the mini back seat of the Mini-Cooper...

One Immaculata gal had an idea - "why not tell our stories on the blog?" Why not, indeed? We should share our accomplishments and thus reinforce our pride in belonging to the Special Band of ILS Brothers and Sisters from '68. The lady making the suggestion proceeded to walk the talk and run with the idea. So here is her story, nice, concise, and to the point.

Marily Benitez - Signum 1968

"I married my High School sweetheart, yes, the Soldier Boy some of you remember and still married...40 years this year and to the same man. Went to college after I was married. We have 2 "children" Frances 38, she's a Captain/Firefighter /Paramedic for Miami Dade and our son Alexis, 31, is a P.E. teacher during the day at a public school, trainer at night and Mortgage Broker in the afternoons, but not much of the latter one lately. My husband Frank is a logistic Director for Latin America for DHL. I did some substituting while my kids were in school, at their school and after they were old enough I opened a non- profit cultural, bilingula, cultural, international organization of poetry and other arts, backed up by LACC/FIU where we do art exhibits, here and abroad, book presentation at Barnes & Noble, meetings at FIU, put out a magazine, have 25 different nationalities, have delegates in other countries and much more.
Marily A. Reyes (Benitez then)"

Our classmate, with "Soldier Boy" - remember that song? - and their "kids."

And then Marily enticed another ILS lady to drop in and share her story with us - this one from Raquel Puig, now Raquel Zaldivar. Here it is, as received, unedited.

Raquel Puig - Signum 1968

"I was married 26 years and then divorced. I started late having children, so mine are rather young compared to everyone else’s. I have two. Robert is 24. He is an accountant . . . still single. Raquel Cristina is my “baby”. She is sixteen. She is very musical: sings and plays the piano beautifully. She dances flamenco like a pro. In addition she is a photographer. She was just invited to join the National Honor Society at Lourdes Academy where she is a sophomore.

I have been a professor at Miami Dade College for 34 years. In addition, I became an attorney 20 years ago and have practiced since. It’s crazy doing two things at once! However, now that I look back I always liked multitasking (I taught Laida Arcia (now Carro) to play the guitar while I was working at Youth Corps – right Laida? ),

Reading all of these e-mails I am convinced that our class was special.

Would someone please tell me how I can get to “our” website???? I need directions. . . .

Cariños,

Raquel"

One thing is obvious: Unlike the guys, Raquel does believe in asking for directions! Not to worry, she has found "us." We hope many of you will find your way to these pages too, and honor this blog with your life experiences. That goes for you too, Infernal Committee types!

A glitch fixed!

Maybe none of you noticed, but they pay the blog kommando - still waiting for my payment, guys - buy me a beer, at least...Blue Moon will do; had Guinness on St. Paddy's Day - to keep the blog in shape. Somehow, the list of Lost Classmates-Lost Souls had disappeared from the March 17th post...hmmm...funny, that WAS St. Patrick's Day - did some loose leprechaun or wee sprite play with the blog? No leprechauns 'round here, except for this one. Guess no one noticed but the glitch is fixed. Blogger - not I; this refers to Blogger.com - has a quaint little habit of doing that sometimes.

The point of all this seemingly pointless post? Whenever you see something wrong in these here pages, just SHOUT AND LET THE BLOOMIN' BLOGGER KNOW SO HE CAN FIX IT AND AVERT THE INEVITABLE LITANY OF COMPLAINTS THAT WILL OTHERWISE FOLLOW WHEN THE 1.5 PEOPLE WHO READ THIS REGULARLY REGURGITATE THEIR DISPLEASURE.

Remember: "I'm from the government, and I'm here to serve you." Yeah, right.

Then and Now

Eventually, it would be nice - at least interesting - to see how "we" - meaning all of us - have evolved over the years. This is not meant to be a jumping-off point for a discussion on the merits of Creationism vs Darwinism. But the fact is, change is inevitable and entropy is a fact of life. In other words: Time marches on and inevitably we are dragged along with it. Nevertheless, we should not be afraid of the inevitable changes. After all, there is only one sure-fire cure for aging...and don't know about you, but for now the writer PASSES on aforesaid "cure!"

And we have our first volunteer, unafraid to reveal his evolution - drum roll, please...heeeere's Chuck Kilbride, formerly known as Brother Ronald, the Wizard of The Bookkeeping Arts. That was then...

From Signum '65 - page 22, if you have your copy and want to look it up.

And yet another vignette, from Signum '65 - this one found on page 83...


The good Brothers could have made a milk commercial as a fund raiser for the school, the marketing side of the blogmeister sez.

Just thought of something upon seeing Mr. Mooney's image on this page - Ricardo, when are you going to tell the Mr. Mooney Story for these pages? Poor Mr. Mooney - he would have agreed with Bill Urbizu's comment about committing hara-kiri. On the other hand, had we young and restless ones gotten out of hand with Brother Ronald - our NUMBER would definitely have come up! But nothing to fear as long as one did not cross certain lines...

Sometimes Brother did have to lay the law down.

As documented on the pages of Signum '66 - page 107, to be exact. You cannot allow the inmates to escape Stalag LaSalle! Just kiddin' - LaSalle was no POW camp - sometimes, in fact, it seemed the inmates were in charge!

Anyway, that was then with Brother Ronald, and this is now with your host, Chuck Kilbride.


Hey, me thinks he's still a good lookin' dude. This tempts one to grab a contemporary photograph of oneself and run it through one of those age-progression software programs, but...

The results would be, to be kind, a little scary...come to think of it, it appears your blogger was the inspiration for the original Yoda, so it is time to have the legal team contact Messrs. Spielberg and Lucas, and demand BACK royalties for the abuse of his image!

Lost Classmates, Lost Souls...

We certainly hope no one's soul is lost, or will be lost. But if this helps catch your attention, then it serves its purpose. Unfortunately, despite extensive efforts, there are a substantial number of classmates, friends, and faculty whom we have been unable to find to date. Perhaps making the List of the Lost publicly available will help locate them - many, it is hoped - but we will settle for what we get. Searching is, frankly, time-consuming and we are shamelessly appealing for help in this endeavor, asking all of you in our Band of ILS Brothers and Sisters to lend a hand - or two.

The list is also going out in the mailers being sent to those we have found but for which no email address is available. There are approximately 50 invitations going out to Immaculata alumnae, and about 25 for LaSalle alumni. We will keep our fingers crossed and pray for a good response from them.

In finding people, there are many search methods available today, and thank God for that - these range from WhitePages.com, to Zabasearch.com, Google, and others available to professionals, such as LexisNexis. Sometimes all you need to find someone is a little bit or byte of information - date of birth, place of birth, parents' names and even last known address. If you can provide any facts, information, data about any of our friends and former companions on these lists, or even want to do some sleuthing yourself, please share your findings with the Infernal Committee and the quest shall continue until we find all, or as many as possible, of those still with us. Nothing is impossible...remember our graduation theme song was The Impossible Dream! Re-read the words and you will understand.





An update to the lists above is in order; just as your bloggermate was about to publish this post, a copy of the Twentieth Reunion directory was received, courtesy of Rick Astray-Caneda. In reviewing the "In Memoriam" section, found some of our classmates listed above had passed away by 1988 - which unfortunately effectively ends the search for them. They were:

A. Zeida Arocha, Michelle Ann Callahan, and Margarita Lejarza. Before the Reunion, we will honor and remember here our ILS men and women who will be with us in spirit.

If you notice anyone has been missed, or have another classmate/former classmate/faculty
member you would like added to the list - and help look for him or her - please let us know as soon as possible. Time marches on and before we know, it will be Reunion Time!

Expressions and Thoughts from A Classmate

Jeannette Foye graciously consented to share this with us, so we are gladly sharing it with you. Very kind words indeed - thank you, friend and classmate; quite poignant too - maybe others in our readership will care to share their thoughts, opinions, ideas, reminiscences and recollections, inspired by Jeannette's musings?

"Oye Alberto etal: I continue to be dazed and amazed at your humor and sincere sentiments towards each other and to all who are writing so frequently. It is very exciting to get a gliimpse into your creativity, mind and heart. I am thoroughly enjoying hearing stories from La Salle boys because I don't think we girls were privy to all that you shared on the "other side" of the campus. I think it would be fun to imagine our fellow ILS students as we were and who we are today. I think there will be a lot of surprises and interesting stories to tell. Just for a small sample -
I lived in San Francisco during the "hippy" days, followed an Indian guru for a while, lived in a commune in Northern California for 10+ years, traveled to India an performed vocally on stage and later went back to school and became an RN (while living in Coeur d Alene, Idaho). I have been a dialysis nurse for the last 7 years and travel all over the country training staff on special equipment. Who would've thought.....I certainly didn't. I have one son and he is married with two beautiful children named Madeline Rose and Lucas. So with that reader's digest story of my life I will hope to hear more from everyone about who they are now. I think Marily's (?) idea of wearing name tags with old pictures may be necessary. Sounds like you fellows won't have a lot of trouble remembering so much after so long. Keep it up everyone. Would love to know who you are or the road you have traveled over the last 40 years.

Jeannette Foye"

As for stories from the LaSalle boys, Jeannette et al...well, some of us no doubt will rise to the challenge and bravely tell a story or two; when it came to boys and their interactions with our suffering instructors, there are many stories to be told. To more or less quote amigo Bill Urbizu:

"If I had been a teacher in those days and had been told I was getting US guys for students...I would have committed hara-kiri!!"

A Lil' Technical Difficulty...has been overcome

Well, as it turns out, the link given in the previous post - do not blame Larry, he had nuthin' to do with it, did not quite work as expected. So "we" asked the technical support staff at ILS for HEEEELP!! They responded with alacrity and efficiency. Therefore, this is to announce, advise, cajole, implore, and beg you to go HERE instead, to buy your tickets for Friday May 16th.

The link works - it has been tested; there is a slight limitation in that you have to purchase one ticket at a time. Multiple ticket purchases do not work. Otherwise, "we're good to go." Hopefully, this did not inconvenience many of you. If it did, our apologies. "We" make no claim to perfection, but surely you knew that already.

Now excuse me...have some unfinished business to tend to; Larry 'n I still trying to git that darn possum!

"Git-R-Done!" Please...

Was talkin' trash while chompin' on mah favorite snack, stale beef jerky 'n chewin' tobacco, with my friend Larry the other day, and told him 'bout this here highfalutin' Ree-union. He said, "Why Aaalbeert, I'll git ya this thing pro-moted, jes' promise me mah own personal beer keg 'case I show up - make it Bud."

Ya got it, Larry. Now, emote and PROMOTE!

Larry sez: "Git-R-Done!" Meaning: Please go to the ILS web site and purchase them darn tickets for the Friday social - be neighborly 'n sociable, heah? Click here with your mouse, rat, raccoon, or possum - whatever works fer ye, and git 'em. Purty please?

Promise we won't even make ya eat grits as a condition for attending the sociable social, but they're not bad. Even some Yankees like 'em! Even some who hail from Havana like 'em!

Disclaimer: This is not a paid political announcement. Larry The Cable Guy does not approve this message. The blog commando does not really know Larry The Cable Guy and makes no claim to friendship or kinship with him, unless perhaps there is some remote kinship via his - the blogger classmate's - Better Half's Nawth Cahlina kin. All things are possible. This is hyperbole of the Worst Kind with the goal of making y'all take notice and get yourselves to this here Reunion. It is marketing at its worst. Larry The Cable Guy neither endorses nor approves this message, and is not responsible for its contents. The writer is not responsible either. But then, y'all knew that. He's just certified nuts. And his Southern Accent is in fact atrocious. Think Desi Arnaz tryin' to speak like...Larry The Cable Guy.

Not just Larry and I, but Gang of 4.5 member Mistah Urbizu - Larry, by the way, wants to know: "What the heyul is an Ooorbeezoo?" - never mind, Larry - gently prods you to do the right thing, as he so eloquently expresses it in a recent email:
"Buy your tickets (only a measly $20 a piece) at the ILS alumni website. No excuses!!! Remember, we know where you live." Do you really, Bill? Yer a regular Sherlock Holmes, ya are! Actually, with Google Earth and similar spy tools, we DO know where you live...

In fairness, jes' a gentle reminder to the Infernal Ree-Union Committee types - didja git yer tickets? What'ya waitin' fer, varmints!? Git out yer "plaastique" money and do dah deed - NO, the good folk at LaSalle don' take no Confederate currency. Hmmm...that don't sound right...lessee, two negatives make a positive, rat? Positively! Jes' pay with the darn credit card - it'll be a credit to yer character. Gotta set a good example instead of jus' settin' on yer...posterior.

Besides showing up for the sociable social gathering the Friday, ya gotta make the picnic at Crandon on Saturday. Some have made extraordinary, one could even say paranormal efforts on your behalf, to ensure we all have a nice, cozy, exclusive place in which to gather together.


Yours truly has been holding the fort for you at Crandon, since July 1958! With Miami Police backup no less, and a fine six-shooter...plus a Cuban chaperone to look after the ladies. How much more friendship, camaraderie, affection, honor, duty, determination, courtesy and consideration do you want? I just knew we were gonna need this spot for our special day half a century down the road, so there you are! Rather, there I was - or my doppelgänger, in any case.

Be sure you don't fergit to bring yer vittles to this here picnic place. You have plenty o' time to plan yer culinary-that's a faaancy word-adventures. The blog commando is pretty sure what he's providin' fer his famelee's pleasure; the Nawth Cahlina Missus should approve - ain't this the makings fer a fine country dish, which friend Larry would also find a mighty tasty thang, nicely done on the grill?

And rat in our own backyard! Who sez Boca Ray-ton ain't got no classy cuisine - there's another faaancy word agin'! Git da shotgun, Larry - and the Barbie-Q sauce - "Git-R-Done!"

ATTENTION! ACHTUNG! ¡ATENCIÒN! 注意! ΠΡΟΣΟΧΉ!

Hope we have your attention, and pray this information-sharing exercise is not just Greek to you...although there is some Greek flavor to the task, as you will see if you read this post, and it is suggested you do so. Just suggesting, not ordering.

Follow the young maiden, as she obediently sets off on a reconnaissance mission, to determine the where and when of this reunion and the "what the heck is going to happen" as well.

The results of the intelligence-gathering, the hard (?) work of the Infernal Committee and the unskilled skills of the blogmeister now come together and heeeeeere's Johnny! Wait - wrong show...anyhow, heeeeere they are!

The dates: Friday May 16th, Saturday May 17th - this year; that's the "when" part. Friday the 16th - NOT Friday the 13th - at Immaculata LaSalle. Crandon Park Pavillion Number 6 is the venue for Saturday the 17th of May, 2008. That's the "where" part. Now follows the "what the heck is going to happen" part.

First, here is the agenda and the menu for the reception or social at school on May 16th; the fun begins at 8:00 PM, or for the Military Types, 20:00 hours. The party goes on 'til midnight, or 24:00. Infernal Committe member Bill Urbizu suggested those who might want to go on eating, drinking, and being merry may gather at Versailles Restaurant on 8th Street after the 24th hour, and for the umpteenth time engage in lively discussions on how to hasten Fidel's delayed exit...or perhaps coming up with helpful Iraq exit strategies, such as selling the whole thing, Kurds and all, to the Chinese.

This is not a done deal, but Mr. Urbizu is trying to recruit Rick Shaw for DJ/Emcee duty. Those of us present at the 20th Reunion may recall Mr. Shaw did the honors for our dinner dance at the Biltmore Hotel.

You've got to replenish your supply of energy when dancing, even if you do not have or require as much energy as you did in 1968...so here is the menu for the evening.

The appearance is thematic, isn't it? Looks like an upside-down wine goblet. Rest assured that was totally unintentional. If you wish to enlarge it, all you have to do is "point" to it with your mouse. You will see the Little Pointing Gloved Hand; left-click your mouse button and...voila! You have the Big Version for the Bifocally-and-Myopically Impaired - the blogman fitting both categories, the latter since 1959.

Do not send requests for tickets and payments for same to us Infernal Committee types - tickets must be purchased through the school, preferably via the ILS web site; a web page is supposed to be established specifically for the purpose of promoting the Friday social and booking tickets for the event, sometime after March 10th. However, be patient as the ILS webmaster is away for a few days and needs time to work on it. This should be up and running before the end of the month.

If you insist on making a contribution to your poor, hard-working Gang of 4.5 members, send money orders only, payable to Albert's Future Travel Slush-and-Bribery Fund. Don't worry, other Committe Members get their cut too.

OK, now let us move on to the May 17th "Happening" - that is an apropos '60s term to apply.


Thought you might enjoy this aerial view of the venue, in case one or more of you decide to parachute in. That way you get to know the terrain. Infernal Committee Member Ricardo Reimundo might even wish to re-enact one of his Screaming Eagles days jumps. How about it, "Lumumba?" We get ya plastered enough the night before, you may even humor us! Never mind. We would not want you to end up like this guy. It would ruin the Reunion for you.

There are better ways to get to church on Sunday, too.

Now that you have both longitude and latitude coordinates for Crandon Park, nobody should get lost on the way there. Just make sure your GPS unit is working properly. This is important, so please pay attention:

*Enter the park via the South entrance.

*We are gathered at Pavillion Number 6.

*The festivities begin at 11:00 AM - Eleven-Hundred Hours - continuing until sundown.

*The parking fee is $5 - that is all you have to shell out for, except for whatever else you wish to spend on vittles, drinks, suntan lotion, anything else you can think of requiring deflated dollars.

*Speaking of drinks: the Authorities say "no glass containers." This is strictly enforced. Fortunately, beer also comes in cans, and wine can even be purchased in cartons. Soft drinks come in cans, plastic, goatskin bags - no, wait - that's for wine. Bottom line: no glass, no problem.

Speaking of vittles, food, rations, alimentos, essen, τρόφιμα, 食糧, there is a nice concession stand nearby, with a good selection of palate pleasers. The concessionaire was kind enough to provide us with his current menu - he is obviously a good businessman - and we reproduce it here for your convenience.

Contrary to popular belief, speculation, or rumor, no member of the Infernal Committee gets a commission if you do business with Toby. We do not even get a nickel from Visa or Mastercard, if you decide to charge the food order. Needless to say, feel free to provide your own eats, homemade or otherwise. Ditto for libations - if these be homemade, we must conclude you've got moonshine makin' skills. We won't tell if you share.

For more information on Crandon Park, if what is posted here is insufficient, check out the useful Dade County Parks and Recreation web site.

Well, think this is enough for now - do not want to overwhelm anyone with TMI - "Too Much Information." We will do our best to keep you current and well-informed. In the interest of finding and hopefully reuniting with as many of our former classmates and friends, soon a list of those we call our Lost Classmates and Lost Souls will be published here. Lost Classmates is a self-defined term; Nelson coined the Lost Souls moniker for those who attended Immaculata-LaSalle for a year, two, or three but left before graduation. We would like to extend an invitation for them to join our joyful festivities; these were people with whom we shared other common connections - perhaps they went to elementary school with us, Sts. Peter and Paul being one - quite a few of us hailed from there; some we even shared schools with in other countries, such as Baldor Academy in Havana. They were, and are still, our friends. At least it would be nice to know life has, hopefully, treated them kindly and gently.