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Visit to L.A., July 8-11, 2010:  Portola Jr. High Reunion
A good excuse for a visit:  to attend a Facebook inspired gathering of my cohorts from Portola Junior High School, all of whom are likely turning 50 this year.

But first, some family and friend visits!

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Friday am, meet at Panera Bread in Northridge with, from left, my mom, then to right, Uncle Arthur and Aunt Gloria.

Later at the same place I meet up with frat brother Jerry Goodman who is starting a cookie company,  loveyscookies.com.  Those were tasty samples he brought.  In other words, those cookies have legs!
Afterwards, I took a quick ride out to Westlake to visit with Katy Boese who works still as our biller/credentials specialist...from this sweatshop location in CA, helping our practice in Albany, GA.  Our lunch was in an awful place, but we had to suffer through it.  :)
After Westlake, visited stepmother Mollie and beau Marc, then visited David Gurnick, who took me for Southern food since I had been gone from the South for...gasp....nearly 24 hrs!
Sat am, I'm off to see, from left, Emerson, Lana, Esme, some guy, Brian, Louie (who will be 10!! on 7/13), and his little bro, Sammy).
Hey Sammy, don't seem so worried! 
 
You can play Wii next!
Then off to Beverlywood to visit with Marty Green, fraternity brother, but not before showing the new dogs...and them dogs were not tired!
Lunch at Tender Greens in Culver City: 
 
healthy AND trendy!
Then we visited their chocolate shop, Lee Gelfond Chocolate in Beverly hills, with Carrie (Jennifer's sister), Jennifer, and Marty.  They make every kind of shape out of chocolate:  footballs, shoes, buses, women's bodies (youza!).  Even the wallpaper was chocolate (colored that is, although I didn't dare taste it).
Before the reunion at Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas, I stop for a quick visit with the Shores, here with Mathew and his dad Danny.
Nothing like a barbecued burger, here with Uncle Ronnie, me, Lou's cousin Orly, his brother Bob, and grillmaster himself, Lou Shore.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for:  the big Portola Jr. High Reunion

aka, multi-person 50 year old birthday party, aka, the I think I remember you how are you doing? party!!

Here is me, my cousin Stephanie Elfman (Bradsher), and Frank Mullens who grew up in the house across the street and whom I've known my whole life.  He looked just the same...except we both could use a little Grecian formula!

 

(I think that is his wife with him...)

Melanie Stern (from AZ), Miriam Berman (from Portland), Stephanie, and me from who knows where.
Jeff Leonard.  We were bar mitzvah'd the same day, same place, June 30, 1973.  He obviously got the height out of the deal.
Scott Siegel
Brian Noveck (he and I share the same exact birthday...I have a vague recollection of rolling over and seeing him and saying, "nice crib!"), me, Scott, Leslie Sender Grossberg.
Aside from me, Carrie Tucker Butler, Richard Sugarman, and Stacie Stein Miller.
Jay Bloom, Missy Roman, Mark Epstein, Mark Spellman, and hawaiian shirt guy.
Susan Alweil (probably with different surname; sorry, my bad!), Mitch Freeman (Gary's brother), David Gottschalk, me, and half of Troy.
Me, Carrie Tucker, Julie Stern, Richard Sugarman.
From left, Brenda Kramer, Steve Rottman, me, then Lisa Simmons, Liz Kurtz, Mark Troy.
Me with Michelle Goldberg, Janine Weisman Hansell, Debi Blye.
So I tell Merrill Goldfarb this joke:  two guys walk into a bar, and BAM!! 
She falls right asleep. 
Whaddya gonna do?
Marc Richter, Kenny Jacobs, Bob Eiselman, Melanie Stern, guy with yellow band.
Troy, KJ, and me.
Tony Jacobs and Julie Stern.  Great seeing them both!!
For this trip, for the record, Merle attended a wedding in Dallas while I visited L.A..  We got on the same plane in Albany, in Atlanta she left for Dallas and I for L.A. 
We returned on the same Atlanta to Albany flight on the way back home.
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