Raphael-Spritzer party

Raphael-Spritzer party - 2012

(Click on Thumbnail to see full-size picture)

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

Joel Raphael and Alan Spritzer are college buddies of mine. We were in the same House Plan in CCNY (sort of like a fraternity, but with everybody from the same class). I see Joel about once a month in golf season, but hadn't seen Al since we graduated in 1962, fifty years ago. On March 24, 2012, Lenore and Joel Raphael hosted a reunion party for Al's family from the Bronx (Al's original home), Tennessee (where he now lives), and Alabama (where he once lived, worked, and met his wife Cecil), and a lot of Al's friends from his youth. I was fortunate enough to be included.

The party was held in the Sky Lounge, the party room in the building where Joel and Lenore live. Here is the view that justifies the room's name.

Our hosts, Lenore and Joel Raphael. Joel, like me, worked for Bell Labs and AT&T. Lenore is a well-known Jazz pianist.

The guests of honor, Cecil and Alan Spritzer. Alan is a professor in the business school at East Tennessee State University.

College friends and House Plan brothers Dave Tutelman, Bob Diskin, Joel Raphael, and Al Spritzer.

Over the years, I had heard Joel mention Howie Hindin from his old neighborhood lots of times. I knew Joel from high school and college, but lived in a different part of the Bronx and had never met Howie. Now I have.
Turns out Howard and I have a common interest in esoteric technical aspects of golf. He is involved in novel research in the relationship between jaw position and golf swing performance, and has produced a bite guard that encourages better driving distance.

At some point in the party, Alan set up a projector and started showing old home movies of a lot of the adults as very young kids. They were taken on old 8mm film, and Al had them converted to digital for his PC.

Something was wrong with the speaker on Al's PC, so all the movies were silent. But never fear. Cecil's son Shaun Pezant is a professional musician. He sat down at the piano, and played "silent film music" for the entire collection of films. Well, it was more "piano bar" than the old silent film style, but he made the songs correspond to what was on the screen.
It was a great moment.

Lenore and Joel enjoy the film.

Fourteen-year-old Evan Pezant came to the piano to watch dad play.

After the movies, Evan tickled the ivories himself.

Eventually Lenore succumbed to requests, and played a few pieces from her soon-to-be-released CD.

At some point in the party, Alan set up a projector and started showing old home movies of a lot of the adults as very young kids. They were taken on old 8mm film, and Al had them converted to digital for his PC.	Something was wrong with the speaker on Al's PC, so all the movies were silent. But never fear. Cecil's son Shaun Pezant is a professional musician. He sat down at the piano, and played "silent film music" for the entire collection of films. Well, it was more "piano bar" than the old silent film style, but he made the songs correspond to what was on the screen. It was a great moment.	Lenore and Joel enjoy the film.	Fourteen-year-old Evan Pezant came to the piano to watch dad play.
After the movies, Evan tickled the ivories himself.	Eventually Lenore succumbed to requests, and played a few pieces from her soon-to-be-released CD.