NEWSLETTER - United Administrators of San Francisco

NEWSLETTER
The United Administrators of San Francisco--Emeritus
UASF-Emeritus P.O. Box 31940 San Francisco, CA 94131
Phone: 415-753-2970
Fax: 415-753-3694
E
Volume IX, Number 3
Affiliated with American Federation of School Administrators, AFL-CIO Local 3-R
January 2011
President’s Message – Happy New Year Reflections
As President, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy New Year and share with
you reflections (not resolutions) on 2011, the Rabbit year on the Chinese Lunar calendar.
First, Baby Boomers born in 1946 turn 65 and qualify for Medicare this year (providing
your employer paid into Social Security) and supplemental health insurance through the San
Francisco Health Service System. When I applied for Medicare last year, I discovered that new
Social Security legislation ties the amount of Medicare B and Medicare D premiums to
reported adjusted gross income on tax returns. So, if you make more, you pay more. We
discovered that some recent retirees from SFUSD will have to pay more for Medicare and
health insurance. That is because SFUSD at some point in the 1970’s discontinued paying into
Social Security for these retirees. Unfortunately, these same retires will not qualify for social
security benefits.
Second, the Emeritus organization will begin the 10th chartered year in November 2011. We are a
maturing and thriving organization. I look forward to celebrating the beginning of the decade at the December
2011 luncheon/meeting.
Third, our recent Holiday Crafts Faire luncheon/meeting on December 8th at the Basque Cultural Center
was very successful. Thanks to all the donors who opened up their hearts, their purses/wallets, and checkbooks,
we are very strong in our funding for the awards/scholarship programs. We sent many checks and delivered
many donated items to local shelters and organizations who serve the elderly, the homeless, and other less
fortunate and needy clients. We are grateful to all donors and crafts sales volunteers whose names are listed in
the donation report elsewhere in this newsletter.
Finally, I wish to thank all Emeritus members who share email thoughts throughout the years. Email
content reflected our maturity, station in life, and observant viewpoints. Some rival the angst and grouchiness in
Tom Swartz’s Grouch column! I regret that I cannot publish all the great emails, but I usually select a few for
publication in our newsletters (some email content needed gentle editing for strong language).
Jennie A. Horn, President –UASF-Emeritus, [email protected]
February 8, 2011 – Emeritus Luncheon/Meeting – King Wah
Restaurant
Mark your calendars! Look for the luncheon/flyer notice via email and mail! For $30 per person,
you will get a set luncheon banquet menu of delicious dishes. Send checks made out to “UASFEmeritus” and send the check to UASF-Emeritus, PO Box 31940, San Francisco, CA 94131.
Emeritus organization funds supplements any additional expenses for
luncheons. This luncheon/meeting celebrates Lunar New
Year, Presidents' Day, Black History, and Valentines Day!!
Volume IX, Number 3 Page 1
United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
Welcome Back Renewed Members!
Fredna Howell and James Taylor
Good and Welfare Cards
Get Well Cards
•Shirlene Nakano – “Thank you for the positive thoughts for a speedy recovery…they worked! And thank you also
for the very generous gift card! It will be put to good use.”
•Tom Swartz – “Thank you so much for the great card, serious thoughts and the Borders gift certificate. I am now
on the road to recovery with a new hip ordered for February. I want you all to know that I did not go through all of
this just to get more material for my Grouch column.”
Sympathy Cards
•Nancy Mayeda -- The Emeritus organization made a donation to the Aoki Fund in memory of Jack Mayeda.
•Joe Crivello --The Emeritus organization made a donation to the Emeritus Memorial Fund in memory of Joe
Crivello’s mother.
•Shirley Thornton -- The Emeritus organization made a donation to the Scheiter Fund in memory of Shirley
Thornton’s mother, Emmelene Thomas.
Donation Report – November – January 2011
Note: The Emeritus organization welcomes any donations to the following funds at any time. Donation
checks should be made out to “UASF-Emeritus” (indicate the fund in the notation line on the check) and send
the donation check to UASF-Emeritus, PO Box 31940, San Francisco, CA 94131.
Nancy Aoki Fund
$320
Mayme Chinn (in memory of Rose Crivello, Joe Crivello’s mother, and Jack Mayeda, Nancy Mayeda’s husband), Ruby Hong, Pam Kline,
Marcia Parrott, Kathy Shimizu, Myrna Tsukamoto (in memory of Jack Mayeda)
Nancy Aoki Fund – Lonnie Chin Clothing/Crafts Sales – December 8, 2010 Emeritus Luncheon
Meeting $510
Audrey Davis, Linda Davis, Diane Doe, Adrienne Go, Ruth S. Jaffe, Pam Kline, Cheryl Lee, Nancy Mayeda (in
memory of Jack Mayeda), Sally Ann Ryan, James & Pat Taylor, Myrna Tsukamoto, Leslie Valstad-Dani, Myrna Yee
Emeritus Memorial Fund
$414.70
Paul Cheng, Kris Hawley, Pam Kline, Sam Louie (in memory of Jack Mayeda), Marian Seiki (table favors), Kathy
Shimizu
Emeritus Memorial Fund – Crafts Sales/Raffle – December 8, 2010 Emeritus Luncheon/Meeting
$665.70
Kris Hawley (Pat Aramendia’s mother’s hand-knitted shawl), Carolyn Hee, Wendy K. Hom, Claudia C. Jeung, Gail Lee, Maryann L. Lyons,
Marian Seiki, Mattie Walker, Sherie Yazman
Laura Fong Fund
$120
Kris Hawley, Ruby Hong, Pam Kline, Marcia Parrot
Holway Fund
$227.50
Al & Pat Aramendia, Tom Aspell, Audrey Davis, Ruby Hong, Pam Kline, Annette Lim, David Monasch, Marcia Parrott
Cathy Scheiter Scholarship Fund$258
Lupe Arabolos (in memory of Aida Kurrell), Lisa Balton, Sam O. Butscher, Paul Cheng, Kris Hawley (Pat Aramendia’s mother’s handknitted shawl), Reuven & Ruth Jaffe, Pam Kline, Marcia Parrott, Shirley Thornton (in memory of mother, Emmelene Thomas)
Virginia Wales Fund
Marcia Parrott
$20
Volume IX, Number 3
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United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
Holiday Donations (Checks) to Non-profits - $457.50
Asian Women’s Shelter
$75.00
Glide Foundation
$37.50
Hanna Boys’ Center
$25.00
La Casa de las Madres
$100.00
Meals-On-Wheels
$100.00
On Lok Senior Health Services $25.00
San Francisco CHUMS, Inc.
$120.00
Holiday Gift Donations to Non-profits
Glide Foundation
La Casa de las Madres
Laguna Honda
Raphael House
Treasurer’s Report as of December 31, 2010
Checking Account Balance
$3607.93
Savings Account Balance
$2954.03
CD Balance
$6228.25
Nancy Aoki Fund
Emeritus Memorial Fund
Laura Fong Fund
Mike Holway Fund
Cathy Scheiter Scholarship Fund
Virginia Wales Fund
$1112.00
$4398.70
$543.50
$2260.00
$423.00
$65.00
Membership Report
as of December 31, 2010
Members
Associate Members
Total
156
6
162
An e-mail from James and Pat Taylor
Editor’s note – This is censured for the sake of those who care about strong language, but the
meaning of the message remains.
If you are 40, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how
hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to
school every morning . . . . Uphill. . . . Barefoot . . . BOTH ways?? yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was going to lay stuff like that on my kids
about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so
easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know
how good you've got it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and
look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the
way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10
cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends
also had permission to kick our behinds! Nowhere was safe!
There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record
store and shoplift it yourself!
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United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all
up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our cars. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished,
and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
We didn't have fancy stuff like “call waiting”! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal,
that's it!
There weren't any cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a call or receive one. You actually had to be
out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH!!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then
there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy “caller ID” either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school,
your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent--you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up
and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or XBox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600!
With games like “Space Invaders” and “Asteroids.” Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your
imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen... Forever! And you could never win.
The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were out of luck when it came to channel
surfing! You had to get off your behind and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's
the world coming to?!?!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying?
We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little guys!!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!
And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you
came back inside... you were doing chores!
And car seats--oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm"
across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault
for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't
have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!
Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd
(Share this with someone you'd like to make smile)
From Tom Swartz
Since seniors are now texting, new short cuts are now available:
BFF-(Best friend f. . .ted),
BYOT- (Bring your own teeth)
OMR- (On my recliner), and
TOTC (Too old to care)
CODE 402....... All California citizens have the opportunity to donate to the California Senior Legislature by checking
off CODE 402 on side 2 of your California Income Tax Form 540. CSL's purpose and responsibilities are to identify
California's Seniors concerns and needs throughout the state, make these concerns known to our designated legislators
in approved CSL proposal form. These approved CSL proposals, with legal counsel, are then submitted to the
appropriate legislative representative whereby these CSL proposals may become laws that benefit all California Seniors.
Norma Campbell, and Ann Warren are your San Francisco California Senior League Assembly members.
Volume IX, Number 3
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United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
An e-mail from Benson Wong
Editor’s Note: Some language has been gently edited so that this email qualifies for a PG rating and publication in this
newsletter. Sorry about this, Benson!
TOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As we approach the beginning of another decade - I want to thank all of you for your
educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally messed up now and have little chance of
recovery.
I no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, or have the waitress put lemon slices in
my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
I can’t use the remote in a hotel room because I don’t know what the last person was doing while flipping
through the adult movie channels.
Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats
I have consumed over the years.
I can’t touch any woman’s purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.
I MUST ALSO SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS to whoever sent me the one about rat droppings in the glue
on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die for the
1,387,258th time.
I no longer have any money, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft
and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa’s
Novena has granted my every wish.
I can’t have a drink in a bar because I’ll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.
I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.
I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
THANKS TO ALL OF YOU I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to
seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer buy gas without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my
back seat when I’m filling up.
I no longer drink Pepsi or Fanta since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to
put ‘Under God’ on their cans.
I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.
THANKS TO YOU I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under
the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my rear end.
AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can’t ever pick up a penny dropped in the parking lot because
it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.
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United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda and buying gas from
all the others supports South American dictators.
I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.
If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with
diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will
infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually
happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best
friend’s beautician . . .
PS: I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over
6 ft. out of the toilet.
THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL!...................
Some folks enjoying the Crafts Fair at the December UASF-E Holiday Luncheon
Volume IX, Number 3
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United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
Grouching into the Holidays ‘10
by Tom Swartz
(1) Grouching Math Teacher: I saw a video or a you-tube presentation by a young math teacher, who complained
that he was given the task of selling something (math) that nobody wanted but were forced to take by law. He was
very positive and humorous and demonstrated how to get even the most anti-math kids engaged by using
technology and real-life problems. The students spent much time in analyzing what info is needed to answer
questions and how to use this information. Little time is spent solving the problems presented in the texts that use
formulas or procedures to solve problems. Since I agree with his approach and his enthusiasm, where is my
grouch? Well, although he may be on the right track and I would love to be in his class, I do not know how long he
would last if his students did not do well on the exit exams or the other of myriad of tests required these days.
Problem solving strategies and logical thinking are seldom tested, as they require more than a bubble response. In
fact, this great teacher is now out of the classroom and getting a doctorate. I would like to see someone who is
doing this stuff in his or her 15th year of teaching, and then I would be more than just entertained. Back in the day
when I was teaching the proper use of the LL scales on the slide rule, I had the freedom of trying to make the class
fun (for me). From what I hear that is far from the case these days. How about a new movie “A Rebel Without a
Class”? [Does anybody remember James Dean?]
(2) Ranked Choice Ballot Grouch: What a novel idea! Since our first choices of politicians have not panned out
now we can check out our second- or no-choice candidates. I predict that our level of disappointment will be the
same. Maybe we can use this method in other phases of our lives. When choosing a restaurant everybody puts in
his or her first three choices and Viola!--we get to eat at Denny’s since it was the fail-safe third choice of all those
who hate either Chinese or Italian food choices. How about choosing our spouses or our college majors by the
ranked choice method. (My child bride claims that’s how she got stuck with me. I was the safe third choice.)
Vacations! (Reno could make a comeback!) TV shows (Then even shows like “Dancing with the Stars” could be a
success. Oops!) My family tried a popularity ranked choice and our orchid plant is now the most popular.
(3) Grouching on my home phone: We, being of the old generation, still have a phone that does not use a cell tower.
Neither of my sons nor any of their contemporaries have such a luxury. These kids do not know what they are
missing. “No I am not interested in selling my time share or my children. Please take me off your phone list!”
“Didn’t you just call and ask me that same question? Put me on your do-not-call list!” These are quotes that they
will never have use for. So why do we not just dump our home phone? (a) All of our friends, doctors, creditors,
reward points workers etc. have this number and we did not keep a list. (b) Our cell phones use AT&T and we
seldom have coverage at home. If we switch before 3010, AT&T owns our house. (c) I always have to spend 15
minutes locating where the gremlins put my cell phone, but the home phone is always in the same place. And (d)
finally, the home phone is holding up all the take-out coupons and special cards. If it was removed, I am afraid that
the entire house may collapse!
Grouching injuries: Marilyn slipped in front of our mansion, testing the law of gravity in her usual scientific method. My
son suggested that we sue the owners, but, alas, they have no real money. Not to be outdone, I decided to grab some of the
sympathy my child bride was getting and went into the hospital to have an infected replacement hip taken out and a
temporary spacer hip put in. While spending two fabulous weeks in the hospital, I found a few small items to grouch about.
The hospital is only sort of automated, so if you do not keep track of your own meds then you may end up a crack addict or
in constant pain. The food menu repeats every five days, but don’t worry as most days they attach a small note to your
arsenic cake that says “Sorry but we had to substitute your items today” The nursing
shifts are made so that no one will ever be able to sleep for more than one hour at any
one time. They put you in a room next to someone who must be a lot worse off than you,
so you will somehow feel lucky. In my case, my next-door neighbor would groan
“Hookah” consonantly, reminding me of the Hara Krishna’s or some far out 24/7 yoga
cult. At the beginning of my stay, I thought that the medicines I was taking were causing
me to have blurred vision, until I got home to a real TV. My physical therapist was a
recent graduate of torture school and I do not mean the Giants Fan school. I left with a
pic line (this is like a tube that enters your arm and disappears deep inside you, I think.).
This allowed me to have an IV at home! What a concept. Next they will allow water
boarding at home. Finally I believe that the hospital is the last place you should go to
get better! I sent post cards to all my enemies that said, “Having a great time. Wish you
were here.”
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United Administrators of San Francisco Emeritus Newsletter
Hard-working officers at the holiday luncheon
Another e-mail from Benson Wong – Should I really join Facebook? This is for the 60/over
Crowd
A good laugh for people in the over 60 group !!! Also for those who know people like us.
When I bought my Blackberry I thought about the 30-year business I ran with 1800 employees, all without a cell
phone that plays music, takes videos, pictures and communicates with Facebook and Twitter. I signed up under
duress for Twitter and Facebook, so my seven kids, their spouses, 13 grandkids and 2 great grand kids could
communicate with me in the modern way. I figured I could handle something as simple as Twitter with only 140
characters of space.
That was before one of my grandkids hooked me up for Tweeter, Tweetree, Twhirl, Twitterfon, Tweetie and
Twittererific Tweetdeck, Twitpix and something that sends every message to my cell phone and every other
program within the texting world.
My phone was beeping every three minutes with the details of everything except the bowel movements of the
entire next generation. I am not ready to live like this. I keep my cell phone in the garage in my golf bag.
The kids bought me a GPS for my last birthday because they say I get lost every now and then going over to
the grocery store or library. I keep that in a box under my tool bench with the Bluetooth [it's red] headset I am
supposed to use when I drive. I wore it once and was standing in line at Barnes and Noble talking to my wife
and everyone in the nearest 50 yards was glaring at me. I had to take my hearing aid out to use it, and I got a
little loud.
I mean the GPS looked pretty smart on my dash board, but the lady inside that gadget was the most annoying,
rudest person I had run into in a long time. Every 10 minutes, she would sarcastically say, "Re-calc-u-lating."
You would think that she could be nicer. It was like she could barely tolerate me. She would let go with a deep
sigh and then tell me to make a U-turn at the next light. Then if I made a right turn instead. . . . Well, it was not a
good relationship.
When I get really lost now, I call my wife and tell her the name of the cross streets and while she is starting to
develop the same tone as Gypsy, the GPS lady. At least she loves me.
To be perfectly frank, I am still trying to learn how to use the cordless phones in our house. We have had them
for four years, but I still haven't figured out how I can lose three phones all at once and have run around digging
under chair cushions and checking bathrooms and the dirty laundry baskets when the phone rings.
The world is just getting too complex for me. They even mess me up every time I go to the grocery store. You
would think they could settle on something themselves but this sudden "Paper or Plastic?" every time I check
out just knocks me for a loop. I bought some of those cloth reusable bags to avoid looking confused, but I never
remember to take them in with me.
Now I toss it back to them. When they ask me, "Paper or Plastic?" I just say, "Doesn't matter to me. I am bisacksual." Then it's their turn to stare at me with a blank look. I was recently asked if I tweet. I answered, “No,
but I do toot a lot."
P.S. I know some of you are not over 60. I sent it to you to allow you to forward it to those who are.
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