House Plan Reunion

House Plan Reunion - 2012

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If you want a higher-resolution copy of a photo, contact me.
I probably have one I can send you.

Well, I didn't attend the 50th reunion of my college class last Sunday. There were only two people there that I was interested in seeing, and I thought the whole thing was being planned and handled badly. Didn't see myself having fun there.

But I digress...

A few days later, Bob Diskin called me. Bob and I had been in the same House Plan at CCNY. (A House Plan is sort of like a fraternity, but with everybody from the same class. No perpetuity, no hazing, most of the good stuff of a fraternity but without the baggage. That's the way City College saw it, and we agreed.)

Anyway, Norm Sider, one of our House Plan brothers, was in New York for a visit. So Bob was trying to get together those of us who were in or around the City. We met for lunch today (Thursday, June 7) at the St. Andrews Pub in midtown. There were seven of us there. (Well six members and the sister of one, who knows several of the guys.) Except for seeing Bob a few months ago at the Raphaels' party, I hadn't seen any of them in fifty years -- almost to the day! Great three hours today, much more worthwhile than the official college reunion could possibly have been.

Here's the whole crew.
L to R: Dave Tutelman, Robert Hanna, Bob Diskin, Marsha Cohen, Norm Sider, Alan Cohen, Harvey Shapiro

Four members of this "lineup" are shown more than fifty years earlier during one of our annual Bear Mountain expeditions. Two are easy to recognize, two you will probably have to cheat to identify.

The early birds waiting outside St. Andrews Pub.
L to R: Robert Hanna, Alan Cohen, Norman Sider, Harvey Shapiro.
I didn't really have to caption Alan; the sign over his head did that.

Urban cowboy!
Norm was the tourist visiting New York from Indiana, but he was also the tourist attraction. Kids stared at him in "the hat", and asked their parents if he was a cowboy.

St. Andrews Pub wisely hid us in a corner.
Actually, they had a big picture window in the upstairs room, which they opened up to the fresh air... and the loud noises from 46 Street.

Bob Diskin pulled this whole thing together at just a day's notice. Great job!

I barely remembered Alan. He remembered more about me than I could imagine. Wow, that was embarrassing. (He took some of the sting out of it by reminding me that he was a year behind me and not an original member of the House Plan -- and that he was in the business school, which was on a completely different campus.)

Marsha Cohen is Alan's sister. She also went to the same high school as I did (and Alan as well). In fact, she was a classmate and friend of my sister's in high school. Hey Ruth, Marsha says 'hi!'

Harvey Shapiro and I were pretty close in college. (He's the only one at the party who, like me, was an engineer.) But I couldn't recognize him until he introduced himself. He looks very different now. He sounds like the same guy, though, and his mannerisms are the same. I guess I do believe it's really him.

Norm gets into all the pictures, doesn't he?
Well he should; he's the guest of honor, the reason we got together today.

Robert Hanna doesn't even have the same name he used in college, neither first name nor last name. But he still looks exactly the same. He has also had the most offbeat collection of careers of any of us.

We all agreed to meet again soon -- at least we won't wait another fifty years.

The early birds waiting outside St. Andrews Pub. L to R: Robert Hanna, Alan Cohen, Norman Sider, Harvey Shapiro. I didn't really have to caption Alan; the sign over his head did that.	Urban cowboy! Norm was the tourist visiting New York from Indiana, but he was also the tourist attraction. Kids stared at him in "the hat", and asked their parents if he was a cowboy.	St. Andrews Pub wisely hid us in a corner. Actually, they had a big picture window in the upstairs room, which they opened up to the fresh air... and the loud noises from 46 Street.	Bob Diskin pulled this whole thing together at just a day's notice. Great job!
I barely remembered Alan. He remembered more about me than I could imagine. Wow, that was embarrassing. (He took some of the sting out of it by reminding me that he was a year behind me and not an original member of the House Plan -- and that he was in the business school, which was on a completely different campus.)	Marsha Cohen is Alan's sister. She also went to the same high school as I did (and Alan as well). In fact, she was a classmate and friend of my sister's in high school. Hey Ruth, Marsha says 'hi!'	Harvey Shapiro and I were pretty close in college. (He's the only one at the party who, like me, was an engineer.) But I couldn't recognize him until he introduced himself. He looks very different now. He sounds like the same guy, though, and his mannerisms are the same. I guess I do believe it's really him.	Norm gets into all the pictures, doesn't he? Well he should; he's the guest of honor, the reason we got together today.
Robert Hanna doesn't even have the same name he used in college, neither first name nor last name. But he still looks exactly the same. He has also had the most offbeat collection of careers of any of us.