Although I only spent my sophomore year at Weequahic, that year and my previous years at Clinton Place and Bragaw brought me my closest friends and best memories. I’ll never forget launching rockets at Weequahic Park with Wayne (Chen); the long talks with Eileen (Lippe) on the way to school; commiserating with Arnold (Kaplan). And wondering where Wendy (Kaufman) got all her energy. Oh….and the 9th Grade Prom with Helene (Kaufman)!
Going back to Weequahic after 40 years and reconnecting with my friends has formed new, wonderful and indelible connections. The Reunion weekend was Magical !
My family moved to Irvington at the end of my sophomore year and I made the best of the remaining two years at the high school there. There were new friends and some good ones for sure….but my heart always stayed in Newark.
I managed to stay connected with Newark because I spent the next 4 years at Newark College of Engineering (now NJIT). I remained in NJ for some time as I completed graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, married and welcomed my first daughter Jennifer into the world.
I spent 13 years with Exxon Research and Engineering in Florham Park and got to work with Computer Control Systems, and traveled to many of their facilities around the world: The Gulf Coast, Canada, Europe, The Far East and Australia. Alison was born during that time. I enjoyed the work immensely, but it took a toll on my marriage and I was divorced in 1980. However, the two little girls I had made it all worth it.
Today, Alison lives in Dallas, is happily married to Michael; and they had a son two years ago, Carter Max….my first GrandKid. Jennifer is also happy with Ryan in Chicago and they had a little girl a few weeks before the Reunion….my GrandDaughter Kate Avery. Life is Good .
Mary’s kids are in San Francisco and Brooklyn. (They’re obviously of very different temperaments). Jenica works at the University of California Medical Center. She and her husband Jeremiah both have Theatre Arts ambitions. Justin loves Brooklyn and his girlfriend Lauren. He’s a techie And artsy kind of guy who is still trying to turn some dreams into reality.
But way back then, after my divorce, on a business trip to Phoenix, I met my present wife; The Fair MaryAnn. We courted for a year, long distance (I was able to arrange numerous business trips), and then we got married. She and her two kids moved to NJ so I could be near my girls. After a few years I decided to leave Exxon for Honeywell. Actually, I didn’t go to work for them right away. There was a tech downturn at the time and I couldn’t get a job with them. But I landed a job with Bell Labs down in Holmdel and learned a bit about communications. After about a year, I got the Honeywell job and settled in Phoenix where I’ve been for the last 18 years. Maryann has had a long standing practice in Counseling (psychotherapy) and I’ve worked for Honeywell for most of that time. Today I work for their Avionics division as a Systems Test Engineer.
These days we spend our time visiting our Kids and GrandKids, and planning our ‘retirement’. Mary will never really retire. She loves her work too much. I’ve started a computer consulting business and plan to use that as my steppingstone out of corporate life. That will give us more time for our vacations in northern Arizona and my hiking/flyfishing excursions. Standing in a clear mountain stream prospecting for trout and watching Haikus float through my mind is what my dreams are made of.
My email address is: zenphx@msn.com
