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Stephen Hatchett

Good old Google Translate.  Apt spanish insults for Pompeo.

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Joan Ruggles (Young)

Trump doesn't need to crush the competitors for the Repub. nomination. If it becomes o four or five person race, he's a shoe-in because he will always have the support of 30% of the Rs. However if it becomes only a two-man race, say between Trump and DeSantis.....then he better worry cause he could get swamped. It'll be interesting to watch. 

My husband argues that if Biden runs again, being the decent person that he is, he won't drop Kamala. Then if he wins, in 2028 we'll be stuck with having Harris as the D candidate and unless something drastic changes, she will lose for sure. Not a happy scene. 

Did you hear Herschel Walker's latest pronouncement? "The erection is about the people" 

https://twitter.com/acyn/status/1595241072971481089?s=48&t=oEgj170r8U3NLZvstE6d3Q

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Joan Ruggles (Young)

One more thought about the Republican's dilemma.  Any Republican candidate who could win the general election, couldn't possibly win the Republican primary. So what do you do? 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Jack Mallory

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Maureen Larkin (Guillot)

Happy Thanksgiving to all!  Have a wonderful day!

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Janet Lowry (Deal)

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Robert Hall

Stephen Hatchett

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

—John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)
35th US President

I'd been thinking a bit about gratitude over the last several days, and then the above showed up in my inbox.  There's a difference between appreciating circumstance (and yes we are all damned lucky) and being grateful to people for what they have brought to your life.  And then, as JFK said, to really honor that.  By circumstance you were all at BCC when I was. So far, so very good.  But then you, because your parents and teachers  did, you have brought something very valuable to the party -- yourselves, and you have given it.  For that I am very thankful to have you in my life.  And what you have given me is just the teensiest little bit of what you have brought to the world.  

Its a day to rejoice in that kind of stuff!

Stephen Hatchett

And give a listen to the Petersons Thanksgiving song.

https://youtu.be/LKHXi2UHeuU

Jack Mallory

Thankful in Kittery Point, ME.

Jack Mallory

More to be thankful for. The kids are back, refurbishing the nest. Convenient--close by but we don't have to baby sit. And we didn't have to help them with the down payment. 
 

Jack Mallory

If anybody's out there, recognize Jennifer Harting? She and I celebrating 60 years of friendship! Jennifer, her husband David, Deb, and I went to the Boston MFA together Saturday, had a nice dinner and evening at their house in Wayland, MA. 

Joanie Bender (Grosfeld)

Stephen Hatchett

Jack, thanks for sending that pic along.  Certainly remember Jennifer -- many classes together at BCC, but then we went different ways.  Those really long term friendships like you two have had are so valuable.  (I've still got one from kindergarten. We're still trying to solve the worlds problems.)

Now lets see if Georgia can be part of the solution, or ...

Helen Lambie (Goldstein)

Great photo, Jack! Wish I'd have been there with you. As I told you I recently had a nice long phone conversation with Jennifer but last saw her when she and David were here overnight maybe six years ago? My sense of time has completely disappeared—blame it on the pandemic or old age. You all look great! And the three of us have kept in touch, off and on, for over 60 years. Pretty remarkable! ❤️

Jack Mallory

Something about old--let me rephrase that: long term--relationships have value simply in their longevity. At some point the knowledge that this person has been, is, and will be your friend until death--couldn't find a way to rephrase that--for more than half a hundred years becomes a significant part of the friendship. 

I am lucky to have such a friendship with Jennifer and Helen, and with Kat Harting also. Jennifer and Kat both lived in or around DC when I returned from Vietnam, and were kind enough to help me transition into what in-country we called "the real world," scotch bottle in hand. Kat was of significant help, decades later, in getting that scotch bottle out of my hand. Having Helen coresident in California during many of my 30+ years living there, even if we only saw each other infrequently, was also a happy coincidence that furthered our lengthy friendship. 

And the forum has facilitated the reconnection of another half dozen or so BCC relationships. Thanks to all for helping that happen!

Thomas Stecher

I considered Jennifer a good friend at BCC.  I was sorry not to see her at the 50 year reunion.  I have not maintained contact with her.  Here is a picture from the 40 year reunion in 2004.  I barely met Kat.

Jack Mallory

Great picture of Jennifer, Tom! She's always been gorgeous. I had been very reluctant to attend the 2014 reunion, but Jennifer talked me into it. Then she bailed!

Having two very attractive young women at the same address and phone # in high school was a huge piece of good luck for me! 

Nancy Webster (Emery)

I don't contribute to the form very often but tonight I felt it nessesary to remind us that Dec 14th is the sad 10th  aniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementery School shooting. We need not forget. Thank you Nancy  E.

Jay Shackford

Only 12% of U.S. Fully Vaccinated

As we approach winter and the holiday season, the latest statistics on Covid-19, RSV and the seasonal flu are not encouraging.  Once again, hospitals are running out of beds in some areas of the country and the health care system is being strained.  Below are a few recent stats:  

• Covid-19 has claimed the lives of 6.6 million worldwide and more than one million in the U.S.
• Since the beginning, nearly 100 million Americans have been infected with Covid-19. That’s more than one in four Americans.  
• Vaccines prevented 20 million deaths worldwide and 1.1 million deaths in the U.S. during the first year the vaccines were available.
• Despite the tremendous success of vaccines in preventing disease, less than 13% of the U.S. population has received the latest booster – the bivalent booster shot. That's far below the 80% of Americans who received the first shot. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci offers his perspective on the Covid-19 pandemic and public health generally in his farewell essay published in the Dec. 10 edition of the New York Times.  Below are some excerpts: 

“If the far bookend of my N.I.H. career is H.I.V./AIDS, the near bookend is C‌ovid-19. ‌‌This ‌pandemic was not completely unexpected, since emerging infectious diseases have challenged humanity throughout history, but some diseases can transform civilizations‌‌, and C‌ovid-19 is the most devastating pandemic of a respiratory illness to afflict humankind since the‌‌ 1918 influenza pandemic. And there‌‌ is much to be learned from ‌‌this ongoing experience with C‌ovid-19.

“Other lessons are painful, such as the failures of certain public health responses domestically and globally. We also must acknowledge that our fight against C‌‌ovid-19 has been hindered by the profound political divisiveness in our society. In a way that we have never seen before, decisions about public health measures such as wearing masks and being vaccinated with highly effective and safe vaccines have been influenced by disinformation and political ideology.

“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that public health policy decisions are driven by the best available data. Scientists and health workers can do their part by speaking up, including to new and old media sources, to share and explain in plain language the latest scientific findings as well as what remains to be learned.”

Season greetings everyone!