Newsletter for the Alumni and Friends of
Hicksville High School Hicksville, New York

The Editors:
Buffalo Bob Casale '61	Linda (Piccerelli) Hayden '60
Pat (Koziuk) Driscoll '56	Bob (Gleason) Wesley '61

Contributing Editors: Bob Gillette & Walter Schmidt

Webmaster: Roger Whitaker

To contact the editors, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

---

For information on the Class of '63 50th Reunion, please visit 63.hixreunion.com

Here's a Class of '63 Reunion update: We're very excited to let everyone know that we'll be adding 1 or 2 more events to the Class of 1963 50-Year Reunion schedule in the next few weeks and the reunion is turning into a weekend that will be remembered! All 1963 classmates and their guests are encouraged to send in their ticket order as soon as possible so the committee can get a better handle on the total number of gifts, premiums and prizes to order. Also by replying early, we can give our tour "hosts" some idea of the number of participants and we can get additional and better "perks" from the Plainview Holiday Inn.If you received a printed invitation in the mail, an order form and reply envelope was included. Don't wait. Send it back today! In addition to payment by check, payment can be made by credit card or through PayPal. If you received an email, there is a link to a downloadable order form that can be printed. There is also a link on the official reunion web site: http://63.hixreunion.com. We would also like to clear up some confusion regarding the dates of our reunion. The "one and only" Class of 1963 50-Year Reunion is happening the weekend of October 11-13, 2013, with the main event scheduled on Saturday evening, October 12th. There are a few people on the social media sites talking about multi-class reunions, rock-n-roll reunions, etc. with dates ranging from June through September. Don't be confused. Our reunion is definitely a "go" and is "on."We look forward to seeing everyone in October!

Your Reunion Committee:

• Elliot Gorlin
• Tommy Sullivan
• Mike Ollins

PO Box 26004
Las Vegas, Nevada 89126
T (702) 375-7089
F (702) 314-8815
www.HHS1963.com

Official Class of 1963 50-Year Reunion T-Shirt Now Available!Commemorate the event in style with this 100% cotton,  6.1 oz Heavyweight T printed in our school colors!

Reserve yours now to be picked up at the registration table when you check in, or we can ship it to you now for a low flat fee. We will only have a limited additional quantity for sale at the reunion.

Sizes S-XL - $10.95 per shirt
Sizes 2XL and 3XL - $12.95 per shirt

Send a check or money order for the cost of the shirt (plus $5.00 shipping, if you would like it sent to you)  to the address below. Please be sure to indicate the size(s) desired.

Make checks payable to:
HHS Class of 1963 Reunion Committee
P.O. Box 26004
Las Vegas, Nevada 89126-0004
We can also accept payment via PayPal. Our PayPal account is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Be sure to provide your shipping address in the PayPal Comments box if we are shipping to you.

Hicksville Vietnam War Era Memorial - PROJECT UPDATE

With official site approval for the Memorial gained in June from the Hicksville Public School Board, we are now firming up fundraising plans.  The name Hicksville Vietnam Era Memorial, LLC has been chosen for our not-for-profit (NFP) entity, a tax identification number has been obtained and we have petitioned the IRS for NFP status.  Once this status is obtained, a bank account will be opened by Bill Walden and fundraising for the Memorial will proceed under Bill's leadership. 

We were also pleased to add Terry Wallace, HHS 1966, to the Project Team in July.  As a Vietnam veteran who was wounded in action, Terry has been on our Confirmed List of Names for quite some time, but only learned of the Project this past month and has already been of significant help to us.

For additional details, please see this month's complete update by clicking on the Honoring Our Veterans page of this newsletter.

On behalf of the Project Team,
Joe Carfora, HHS '62

The Newsletter

Photo Gallery

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Memory Lane

SIGNS THAT YOU HAVE GROWN UP:
Credit David Teitel for this, HHS class of 1968

This appeared in the newsletter back in January 2002

1. Your potted plants are alive. And you can't smoke a-one of them.
2. Having sex in a twin-sized bed is absurd.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to sleep.
5. You hear your favorite song on an elevator.
6. You carry an umbrella. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of hookup and breakup.
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 7.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as 'dressed up'.
10. You're the one calling the police because those darn kids next door don't know how to turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up..
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You no longer take naps from noon to 6 p.m.
17. Dinner and a movie - The whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 a.m. would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drugstore for Ibuprofen and antacids,not condoms and pregnancy test kits.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer 'pretty good stuff.'
21. You actually eat breakfast foods at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to," replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. Over 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You don't drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. You read this entire list looking for one sign that doesn't apply to you.

Some of you are too young to remember all of this, but I really think it was a time to live in.

1967 REMEMBER WHEN

Joyce Thornburn Jurgensen

Mom was at home when the kids got home from school; when nobody owned a purebred dog; when a quarter was a decent allowance, and another quarter a huge bonus; when you'd reach into a muddy gutter for a penny; when all of your male teachers wore neckties and female teachers had their hair done and wore high heels; when you got your windshield cleaned, oil checked and gas pumped without asking, all for free, every time, and you didn't pay for air, and you got trading stamps to boot. When it was considered a great privilege to be taken out to dinner at a real restaurant with your parents; when the worst thing you could do at school was smoke in the bathrooms, flunk a test or chew gum; when a '57 Chevy was everyone's dream car, to cruise, peel out, lay rubber or watch submarine races; and people went steady and girls wore a class ring with an inch of wrapped yarn so it would fit her finger. And no one ever asked where the car keys were because they were always in the car, in the ignition, and the doors were never locked.

And you got in big trouble if you accidentally locked the doors at home, since no one ever had a key. Remember lying on your back on the grass with your friends and saying things like "That cloud looks like a ..." Remember jumping waves at the ocean (Gulf) for hours in that cold water; and playing baseball with no adults to help kids with the rules of the game because baseball was not a psychological group learning experience, it was a game.

Remember when stuff from the store came without safety caps and hermetic seals because no one had yet tried to poison a perfect stranger. And with all our progress, don't you wish, just once, you could slip back in time and savor the slower pace and share it with the children of today.

Remember when being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home. Basically, we were in fear for our lives, but it wasn't because of drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!

But we all survived because their love was greater than the threat. Go back with me for a minute... Before the Internet or the MAC... before semi automatics and crack ... before SEGA or Super Nintendo... Way back ... I'm talking about hide and go seek at dusk, red light, green light; kick the can; playing kickball & dodgeball until your porch light came on... and mother may I?  red rover, hula hoops, roller skating to music, running through the sprinkler...

And... Catching lightning bugs in a jar; Christmas morning; your first day of school; bedtime prayers and goodnight kisses; climbing trees; getting an ice cream off the ice cream truck; a million mosquito bites and sticky fingers; jumping on the bed; pillow fights; running till you were out of breath' laughing so hard your stomach hurt; being tired from playing; your first crush...remember that?

I'm not finished yet.... Kool-aid was the drink of summer; toting your friends on your handle bars; wearing your new shoes on the first day of school and class field trips. Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, Yeah, I remember that! There's nothing like the good old days.

They were good then, and they're good now when we think about them. I want to go back to the time when............ Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" and mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do it over!" "Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest; money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "Monopoly;" catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening; and it wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends. Being old referred to anyone over 20 and the worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.

Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better; it was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park; getting a foot of snow was a dream come true; abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare;" Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles; the worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team; water balloons were the ultimate weapon; and older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors.

Casale's Corner

The below was submitted by Jim Gorman from the class of 1966

THINGS YOUR BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU - EVERYONE - IMPORTANT INFO

There are some really great tips here: Some old some new. The best are near the end.

Common sense applied in a vigorous way. Read all the way to the end.  You just might learn something that will save your home from being burglarized.

I am particularly interested in the part about the wasp spray...

1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.

2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in there, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.

3. Love those flowers. That tells me you have taste... and taste means there are nice things inside. Those yard toys your kids leave out always make me wonder what type of gaming system they have.

4. Yes, I really do look for newspapers piled up on the driveway. And I might leave a pizza flyer in your front door to see how long it takes you to remove it..

5. If it snows while you're out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house.. Virgin drifts in the driveway are a dead giveaway.

6. If decorative glass is part of your front entrance, don't let your alarm company install the control pad where I can see if it's set. That makes it too easy.

7. A good security company alarms the window over the sink. And the windows on the second floor, which often access the master bedroom - and your jewelry. It's not a bad idea to put motion detectors up there too.

8. It's raining, you're fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door - understandable. But understand this: I don't take a day off because of bad weather.

9. I always knock first. If you answer, I'll ask for directions somewhere or offer to clean your gutters. (Don't take me up on it.) 

10. Do you really think I won't look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet.

11. Here's a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids' rooms.

12. You're right: I won't have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it's not bolted down, I'll take it with me.

13. A loud TV or radio can be a better deterrent than the best alarm system. If you're reluctant to leave your TV on while you're out of town, you can buy a $35 device that works on a timer and simulates the flickering glow of a real television. (Find it at http://www.faketv/.com/ )

8 MORE THINGS A BURGLAR WON'T TELL YOU

1. Sometimes, I carry a clipboard. Sometimes, I dress like a lawn guy and carry a rake. I do my best to never, ever look like a crook.

2. The two things I hate most: loud dogs and nosy neighbors.

3. I'll break a window to get in, even if it makes a little noise. If your neighbor hears one loud sound, he'll stop what he's doing and wait to hear it again. If he doesn't hear it again, he'll just go back to what he was doing. It's human nature.

4. I'm not complaining, but why would you pay all that money for a fancy alarm system and leave your house without setting it?

5. I love looking in your windows. I'm looking for signs that you're home, and for flat screen TVs or gaming systems I'd like. I'll drive or walk through your neighborhood at night, before you close the blinds, just to pick my targets.

6. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook page. It's easier than you think to look up your address. Parents:  caution your kids about this.  You see this every day.

7. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it's an invitation.

8. If you don't answer when I knock, I try the door. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and walk right in.

 Sources: Convicted burglars in North Carolina , Oregon , California , and Kentucky ; security consultant Chris McGoey, who runs http://www.crimedoctor.com/ and Richard T. Wright, a criminology professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who interviewed 105 burglars for his book Burglars on the Job.

Protection for you and your home

If you don't have a gun, here's a more humane way to wreck someone's evil plans for you.

WASP SPRAY

A friend who is a receptionist in a church in a high risk area was concerned about someone coming into the office on Monday to rob them when they were counting the collection. She asked the local police department about using pepper spray and they recommended to her that she get a can of wasp spray instead.

The wasp spray, they told her, can shoot up to twenty feet away and is a lot more accurate, while with the pepper spray, they have to get too close to you and could overpower you. The wasp spray temporarily blinds an attacker until they get to the hospital for an antidote. She keeps a can on her desk in the office and it doesn't attract attention from people like a can of pepper spray would. She also keeps one nearby at home for home protection... Thought this was interesting and might be of use.

FROM ANOTHER SOURCE

On the heels of a break-in and beating that left an elderly woman in Toledo dead, self-defense experts have a tip that could save your life.

Val Glinka teaches self-defense to students at Sylvania Southview High School . For decades, he's suggested putting a can of wasp and hornet spray near your door or bed. Glinka says, "This is better than anything I can teach them."

Glinka considers it inexpensive, easy to find, and more effective than mace or pepper spray. The cans typically shoot 20 to 30 feet; so if someone tries to break into your home, Glinka says, "spray the culprit in the eyes". It's a tip he's given to students for decades. It's also one he wants everyone to hear. If you're looking for protection, Glinka says look to the spray.

"That's going to give you a chance to call the police; maybe get out." Maybe even save a life.

Put your car keys beside your bed at night

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, your Dr.'s office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this: It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no installation. Test it. It will go off from most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around. After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that. And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime.

P.S.

I am sending this to everyone I know because I think it is fantastic. Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone. My Mom has suggested to my Dad that he carry his car keys with him in case he falls outside and she doesn't hear him. He can activate the car alarm and then she'll know there's a problem.

Please pass this on even IF you've read it before. It's a reminder.

Please share this with all the people in your life.