CORNELL MAGAZINE ARTICLES FOR 2000
CORNELL MAGAZINE ARTICLES FOR
2000
Class officers will be meeting in NYC Jan 28 and 29 and a millennium dinner for '57 is planned for Friday, Jan 28 at the Cornell Club. If you'd like to join in the fun and there's still space (our room only holds 125) you can e-mail Paul Noble at paulrnoble@aol.com. It's $55 per person and should be a great way to start our countdown to Reunion '02.
That other kind of reunion - the high school kind - attracted a bunch of Cornellians to James Madison HS, Brooklyn in October. Marty (nc) and Sue Breslow Dillon were there to reminisce with Evie(nc) and Jerry Dorf, Kenny Koenig, Sari Feldman Zukerman, Arlene(nc) and Dick Kossoff, and Marty'55 and Gloria Welt Sage.
Myrna Lacy Rooney is living in the mountain community of Evergreen, CO and loving it. She and Tom'55, who will be retiring soon, also have a place in the Florida Keys where she often sees Marnie Enck Broman. The Rooneys have 4 kids scattered around the country and 11 grandchildren. Francine Hassol Lifton's husband retired in January so they've moved permanently to Boca Raton, FL. Last fall the Liftons took a trip to France.
Jane Taber Gillett has 2 children living in St. Petersburg, FLA, and two in Theresa, NY.and 6 grandchildren. She works part time as a ceramic artist in Horseheads and is now enjoying good health after a brain tumor and heart attack in 1997. Lita Schwartz Emanuel has moved to Arlington Texas. Her husband retired from the University of Oklahoma but crossed the Red River to become a research professor at the University of Texas.
Last July in Toronto, Ron MBA '57 and Helen Kuver Kramer celebrated the wedding of their daughter, Marjorie '87 to Alan Goffenberg. Our classmate, Howard Greenstein officiated and other Cornellians in attendance were Lenore Brotman Greenstein'56, Barbara Feigenbaum, Vida Fishbach Goldstein , Cathy Slade Wolfe'87, Pete Wolfe'87, Michael Dowd'85 and the Kramers' daughter Sara '88. Helen writes, "We did manage to refrain from bursting into Cornell songs which was probably a good move because the groom and his family are from South Africa and they would have thought we were crazy!!" The Kramers plan to join other Cornellians this coming May on the CAU trip down the Danube. A CAU program on campus, Great Trials of America, attracted Alan (nc) and Judy Richter Levy last summer. Nan Krauthamer Goldberg also attended. Judy and Nan have already signed up for the CAU course on the Supreme Court to be held this May in Cooperstown.
Not ready to retire yet are Marcia Wishengrad Metzger and Olga Duntuch Krell. Marcia is still practicing law in Rochester and Olga's publishing house in Brazil continues to be a success.
Bill and Jan Charles Lutz welcomed a new granddaughter in September. Burt and Adele Petrillo Smart are coast to coast grandparents. And when they're not visiting the grandchildren in Massachusetts or California, their destination is Destin, Fla to enjoy some sun and surf. Sari Feldman Zukerman is enjoying her retirement spending lots of time traveling - to the Canadian Rockies last year and to New Zealand/Australia, this year.
Janice Littell has been retired for four years now and welcomes the free time for birding and travel. A recent visit to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic gave her a chance to see first hand some of the leftover problems from communism which Jan feels hamper economic development. Another vacation destination was the north woods of Minnesota where she fulfilled a long time wish- to hear a loon. Jerry Neuman Held was also a world traveler last year. In September she was in Belgiumand Germany and then visited relatives in the Czech Republic, her 4th trip to Prague in the last 20 years. She also spent some time in Mission TX to see her first grandchild, born last March. However, Jerry had some sad news. Eva Sperling Cockroft died of breast cancer in April. And Lois Shaffer Diamond passed away last June in Wilkes Barre, PA. Her family asks that donations in her memory be made to your local hospice.
I won't repeat what you have just read (see above) about the class Millennium Dinner on January 28 except to say that if you have not signed on and the room is not yet over extended, it promises to be a special evening.
Archie Stewart writes that his retirement (the final one) is on the horizon, and he is currently involved in a major re-hab of their Florida house, which had been showing its age after several years of renting. The best of all worlds will be Ponta Gorda in the winter and Rhode Island in the summer. Lee Poole says he's retired, but sounds busier than ever. After 37 years in a "community chaplain" styled career, including overseeing a housing development program in Los Angeles, chairing the Human Resources Commission of Orange County (NY), and psychoanalytic counseling, he is involved in building senior citizen apartments in Washingtonville NY. Laurence Farer has spent the last five years in the North Carolina woods since retiring from the US Public Health Service's Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. He has participated in a number of Adult University (CAU) sessions, and is active in Cornell's laboratory of Ornithology. After 27 years in the New York State Senate, Manny Gold, JD '59, is now devoting all his time to his law practice. While a state senator, he authored over 80 laws (including the Son of Sam) and was part of the leadership for more than 20 years.
Bob Black and I knew early on that Doug Yearly was destined for a distinguished career after the excellent job he did as manager of the lacrosse team, and it was no surprise to read the NY Times article that Ed Vant sent along describing the efforts of Phelps Dodge, of which Doug is CEO, to acquire two companies in the copper producing business that would make the emerging entity the largest in that industry.
I am saddened to report the death of Arlene Raab, Ted's wife. Ted had mentioned that she was ill some time ago, and her passing is certainly sad news to all who knew her.
Dave Davis was an inspiration to those of us who had the good fortune to know him, and I was distressed when his wife, Brenda, told me that he had passed away. Dave had been in a nursing home for some years suffering from Alzheimer's. His importance to the greatest crew ever to dip an oar in the water is well chronicled, but it is the wit and charm that I will miss. I can recall standing with Dave on a street corner in NYC sometime after 1957 and watching a bus driver try to stop and unload passengers, a job made more difficult by an illegally parked car. The bus driver angrily asked if that was our car, to which Dave replied, "No, is that your bus?" After a moment of not knowing what to do, the bus driver dissolved into laughter and couldn't drive the bus for a few minutes. There was a memorial service at Loon Lake (NY) in October.
Although this is the year when we reach the "official" retirement age, a few classmates are still gainfully employed. Marilyn Mitchell Holtham is the Director of Lay Ministry at the United Methodist Church in Archdale, NC. She also has her own consulting business, Gifts of the Heart. Marilyn loves her work, conducting seminars and workshops designed to connect church and community ministries and visiting 6 children and 7 grandchildren who are located from the Pacific to the Atlantic shores.
According to your news notes travels are big on the agenda for many of you. Last November Phyllis Shames Korn visited Monaco and Portugal. On an earlier trip to Singapore and Malaysia she climbed the 13,000 ft. Mt. Kinabalu. Closer to home Martin '55 and Phyllis spend lots of time at Schroon Lake in the Adirondacks where she is involved with the unique Seagle Music Colony. And there was still time to visit the Korn's three married children and two grandchildren.
Joyce Dudley McDowell was on campus last June for Ed's 45th reunion before heading off for a month-long trip to Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The McDowells are avid sailors and Ed's boat, Grand Illusion, won the 1999 TransPacific Yacht Race. Last October Ed and Joyce had a week in London prior to cruising the Mediterranean on the Sea Cloud.
After 22 years in Maine, Dave '54 and Carol Cobb Diver moved to the Landings on Skidaway Island, GA. when Carol took early retirement as the Bridal Gift Registrar at Macy's South Portland store. The Divers are enjoying traveling as well, with an itinerary that has included Alaska, Scandinavia, Greece, Australia, and New Zealand. Speaking of the latter two destinations that's where you could find six of us from '57 back in November. Jan Nelson Cole, Joan Reinberg Macmillan and I joined an Alumni Federation group which started in Fiji, continued on to New Zealand and ended in Sydney, Australia. A noteworthy highlight of the trip was Jan's adventurous climb to the 440 ft. summit of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Another special event occurred in Cairns one evening in the hotel lobby when Joan (who has become the semi-official piano player at Reunions) took to the keys for a 2 hour sing along (Cornell songs definitely included). Our memories still work - the words to "it takes a silver dollar" came back readily. The trip overlapped with that of another Cornell group, so Dick '55 and Sue Westin Pew, Joe '56 and Sue DeRosay Henninger, and John Maclay and his wife, Marilyn(nc) were able to rendezvous with us in Sydney.
Dave and Jane Wedell Pyle had an enjoyable trip last year with their daughter and son-in-law to Ireland and Scotland. As Jane writes, "thankfully we are both healthy", which is not always the case with some in our class. Jean Scott Borden, Olympia, WA, had a spinal fusion operation last fall. However, Jean still enjoys traveling, especially opera-oriented tours, some of which she leads. She had a wonderful week in Edinburgh in September.
While some of you have been and will be celebrating 40th wedding
anniversaries, we are reminded that there are classmates with
long time marriages who have lost their spouses. Barbara Timen
Holstein's husband of 38 years died a few years ago and Barbara
writes, "fortunately, I had been working full time and that
part of my life is great. I also gained a daughter when my son
Casey got married in 1997, and he and Robin added great joy with
the birth of my first grandchild last April". Barbara's two
daughters are successful business women, living in NYC and she
is hoping to make it the 45th reunion - just 2 years away. And
have you noticed how fast time goes now that we're of that certain
age?
A final note about a very courageous, diligent, fair-minded lady
- not of our class but from '55, Elsie McMillan. For 27 years
I have been sending this column to Elsie, first typewritten, then
on computer disc, and now by e-mail. It made it to print every
issue because of Elsie's dedication to her job as the editor of
class notes. Elsie died in November after a long struggle with
cancer. She will be missed.
I am delighted to have had the opportunity to read a chapter chronicling the life of Jack Dempsey in a recently published book entitled "Learning Curves in Business." It relates the "hits, misses and home runs" of 21 prominent citizens in Ann Arbor MI. Jack writes of his early years in northwestern Pennsylvania and Buffalo, his potentially fatal illness and those people who helped him realize the direction in which he wanted to take his life. From working with Med students in Buffalo on insurance related items to the maturation of Dempsey, Inc., a devotion to family and community is evident in weaving a pattern of success, albeit not without a few bumps in the road along the way. His passion for his business (and golf) jumps from the page.
Proof that the squeaky wheel gets the grease is evident in the number of times Ara Daglian gets into print in this column for having done basically nothing. He reports no fires in the last year in the jurisdiction covered by the volunteer fire department in New Jersey in which he remains chief assistant to the assistant chief. He did spend some time in Paris, Lyon and Nice trying to rediscover the secret of some ancient recipe, probably to bring back to the boys in the department. Speaking of travel, Dick Cavell, Pinky Green and Bill Eckert have something in common - they have all been to Australia in the past year. Bill had the thrill of crewing on a 3 hour cruise around Sydney harbor on the GRETEL, the boat that won the Americas Cup several years ago. Pinky has kept his suitcase packed with Alaska and Hong Kong being on the itinerary, with several intervening stops. He also finds time to continue consulting on labor relations issues. While all this is going on, Pete Blauvelt spent some time in Sweden and continues his favorite pastime of hunting pigs in Texas. If one of your grandchildren has a yen to go to Cayuga Community College, you might try to dissuade him or her. The great Texas pig hunter is on the board.
Barry Cohn is chief neuro-anaesthesiologist at University Hospital Leiden in the Netherlands. He met with Doug and Carol Sheft (sp?) in France last spring and vacationed last summer in a couple of lovely-sounding places in Italy. Bill Schmidt has acquired another honor, that of his painting "View of the Lincoln Memorial" being selected as one of the top 100 in the National Arts for the Parks competition. Roy and Judy Hassel are in the fifth year at the Westport (CT) United Methodist Church. Their oldest son is a Methodist missionary in Lithuania, and their oldest daughter and husband have adopted a Korean child, whom Roy and Judy had the thrill of picking up in Seoul. Stu Fischman is "busier that ever" since retiring from the University of Buffalo medical staff, consulting for medical and dental firms on a myriad of subjects as well as continuing to manage the AIDS Oral Health Program at the Erie County Medical Center. After 21 years as an Air Force navigator and many more years working for the Navy on Airborne Weapons Programs(last 10 on the Tomahawk Program), Sandy Kaiser has retired to travel and to continue to be involved in "good works." Howard Greenstein continues as Rabbi of Jewish Congregation of Marco Island from September through April. He and Lenore (Brotman '56) now have 8 grandchildren. Gonzalo Ferrer's recent past has seen a lot of unpleasant news. His oldest son, Gustavo, died of a brain tumor shortly before Gonzalo was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His wife, Piri, had surgery for a detached retina last summer.
Three items that I find particularly inspiring include Jerry and Barbara Cohn's continuing with their hiking program by undertaking the "Tour de Mont Blanc" last summer, putting one boot in front of the other in France , Italy and Switzerland. Prior tours include just about every country in the world as well as several stops in the US. After 36 years managing ski resorts, Phil (and Shirley) Gravink has/have(?) joined Odyssey 2000. This year he will (get this!) bike on 6 continents in 45 countries for 19,700 miles. Rick Freeman accomplished another daring feat, getting married last October.
I've thought of what I could say concerning the death of Elsie McMillan, and have come to the conclusion that Judy stated my exact sentiments(above). Elsie and I shared an interest in horse racing, I merely because I live in Kentucky and she because she really knew and loved the sport. She was a gem.
A few months ago you received a letter from Bob Watts (it's also on our class web site) telling you about the class dinner held in January. If you took a poll of those who attended they'd tell you what an enjoyable evening it was. There may only be a 50/50 chance of your making it to New York City in 2001, but why not phone a friend and ask if her final answer is "yes" to joining your classmates on January 26.
Perhaps an award is due Shirley Wagoner Johnson as the ultimate traveler of 1999. Shirley took a trip around the world on the Concorde with stops in Hawaii, New Zealand, Australia, China, India, Kenya, and France. Highlights included flying a balloon above the Masai Mara, helicoptering over glaciers in New Zealand, climbing the Great Wall, and visiting the Taj Mahal. Also visiting New Zealand last year and hiking the Milford Track were Jerry '55 and Sue Shelby Schurmeier, who are game for more walking/hiking vacations in the future. The Schurmeiers have a son-in-law from Colombia and a daughter-in-law from Japan, so "it's a small world conference every time we get together", writes Sue.
Carol Gehrke Townsend took her first cruise last year - through the Panama Canal. Her impression?- "thought I'd died and gone to heaven!" Her oldest son was married on Cape Cod in June. Carol is still working part-time in real estate. Lois Ernstoff Stekler continues to teach at George Washington University but is considering whether to retire soon. She and Herman(nc) enjoyed a trip last summer to Oregon and San Francisco where they got together with Barbara Freid Conheim. Also in the field of education is Ela Oudheusden Shacklett who this year will be completing 31 years of teaching the visually impaired. Then she'll be off to Holland to see her cousins. When she wants to see her grandchildren, however, she heads in the opposite direction - to Taipei, Taiwan. Ela keeps in touch with Flo Spelts Booth and Sue Hitz Magnuson.
Dave, '56, BME'57, and Jane Wedell Pyle had a delightful trip last year to Ireland and Scotland. As Jane writes, "thankfully we are both healthy", which is not always the case with some in our class. Jean Scott Borden, Olympia, WA, had a spinal fusion operation last fall. However, Jean still enjoys traveling, especially opera-oriented tours, some of which she leads. She had a wonderful week in Edinburgh in September.
Georgia Freeman Messemer's husband, George, died in October.
She writes: "37 years married, eloped to California and stayed
here. Please call when you're in Southern California." Georgia
makes her home in Irvine.
What does the year 2000 mean to a '57er? Time to collect social security and apply for a Medicare card! For Barbara Pincus Klein and her husband Miles PhD'61 it's the year to retire from their jobs at the University of Illinois. But they'll still be busy with research and making travel plans, which will include visiting three granddaughters. Gwen Barrera Hart must hold the class record for most children - nine - and grandchildren - twenty! Gwen moved to Salem, SC 4 years ago and loves it. Also making a move - to Saratoga Springs are Arlene Shapiro Krovner and Danny '55, who is working for the state of New York. The Krovners' daughter Dayna'88 presented Arlene and Danny with their 7th grandchild. Another Krovner Cornellian, Mitchell ' 82, has four children.
Perhaps some of the gardeners in our class have been growing garden mums produced by Janet Steinhorst Fuess. Janet is in the plant breeding business and holds 45 patents on garden mums sold throughout North America and now being sold in Europe. A successful mum is the Varsity Blizzard. Her daughter runs the original greenhouse business in New York Mills and another daughter continues with an airline career. Jane and Gerard have 4 grandchildren.
Carol Anderson Brown is an artist whose 20 years of work was on exhibition at Drew University last fall. Her paintings include wild animals, done from sketches in Alaska and Arizona, and drawings of the remarkable landscape in Utah. Another '57 artist is also a newlywed. Beth Ames Swartz and John Rothschild (nc) were married last November. Earlier in the year a collection of new paintings by Beth was on exhibit in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Gabrielle Kirsch McGhee is a retired math teacher but is working part time as a marriage and family therapist. Her daughter Alison is a published author and Holly (class of ?) has her own literary agency. Daughter Laurel is events director for the Exeter, NY Chamber of Commerce and Douglas '92 is a law clerk for a Supreme Court judge in Minneapolis.
Amelia Dunbar Baker has been a widow since 1996 and has 5 grown children and 10 grandchildren. She recently signed up to travel to Uganda as a short term missionary. Anyone who is interested in hearing more about her work can contact her at 2893 Sumac Dr., Doraville, GA 30071. Joan Kennedy Repetto took her first solo trip abroad last year, to Ireland with the alumni Campus Abroad program. In the small world department Joan discovered that a fellow participant, Bob Minium'56 is married to a K-12 classmate of Joan's from Schenectady.
Just 2 years to go until OUR reunion.
Paul and Sandy Garrett have the best of all worlds - all 4 children are out of college, married to delightful spouses (6 grandchildren) and hold responsible jobs. The only bummer was Sandy's 40th reunion at Syracuse, which Paul calls a "stark disappointing contrast" to our 40th. He is gearing up for the 45th. Harvey Pride (sp?) also has 4 children, and 4 grandchildren. The youngest child, Amanda, is attending Southwest Medical School in Dallas. Continuing the numbers game, Bill Angell has 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Bill is probably a rarity in the class, with 2 sons still in high school. He is a cardiac surgeon in Tampa, developing the "world's best" heart valve, and in his spare time building a 47 foot prototype power catamaran. There has to be a connection here somewhere. Larry Numark has 3 children, all in CA (2 teachers and a lawyer). Larry is working on getting 2 books published and starting a third, which we can probably use - "Survival Skills for Seniors into the Millennium." Bob Rosenstock has a son at Cornell, in the class of 2003.
Jack Schuerger is "sort of" retired. He has a sail boat
charter company, " Why Knot Sail." He mentions that
he is in the middle of moving out of West Chester, PA (I hope
to a spot nearer water). Michael Makar has retired after 38 years
of teaching in elementary school in Millbrook , NY and is doing
work for a number of volunteer organizations as well as making
wooden toys. Gerald Rehkugler is also volunteering in a number
of activities, including working with the North Central New York
Conference of the United Methodist Church and serving as assistant
tennis coach at Moravia High School. He also has a son still at
home, prospectively a member of the class of '07.
September/October 2000 - WOMEN
This time a mere 47 years ago we had completed Frosh camp, settled into our dorms, and were crossing Triphammer Bridge off to our first classes at Cornell. Shirley Besemer was one of the students in Martha Van Rennsalear starting out toward a bachelor's in Home Economics. Her degree work got sidetracked along the way when, one semester short, she left school to marry Tom Itin. However, having completed the necessary requirements to earn it, Shirley received her BS in Human Ecology this past May. Tom and the children were on campus to particpate and celebrate her graduation.
Did you work on the census this year? Dick and Martie Ballard Lacy did. Other retirement activities have included cross-country skiing, visiting five grandchildren, and travels abroad. Germany was their destination last March. Bill and Jan Charles Lutz also visited Europe this year. A cruise of the islands off of Scotland and Ireland was followed by a visit to France where they helped a cousin celebrate the arrival of her 100th descendant.
It's always good to hear that someone has "found" a lost classmate. Robin Bielski Kadar(?) writes that her roommate from Cornell years, Judy Saari McCrone, married a Canandian whom she met in grad school at the University of Kansas. Alistair(nc) is president of Humboldt State University in California and the McCrones live in Arcata, CA.
Evelyn Caplan Perch retired from her consulting job last November and Bob(nc) and she enjoy splitting their free time between their home in Norristown, PA and their place at Margate, NJ. Miriam Chuckrow Sommers lives in Albany where her husband Donald(nc) and their son are attorneys. Another son is a social Worker in Albany County and their daughter is a televsion writer and producer in New York city.
Fall is a lovely time to be on the Hill so I hope you'll be able to make it back to Ithaca for Homecoming and the Yale game on September 23. Meanwhile, you'll be receiving your news/dues form soon so please jot down a few notes. It's been interesting to see how some of you interpret the "Name when you were on campus" line. Some think it means the time frame, others think it's for the maiden name or nickname. Whatever.....just write....please?
Dutch Butler always was a delight to encounter on campus -
upbeat and with something meaningful to contribute to a conversation.
Not surprising that he has taken these talents to a successful
marketing career. He and Mitzie live in Sherwood CA, from which
Dutch travels the country on business and Mitzie the LA-San Francisco
corridor conducting motivational seminars. Two sons live within
10 minutes of the nest and the other son and a daughter reside
in the Bay Area.
On the other coast, Phil Danzig has his hands full in NYC, concentrating
on architecture, mosaic murals and the environment in addition
to being involved with a number of civic organizations.
Bill Schmidt has continued to reap honors with his paintings,
with two works on loan to the Ambassador's residence in Bosnia
as part of the Department of State's "Art in the Embassies"
program. He also made the top 100 (for the 3rd time) in the National
Arts Competition for his "View of the Lincoln Memorial."
Don Wudtke"s daughter Erika, class of '88, is now Mrs. Clarke
Taylor and resides in Berkeley CA. Speaking of families, Chuck
LaForge attended a family reunion in Grantham NH, where daughter
Suzanne and her husband, Paul Greeley (both class of '92) live
with their 3 children. Chuck has a total of 7 grandchildren. Phil
Manaker's daughter Sarah is the "green sheep of the family,"
graduation from Dartmouth in '98. Laura has stayed true to the
cause as a part of the Cornell class of '03, majoring in History
(probably).
On the kudos front, Eph McLean, professor and holder of the G.
E. Smith Eminent Scholar's Chair at Georgia State, has been elected
a Fellow of the Association for Information Systems.
On the leisure front, Mike DeNicola continues to enjoy life in
the Canadian Rockies, having broken 100 on the golf course and
drawing a bead on Tiger by planning to break 90 shortly. Todd
Kennedy is still involved with sailing on Long Island Sound, and
has met up with Tom Peterson twice in Nevis, West Indies. Todd
reports that daughter Elizabeth was married a year ago on a rock
extending into Highland Lake in Falmouth ME.
Ron Dunbar has been retired for almost 2 years, bailing out of
the military communications systems field just before his company
"self-destructed." He and Sherri have lived in the same
house for 35 years in Wyncote, PA, and are reworking it in addition
to doing a lot of biking, some on "rails to trails,"
converted railroad tracks. Their Korean-born daughter married
the boy next door and now lives in Denver.
Steve Smethurst reports that son Ryan is with a Washington law
firm after graduating last year from George Mason law school and
marrying Christi Baker last summer. Youngest son Shea graduated
last December from Salisbury State. Dwight Samuelson has the best
of both worlds, continuing as a Senior VP with Prudential Securities
in Hilton Head.
David Wingate has retired from the Bermuda Government Service,
but will still be active in nature reserve and "living museum"
projects. One of his 3 daughters is living in the Czech Republic
with her husband and 3 children.
Gail and Tony Cashen are living at their farm in Ghent in the Hudson Valley after distinguished careers with the New York State Board of Education and in executive recruiting in NYC, respectively. Don't be fooled by the "R" word. They are probably more active than ever with a myriad of projects.
Rod and Liz Beckwith stopped in for a visit in August on one of their periodic sojourns from their delightful home outside Charlottesville.
Tony's other news is that Steve Weiss has been appointed Honorary Police Commissioner of NYC. There are apparently 3 such honorees at any time. Steve is not taking this appointment lightly (see below).
Bob and Audie (Bard '59) Bayer e-mailed me (a great way to
send news, by the way) that their son, Mike, was married in NYC
in May. Several Cornellians attended, including Aaron and Risa
(Krouner '59) Kassoff, and 2 of Bob's former roommates, Henry
Lasky and the aforementioned Commissioner.
The NYPD, in a move real nice,
Has appointed our old pal, Stephen Weiss,
Honorary Commissioner --- well deserved,
And this man of steel won't come unnerved.
He'll prowl at night the city's streets,
Help the cops patrol their beats,
Take to heart this awesome job,
Rid Manhattan of the mob.
So if you j-walk out in Queens,
And face a fine beyond your means;
They're sure to grant you one last wish,
And tell 'em you want to call the Commish !