Welcome to the Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 192

February 22, 2025

Art Engoron

LA Aftermath - Environmentalism Debate

David Packer (1970) Writes - “Hi Art, Given the importance of the subject, I thought you might accept one more comment from me. If anyone responds, I promise not to submit any further comments for the newsletter. In spite of any disagreements, what I have seen so far reflects well on Wheatley and the education we received.

Thanks to Steven Schwartz (1975) and Dennis Rosen (1979) for their thoughtful responses to my comments about big oil's role in the LA fires. I doubt very much that Art wants to turn the newsletter into a forum for debate but, if he will allow it, just a few quick points. Dennis asks "Does withdrawing from these agreements [Kyoto and Paris] truly protect the economy in the long run?" I don’t think that my comments implied support for these actions. Steven refers to a "hierarchy of responsibility," which in a democracy always begins with the people. So the question becomes whether democracy is up to the job. Steven and Dennis are certainly taking steps in the right direction.

But let me slightly reframe my main point in terms of what Steven and Dennis have written. The assertion of an energy transition held back only by corporate power and policy choices fails to acknowledge that so-called ‘renewables,’ which are underwritten at all stages of development, manufacture, deployment, and maintenance by the fossil fuel economy, offer a much lower ‘energy return on (energy) invested’ (EROI or EROEI). This is physics and can't be legislated. We need an EROI of at least 15:1 to maintain anything like the standard of living Americans are used to and vote for and, except under the most ideal conditions, it is very unlikely that solar and wind can deliver. I won't even get into the potential effects on food supplies, etc. for the world's other 9 billion people. To be clear, I do not mean to say that this investment is not a good use of fossil fuels or the wealth they have produced. We do indeed need to electrify everything possible as fossil fuel supplies dwindle, and we are forced into a transition like it or not, but it would be another massive deflection to suggest to the public that they can have their cake and eat it, too, i.e., anything resembling business as usual, in a transition to alternative energy.

Best, David

Julie Frohman Badion (1972) Writes - “Thank you, Steven Starr, for talking the talk and walking the walk. Mad respect.”

Gregory P. Cave (1974) Writes - “We need more nuclear power plants to go online now and for the next 50 years until new technology comes up with something better.”

Robert Vincze (1975) Writes - “Innovation is the key to reducing pollution. Fracking has greatly expanded natural gas production. Natural gas (transported as gas and LNG) is a cleaner substitute for some fuels. Directional drilling and fracking technologies developed by the oil and gas industry enable geothermal projects, shallow at hotspots and deep (coupled with other technologies) anywhere. These technologies also facilitate the extraction of lithium and rare earth minerals used in batteries without strip mining. In turn, battery storage technology will help solve the solar and wind power conundrums, allowing for the release of stored power when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow. Of course, price elasticity of demand, credible cost information, and well-informed buyers will determine energy supply winners.”

Shelley ‘Sheli Nan’ Hershcopf’s NYC Concert

Shelley “Sheli Nan” Hershcopf (1968) Writes - Hi All, I sincerely hope you will join me March 10th in NYC for the premiere of my new string orchestra composition - FLASH FORWARD. This is an important piece for me, and I would appreciate having some Wheatley support, as well as seeing friends and family! The string orchestra is North-South Consonance, under the baton of Max Lifschitz. It is at 122 W 69th Street in Christ and St. Stephens beautiful Church, which has great acoustics.

Many of my published and performed pieces are on Youtube, Facetime, Instagram, and my website Shelinan.com

High School Yearbooks

Art Engoron (1967) Writes - As you may know, I have copies of every Wheatley School yearbook (and multiple copies of some). But the collection pales in comparison to the 18,000 that Seth Poppel (Mepham High School, Bellmore, 1961) and his wife Danine own. A fun New Yorker story is here: 18,000 High School Yearbooks

Graduates

Another School of Higher Education - Grinnell College

Charlie Nash (1973/72) Writes - While seeing which Wheatley School graduates attended MIT, it might also be interesting to see how many of our high school’s graduates attended a little college in rural Iowa named Grinnell College. Note that two of the stars of the TV series Star Trek, as well as Herbie Hancock and Gary Cooper, attended Grinnell. Several other of my 1972 classmates attended Grinnell. Best regards, Charlie Nash, Email: Charlie@n-klaw.com

[[[Editor’s Note - Nobody besides Charlie has announced graduating from Grinnell College, although I seem to remember that a current Refusenik who graduated in 1966 started out there. Now maybe several Grinnellers will come out of the woodwork, and I will publish accordingly. Art]]]

Wheatley and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Editor’s Note - Here are the Wheatley/MIT alumni, undergraduates and graduates, of whom the Newsletter staff is currently aware. New additions include Jeffrey Forman (1961), Scott Frishman and Benjamin Ross (both 1967) and Jodi Fingerman Burrows (1991):

MIT UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

MIT GRADUATE STUDENTS

1961 - Nancy Kurshan and Friends - Hi Art, My wonderful Dad, Norman Kurshan, took the following photos from the upstairs window of our home on Bengeyfield Drive. The Class of 1961 members are David Berkowitz, Bob Kramer, Richard Amster, Peter Nelson and myself. My neighbor Peter F. Wolf, is Class of 1960 and my cousin, Josh Wilner , Class of 1965, lived across the street. I dug these up after seeing A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan movie, which I loved and which made me very nostalgic.

The guitarist in the black hoody with a pipe is David Berkowitz. The guy in the gray jacket playing the harmonica is Peter Nelson. The little guy on guitar is Josh Wilner. The guy in the white jacket playing the banjo is Bob Kramer. The guy in the black sweater playing the washtub bass is Richard Amster. The guy in the reddish shirt wit the fiddle is Peter Wolf. I guess I’m on voice🤷🏽‍♂️. I had/have a beautiful Martin guitar but apparently wasn’t playing it.

1964 - Wendy Wolf - “Dear Art, I started North Side in the second grade. My three siblings are Peter (1960), Jack (1967), and Jill (1970).

I had many fun times throughout my high school years, and I enjoyed many good friends. I also found that Wheatley life could be very snobby , competitive and materialistic, and there was a lot of pressure to have the latest fashions, etc., which my family was not into nor could we afford.

I was not a very serious student in Jr. High and High School. I was more focused on my friends and my social life, although I had some great inspiring teachers. I enjoyed some of my English and History teachers, e.g., Peter Witt, Stewart Doig, Lawrence Levin, Janice Kennedy, and Peggy Meisel.

After graduation I went to the University of Wisconsin, lived in Paris for over a year, and then settled in NYC. I attended Bank Street College of Education and got a Masters in Education.

I taught preschool and elementary education in NYC private and public schools for approximately 15 years and then moved on to be a Movement teacher, teaching creative movement to children and movement improvisation to adults. For the last 20 years, I have been teaching Gentle Yoga and have a few classes and some private clients. My website is www.wendy.yoga

At the age of 39, I met my husband, who died a year ago. We have two children, a son with Autism who lives in Kingston, NY, and a daughter who lives in Los Angeles. In 1994 we moved from the city to Mahopac, NY, which is on the border of Northern Westchester, about an hour north of the city.

I am still here. It has been a rough year, and I am struggling with the loss of my husband. I am happy to hear from my Wheatley classmates, and if you are passing thru my neck of the woods, I would love to meet up for a cup of coffee or grab some lunch with you. My email is wendywolf6@gmail.com and my phone number is 914 980-5962.”

Bobby Orgel (1969) Writes - “Michael Lorenzo was a painter, poet, musician and so much more…..but most of all, a best friend forever. I will miss you, brother.

Gary Metzger (1969) Writes - “Art, Many people will miss Michael Lorenzo. He was one of the most creative individuals that I had the pleasure to call my friend: Painter, Poet, Musician, Writer, and much more. I will miss his funny sense of humor. He inspired many people, and he definitely touched my soul.”

From Facebook - “Dear friends of Michael Clark Lorenzo, With heavy hearts, Michael’s family shares that he has moved beyond this world. He was deeply loved. Wild creativity, artistry, kindness, and mastery of the pen and guitar was folded into a rare and genuine being. Michael's walk on this earth will be profoundly missed.

Michael had been navigating illness for several years, and now his spirit is free and light. In the coming days, his family will be organizing a celebration of life to honor him.

May his journey continue in beauty and light. We know he’s painting with the colors of the universe, playing music that hums through the fabric of existence.

Michael Lorenzo’s Facebook Page

Poems to and By Michael Lorenzo

Heart throb, heart breaker, searcher and seeker
of tits and ass, and love at its rubicon.
Poet, writer,
musician and scholar,
father, brother, friend.
Painter, splashing the
chaotic colors of his life
on paper and canvas.
We spoke for long hours
of love and life and death and of
all that that we could fit
into the in between.
There was a darkness
About and in him
and a light that burst through
in his smile and his laughter.
With the legions of others
both before
and after me,
I love you Mick and cannot yet imagine
my life without your wisdom and your wit
that wove its way through your stories
of urging and of love
both star-crossed and sublime
tales of derring-do
ever dedicated to slaking
the unquenchable thirst of an orphaned heart

What Memories (To My Son, Anthony) Lorenzo - By Michael Clark Lorenzo
What memories do I craft within
These mountain midnights,
What endeavors will prevail through
Sleepy viewings of your surroundings?
Will you remember
Waking and walking about
In the middle of the night to see me typing
madly on my laptop
(mystic love poems to the next impossible
Enchantress)
Will you hold memories of me pressed
Against some huge canvass
Spewing thick swatches
Of bright colors
Against the pale void
(trying desperately
To exhume some peace
Out of the caverns
Of my chaos and stress
Will you remember me
As inspired or mad,
Brilliant or lost?

Meet Me Far From Here - By Michael Clark Lorenzo
Meet me in a place far, far, far from here
galaxies removed from the slanting cage
of fast shiny boxes under a flat gray sky.
Let’s get out from underneath
the dark umbrella that blocks
every notion of inspiration and decency
while these dullards dance like spastic bulls
to an erratic waltz.
Meet me in a time soon, soon
sooner the better under a canopy
of redwoods that gently press
their fingers into the soft underbelly
of heaven.
Join me in a place where skies are always
Blue clear infinite and star-laced,
Where winter-rains
Soak into the soil
To feed a graceful planet’s hearty soul.
Meet me in a place
Where all things have substance
And dreams are cultivated
With seeds like precious gems
From a heart of peace.

1969 - Larry Nitzky - Deceased - Remembered and Appreciated

Jack Lipsky (1969) Writes to Larry’s son Robert Nitzky (2011) - “You spoke beautifully at your Father's Funeral. It was a speech full of love, devotion and compassion. Larry was an incredible guy, and I was lucky to have been friends with him in High School and afterwards. He epitomized everything that was good about Wheatley. I would like to offer words of comfort for your father from the Jewish Prayer El Maleh Rahamim, which is said at funerals. ‘May his resting place be in the Garden of Eden - therefore may the Master of mercy shelter him in the shelter of his Wings for eternity; and may He bind his soul in the Bond of Life.’"

Jo Anne Newman Abraskin (1969) Writes - “I’m sorry that I missed Larry Nitzky’s funeral (I don’t live locally anymore). Larry was a fabulous guy: funny, compassionate, and fun to be around.”

That’s Steve in the lower left corner, and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Steve’s left.

Fan Mail

1961 (Nancy Kurshan) - “Thanks to Art and Keith and love to all you Wheatleyites.”

1966 (Bette Spiro Neumann) - “I tremendously enjoy the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter.”

1968 (Ricki Spier Cohn) - “I enjoy reading the Wheatley Alumni Newsletter, except for the death notices, so keep them coming!”

1974 (SuZanne Zenker-Gilbride) - “Thank You, Art, I so enjoy reading The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter…..So many interesting lives! We all live as a collective group from a very small school. Here in Texas, schools are Mega-size. As they say, ‘Everything is bigger in Texas!!!’”

1975 (Steve Nathan) - “Thanks for all you do to keep the awesome Alumni Newsletters coming!”

1980 (James Mullins) - “Thanks for being such a great and longstanding advocate of a place and time that shaped so many of us.”

1989 (Paige Buonocore) - “Hi Art, Thank you for all that you do. I enjoy reading your Newsletters, and I often forward them to my mother, Joan Buonocore, a North Side elementary school teacher for over 30 years.

The Official Notices

All underlined text is a link-to-a-link or a link-to-an-email-address. Clicking anywhere on underlined text, and then clicking on the text that pops up, will get you to your on-line destination or will address an email.

In the first 24 or so hours after publication, Wheatley Alumni Newsletter # 191 was viewed 3,375 times and was liked eight times. In all, 4,724 email addresses received Newsletter # 191. For all of January, The Newsletter was accessed approximately 11,400 times.

The Usual Words of Wisdom

Thanks to our fabulous Webmaster, Keith Aufhauser (Class of 1963), you can regale yourself with the first 191 Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletters (and much other Wheatley data and arcana) at

Also thanks to Keith is our search engine, prominently displayed on our home page: type in a word or phrase and, wow!, you’ll find every place it exists in all previous Newsletters and other on-site material.

I edit all submissions, even material in quotes, for clarity and concision, without any indication thereof. I cannot and do not vouch for the accuracy of what people tell me, as TWSAA does not have a fact-checking department.

We welcome any and all text and photos relevant to The Wheatley School, 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY 11568, and the people who administered, taught, worked, and/or studied there. Art Engoron, Class of 1967

Closing

That’s it for The Wheatley School Alumni Association Newsletter # 192. Please send me your autobiography before someone else sends me your obituary.