Newsletter for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.
Caracas, 4 Mayo 2013 No. 600
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Dear Friends,
SEX at MSB!!! Finally, an account of how some of us felt.
I agree with Shisi, it was not in our
tenure. Was it good or bad??
According to future events, the unisex
schools were opened up to the other sex and…., this makes the newer generation
more emotionally stable???
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From: "George Mickiewicz" <amickiew@midsouth.rr.com>
Subject: 1956-1962 MEMORIES - THE FORBIDDEN
FRUIT
Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:33:37
-0500
I am not referring to the proverbial apple, July mangoes, oranges
nor grapefruits but rather that enigma commonly referred to as the opposite
sex, women, fillies, girls, broads, chicks, babes, and have forgotten the
Trinidadian idioms that we used……….
Greetings from Wilmington , Delaware , where I am attending a
team meeting prior to a consultation trip to Baroda, India, next week. I took
time during the flights to reflect on my 7 years at MSB. I decided to capture a few reminiscences on a
topic that always has lots of interest to the male species and, in this
process, provoke readers to share their memories and boast (lie) of their
accomplishments in their early years. My
apologies to the ladies who read these circulars if you misinterpret my intent.
Please remember that I am going back
45-50 years to when we were very young kids. My intent is not to demean but to honour you
and all that you represented to us. You
were indeed a very important part of our lives. I also invite you to share your recollections
around this topic if you visited the Mount.
MSB staff applied constant energy to prevent any contact between
the sexes at the Mount in the period between 1956 and 1961. The first breakthrough came in 1962 when,
through some miraculous intervention, the Form IV and V boys were allowed to
attend a dance at the Catholic girl’s school in POS whose name escapes me.
Below are glimpses of my memory as they relate to this general
topic.
* Boys with sisters were very valued friends as it gave one at
least a chance to talk to a girl when the family visited the Mount on a
Saturday or Sunday. Being told that a
sister liked you was one of the greatest things that a boy would experience.
* Boys strutting like peacocks in front of the young ladies to
attract their attention when they visited resulting in a to and fro dance of
eye and body movements.
* A very good classmate friend being almost expelled for actually
going all the way with the attractive young lady who lived near the sports
field. Then being granted “superhero” status due to this achievement for the
rest of his tenure at the mount.
* The French invading Farfan territory…. By the way I met
Priscilla in 1962 at the Howard Ho homestead and must confess that I developed
a crush on her at the time. She, on the
other hand, wanted absolutely nothing to do with me.
* Sports Day, Family Day, Anniversary Celebration were
anticipated with great excitement because these events opened the door for lots
of fantasies and potential opportunities but very, very few ever materialized
as the mothers, fathers and monks were always on the lookout.
* Going to dentists with attractive female assistants; especially
the orthodontist in POS with the blond bombshell. Then walking the streets before the bus left
to pick up a girl. My personal record in
this event was zero in 83 attempts.
* Non-Trinidadians not allowed to play Carnival to “avoid the
potential to sin”; here having good Trinidadian friends was an asset because
you could potentially be invited to their home and then be able to enjoy the
festivities.
* The non-Trinidadians going to Mayaro Beach or The Islands
during Easter vacation which was usually too short and, therefore, not cost
effective to fly back home. In the
presence of an attractive young lady you would always see a pack of hungry
wolves frothing at the mouth with lust in their eyes. Boys would boast of conquest but no one ever
believed them.
* The infamous “FEEL UP”, or similar term, denoting male-female
skin contact with the inherent understanding that greater recognition was given
by the boys for certain segments/parts of the female anatomy than others. This
was the first topic of conversation when the boys returned to the Mount after
their vacations. The “conquerors” would
share their experiences. The young boys
would listen with great awe and respect to the old boys sharing their
successes. These poor young innocents
never knew that in most cases these stories represented lies, dreams and
wishful thinking versus actual accomplishments.
* Let me now share with you one of my “feel ups”. I was invited
by Howard Ho’s family to spend a day at their beach house located after you
passed Maracas Bay. We had to go by boat
as a road did not exist then. On the way
there I got an opportunity to sit next to one of their cousins whose name I
cannot recall. The young lady was
probably 5 years or older than me. As
the boat travelled and the waves rocked it, my leg came into contact with hers
on numerous occasions. A little bulge
developed in my swim suit and the SHIS brain went on overload with sinful
carnal emotions, thoughts and desires. Eventually
the little bulge deflated and moisture developed in my bathing suit………. due to
the wave spray coming into the boat. Of
course this contact meant absolutely nothing to the young lady. I do not remember today but I can just imagine
the boasting and exaggerated untruthful stories that I told my friends upon
returning to the Mount.
* On another occasion I was “pelting” (recall this as the term
that we used for throwing) for mangoes at the bottom of the small field. A young cute East Indian girl who lived in one
of the homes in that area approached me with an indecent proposal. I got real scared, panicked, and ran away. I shared this event with 2 other friends who
immediately rushed to the mango tree but the girl was no longer there.
In closing, T women were/are indeed attractive, beautiful, sexy,
silky, mysterious, challenging, statuesque, interesting, and intelligent. Their black, brown, yellow, red, white and
mixed countenances were/are indeed a sight to behold. If interested call
901-854-3950 for a ……
Hopefully some happy, good memories were rekindled in your mind
and, perhaps, a few smiles shined on your face as you read these words.
Be blessed, be good and be safe y’all,
George (Shish, Yury)
PS – in my next note I will reflect on a different topic also
starting with the letter S.
CIRCULAR
Some thoughts about the Circulars...
Sunday, August 16, 2009 8:36:15 AM
From: Nigel P. Boos<nigelboos@eagles-ings.ca>
Laz,
Part of my problem, to be honest, is that I don't know the first
thing about websites and how to input new data and remove existing stuff.
Secondly, I want to / need to work at my own pace, without anyone
screaming down my neck.
Thirdly, I am very suspicious about Facebook. There have been too many abuses of it, and in
my opinion, it is far too intrusive. I
have never used it, and I don't wish to use it. Perhaps I'm being silly / ignorant but
convince me otherwise.
I believe that my simple contribution, such as it is, has validity
for all the Old Boys, and I'm willing to continue trying, in my own way, to
bring folks together and to network. There
have been tremendous instances of this happening already, and I can testify to
a few great ones. But, at the same time,
I am not convinced that the Association, such as it is, is really as active as
I'd like it to be, not pro-active enough and not offering valid and inspired
leadership.
Case in point #1: Why is it taking so long, (nearly 2 years) for
them to decide what to do with the money we've collected and are holding for a
gift of some sort for Kitty Marcus? She's
getting older and older and older and will soon pass away and no-one can decide
how to honour the old lady.
Case in point #2: What's happening with the ASAA name? Last I heard, Peter Tang and Dennis Gurley
were to meet and talk with Fr. Abbot. What's
the status of this discussion?
Case in point #3: There had been some great discussions about 2-3
years ago about plans for development of an Old Boys' Museum, etc. at MSB. A number of OB's, myself included, made
suggestions. Whatever happened to those
plans? I'd sure like to know.
Case in point #4: Although I routinely send out database updates with
significant information on the Old Boys, email addresses, etc., I have
repeatedly asked for help with finding the information I need to complete the
job, or at least to make it current. With
the exception of a very few comments made by certain individuals, I honestly
cannot say that anyone in Trinidad or in Venezuela, for that matter, where the
bulk of our alumni reside, has had the time, energy, interest or sense of
commitment to devote to helping me to get the job done. Leadership? - I'm a little disappointed. Apart from organizing the occasional reunion
dinners or the visit to the PoS dock (as in the case of Victor Zanelli's
beautiful "Esmeralda"), I am unable to see any real effort to build
the organization.
How about an annual soccer match? An annual cricket match? How
about an annual golf tournament? Or a
Tennis Tournament? How about an annual
"All Fours Tournament"? How
about organizing an Annual Holy Mass at the Mount, for the intentions of all
the Old Boys, Teachers and Coaches of the Abbey School. How about taking over, with the approval of
Fr. Abbot) the care, maintenance and supervision of the swimming pool, for use
by local kids, with a pay-for-use policy? Leadership means, to me, having the guts to
stick one's head out and to point the way to a future possibility and to
encourage others to follow. I'm waiting
to see that sort of thing, and I'm excited about the potential therein.
I agree with you that there should be a "point man"
appointed to act as the Facilitator of the ASAA and to be the mouthpiece of the
organization, the person to whom, instead of you (you have enough to do, it
seems, with your own job) emails, info., etc. should be sent for subsequent
distribution. However, he should be
based in Trinidad, where the action really is, and I again nominate Chris
Knowles to be that person.
Keep up the work you're doing, Laz. You are an inspiration to us
all.
God bless you and yours.
Nigel
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On 13-Aug-09, at 3:23 PM, Laszlo kertesz
wrote:
Dear Nigel,
Do not look for more work than you are doing, because then you
will find yourself working for someone and with no benefits.
The famous web page or Facebook that Gabriel was talking about is
really the solution. All new information
that is generated would go into this whatever, but the whatevers are to be
loaded into this "webpage" by individuals like you and me on a
regular basis, let’s say weekly in my case as is the Circular in Don´s Blog.
In your case maybe a monthly update of the list??
And maybe Chris doing the association’s efforts, etc.
So there is no need to take up the load of anyone, it is to let
anyone do whatever they feel like doing but to have a common place to upload,
with a webmaster controlling.
This is why Kazim´s page is not the solution. Promises are easy to make. It is a Chavez solution as we say here in
Venezuela. First you disrupt a working
firm, promise to make it better after taking it over and then after a time it
flounders.
So at the end, Nigel, do what you set up doing and do it as best
as you can and have fun. If you want to
take a vacation, do it, nobody is going to replace you, you are unique in what
you are doing.
But, if the Association cannot live up to its goals, why would we
want to change duties or take over their efforts?? We might fail and then there is going to be
nobody just as when Art gave up the effort after 16 issues in the old OASIS
bulletins.
When I decide to close shop I can do it at the wink of the eye. I hope that this will happen when the
"webpage" is organized, and is financially solvent to run under its
own steam and not because of an individual’s ego.
Nice to debate on this, hope there would be others that would do
what we are not doing, or what the association has in mind.
God bless
Ladislao
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From: Nigel P. Boos <nigelboos@eagles-wings.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 10:55:38 PM
Laz,
Based on your notes, it appears that Chris Knowles was / is
available to oversee the Circulars. If this is so, then I would strongly
recommend that he be appointed to the position and that he be paid for his
effort. Details must be left to the ASAA Team.
I would gladly participate in the Circulars, if a specific task
were allocated to me. I'm sure others would too, but they need to be asked.
Re. Kazim, I'm not generally in touch with him, so I can't give an
update.
Blessings.
Nigel
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On 12-Aug-09, at 7:59 PM, laszlokertesz
wrote:
My answers to the
items below are in RED, and in GREEN are my general comments that I might use in
the Circular.
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From: Nigel P. Boos <nigelboos@eagles-wings.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 7:32:07 AM
Dear
Laz,
First, I
want to thank you for the first class job you have done over the past number of
years, in trying to bring the Old Boys of MSB back together again, through the
new technologies now available to us all. This would not have been possible in years
gone by, but you have seen the opportunity and the potential for good, and you
have quickly made use of it. Good for
you, and again, thank you.
A few
months ago, while you were in Trinidad, the ASAA team, together with yourself,
made a conference call to me, and among other things, enquired whether I would
be interested in undertaking a more active role in the compilation of incoming
emails, photographs, subdividing groups of OB's, and whatever. I understood at
the time, that your heavy involvement with your work was affecting your
effectiveness with the Circulars. I wrote back to decline the kind offer, based
on the fact that I am extremely busy with trying to set up a small business
here in Canada, and I simply don't have extra time. I do what I can, on the
side, to try to help the OB's, but I do not wish to be further encumbered.
Now, I
got to thinking - what can I suggest to help you to cut down on your workload,
and perhaps I have a few thoughts which might assist you. Although I run the
risk of offending, this is not my intent, and I am trying only to offer a few
words of brotherly advice:
The
Circulars - When they first began some years ago, they were fresh and highly
interesting, and new to all of us. We
appreciated their regular appearance and looked forward to receiving the
updates. Since then, however, there has
been increased correspondence through the internet between many of us, and we
are reasonably aware of what is happening in various places. Guys are sending in photographs of each event,
and these for sure are highly appreciated. But I suggest that the role of the Circulars
today could be critically reviewed, to ensure that they do what they started
out to do - to inform, to advise, to announce, etc. What we are seeing, though, today, is a repeat
of information which has already been published and of letters relating to
events long past. This must take a lot
of your time, to have to compile these emails and to send the back out again.
I am suggesting that it might be profitable in terms of effort and time spent, simply to review events, perhaps on a quarterly basis, and to summarize, very briefly, what has happened, with a look too, to the future.
I am suggesting that it might be profitable in terms of effort and time spent, simply to review events, perhaps on a quarterly basis, and to summarize, very briefly, what has happened, with a look too, to the future.
Some
headings which you might consider:
1
Events of the Past 3 months - (Summary only), Good suggestion, I feel that you have the ability to do it,
please start as soon as possible, let us say starting at the end of September
to cover the months of June, July and August.
2.
Upcoming Events - if any, with some details of place, date, time, etc. Again this is is a good idea, I believe that Kazim is the guy
with the web page.
3.
News from ASAA - (the Team could submit a paragraph, every 3 months, to you,
for publication.) The
same here, Kazim has offered this
4.
News about the Mount (Fr. Abbot might be asked to contribute a
paragraph), Again Kazim can
coordinate this and include the news in the web page.
5.
Featuring an Old Boy (all to be considered) - One paragraph. Since this is again something for the web page, you and Kazim can
work together.
6.
Our dearly departed - info on any recent OB deaths, Again web page news Kazim.
7.
What did you do for the holidays? (OB's could be asked to submit 3 lines, which
could be summarized), this I
never covered, you might do this section.
8.
Feature item - Your selection (Perhaps an article from some recent publication
which you really feel we should see. Perhaps a special thought from you, as
Editor / Publisher)
These
are merely some random thoughts, Laz, and I hope they help a bit.
As I
mentioned in the Telephone conversation, the Circular can only be replaced if
and when someone sets up an automatic mailing system where every week news are
sent out, maybe a weekly reminder of the web page with the happening that occur
during every week at the web site.
Because
outside your and friends of friends, nothing really happens after the first
couple of mailings.
I
might be wrong but outside the 500 odd email addresses, and your email address
effort, every week there are 20 changes in addresses, maybe 70 per quarter???
Nobody is going to check this amount every quarter.
Jon is
right that there are generation gaps and even the circular is junk mail for
some. And some just delete the Circular upon receiving it and maybe after
looking at the photographs, and there is a limit to the quantity of old photos
available.
I am
realistic, it is an effort that I need not do, but can you tell me how many
times has the Kazim´s web page been updated???, is it a regular affair??.
Let’s
look at the Monastery´s web page?? How
many times a year??
Even
Don´s Blog, how many OB use it to comment??? There is traffic but it
could be that only few dozen use it.??
I do not
have illusions; the Circular is dead as soon as I type the last letter.
So I
keep hammering out until there is no more news or emails received at
headquarters.
Please
take my answer just as you said, "maybe in risk of offending you". I
take no offense and would like that the web page would take on some load, and
cover all the 8 items that you mention.
But
like I said in the TT meeting, to get this done someone must be HIRED, I
suggested Christopher Knowles and he was/is available.
Free
stuff nobody respects and you cannot ask results if you do not PAY.
We are
doing this out of romanticism or whatever, maybe you have a better word for it.
I hope
that my TT visit is not going to be wasted, just as our telephone conversation
until today, when you made a resume of the items that need to be done.
Since
I have not heard anything new since my return, it is refreshing to know that
you are keeping the ideas rolling with "friends and interested
parties"
Any
news on KAZIM??
God
bless
Ladislao
With
every good wish, and God bless all your efforts.
Nigel
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Ladislao Kertesz at kertesz11@yahoo.com,
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Photos:
Bulletin page 3
61GF0002SPORTS, bicycle race
12PF0001PFA, Priscilla Farfan
12LK0002GHOMPR, Gabriel Hoefle, Manuel Prada
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