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The Roundtable Reports The
New Comen Roundtable We arrived on time to a pleasant
rearrangement of our "roundtable" - our rectangular version
made for a warmer, cozier nook for the roundtablers to banter and quip.
Founder Howie
Comen greeted us with his usual playful winks and jibes.
It was nice to see Richard and Jana snuggling in the corner; the
nuptials quickly approaching, they're one foot out the door to the It was wonderful that John and
Sandy's kid sister Tami
(a/k/a zerofische) was visiting Some of the charter members, Dr.
Braak and Dr. Samuels, had e-mailed us to send their regrets that they
couldn't make it this time... and sent their best.
But it was terrific to see the return of Carl
Limbacher and some great friends of NewsMax - Steve Kivlen of Koeppel Tener Real Estate
Services and Fr. Mike Reilly who was ordained a Roman Catholic priest by John
Cardinal O'Connor in 1992 and is currently serving as Dean at St.
Joseph by-the-Sea High School in Tony and Sue La Magra arrived - he,
professor of music and concert pianist; she a piano teacher who is also
enchanted with Dickens and is a new member of the Anthony La Magra, a retired
director of music at Tami
was excited to find a common bond with Tony and his love of photography;
her own recent foray into the world of photography
with her partner, Pierce, has proven to be very productive and has
brought out a great talent. She's
discovered a real eye for artistic design in photorealism.
Sandy and Tami spent the past week roaming the far reaches of Howie addressed the lively bunch,
was witty and charming... yet some of the roundtablers noticed he'd
forgotten to wear his Red Sox cap. Carl
Limbacher reminded us that Howie had worn his cap in one of the poshest hotels
in D.C. and so our fearless leader was forced to re-don his
trademark apparel - the infamous Red Sox cap. Howie started by reminding us of
some of the history of the original Algonquin Roundtable as Carl
interjected the concepts of the group of infamous writers, delving into
the who's who. He brought
out some of the first edition books he'd found on e-bay that were
written by or about some of the early roundtablers of the Algonquin
years and the conversation about some of the more notorious members was
interesting. Carl Limbacher
and Sandy Frazier mentioned their good friend, radio legend, George
Putnam and how he'd known Algonquin attendee Tallulah Bankhead.
Carl familiarized some of the younger roundtablers with the
character on the old Mary Tyler Moore show that was modeled after
George. We're all hoping George
will one day fly out from his ranch in Howie gave us all an update on the Princeton
Club Librarians' Collaboration on a Project to Benefit Afghanistan:
At the first
O'Lunney's Times Square/Comen International Roundtable held in
October, Dr. Joyce Braak, President of the Institute for
Research on Women's Health, Princeton Club Librarians Betty Dornheim,
Doris Humphrey, the retired Connie Clark and the Comen International
Detective Agency family developed the Afghan Relief Effort (A.R.E.) to
replace the Afghanistan university libraries' books the Taliban
destroyed during their reign. Lt. Col Chris King, information officer of
the U.S. Air Force Airlift Wing, Soon radio legend Barry Farber arrived and was able to enjoy
wonderful conversation with Howie and the La Magias; and then Barry
explained that he had to leave a little early since he'd been asked to
guest host for the ailing Roy
Masters who is recovering from open-heart surgery. The conversation turned
metaphysical as Howie and Sandy were talking to Steve Kivlen about Elizabeth
Baron... and then Steve made a prediction: within two years there
will be a worldwide event where everyone will see their soul as God sees
them: an intervention. Father
Mike interjected, "It's called 'Judgment Day.'
We hope that doesn't come to soon... we're having too much fun at
the roundtable! Special Roundtable Note: The Comen Roundtablers would
like to send out condolences to the friends and family of Art Carney... "So
long, Norton, ol' buddy!
We'll miss you!" [View Pictures from the 11/10/2003 Dinner]
The Comen International Roundtable will meet the second Monday of every month. For more info on the Roundtable, contact Howard Comen at 843-571-2667, www.comeninternational.com or Sandy Frazier at 516-735-5468, sandy@mystic-art.com
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