Early in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, Arthur Fergenson (our mini-Reunion Chair) initiated a series of Casual Conversations among classmates. These 2-hour conversations occur roughly monthly using Zoom and are on Sunday afternoons at 3:00 pm ET unless otherwise specified. About 3 weeks before each event, an announcement is posted here on the web site and sent to all classmates for whom we have valid email addresses. If you wish to suggest a topic, suggest a classmate, or lead a discussion yourself - you should contact Arthur Fergenson.
Please join classmate Peter Elias and his two invited guests for a Casual Conversation via Zoom on Sunday, April 23rd from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm ET, where we will explore the benefits of active patient (or caregiver) participation in the management of one’s
With apologies to Paul Revere devotees:
On the 18th of April '23, no '69 will want to miss
The 5pm Eastern talk of Rabbi Seth
One if by land(line), two if by Zoom
We want all of you in the virtual room!
You are invited to join classmate Phil Bush in a lunchtime concert on Zoom on Wednesday, April 12 at 1 pm Eastern Time. This is the second lunchtime concert, the first being with pianist Sue Leavitt, who played a classical program. She was terrific and she started what is now officially A TRADITION, one that Phil will now carry forward with guitar held high!
Here is Phil’s intro to his event:
Please join us on Sunday, March 12 At 3 pm Eastern Time (US) for a Casual Conversation on Zoom, the topic being President Biden’s foreign policy, with classmate Professor Mark Sheetz '69 as our guest. If you are viewing this information in the email sent to you, it will not have attached either of the two pdfs authored by Mark that he has offered in connection with the discussion. IF you want to read his two essays—and neither are in any way required reading for meaningful participation in the Casual Conversation—you have THREE OPTIONS, all three of which
Please join us on Sunday, February 26 at 3 pm Eastern Time (US), for a tour of Julie Mathias’s art studio in Chicago, led by, of course, Julie herself. Julie is the third Mathias to be the guest of a Casual Conversation. Her husband, classmate and former Class President John Mathias, spoke to us about his pro bono legal work on behalf of individuals who faced the possibility of the death penalty. Their daughter Alice Mathias spent time with us discussing her career in the entertainment industry as producer and director.
As a result of the efforts of classmate Dick Glovsky, on Tuesday, February 21 at 5 pm Eastern Time (US), Joe Berman will be the guest for a Casual Conversation sponsored by the Jewish Culture Group, chaired by classmate Bruce Alpert. Joe Berman’s t
Courtesy of classmate Ben Romney, Jacob Appel will be our guest at a Casual Conversation on Sunday, February 12 at 3 pm Eastern (US). Ben and I were high school classmates (Mamaroneck NY) of Jacob’s father, Jerry Appel, M.D., who after successfully treating Alonzo Mourning, became nephrologist to the Sp
Something new for our virtual community: a music recital! Sue Leavitt, wife of classmate John Leavitt, will give us a piano performance on Zoom on February 8 at Noon Eastern Time (US). The timing will be a lunchtime recital for the East Coast, and a late breakfast for those on the West Coast. If you live in between, listen to beautiful music to accompany your brunch. Whatever time zone you are in, make sure that you join us to celebrate: champagne (or rare tea) would be appropriate.
You are invited to join in a Casual Conversation sponsored by the Jewish Culture Group, and arranged by Group chair and classmate Bruce Alpert, with Rabbi Micah Greenstein, senior rabbi of Temple Israel in Memphis TN, to be held on Zoom on Monday, January 23, 2023, at 5 pm Eastern Time (US).
Our guest is Bruce’s Rabbi. The topic chosen is: “The Israel of today is NOT the Israel we knew."
The following column was written by Rabbi Greenstein and published in The Daily Memphian on Friday, December 23, 2022:
Time to sharpen our reading skills and get ready to discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Classmates David Abbott and Tex Talmadge will be our docents on this tour through history, but as David writes, see below, the goal is to get your views in reacting to the book and at looking at the future of our species.
The date is January 17, 2023 and the time is 4:30 pm Eastern. You have plenty of time to obtain the book and read it.