Senn High School, Class of '55 Reunion
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Remarks by Stephen A. Lerner at the Senn 50th Reunion, 9/17/05
Welcome!
Last night. Wow! I was awash with feeling, thoughts, and memories from way back to Senn days and since. And then, I sat up half the night poring through the biosketches in the Memory Book. Wow again. Most of us seem to have ended up so far in a good place in our lives. The road has been tortuous and full of adventure, and there have been successes but also regrets. But, we’re here --- in 2005!
In the Memory Book we recognize the critical contributions of all on the Organizing Committee, but I want especially to highlight and thank George Willhite, Joel Wineberg, and Milt Levenberg, and also Steve Isaacson and Diane Keller Kessler. [Applause]
We’ve learned a lot from family and friends over the years, but I want to pay homage especially to our teachers. We’re pleased that sharing our reunion this evening with us are two: Sam Altshuler and Janice Weinberg Berman. And, as you may have seen on the yellow handout we received last night at Senn, last week I visited with Geraldine Connell in her home in La Jolla, California. She is still full of elegance and verve, and remembers Senn with great fondness. Like so many of our classmates, she headed west to California - in 1962, and taught there until she retired in 1990. She sends us her greetings and best wishes. So, let’s collectively give applause for our teachers --- those here and the others not. [Applause]
I’d also like to recall those of our classmates who have died. I’m sure that reviewing the names of the deceased in the Memory Book has brought back memories of them and I’d like us to pause for a moment to think of them again. [Pause]
LIMERICK (see below)
Thank you all for coming. I’m already looking forward to our next reunion. With so many of our classmates in California, perhaps the Senn West contingent ought to put on the next one there.
And so, until the next time, let’s all give ourselves a round of applause for lives well lived. [Applause]
The Limerick
(Accent marks to indicating stress points when reading out loud.)
Who’d have thóught in ninetéen fifty-fíve,
When excítement was a cár we could dríve,
That todáy we’d be hére,
Past the twó thousand yéar?
With great mémories and vígor, – yes, alíve!
Just thínk of áll that has pássed,
Gosh, our pást has gone bý much too fást,
Some downs as wéll as the úps,
Exhilarátion but also hiccúps,
Our colléctive expérience is vást.
For móst, Senn prepáred us for lífe,
Éven for our sháre of life’s strífe,
Some tríed and they críed,
Others tóok pain in stríde,
Or éven a húsband or wífe.
We’re much in débt to thóse who us táught,
Life expérience and knówledge they bróught,
We weren’t álways recéptive
Or véry percéptive,
For their fórtitude, to give thánks we all óught.
For álmost two yéars, I’d obsérve
Our committee wórking with plúck and with vérve,
’Specially Géorge, Joel, and Mílt,
Who’ve worked úp to the hílt,
So, let’s gíve them the appláuse they desérve.