RICHARD J. GARFUNKEL

A lifelong New Yorker, Richard was raised in Mount Vernon, New York. His parents moved there in 1945 and he was educated in the Mount Vernon public schools and was graduated from A.B. Davis High School. After high school he graduated from Boston University with a BA in American History.

After spending a year on Wall Street as a research analyst with Bache & Co., he joined a manufacturing and importing firm, where over the next twenty-five years he rose to the position of chief operating officer. After the sale of that business Richard entered into the financial services field with Metropolitan Life and is now a Registered Representative with the Signator Distributors, Inc. and an agent with the Acorn Financial Services which is affiliated with John Hancock Life Insurance Company of Boston, Ma.Today his main field of interest is long-term care insurance, along with life and disability insurance and their connection to asset protection along with estate planning.

 After a lifetime in politics, with many years working as a district leader, that involved party organizational work, campaign chair activity and numerous other political tasks, Richard has been involved with numerous civic and social causes. He has chaired a local public policy group, White Plains Foremost, has been president of the Prospect Park Neighborhood Association of White Plains, NY, and was Chairperson of Project 2000, a group devoted to creating a school of the performing arts and world-class theater in Mount Vernon. He currently serves as an appointed Deputy Supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh, with responsibilities regarding the town’s “liaison program” and its new Public Policy Issues Forum.  He is a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board of the Town of Greenburgh, NY. Richard recently served on a select committee of the board in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Commissioner to choose the group that is currently evaluating the Town’s parks and recreation needs. Richard has lectured on FDR, The New Deal and 20th century American history in the Mount Vernon schools, at the Westchester Council of Social Studies annual conference in White Plains, and at many senior citizen groups. Richard also is the founder and Chairperson of the Jon Breen Memorial Fund, that judges and grants annual prizes to students at Mount Vernon High School who submit essays on public policy themes. In this past year Richard chaired and moderated the Jon Breen Fund Award’s cablecast program with Mayor Ernest Davis, County Legislator Clinton Young and Lawrence Spruill, the new Mount Vernon High School Principal. Richard has been a member of Blythedale Children’s Hospital’s Planned Giving Professional Advisory Board, and is a founding member of the committee to re-new the FDR Birthday Balls of the 1930’s and 1940’s with the March of Dimes effort to eliminate birth defects. Our annual dinner was held at Hyde Park on January 30, 2003. Richard is currently an active member of the Roosevelt Institute that is involved in many pursuits including the opening of the Henry A. Wallace Center at Hyde Park, and the Eleanor Roosevelt – Val-Kill Foundation that supports leadership training for young women.

Richard lives in Tarrytown, NY with his wife Linda of 34 years. They have two grown children who have graduated from White Plains High School. Their daughter Dana is a Rutgers College graduate, with a MS from Boston University and their son Jon is an electrical engineering graduate of Princeton University.

Richard J. Garfunkel

Recent

 Seminars

Recent Appearances:

KTI Synagogue, Rye Brook, NY- Long Term Care & Estate Conservation-

Anshe Shalom Synagogue, New Rochelle, NY- Long Term Care-

American Legion Post, Valhalla, NY- Long Term Care and Asset Protection-

Doyle Senior Ctr, New Rochelle, NY-Long Term Care and Asset Protection-

AME Methodist Ministers, New Rochelle, NY, LTC and Charitable Giving-

Profession Women in Construction, Elmsford, NY, LTC and Business Benefits-

Kol Ami Synagogue- White Plains, NY, Long Term Care and Disability –

Beth El Men's Club-New Rochelle, NY-Long Term Care-Is it Necessary-

Greater NY Dental Meeting Javits Ctr, NY, NY- LTC and Disability-

IBEW Local #3 , White Plains, NY, Long Term Care and Asset Protection,

Health Fair -Bethel Synagogue, New Rochelle, NY-LTC and Disability,

Heath Fair- Riverdale Mens Club CSAIR- Riverdale, NY- LTC- Life

Weight Watchers of Westchester and the Bronx-LTC and Tax Implications

Sunrise Assisted Living of Fleetwood, Mount Vernon, NY-LTC

Sprain Brook Manor of Scarsdale-LTC- November 15, 2001

Sunrise Assisted Living of Stamford, Connecticut, February 2002

Kol Ami Synagogue, White Plains, NY, February, 2002

The Old Guard Society of White Plains, NY, April, 2002

The Westchester Meadows, Valhalla, NY August, 2002

Kol Ami Synagogue, White Plains, NY, October, 2002

JCC of Scarsdale, Scarsdale, NY, November, 2002

The Westchester Meadows, Valhalla, NY, January, 2003

The Rotary Club of White Plains, NY January, 2003

The Westchester Meadows, Valhalla ,NY  April, 2003

Westchester Reform Temple, Scarsdale, NY January ,2004

Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon, NY March 2004

Acorn Financial Services

520 White Plains Road/Suite 500

Tarrytown, NY 10591

914-467-7802 (o),e-mail: rjg727@optonline.net

January 16, 2003

To the Editor of Journal News

Quotas or Politics?

Recently the issue of “set-asides” for minority students has become big news with the recent Supreme Court case involving the University of Michigan Law School. Obviously only history will judge whether affirmative action has been a successful trade-off, providing access to minorities with lesser bona fides, and reverse discrimination to others with supposedly more qualifications. As a society though, no one could argue that we have declined as a nation because of these efforts. The question really is, as always, fairness and to whom? But isn’t it funny how things never seem to change. After the recent Trent Lott fiasco, where the former Senate Majority Leader bent over backwards to apologize for his ridiculous support for South Carolina’s favorite Neanderthal, and was jettisoned by the President, our same President weighed-in with his learned view on what is constitutional and not constitutional. Ignoring the usual separations of power, the President, while grappling with burgeoning deficits, a sluggish economy, a 50% rise in unemployment, North Korean saber-rattling, an elusive Bin Laden, UN inspectors demanding more time to do their work, and the issues of war and peace, found time to re-affirm the usual Trent Lott “bloody red” flag of racial antipathies.

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Jon Breen Memorial Fund

 Mount Vernon High School

100 California Road

Mount Vernon, NY 10552

April 19, 2004

Dear Friends and Classmates,

Hello from warming New York. I hope that you are all filled with great anticipation over the specter of an early spring. Thankfully here in the northeast the past four or so weeks have been a welcome departure from the ravages of mid December and January. But, alas, like the fickle lady she is, Mother Nature can still spring surprises like a few weeks ago. Unlike last March when we were all contemplating the coming of our fortieth reunion, the death of JFK, and the passing of our innocence, this year we are focusing on the long hard political campaign ahead. Unlike last year at this time when we were beginning to engage in an unknown adventure in Iraq, we are mostly fed up with the expense in blood and treasure and the futility of trying to bring some kind of normality to that divided and cursed region. This year, not unlike others in our long history we are experiencing our newest chapter in our quadrennial election cycle. In that vein one only has to look back at the old newspapers of those bygone high school years and see similar headlines barking familiar themes, of age old concerns regarding deficits, civil and human rights, foreign conflict, unemployment, interest rates, and of course taxes. In other words, what else is new under the sun? So in the year since last March much has happened, as it has always happened, and other then the change of names, history has a tendency to repeats itself.

From my own parochial perspective, I am still giving lectures on FDR, 20^th Century conflicts and political analysis. I am trying to put together a radio show, called the “Advocates,” if all goes well, on a local station WVOX to air this April. You’ll hear more from me if I need some sponsors, to justify my verbal existence. Besides all that speculative silliness, I have continued to be occupied in the workings of local government in the Town of Greenburgh, as both a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and a Deputy Town Supervisor who assists the Supervisor on political and public policy matters. I am also still in the insurance business, specializing in long term care and benefits for businesses and their owners.

Again, the time for the Jon Breen Memorial Fund Essay has come upon us, and the students of Mount Vernon H.S. This year, because of a countywide interest in the 50^th anniversary of the landmark ruling, Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, we have chosen the topic “Has the spirit of the landmark US Supreme Court decision been realized?” With regards to this topic, I have delivered a lecture to AP history and government students at MVHS regarding my impressions of how this ruling affected our class of 1963 and the years after. The title of my paper is MVHS Change and Legacy 1963-2003. If you want an electronic copy, you can e-mail me at my new address, rjg727@optonline.net. Meanwhile in looking through our old yearbook, I was able to discern these facts; the class had 633 students; 297 males, 46.9%, 336 females, 53.1%. Among the 633 students were 537 white and 96 non-white individuals. With regards to ethnic breakdowns, there were 173 Italian surnames, 27.3%, 177 assumed Jewish affiliation, 28%, 187 white non-ethnics, 29.54%, 92 American African-Americans, 14.5%, and 3 Hispanics and one Asian. Of course this “eye ball” social inventory was and is not perfect. But I would think that the “relative error” is quite small.

Meanwhile my sense is that Mount Vernon High School was probably not much different in 1963 then it was in 1953 or 1943. I was working, for a short time at Mount Vernon High School in 1967 and 1968 and by that time, dramatic national events overshadowed the impact of the Brown decision. The ongoing draft, the unpopular war in Vietnam, the Civil Rights struggles around the nation, the fractious political campaign, the withdrawal of Lyndon Johnson from the race for the Presidency, the death of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, the Paris peace talks, and the stock market undulations all started to shake the “Old Order.” I can vividly recall the protests in the schools, the takeovers of buildings, the daily bomb scares, the change in dress standards and the attitudinal shift of the students regarding authority. In other words “the times were a-changing.”  Of course all that today is ancient history to most of us and we were long out of high school when most of the social change hit our society. As for today’s news, Mount Vernon’s school system suffers like many of its lower Westchester neighbors. Education, in general, has been under pressure all over the country. Westchester County has a mixture of rich and poor school districts, and Mount Vernon, Yonkers, New Rochelle, and even White Plains all suffer from the problems of bilingualism, multi-culturalism, and family instability. It is not something that will ever be easily resolved. But, all in all there are many good and dedicated educators, and students are students the same all over. But, on a good note, Mount Vernon basketball remains supreme. Not only did the MVHS Knights, under the astute leadership of Bob Cimmino, a nephew of our classmate Paul Cimmino, win the Section I title for the 5^th straight year, but also they won the NY State and Federation titles. Besides all of that, former MV great Ben Gordon led UCONN to the NCAA basketball title.

Again, as all of you know, many of us got together in August for our last reunion, and I personally was able to meet anew many old friends that had not attended any of our events or any of the recent ones. I had the distinct and unique advantage of living across the road from the Westchester Marriot and therefore I was able to practically take residence at the reunion. Of course, time has a way of flying by, and eight months have already passed into history.

The reunion was great, all who attended seem to have a great time, and hopefully we’ll all be available for the next one.

In the ten years since Jon Breen’s untimely passing the Fund has raised over $20,000 primarily from his friends in the Class of 1963. This money has been used to sponsor the Jon Breen Memorial Essay Contest and, of recent date, the Henry M. Littlefield History prize. Over the last two years our awards procedure has changed. In the past I always read all the essays and selected the top three. In the last two years I have been selecting the four finalists. These finalists read their essays in front of an assembly comprised of fellow student essayists. We have a panel composed of educators, administrators and elected officials, who participate with the audience and the essayists and in turn contribute their perspectives on the subject under consideration. The panel chooses the order of finish, and the program is videotaped and shown on local access cable. If you wish to make a donation to the Fund, please make it out to the John Breen Fund and send it to me at the below address or to Mount Vernon HS c/o Ms. Kim Omologu.

Regards,

Richard J. Garfunkel

Politics and Corporate Compensation

By

Richard J. Garfunkel

April 16, 2004

It is great when you have smart friends and relatives. I applaud both of you for your thoughtful remarks.  Both of you are much more neutral than I am, and therefore you have the luxury of looking for solutions that are more apolitical. From my perspective, for better or worse, the political centrist leadership (of the post WW II era) of the past has disappeared. We had patriotic presidents who knew how to work with Congress and for better or worse could keep the extremes in their parties marginalized. In a sense even Nixon was a pragmatist of the center right. I didn't like him, and he exploited issues, but personality and psychosis aside, he wound up being a practical leader who understood domestic needs. He also understood the power of the Democratic majorities in the Congress. Even to a degree with Ford and Carter, there was a sense of the centrist perspective to satiate the common weal. They were not great leaders. They inspired no one. Ford was a caretaker that should have never run on his own. Even though he only lost by a whisker to Carter he should have been beaten by a mile. His remarks “Drop dead NY” and his incredible debate faux pas over Poland haunted him. But he was an uninspiring dolt who contributed the WIP button to his forgotten political legacy. Carter was the ultimate outsider, who was elected because of the Ford pardon of Nixon if nothing else. He was over his head, but still could have beaten Reagan if it wasn't for the hostage crisis in Iran. So what if he could have won. The real political change came with Reagan! Reagan and his cohorts really opened the door for the right. Of course he was too “spaced out” to pay any attention to what was really happening. Certainly even Barry Goldwater was frightened by what Reagan loosed on the body politic. In a sense our free society has, by the nature of being so free, drifted towards libertarianism of the left and the right. On the left everybody wants something and wants the freedom to do it, or try it. If it feels good and no one is harmed, so what's the problem! We have all felt that way for a time. (In the words of Winston Churchill, “Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains.”) So through it all, with conservative or liberal government there are no standards, period. But on the right we are seeing the new social Luddites, who want economic freedom, with as little regulation as possible and taxes as low as they can be made. No regulation, laissez-faire, and every man for his/her self. In other words whatever he/she can take, so be it. Just look at the salaries posted in the Wall Street Journal's Executive Pay in the Journal Report of April 12, 2004. Fitting, in an ironic way, that this should come out on the anniversary of FDR's death. 

Salary and Bonus- some selections: Freeport-McMoRan-CEO- $5,540 million in 2003 with $10M in stock options and $50M more in potential options, Merrill-Lynch-CEO- $28M in 2003 with $37M more in unrealized stock options, Time-Warner-CEO, $9.5M and $11.6M in stock options with another $18.9M in unrealized options.  Also the front page of the NY Times' Business Day section, bonuses top $41.4 million at troubled Interpublic for its executives. With Federal taxes at 35% for anyone over $300,000 per year they should cry? This compensation is way out of control. Where did they get all of their stock? They didn't buy it!

Some critics of pay ratios, say formulas that exclude options are useless. “Usually it's a charade,” says Mr. Alan Johnson of Johnson & Associates, managing director of pay consultants in NY. He says, “employees see through it. They know the CEOs are making millions on stock, so limiting them on salary means nothing. It is a PR gimmick.” (Wall Street Journal). It is a known fact that in and around 1970, CEO's of Fortune 500 companies made in real dollars a ratio of 43 to 1 over the average salary of their employees. In real dollars, wages, taking in account inflation over the past 34 years or so, have gone up slightly. In other words, the $17,000 of 1970 is not worth much more than the $35-40,000 of today. Of course times have changed, and our economy has shifted greatly over the last 30 or so years. Our manufacturing has shifted to overseas, and we are much more of a service economy today. No question “freer” trade has brought more total prosperity to America. But where is that prosperity concentrated and what will be the affects. In that light, executive compensation is now 1000 to one! So we have seen what has happened. The GOP/Right has encouraged the lowering of taxes, the conglomeration of industry, the exporting of jobs overseas, the deregulation of industry, and the accumulation of greater money in fewer hands. Now as in 1929, less people own more of America!

Of course, one immediate result is that the “entitlements;” Social Security and Medicare are under attack. Certainly they are threatened by the demographics facing us. We have a large “baby-boom” population (64-74 millions) that is aging. This population emerged from parents that had 2.6 children per family. It is now being replaced by a generation that is composed of 2.1 children per family. Generally speaking this smaller population is not as wealthy and earns less in the service sector than its parents, the baby-boomers, earned in the manufacturing sector! Is the answer less taxes for this wealthiest of classes? It was said that to tax these people at previous levels would only bring in 4% more! Well 4%, if that is correct, will bring in $40 billion at least. (Also why is $75 billion being used from the Social Security trust fund for the general fund?) I am sure that figure of $40 billion is probably incredibly low. I have also noticed that a recent report has stated that the IRS has been lax regarding the issue of corporate taxation. In fact, US Corporations are not paying their fair share, and many have been running to offshore tax shelters for years, while they drape themselves in patriotism! The case of Stanley Tool recently comes to mind! So with corporate taxes at all-time lows (post WWII) and the capital gains tax at 15%, and the highest marginal rate at 35%, one can readily see why we have a $500+ billion deficit that is growing. Should we continue down this path until we are broke?

In conclusion, to have a vibrant and just society, we all have to contribute. I cannot and will not equate Hollywood silliness, gay marriage, social promotion, foul language, indecent activities, Michael Jackson, Howard Stern, Don Imus, the NBA, college athletic abuses, and other ridiculum with the hypocrisies of Rush Limbaugh, and his rightwing shock jock colleagues.  The abuses of Enron, World Com, Global Crossing, Tyco, and the rape of children by Catholic priests is not the product of liberal, or libertine largess. In other words, where are we going? To tell the truth, I have no clue!  But for sure I hope that we throw Bush II out, and get new reasonable middle of the road leadership.

Hon. Ernest Davis

Mayor of Mount Vernon, NY

Office of the Mayor

Mount Vernon, NY, 10550

March 20, 2004

Dear Mayor Davis,

It was nice to see you Saturday morning at the Mount Vernon tennis facility. As usual you are staying in excellent shape and making others of our age group jealous. With regards to your radio program this coming Thursday, it would be a distinct pleasure for me to be on your program. I will contact on Monday, Ms. Leslie Alpert, your personal assistant on this matter.

As you know from out conversation, I am giving a lecture at the Mount Vernon High School to Mr. Paul Court’s, the social studies lead teacher, classes. The topic will be the “Impact of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the 50^th anniversary” on our local school system, a personal memoir.

As a member of the first graduating class of the reunified MVHS in June of 1963, and a close witness to the events regarding the 25 years from 1954 to 1979, along with many recent years as a lecturer and fundraiser at the high school, I hope to bring a unique and personal perspective regarding the impact of this landmark decision.

Also this year, the topic for the Jon Breen Memorial Fund Essay Competition will be “Has the spirit of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown… been realized?”

Meanwhile, I have included with this letter the outline regarding the guidelines of the Jon Breen Memorial Scholarship Essay Competition. Please also find the newspaper story regarding the untimely passing of the great Johnny Counts of New Rochelle, a lifelong friend of our mutual friend Randy Forrest. I think some time on your should be devoted to his memory and how his legacy impacted sports in Westchester County.

Regards,

Richard J. Garfunkel

.

Letter to the Journal News 2-28-02

As a long time observer and participant in the political arena I wish to applaud the Yonkers City Council vote on rejecting the nomination of Mr. Jay Hashmall for a post in the Yonkers City government. As a life-long Democrat, I wish to congratulate Councilperson Gordon Burrows for his courage in putting a halt to the next chapter of the “revolving door” saga of rewarding long-time cronies for their past loyalties. I was astounded, after reading the commentary in Thursday's Journal News, regarding

Mr. Hashmall's continued support from certain members of the Yonker's City Council, and their lack of critical judgment. It certainly brings into question what other reasons, are behind such an extension of support that exist within the Yonkers City government. I have no idea whether Mr.Hashmall is guilty or innocent, but as it was said long ago, “a public office is a public trust”. There are too many incestuous deals that go on between government and business. The public deserves to know the truth, and the whole truth, before rewarding any individual who has been tainted by this, or any other affair. The question now arises, “why is the Yonker's administration so interested in taking on the political risk of hiring Jay Hashmall and incurring the wrath and skepticism of the public and press?”

Richard J.Garfunkel

Winter is Coming

By

Richard J. Garfunkel

Fall 2003

It’s a cold morning up here in Mount Watch Hill. The heat has been on, the water has been shut off to the hoses and the frost is on the pumpkins. All the neighboring houses have been festooned with the medieval incarnations of the spirits. Of course living in Tarrytown and nearby Sleep Hollow immerses us into the lore of the Headless Horseman, and all the fol-do-ral of the Hollywood version of All Saints Day.

Oh! How we as kids cringed at Bela Lugosi, with his eastern European smarmy charm and his deep-set icy eyes staring into the innocent pale blue orbs of some English damsel. We watched in rapt fascination as he leaned over her pale virginal neck and caressed it with his razor sharp bicuspids. It was what we didn't see that we imagined, and that imagination stirred our sense of lust and craven desire. It was a combination of controlled manageable horror on one hand, and sexual ardor on the other. The protagonist was an innocent girl, always blond, thin with pale skin, and from an impeccable background. She is vulnerable to the dark side of life, that nether world of shadows and violence, where death lurks nearby. The antagonist; the monster, a cold bloodless creature, who travels variously through the night as a bat or wolf, now poses as the suave sophisticated foreigner, dressed impeccably in the formal uniform of the cocktail hour. He engenders the ultimate struggle between the forces of good and wholesomeness and the banality of evil. Her true and virtuous patient lover will sacrifice himself to protect her virtue from the alien lure and onslaught of the living death representing society. This living death is symbolized by her loss of virtue. The living death of the “scarlet letter.” It is not death itself, but “living death” that is worse, much worse.

Of course now the lines are not drawn as clearly. The victim is more willing, not as innocent, more exposed. She is a temptress of sorts. She has tasted the forbidden fruit more than once, and is willing to venture over to the dark side, the forbidden zone now and again. Her passions have been stirred, and she feels that she can handle the challenge of the fates. Her, now and again, lover cannot satisfy her newly exposed desires enough. She is bolder, more exposed, less covered, and open. Maybe he is not willing to be as adventurous, maybe he is the cautious, and a more fearful emasculated type. She has the testosterone, while he is more androgynous type with his feminine and sensitive inner self-showing more and more often. Now the blurred differences between good and evil are more difficult to discern. When this new antagonist wanders into the scene and ingratiates himself with our potential victim, we see not the clear warning signs. He is like us, he is everyman. He is life itself, fraught with the ambiguous characteristics of compromise and acceptance. We accept everything today.. Nothing is wrong, there are no universal truths. There is no clear-cut answers, only hazy non-articulated rationalizations.

>

>Maybe this creature is a priest, maybe a doctor, maybe a counselor, maybe some mental patient who didn't take his daily suppressant. Society has justified his existence, tolerated his foibles, and rationalized his aberrant and flawed behavior. Society has allowed this creature of the dark side free reign to harvest his victims at will.

>

>Wow! How times have changed!  rjg  

Politics, Talking-Heads and the Media

By

Richard J. Garfunkel

Fall 2003

Former Democrats like Tim Russert, Chris Mathews, and George Stepanopolis, to cite a few of the network types, bend over backwards to act tough on the Democrats to show that they are now journalists. The vast majority of news people are smug, over-paid and have become virtual corporate flacks. Most reporters are not liberal, but have a bias towards the left because they themselves are more libertine and take the power and prestige of being part of the fourth estate as a right and a badge of honor and superiority. These posturing neo-libertarians have a primitive view of fairness and morality. They personally have few rules and therefore have a tendency to be thought of, or characterized, as liberals. They are basically agents of the politically correct police that corporate America, which controls the media have appointed. They are terribly frightened by secondary boycotts, so they treat gays, Hollywood, black radicals and religious institutions with “kid gloves”. Just look at the limpid coverage of the sex-abuse scandal of the Catholic Church and its obvious cover-up. These are heavy crimes! If any one outside of the Church had committed these types of abuses they would have been thrown in jail and locked up forever. But hundreds and thousands of cases have been ignored and their resolution has been left to the civil courts where the Church has been excoriated. Look at the billions in settlements, wow! But has the media called on the carpet the Church's institutional hypocrisy or paradoxically moralizing, no!

What do we expect in America, when, on one hand, the Church, the NY Stock Exchange, the plagiarizers in the press, the Enrons and World Coms and other institutions are only gently spanked until the stench becomes overwhelming. What about Mike Barnacle, that hypocritical thug, and why is he back working on TV? What about the late Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin and their questionable research? But, they have made millions and what more is proof of success in America! The average student would be tossed out on his/her ear for such indiscretions. How about Michael Beshloss inaccurate book the “Conquerors” and his half-truths? What about Pat Buchanan and his right-wing nativist rantings? What brought him back on the media? Television and the media is entertainment and the news coverage is not immune from that definition. So what are we to deal with? Bill Clinton, who much of the right hates, engineered for many, a very successful stewarding of the ship of state in spite of his personal shortcomings, and against great opposition and hatred of the GOP controlled Congress. But for better or worse, his personal scandals were wrong, but they should have been kept out of the national microscope for the country's sake.

Please note Newt Gingrich's personal life was a real big-time disgrace, regarding his philandering and his divorce of his dying wife, but he is still pontificating, and what about our hero Mayor Rudy who was sleeping and cavorting with his girlfriend publicly, while his wife was holding on to Gracie Mansion like it was her personal castle. Since Bloomberg never moved in, did she really move out? So, Big Bill didn't steal millions, and his executive branch abuses were nowhere near Nixon's or Reagan's. Just judge who went to jail and who became rich. Please note; VP Dick Cheney and his billion-dollar connection with Halliburton. Unfortunately we are now saddled with some “real” problems, not Judge Starr's investigation of Whitewater; but a climbing national debt of $500 billion, the loss of millions of jobs, the disappearance of our manufacturing sector, a trade and currency crisis with China, nukes aimed at us from N. Korea, a divided Europe that hates us, a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, shrinking oil reserves and greater foreign dependency regarding energy, porous borders, John Ashcroft, vulnerability to terror, a health coverage crisis, and more to come. It wouldn't be so bad, if our leader had a brain. But there is no “Wizard of Oz” around to help this moron. How ironic that Bill Clinton gets impeached over lying about sex, but “W” gets high marks from many for lying about almost everything else. His promises over education, health care, the environment, and his claims about unconventional weaponry, the connection between Al Quiada and Iraq, and Iraq's threat to us, have all been empty. Eventually as President Lincoln said “… you can't fool all of the people, all of the time!”

The Jon Breen Memorial Fund

Mount Vernon High School

100 California Road

Mount Vernon, NY 10552

914-524-8381 pm/ 914-467-7802 am

rjg@cloud9.net

MVHS Class of 1963 Website

www.geocities.com/Tokyo/7970/mvhs1963/reunion.htm

June 15, 2003

Dear Friend and Classmate,

Hello from sunny Westchester County. In March I reported to you about some of my thoughts on the recent past. This message though is about both the Jon Breen Fund and what it has tried to accomplish and our upcoming 40^th high school reunion in August, on the weekend of the 22-24^th at the Tarrytown Marriot. Of course life is always, in a simplistic way, a struggle between hope and aspiration. Recently, since my last letter in March, we have witnessed mighty changes in the manner and shape of world order. None of us knows what the consequences of these changes will bring. Again we have aspirations for world peace and hope that our actions will accomplish these ends. In the meantime though, peace and social justice seem quite elusive.

With regards to the Jon Breen Fund and its activities, I met with Paul Court, the lead social studies teacher, at MVHS. In the course of that meeting Paul invited me to deliver a paper, regarding American Foreign Policy to his AP History classes. As a result of that lecture, we came up with our topic for this year’s Jon Breen essay,  “Is the United Nations Relevant: When it comes into conflict with American foreign policy?”  This past June 5^th we held our second annual Jon Breen Assembly with an audience that included all of the participant essayists and a panel, which included, Dr. Spruill, Mount Vernon High School Principal and teachers Paul Court and John Larkin. The winner this year was Ms. Alyson C. Baker, whose essay was outstanding. Ms. Baker, along with the other finalists, recited their essays and fielded questions from the panel, their peers in the audience and myself. Ms. Baker is also number one in her class and will attend Barnard in the fall. I have also reviewed the resumes of five of the leading social studies students, and Ms. Oluwakemi Soyeju, an émigré from Nigeria, who is off to Georgetown, has been selected for the Henry M. Littlefield History Prize.

In regards to our upcoming reunion, our committee, composed of Michael Rosenblum, Peter Altieri, Ayn Silverman, Susan Satenstein and myself met recently, and with the understanding that we live in tough and challenging times, we all agreed to make an effort to make this reunion as enjoyable and as well attended as our 35^th. We all have assigned ourselves the task of calling our fellow classmates. So you should expect to hear soon from one of us. So this is another opportunity for you to catch up on old times see former and present friends, renew cherished but interrupted relationships, and indulge in rank sentimentality. There isn’t an unlimited time period for these activities as evidenced by the loss of these classmates over the years:

Ken Angel, Janet Baird, Harold bell, Anthony Boccitto, Robert Borque, Jon Breen, Gwendolyn Bowles. Blance Caines, Frances Camastra, James Canosa, Paul Costakis, Ed Danneman, Terry dash, Bill Diaz, Gerry Doff, James Drummond, Bob Grimaldi, Philip Herzog, Thomas Janiello, Elaine Leggat, Lucille Lewis, John Miller, Joel Misthal, Reginal Overton, Leona Pompea, Allen Sealey, Alan Shields, Donald Small, Susan Solender, Laura Stratemeyer, Arzelia Strong, Marie Valentino, Claudia Webber, Paul Welch, David Wexler, and Denise Williams

Therefore, to help all of us in our effort, I would hope that you call your friends in the class, and encourage them to make the effort to come. We all can find excuses to justify inaction. We are all generally busy people, but all in all your participation in this upcoming event will be rewarding, enjoyable and increasingly memorable.

Also for your information we have the names of approximately 468 members of our class of 657. If you know the whereabouts of anyone of the following people, whom we don’t have addresses for, please forward it to my attention at the below address or through my e-mail.

Maria Amendola, Bruce Antonville, Barbara Bartlett, Denise Bodie, Mark Brenner, Antionette Brown, Major Burwell, Donald Caggiano, Mary Ann Calvi, Phyllis Capalbo, Roseanne Carrozza, Carol Cassano,, Anthony Cirrincione, Vito Colonno, Kathleen, Colquhoun, Edward Costello, Susan Coughlin, Jack Cumming, Sandra DeCarlo, Olivia Dewey, Nicki DiBerrbardo, Thema Dixon, John Dobson, Patricia Estock, Rosemary Figlioline, Barbara Finiello, Richard Fishman, Bernard Friedlander, Mort Goldstein,Cynthia Hammonds, Thais Hansen, Oscar Harris, Donna Havener, Tom Herzog, Myra Horowitz,, Esther Jaffe, Robert Johanson, Victor Johnson, Bruce Johnston, James Jones, Jon Kalb, Sherwood Kendel, James Kenny, Joan Kingsley, Marilyn Krieger, Carolyn Kwapick, Errol Leaderman, Robert Lewis, Theresa Lioi, Beverly Lpscomb, James Lipscomb, Madelene Lucadoma, David Lyon, John Maier, Kathryn Mamona, Carol Mangarillo, Goldie Mann, Linda Marino, Robert Marshall, Marjorie McGarvey, Neil Meade, Phyllis Myers, David Mills, Christine Mrazek, Noreen O’Brien, Cynthia Osta, Louis Pagliocca, Janet Partridge, Ed Paul, Eileen Philips, Katherine Price, Joanne Puts, Gail Reese, Katheryn Ring, Donald Roberts, Albert Romano, Carol Ross, Janice Ryan, Carol Satterfield, Ira Schildkraut, Laura Schilke, Walter Schmidt, Nancy Schwartzberg Dennis Seetoo, Ruth Shapiro, Carol Shaw, Jim Sheridan, Alan Sherman, Nicholas Shirgio, Elaine Siemer, Barbara Signorelli,, Ann Stazzone, Rosemarie Vanerhoek, James Washington, William Weil, John Weiss, and Willy Zambrana.

Meanwhile I have had the pleasure speaking to Barbara Fine Alexander, who has two beautiful daughters, Dr. Larry Reich, whose surgery center was the location for the network television program “Extreme Makeover”, Michael Fuchs who spent a few great months in Hawaii, Lew Perelman whose wife is a singer and a composer, Warren Adis and his wife Mary who are intending to sabbatical in Australia, Jim Finch who is an integral part of Mount Vernon city government, Stan Goldmark, who travels yearly to Wisconsin football games, is taking his daughter to Syracuse University this fall, Norman Raphael, who is a new contributor to the Jon Breen Fund and hopes to be at this coming reunion, Laura Kosof Fluhr and her wonderful store on 79^th Street and Madison Avenue, Frank Engel who was just in New York from Portland with his wife and beautiful daughter, Alan Rosenberg whose daughter and granddaughter I have held, Bob Sabin, who was part of our pinochle game with Joel Grossman and Alan Sherman, Elaine Turkin, Barbara Tucci Parent and her husband Roland, whom we recently lunched with in Fort Lauderdale, Bill Bernstein who retired from the legal department of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, and has now migrated south to Florida, Joel and Sue Grossman’s oldest daughter was married, Lucy Bisesi Peskin is happy about her son’s new job, Steve Blankstein has been spending his retirement golfing with his wife in Florida, Jane Cutler Feirer is happy in Rockland County,  Bruce Dix, who is still practicing law for the State of NY near Albany, Lester Hallerman, whose son is to be married and is going to be celebrating his 34^th  wedding anniversary on our reunion weekend, Jim Kurtz, who is still the greatest and still is involved in veteran’s affairs, Diane McGinnis Fleck, who has remarried, Fran Lazar Ashkin and her Doctor hubby go to bed early, Ellen Fuchs Abramson  complained about the rains effect on her flowers, Elaine Knopping Haimes will soon be a grandmother and may attend the reunion, we hope, Susan Wallis Field happily sells real estate in Scarsdale and Edgemont, Barbara Soloff Levy is still doing her famous illustrations and will also be a grandmother soon, Matt Goldberg is into arbitration in Oakland and may come east, Larry Baker has confidence in the market rebounding, and Phylis Briskman Leon may come to the reunion also. By the way Madeline Littlefield just told me Pete Sisto is getting married.  There is always more, of course, but space and time have a way of limiting this letter, no less everything else.

Regards, and see you at our 40^th reunion!

Richard J. Garfunkel

PS: If you are interested in sending a contribution to the Jon Breen Fund, I will send you a copy of Alyson C. Baker’s winning essay. For any gift above $50 I will send you a copy of the tape of the event! RJG.  

Hon. Ernest Davis

Mayor of Mount Vernon, NY

Office of the Mayor

Mount Vernon, NY, 10550

June 6, 2003

Dear Mayor Davis,

I was sorry that you were unable to participate with our Jon Breen Memorial Fund Assembly this year. I understood from Leslie Alpert that you had other pressing obligations. We had a marvelous turnout and the four finalists handled themselves with considerable grace and aplomb in the midst of a difficult and demanding venue. As you well know, it is never easy to be judged by one’s peers, especially when difficult and thought provoking questions are asked and excellent answers are expected.

Meanwhile, please find a copy of the winning essay submitted by Ms. Alyson C. Baker, who happens to be the number one ranking student in the MVHS Class of 2003. I have also selected for the annual Henry M. Littlefield History Award, Ms. Oluwakemi Soyeju, a Nigerian immigrant. Ms. Soyeju, who ranks second in her class, and achieved a 750 in her History SAT II national exam, has accomplished much in her outstanding high school career. Coming to a new country and undergoing the great challenge of assimilation regarding language and culture makes her effort even more remarkable. I have therefore enclosed an essay that she composed regarding her early experience in coming to America.

Thank you very much, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Regards,

Richard J. Garfunkel

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