Californians are now coming together from all over the state. If you haven't been to a mini-reunion yet, you must make it a point to get to one. You can't imagine what it is like until you have experienced it yourself.

The upcoming San Diego mini-reunion is currently scheduled for:

When: Sunday, March 14th 1999 (1:00 p.m.)

Where: TBA

Arne Mortensen suggested having something in the Del Mar area. Does anyone else have an idea? If you think you might be able to go to this reunion, please let me know ASAP. Arne, his sister Vikki and I are planning to meet for sure.

The mini-reunion in Huntington Beach is scheduled for:

When: Monday, March 15th, 1999 (6- 6:30 pm)

Where: El Torito Mexican Restaurant

15042 Goldenwest, Westminster

The restaurant is located at Bolsa and Goldenwest in Westminster. The phone number is (714) 898-6621. We are planning to meet around 6:30 p.m.

I will be sending reminders and requesting confirmation of your plans, closer to the reunion dates. I would appreciate you letting me know (at MFeareyASM@aol.com) if you think you might be going to either or both reunions, so I can get a feel for how many are thinking about it. Remember, spouses, significant others, siblings, parents, children and friends are welcome.

New rule for mini-reunions: "The coordinator does not have to be the first to arrive." Southern California reunions are typically casual, arrive when you can, stay for the entire time (whatever that may be) or just pop in to say hello and leave. You are always welcome even if you are unable to RSVP -- we can always find an extra chair somewhere! Feel free to arrive early, typically we will arrange for our table(s) to be available a little early. If the reunion coordinator is late, don't worry; just make yourself at home!

Possible May reunion in Lodi, CA:

Carol Farron has graciously offered her home in Lodi, for a North/South California mini-maxi reunion. She suggested the weekend of May 15th or 22nd before the weather gets too warm or sometime in the fall after it starts to cool down. She says that camping is great in the area and there are also several Bed and Breakfasts. Please let me (MFeareyASM@aol.com) know your thoughts on this and I will forward the information to Carol (don't email her directly on this topic as her email address is a work address shared by many and we don't want to overload the secretary)!

Were you burned by HotMail?

I heard from various sources that HotMail had some problems recently. Seems like they updated their server and some people lost data. Others complained about a variety of other inconveniences.

Problems of this sort are not limited to HotMail. AOL has been giving me so much grief, that sometimes it makes me want to scream. I have reason to believe that some servers intermittently toss emails into an electronic round file. Messages get lost and the sender is not notified. I have tried to trouble shoot a problem of this sort with Jim Karna '68. He receives some of the messages and some he doesn't. There is no rhyme or reason that we can find. Some people have reported their server down for updates for two weeks or more.

So, if you do not automatically save copies of your outgoing mail, you should. If you haven't backed up your emails and other files recently, you might want to do it soon. If you rely only on email to communicate with others, you may want to get a phone number or snail mail address.

Technology is great, but remember Murphy's Laws. When technology decides to fail you, it will be at the worst possible time.

Also, remember that emails do occasionally get lost or accidentally deleted before they are read. If you write to someone and they do not respond, send your message again. Never assume that someone is ignoring you ... they may be, but maybe they did not receive your message. This is important to remember when you are contacting old friends. While it is true that some people do not wish to be contacted, most of the time they do. So do not take it personally if you do not hear back. Try again.

Delphi.Com and GoLancers Forum:

Gus Gonzalez '83 has set up an ASM message forum at Delphi.com. You have to register to use it, but the service is free. You can store your password so that you don't have to type it in each time (great if you tend to forget passwords). The service customizes the forum for you. It will not display messages you have already seen unless you ask to see them. You can request that it notify you by email if a message has been posted to you.

Delphi.com is not the easiest service to use. Those of us currently signed up are experimenting with it, to see what we like. PlanetAll.com and Branchout.Com are two additional services that we are experimenting with. You can find links to all three on the Topics of Interest Page at http://www.gutech.com/asm. Try them out, and let us know what you think by signing the guestbook at that URL, or posting a message at Delphi.com.

From Mickey Shepard (Concord):

Hi! My name is Mickey Shepard... Steve Shepard ('72) is my brother in law. I am married to Roger Shepard ('75). Although I went to high school in Lynn, Massachusetts, I did get the opportunity to visit ASM last year with Roger. I met with some of his teachers and had my picture taken by his old locker. I especially enjoyed talking to a science teacher whose name I can't recall. We visited Roger, Steve and John's old home in Avavaca but mostly spent time in beauteous Madrid.

I would find myself remiss if I didn't mention the kindness of ASM's office staff and Rog's English teacher- again, I'm so bad with names... Anyway, ASMers keep up the good work sticking together and perhaps we'll meet someday. Sincerely, Mickey Shepard

Mickey and Roger Shepard can be reached at: ubik@ccnet.com

From Cecile (Fearey LaGue) Alessi '77 (Paso Robles):

Reading my sister's most recent newsletter and seeing the rather complicated names of my siblings, I thought I could offer an explanation as to why we seem to have more "apellidos" than most Spaniards!

We relocated to Spain with our stepfather who was transferred to manage a NASA Tracking Station outside of Robledo de Chavela. My parents thought that it would be best to use my stepfather's last name ...Fearey... rather than explain a DIVORCE to Las Madres Concepcionistas and the very small and very Catholic town of El Escorial...

It got rather complicated when our father came to visit...so the solution was to call him our "Tio". (It was probably even more confusing to you at the Monrovia Reunion when our "Tio" and mother both showed up at the reunion. Our stepfather would have been at the mini-reunion as well, but was on a business trip to Florida at the time).

Anyway, when we returned to Pasadena six years later, our parents reverted back to registering us at school using our legal last name (BUT FORGOT TO TELL ME!). I'll never forget being called up to my teacher's desk (a week after starting 5th grade at the now demolished Garfield Elementary in Pasadena) and my teacher asked me in a whisper, "Cecile dear, what is your last name?" I answered "Fearey!". "Well, honey your parents registered you as LaGue, whose name is that?" I think I said it was my father's name (well

at least I didn't say it was "mi Tio's")! Then she proceeded to correct how I said and spelled my first name... Cecile not "Cecilia" and my middle name... Therese, not "Teresa" - And what exactly were those little slanted lines I put over the letters in my spelling words? "Oh by the way, there is no such thing as an upside down question or exclamation mark, my dear. " Now go back to your seat...

After all those years of putting the accents in the right places, and pronouncing my name like a true Castillian, I found out I had it all wrong!

This was just the beginning of many instances of culture shock. My make-believe friends (c'mon guys I was only 10) were always old friends from Spain and ASM, (does anyone out there know what happened to Christina Greer or Laura Pentoney?) The songs I would sing in private were those of Los Brincos, Los Bravos, Miguel Rios and Formula V (Cinco). I didn't know what a Barbie was 'til I was eleven, and to this day, I learn more about the 60's decade American History from the history channel, than I ever learned in school!

But I do know lots about the Phoenicians and the Romans, the Moors and El Cid, Los Reyes Católicos and Felipe II, the Spanish flag and its coat of arms, and especially how the Spanish conquistadors were the best thing to ever happen to the Western Hemisphere!

Just thought I'd share another culture shock story!

Cecile can be reached at CTAlessi@aol.com

California Meets Madrid -- The Pen Pal Connection:

Tica (Echols) Rojo '70 is a third grade teacher at the American School of Madrid. Michelle (Fearey LaGue) Mock '69 is a Pre-K through 8^th grade computer and Spanish teacher in California. The two former classmates agreed that it would be great to share our experiences with our students.

We set out to have the students exchange pen pal letters using e-mail. This was a reasonable plan, but we came across a small problem. Third and fourth grade students do not type very quickly (particularly if they are paying attention to COPS ... capitalization, organization, punctuation and spelling). It is a painful process, very slow, and agonizing when they hold down the backspace key too long and erase what they just spent 10 minutes entering. Email did not allow them to be creative either. After the first email exchange (which took about 3 months to complete), we decided to try the old fashioned way: Snail Mail ... it was faster.

The students at Montessori School of Corona took the emails from their new friends and created personal, handwritten cards and letters. Photos of the individual students were affixed to their letters. We created a package with postcards, maps and books about California and sent it with our letters and a brochure of our school to Tica's Class at ASM.

About a month later, MSOC received a return packet with letters, photos, postcards, pictures and an awesome brochure from ASM. I can't tell you how excited we all were! Now that the kids have names and faces for their pen pals, they are even more interested in corresponding. The California students are replying with emails and backing it up with another package of handwritten letters and "stuff".

The ASM Alumni program extends beyond the alumni, parents, teachers and staff. After all these years, it has the effect of shrinking the world and creating bridges of friendship across the globe. What a legacy!

Gone but not forgotten:

As we search the globe for former classmates and friends, we occasionally will receive sad news. I am sorry to report that John Shepard '77 passed away last September in Northern California. On behalf of the greater ASM community, I would like to express our sincere condolences to his brothers Steve '72 and Roger '75 and all John's family and friends.

ASMers found in California as of March 1^st, 1999 include:

1964 Sergio (Dennis) Cerdá Alhambra

1964 Mark Johnson Brentwood

1965 Rosalia Gonzalez San Jose

1965 Arne Mortensen Carlsbad

1965 Victoria Mortensen Regier San Diego

1965 David Robinson San Francisco

1966 Jill Echols McMahon Sacramento

1966 Mimi Johnson Santa Monica

1967 Maria Conchita Gonzalez Santa Clara

1968 Leslie J. Smith-Deely San Francisco

1969 Carol Farron Lodi

1969 Michelle (Fearey LaGue) Mock Corona

1972 Cheryl L. Fearey LaGue Arcadia

1972 Kari Kolstad Lengierre San Dimas

1972 John Peyser LA area

1972 Mike Sellmer Huntington Beach

1973 Rick Martin Fullerton

1973 Peter Sellmer

1974 Joe (Fearey) LaGue (Idaho Falls, ID)

1974 Mary (Gita) Kevlin Los Angeles

1974 Michelle Mortensen San Diego

1974 Eva Gustafsson-Damiano Huntington Beach

1975 Roger N. Shepard Concord

1977 Cecile T. (Fearey LaGue) Alessi Paso Robles

1978 Jennifer K. Davies Concord

1979 Jim Vasconcellos San Jose

1980 David Cooley Sacramento

1980 Paul Marconi San Diego

1980 Vic Hightower Burbank

1981 Mark Vasconcellos Glendale

1981 Marc J. Venturella Emeryville

1982 Gabe Díaz Foothill Ranch

1982 Kevin Mickey Santa Clara

1982 Ric Peralta San Francisco

1984 Melissa L. Cooper (Krause) Pacifica

1984 Lester Kuykendall Hollywood

1984 Heidi Lambert Redondo Beach

1984 Jennnifer L Varnes (McLaughlin) Berkeley

1985        William W. Bruzzo Tustin

1985 Krystel McCullough Los Angeles

1985 Lisa Vasconcellos Marina del Rey

1986 Tony Bauer Fremont

1987 Heather Lambert Redondo Beach

1988 Denise W. Lam Irvine

1990 Cecilia Allen Santa Clara

1990 Jeff Hightower Burbank

1990 Lisa Herrera Santa Monica

1990 Erin Sheedy Loma Linda

1990 Erin Sowden San Francisco

1991 Gloria Hewitt Los Angeles

1991 Juan P. Vargas Santa Clara

1991? Rafi de Guzman San Francisco

1992 Veronica Ravago Burbank

1994 Bill M. Tortora San Diego

1996 Teresa Ledesma Atherton

If you have not yet registered at http://www.gutech.com/asm, please do so. Gus is attempting to create email listings by State, so we would like to have all of you register. If you are not sure if you have registered, check the email directory for your class. All ASMers who have registered are currently listed on-line.

Let Gus know what you think of this site by sending a message to him at asm@gutech.com or leaving a message in the guestbook < http://saturn.guestworld.tripod.lycos.com/wgb/wgbview.dbm?owner=ASMLANCERS >. He encourages your comments and suggestions. The ASM Alumni Home Pages is alumni driven and a place for you to call home.

If you have been to a mini-reunion, share your thoughts in the reunion guestbook at < http://mars.guestworld.tripod.lycos.com/wgb/wgbview.dbm?owner=asmreunions >.

I hope to see many of you in March and the rest of you someday soon. Entonces, ¡hasta la vista!

This newsletter is distributed by Michelle (Fearey LaGue) Mock (ASM '69). If you wish to receive a copy of future newsletters via e-mail, please send a message to MFeareyASM@aol.com . Also, please check out the Official ASM web site at < http://www.amerschmad.org > and the ASM Alumni Home Pages at < http://www.gutech.com/asm/ >. Please register and fill out the questionnaires at both sites (even if you were only at ASM a short time and did not graduate in Madrid). If you know of any other California ASMers who are not on this list, please forward the information and ask them to contact me to be added to my mailing list.