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

.

Hon. Ernest Davis

Mayor of Mount Vernon, NY

Office of the Mayor

Mount Vernon, NY, 10550

April 9, 2003

Dear Mayor Davis,

I hope this letter and enclosure finds you quite well. Since I know that you have a keen interest in American foreign policy, I wanted to share with you the outline of the speech that I am delivering this coming Monday, on April14^th, at the Westchester Meadows Assisted Living Facility. I have also included a “hand-out” that serves as a guide to my talk.

This subject will also be the theme of my new Jon Breen Fund Lecture at the Mount Vernon High School. This year’s essay contest topic will be  “Is the United Nations Relevant, when it Conflicts with America’s National Interest?” This will be the 9^th straight year that the Fund has sponsored this contest and scholarships. We usual get at least 150 entrees and we intend to cablecast the 2nd John Breen Memorial Essay Assembly in early June (5^th or 6^th depending on school arrangements) with hopefully your attendance on our panel, along with Ms. Brenda Smith, the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Lawrence Spruil, the School Principal and the County Legislator Clinton Young, serving on our judging panel.

Regards,

Richard J. Garfunkel

Ps: I will talk to Ms. Leslie Alpert to confirm your availability.

The Jon Breen Memorial Fund

Mount Vernon High School

100 California Road

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

rjg@cloud9.net

MVHS Class of 1963 Website

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

March 12, 2003

Dear Classmates and friends,

I hope that this letter finds all of you and yours quite well. As we all should know this is our fortieth reunion year. It certainly has been a long time since those idyllic days at AB Davis High School. How little we realized then what great and traumatic events would be just over the horizon. Probably the 1950’s ended in that year of 1963. It wasn’t too long after that; we all endured the death of John F. Kennedy, the escalation in Viet Nam, the Beatles, the drug culture, the sexual revolution and a generation’s loss of innocence. In a sense it was our year that ended a long period of time that celebrated American greatness and invulnerability. Of course our parents knew better. They had experienced the Depression and the 2^nd World War. But collectively they didn’t question the system and the establishment the way it was questioned, by our generation and the ones who followed, over the next 15 or so years. All in all, thankfully many of us are still here despite all the changes. Again another generation must deal with the changing challenges of the new century and millennium. The path ahead is fraught with uncertainty as the fog of war closes in on all of us. Who among us would have thought that terrorism on such a colossal scale would intrude upon our lives 18 months ago? Who among ourselves would have thought that there was so much hatred and bile directed towards our western way of life? Who amongst us would have thought that we would be isolated from much of Europe, especially the countries that we rescued and brought prosperity? How ironic is it, that the former Warsaw Pact eastern bloc countries are willing to support our efforts against Iraq. It is a confusing and exasperating world. No one has a crystal ball that will allow him or her to see the future clearly. But for sure we all find ourselves with less friends, as a nation, then usual and a world much more hostile than its been in a long, long while.

With regards to my recent activities, I have written a number of you about my own interests and efforts. Recently as you may or may not know, I was part of an effort to re-institute the Franklin D. Roosevelt/March of Dimes Birthday Balls, which were originally held from 1934 through 1945. They were organized primarily to raise money for the fight against polio. As you are old enough to remember, both Drs. Salk and Sabin’s work eradicating polio was funded by the March of Dimes, which was founded by FDR. As a result of our current effort, we held our first Birthday Ball, on January 30^th, FDR’s birthday, at both Hyde Park and the Culinary Institute. We raised over $20,000 for both the March of Dimes current work against birth defects and premature births and the FDR Library’s educational and research work. Along with the effort it was great fun and the food was quite good. Since I last reported, I have had the pleasure of lecturing on FDR, and related topics all over Westchester, including senior citizen homes, the Rotary Club of White Plains, and the Mid-Westchester “Y”. It’s been great fun meeting old friends from White Plains, parents of contemporaries and people who have intense and vivid memories of that era. We have a tendency to trash the opinions of seniors in this country. At least from my perspective this practice is quite foolish, shortsighted and self-defeating.

As to the Jon Breen Memorial Fund, we are into the tenth year of its existence. Our class and its friends have raised over $20,000 and, according to our last statement we have close to $10,000 remaining in its account. These past monies have been used to award prizes to students that have submitted the best essays, each year, on public policy issues. As we move into the spring, this year’s essay subject will be chosen. Also, I have been selecting, with the help of the social studies department, the annual winner of the Henry Littlefield History Award.

Recently I received an e-mail from Michael Schlanger, AB Davis class of 1961, about the 100^th anniversary of Columbia University’s wrestling team. Michael offered in his e-mail, and his note in the Anniversary Journal a wonderful tribute to Henry Littlefield who was a well-respected member of the Columbia class of 1954. Because of his e-mail, Linda and I went to see the Cornell-Columbia match at the NYAC where I met Doug Garr (MVHS class of 1967, runner-up NY State wrestling championships, 1967) and his brother Andy  (AB Davis class of 1961). It was a great match, viewed an enjoyed by over 500 fans and Columbia enthusiasts. The next Saturday I was able to visit with many former teammates of Henry’s at Columbia’s Lou Gehrig Lounge. What satisfaction and enjoyment was it to see and hear those guys reminisce over matches and events that happened fifty or so years ago. Also for all you old Mount Vernon basketball fans, yesterday the Knights won their fourth straight and 21^st overall Section I title 82-59 over arch-rival White Plains.

As to my own little world, as I reported last October, we moved to Tarrytown from White Plains in June of 2002. I can still say with certainty that the nine months here has given birth to a new level of happiness. Its nice living in a town rather than a city and we love the comfort of a relatively new townhouse with none of the bothers of a big old white elephant that needs more hay to be fed day after day and year after year.

You all know, of course, that our fortieth reunion is on the way. In about six months many of us will be gathering in Tarrytown to celebrate another milestone of survival, and renewal. The aim to make the next reunion is always a long-term effort because it is five long years away. It is hard to believe that four and half years ago have past since we had such a grand time in Tarrytown. So make the effort, block out the time, your children will understand, your friends will thank you and you will feel good about yourselves for another five years.

Regards and stay well,

Richard J. Garfunkel

PS: If you want to contribute to the Jon Breen Fund, you can send a check directly to me at the above address.

Also is you wish to make a contribution to the March of Dimes/Birthday Ball effort to end birth defects and reduce premature births you can send it directly to me or to the March of Dimes office in Poughkeepsie. The address is just to the left. Just mention my name on your check, and thanks! rjg

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

October 15, 2002

Dear Friend and Classmate,

Hello from rainy and wet Westchester County. First let me wish a Happy New Year to all of my friends and classmates who celebrate the High Holy Days. It has been an incredibly difficult year for the country and the western world and hopefully the next one will be a good deal better. Since my last letter in March a number of important things have happened.

First of all, after living 33 years in White Plains, my wife Linda and I sold our house and moved into a very roomy townhouse in (2801 Watch Hill Drive) Tarrytown, NY.  After 4.5 months of packing and 450 cartons that were stuffed, sealed and opened, we have eased into the comfort of our new location. The river towns along the Hudson are quite nice, full of small town life, antique stores and out-door restaurants.

With regards to the Jon Breen Fund, a new process selected this year’s winners. As I had mentioned in the March letter, with the help of Paul Court, the lead Social Studies teacher, we were able to have all of our essayists in an assembly, with the Mayor, the County Legislator and the City Historian serving on a panel to judge the essay finalists. We were able to tape and cablecast the entire program and the finalists read their essays, and both the panel and essayists answered questions posed by the audience and me as moderator. Thankfully, I can report, it was as an educational and artistic success. I am looking forward to making this process an annual effort.

Over the past 9 years, with your help, we have raised about $20,000 that has been used as scholarship money for our winning essayists. Listed below are the past topics and winners with their colleges::

            1995 – E Pluribus Unum– Mary Clark, Yale

            1996 – We the People– Blessun Samuel- Columbia

            1997 – The Meaning of Freedom– Joby George – Northwestern

            1998 – Trial by Jury, Can it Work? – Sasha Clark- Hofstra

            1999 – Is the President Above the Law? – Stefan McKinley- Yale

            2000 – The Presidency, Who Decides? – Stephanie Brown- Harvard

            2001 – Who Should Elect the President, the People or the Electoral

                        College? – Victor Tineo, Vassar

            2002 – Freedom vs. Security, a Delicate Balance! – Monique Jones, Brown

This year’s winner Ms. Monique Jones was also the winner of the 2^nd annual Henry M. Littlefield History Award. Ms. Jones ranked 5^th in her class of 500, and had an average in Social Studies/History of 98.5 over four years and scored a “5” in the 2002 AP history exam. I also had the pleasure of reading three of her recent papers; Ratify the Constitution: Yes or No, Why they Impeached Andrew Johnson and Was John D. Rockefeller a “Robber Baron”.

For to our 40^th reunion, our committee has met and talked a number of times. We have solicited input from the class and the overwhelming response that we have received is to use our own judgment. After much debate and research we have decided to use the reunion company that served us quite well 1n 1998, and 40^th reunion will be held at the Westchester Marriott on the weekend of August 23^rd, 2003. Even though this date is close to Labor Day, you have almost one year to plan your calendar. The members of our reunion committee have visited the Marriott and we all believe that their facilities are first rate. We are all assured that the weekend’s activities will be both comfortable and enjoyable.

Since my last letter I have had the pleasure of hearing from some of our classmates: Eve Cole, Jim Kurtz, Sherry Beckman, Fran Lazar, Alan Rosenberg, Stan Goldmark, Frank Engel, Alan Rosenberg, Warren Adis, Laura Kosoff, Lewis Perelman, Michael Rosenblum, Ayn Silverman, Susan Satenstein, Peter Altieri, Norman Raphael, Dr. Larry Reich, Barbara Tucci, Cathy Cuomo, Terry brescia, Michael Fuchs, Harvey Berenger, and Jim Finch. Also I recently met Laurette Fagan a former Graham school gal who moved to Eastchester after junior high school and is married to Rabbi Ed Schechter of Beth Shalom Temple in Hastings, NY.

In my own little world, I have been lecturing on FDR and the New Deal in front of different groups since 1995. Because of my association with this great topic I have become acquainted with Ambassador William vanden Heuval, the director of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Through this association I have been in contact with him regarding various issues of mutual interest. Recently I attended the inaugural meeting at Hyde Park of a new committee that is looking to re-institute the FDR Birthday Balls of 1930’s and 1940’s in conjunction with the March of Dimes current effort to eradicate birth defects. I also am a member of the Planned Giving Professional Advisory Board of the Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY. Our group had a tour of their facilities recently. The tasks they engage in and accomplish are remarkable. On top of that I have been appointed by the Town of Greenburgh to serve on the town’s Recreation and Parks Commission. So all and all I’m keeping quite busy.

Again, please reserve the August 23^rd, 2003 weekend. Also I would love to see some more donations to the Jon Breen Fund. No amount will be refused. I am sure that many of you would be happy to know that your $25 check (or more) will help encourage the best and brightest from Mount Vernon H.S. to go out and take the reins of leadership. The success of our society is connected directly to the ability of each group to have access to opportunity. My sincere belief is that intellectual achievement can make a difference in their lives and the lives of the community that they will eventually serve. We are all in this large boat together, and if we wish to make sure that our children have a safe and strong America for them and their grandchildren to enjoy and prosper in, then we must encourage our young leaders and intellects. The need for a strong leadership class in all elements of our society is essential for our democracy and our economic well-being. Your check will go a long way to ensuring that positive future.

Regards to all,

Richard J. Garfunkel

Acorn Financial Service 914-467-7802

Specializing in Long Term Care Insurance

Managing Risk to protect Assets and provide comfort and care.

September 9, 2002

Dear Chuck,

I received your letter today and I must discuss with you the both “essentials” and the “misconceptions” of fundraising. Whenever you have the time let us sit down and “flesh all of this out.” Meanwhile I am meeting with the Ms. JoAnne Benson of the “March of Dimes” on Wednesday, so we will see what the “meeting of the minds” can accomplish. In the meantime I just received a nice invitation for drinks at Laura Roosevelt’s home in gracious Greenwich. Please look for the copy along with this missive.

In regards to Franklin D. Roosevelt and biographical treatments, I will mention a few forthwith. There are now more books written about FDR then any individual in history. Some of the prime reasons for such enduring interest in both the Roosevelts is their character, energy and personalities. To quote Jonas Klein, in his book Beloved Island, Franklin and Eleanor and the Legacy of Campobello, on the first page of the prologue, much is said about them. “No President and First Lady have been examined in such volume and with such passion. Although the Roosevelt’s triumphs and tribulations are well known, it is far less clear how each felt about these events and how emotions governed their actions. Eleanor revealed certain guarded feelings about her marriage, family and personal relationships, but Franklin shared little and revealed less. The search for understanding their successes and their failures is unending.”

Therefore these two very public people remain in their own way undiscovered. Eleanor, a woman of boundless energy, traveled, wrote daily columns, made an incredible amount of speeches, and probably knew more people then any one who has lived. She had great enduring and emotional friendships, after a childhood of bitterness and emotional pain. She was the eternal optimist, who exhorted people to “get involved”. This is a woman who traveled to the Pacific Theatre during wartime, against all of the military commander’s wishes and desires. She toured the hospitals, carried messages of hope and personally wrote 25,000 notes to the families of the wounded. Shortly afterward, Admiral Nimitz, and most of his subordinates, applauded her effort, and recognized it as an unprecedented morale builder. FDR., who had a wonderful supportive childhood and loving parents, on the other hand was a lonely man, who had a small circle of intimates. Most of them passed from the scene without saying anything substantive. They had working friendships with FDR and he rarely if ever revealed his true thinking to anyone.

Maybe Louis Howe and Marguerite “Missy” LeHand, knew him best, but they passed from the scene in 1935, and 1941 with nothing to comment about except some letters. For sure Missy LeHand spoke to no one in an “off-the-cuff” manner. Howe was a wizened political veteran who attached himself to FDR’s star early on in his career, and only death separated them. As close as Howe and LeHand were to FDR, after their passing, he kept his emotional, political and social views on them to himself. Though I am sure he thought about them, they were rarely mentioned in the past tense. Others like Jim Farley, Bernard Baruch, Henry Morgenthau Jr. and Harry Hopkins were also thought of to be intimate advisors, but that is either unproved or unsubstantiated. Hopkins died in 1946 and had little chance to comment on their working friendship and while the others were able to write about their lives and relationships with FDR, there was little new news revealed in their books. All saw FDR from different perspectives, some self-serving some out of great loyalty and some with a political perspective. Perhaps Henry Morgenthau was a friend of his, but after he became Secretary of the Treasury, he became another advisor and for sure FDR never stayed up late at night with him swapping innermost thoughts. Maybe it was FDR, who was the real paradoxical character in “Citizen Kane” and not Hearst.

So basically, I will try to answer your question, “what is a good basic FDR book?”

I have listed certain books from the hundreds written on FDR below and I have added my own rationale to each.

a)      Before the Trumpet and A First Class Temperament, by Geoffrey Ward are great treatments of FDR’s early life. Both award winning. I would choose the very long, A First Class Temperament, FDR 1910 to 1928.

b)      No Ordinary Time, Doris Kearns Goodwin, the wartime relationship between the Roosevelts that leans favorably towards Franklin.

c)      Eleanor and Franklin, Joseph Lash, their joint award-winning biography, from an Eleanor intimate, that leans towards Eleanor and her struggles and her interests.

d)      The Lion and the Fox and The Soldier of Freedom, James MacGregor Burns two award-winning volumes that do an excellent job on analyzing FDR the leader in peace and war.

e)      In the Shadow of FDR, Professor William Leuchtenburg’s masterpiece that compares all of FDR’s successors and their attempts to use his administration  and personal style as an example, guidepost, or measuring rod.

f)        Franklin D. Roosevelt, A Rendezvous with Destiny, Frank Freidel, an excellent one volume history of FDR.

g)      Franklin D. Roosevelt and American Foreign Policy, 1932-45, Robert Dallek, an excellent analysis of FDR’s foreign policy efforts.

h)      Roosevelt’s Secret War, Joseph Persico, a contemporary treatment of FDR’s secret diplomacy during WWII.

In summation, they are all excellent and each has a tendency to “make a statement”. I would read Persico’s book first and for the following reasons. One, it is written most contemporaneous to our time and its about World War II and its intrigue. It attempts to answer many of the still pressing questions about FDR’s wartime activities. It’s very interesting and well written by a terrific individual, not just an historian. Also, it is easy reading, and if it piques your interest, you will go on to some of the other’s that I have listed above.

I hope that this sheds some light on a vast unending subject that public seems to have an insatiable appetite to consume.

Regards,

Richard

Opening Remarks at the Inaugural

Jon Breen Memorial Fund Assembly

June 6, 2002

By

Richard J. Garfunkel

Chairperson of the Jon Breen Fund

 Hello to all of you fellow Mount Vernon High School graduates and our distinguished panel. My name is Richard Garfunkel, and I am also a graduate from the first graduating class of the new Mount Vernon High School way back in 1963. This is not the first MVHS. The first Mount Vernon High School was created in the 19^th Century and was split into two high schools, one academic AB Davis and one vocational Edison Tech in the 1930’s.

My class of 1963, we were only a three-year high school in those days, were educated in both campuses and were only unified only on the sports teams. We never attended a class in this complex and were only graduated from the unfinished gymnasium.

Meanwhile getting back to the purpose of our being here. In 1994 our class had decided to use some of the remaining funds from our 30^th high school reunion to honor the memory of the late Jon Breen, who had passed away earlier that year. Jon Breen was an outstanding member of the class of 1963. He was president of our class; he was a scholar athlete, an excellent debater and an accomplished essayist. Jon went on to Dartmouth College where he graduated summa cum laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for study in Australia, and after a year abroad he was admitted to the Harvard Law School. He went on to practice law with Hale and Dorr, a prestigious Boston Law firm.

With consultation of members of my class, the Superintendent of Schools William Pratella and the lead social studies teacher LE Smith, I decided to raise money and sponsor an essay contest on a timely public policy issue. Over the years approximately $20,000 has been raised for this purpose. Some of the past topics have been: E Pluribus Unum, its meaning, We the People, Celebrating one’s Freedom, Is the President Above the Law, Trial by Jury, Who Elects the President, the Electoral College and finally Freedom vs. Security.

Without the invaluable help of Mr. Paul Court, the lead social studies teacher and his predecessor Mr. John Alberga, this effort would not have succeeded. Their input and guidance has been outstanding. This continued effort has seen over 1500 essays submitted over the past eight years. The top essayists have all gone on to fine schools and hopefully this effort and many others of the like will continue to encourage scholarship and inquiry into the pressing issues of our day.

I would like to introduce our panel today, and I would also like to introduce our finalists. First of all, I would like to welcome, the Honorable Ernest Davis, the Mayor of Mount Vernon, the Honorable Clinton Young, a MVHS graduate and track star, your County Legislator and Ms. Brenda Smith, vice Superintendent of the MV School system. Our finalists are Marc Parris, Gifty Ampadu, Monique, Jones, and Monique Graham, would you please stand as I call your name again.

Since this our inaugural session, the format is one of experimentation. But as the moderator this morning I will use my discretionary power.

A.     First of all today’s topic is Freedom vs. National or Personal Security-

B.      I will invite the four finalists to read their essays.

C.     After each essay I would like our panel to take notes and I will ask each panelists to make a comment on a question from the audience and a possible question from myself. Please limit your responses to a few minutes

D.     The audience may make a statement or ask a question to one of the finalists or one of our panel members.

E.      I will ask the audience to hold their applause to the end of each speech.

F.      After all the speeches are spoken ,and all the questions are asked and hopefully answered, I will ask the panel to vote the best essay.