RIP George Kirschner

George was a legendary history teacher at the former Walden School in New York. He lived well into his 80s, lucid until the end. George's influence was felt far and wide among his former students of many years. I was not as attentive or engaged as I could have been when I had him for 11th grade American History, but he made the subject come alive. Farewell, teacher. You will be missed.

KIRSCHNER--George. Beloved grandfather and greatgrandfather, father, husband, teacher, and friend will be remembered for his contagious smile and energy, unwavering principles, profound sense of justice, unequivocal commitment to activism, and open and welcoming heart. Born in New York City, George served in the US Coast Guard during WWII. He began as a brewer, later went to college, and found his professional love as a teacher of history at the Walden School in New York City. He is survived by his children, Carl and Sandy, his grandchildren Emily, Jessie, Jonathan and Amanda, and his great-granddaughter Mia. Funeral services are private. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Doctors Without Borders.

UPDATE: You can leave comments for George's family in the guestbook.

UPDATE: A lot of people are landing here from Google and going to the guestbook. Hello to all Walden alumni & faculty. Here's a link to Doctors Without Borders.

Technorati tags: Walden, George Kirschner

Lamest. Reunion. Ever.

My high school class was pretty lame, and as far as I know, never got it together to have a reunion. The school itself is long-defunct. I just got an e-vite for our 30th anniversary reunion. The same pattern from high school is holding.

• '76 - a very cool class, people I looked up to, and their 30th reunion sounded really cool with a more formal evening and a picnic the next day. Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn got a lot of mileage blogging her reunion planning, the actual event, and aftermath. Of course, OTBKB is a very engaging writer and it was a fun read, especially since I knew her classmates.
• '77 - not quite as cool as '77 but still cool, and their 30th reunion was an evening in someone's apartment
• '78 - lame, and the reunion is going to be in the afternoon in the same building that housed our former school. Sounds absolutely craptastic.

I am blessed with my daughters' gymnastics show that afternoon, and have a handy excuse to avoid this event. Maybe I can sit in my basement office, flip through my yearbook, and read OTBKB again. At some point my flashback will be interruped by one of my kids showing me his or her latest creation in GarageBand or iMovie.

I grew up. My kids are growing up. It's good to be alive. End of story.

3 degrees of Kevin Bacon

Three, that's right, count them...three degrees of separation between Kevin Bacon and me.

Kevin Bacon starrred in Footloose with Sarah Jesica Parker, who is married to Matthew Broderick, who was in a high school play with me.

(Left to right: Matthew Broderick, me, Kenneth Lonergan)

I've shaken hands with Zappa and performed Shakespeare with Broderick & Lonergan. Is there anything left for me to do?

UPDATE: By way of the movie Flatliners, I am only four degrees away from Jack Bauer!

UPDATE: After checking the math, I realized I am only two degrees away from Jack Bauer. Actor Rafael Sbarge, who played the clueless father who cooperated with the terrorists and got nuked in last night's 24, was also in the same high scool production of A Midsummer Night's Dream mentioned above. If memory serves, he had a cast party at his house, and at some point in the middle of things, somebody came out and announced that the party was over. He was in 8th grade and I think his parents decided they didn't want a bunch of teenagers partying all night in their Upper West Side digs.

Technorati tags: Matthew Broderick, Kevin Bacon, Kenneth Lonergan, Jack Bauer, 24