Please Register and/or login. Need help? Username: Password: (I forgot my password) Log me on automatically each visit Featured Photo The featured photo is from the Dr. William F. Podlich Collection: Back to top Featured Yearbook The featured yearbook is the 1973 Scorpion: Back to top Latest Topics Updated Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:56 am dsperry PRATTLE IN SEATTLE - Q & A Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:43 am chris brown Reprobate Bar and Grille Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:05 pm dsperry Another NGO, and someone we kn... Fri Mar 19, 2010 4:15 pm rzeller Veterans’ Day Tribute Fri Mar 19, 2010 3:35 pm Gas Guzzler It's TIN-HAT Time! Back to top Top Ten Posters #1 as usual, m. 3137 #2 szeller 2383 #3 maryp 2369 #4 basima 2325 #5 AHD 2293 #6 Jo 2209 #7 mstar 1927 #8 Danny Hilario 1709 #9 chimakuni 1653 #10 changingseasons 1396 Back to top Site Map & Help A detailed site map is provided to help you navigate and find information in this site. This site contains a lot of information and most of it requires free registration and login. If you need any assistance, please check the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) or click on the logo below to send an email to the Webmaster of this site. Back to top Credits Individuals These are the individuals who make this site possible: Editor: Maggi Stoner Forum Moderators: Susie Kessler, Lee Anne Martinez, Marty Owens, Maggi Stoner, Alan Zeller Publisher: Gerry Geronimo Sponsors: C. David Dempsey, Danny & Gina Hilario, Eric Claussen, Jana O'Neal, Peg Podlich, JoAnn Dewhurst Koozer, Christine (Plumb) Gordon, Beth Prout, Nancy A. Parker, Cecil & Allie Uyehara, Anne Michalec Payson, Robert Zeller, Mary (Meadows) Pyburn, Alan Zeller, Molly Alexander, Thomas & Allison (Hicks) Delventhal, Jody (Nankivell) Herriott, Jenine Sjoblom Let's not forget all the individuals who have contributed to the extensive content of this site. Thank you! If you would like to donate and sponsor this site, please use the Amazon Honor System. Back to top Tools These are the free tools developed by many individuals which have been used to publish this site: Atomz, AWStats, MySQL, PHP, phpBB, phpBB Fetch All and DarkMods Redirection Suite. Back to top

December 2004 Archive Index: 3 Years Ago Today: Scorpions in the News (Part 5) (Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:30 pm) Scorpions Dig For Clams in Seattle (Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:33 pm) Afghanistan: The Mirage of Peace (Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:48 am) Danny & Gina Hilario Visit Washington State (Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:48 am) December 2004 Issue of Lemar-Aftaab Published (Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 9:17 pm) Listen to the Joint Venture III (1974 Prom) (Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:36 pm) The Rest of the Dave Sperry Collection (Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 2:43 pm) 1974 AISK Prom: Joint Venture III (Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 7:43 pm) Introducing The Alexander & Fliehr Collection (Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:01 pm) Merry Christmas from aisk.org (Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:30 am) 2004: The Year in Review (Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2004 10:02 pm) Happy New Year! (Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:05 pm) ... January 2005 3 Years Ago Today: Scorpions in the News (Part 5) Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2004 8:30 pm I was watching CNN Headline News in a window on my computer while working on something else and not really paying any attention to the news when I heard "Scorpions" and "Kabul" mentioned. I watched with fascination as our fellow Scorpions appeared on CNN Headline News. I proceeded to watch the brief CNN coverage of Scorpions several times while it was repeated almost every 30 minutes that night. I even managed to capture stills from the CNN video. Attending the Atlanta Mini-Reunion specially organized for the CNN story were: Obaid "Jon" Afredi, Marge Cutler, Debbie (Dempsey) Jones, Randy Givens, Tanya (Tangco) Givens, Caroline Laborde & her mother Dell, and Ibrahim Parvanta. The CNN Scorpion story was also shown on CNN's Mornings with Paula Zahn a few days later.   Scorpions Dig For Clams in Seattle Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2004 8:33 pm Lee Anne (Bennett) Martinez (1965-69, 75) submitted these 2 photos she took when Danny & Gina Hilario (1960-69) and Dave & Leta Sperry (Class of '72) stopped by to visit. Lee Anne writes: "Standing with Danny is our youngest son, Gabriel. This was taken on Nov. 30 ... the water is Case Inlet, which is part of our backyard! Danny takes time off from construction work to dig clams to a waiting Dave and Leta Sperry as well as Gina, his bride! Mel, my husband and Gabriel watch his form! Come on up for a clam fest! Blessings - Lee Anne" Thanks Lee Anne!   Afghanistan: The Mirage of Peace Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2004 9:48 am Afghanistan: The Mirage of Peace by Chris Johnson and Jolyon Leslie Homira G. Nassery (photo from 2002 San Antonio Scorpion Stampede) brings our attention to this new book about Afghanistan. She wrote: "This is very exciting. I know Jolyon personally, have a great deal of respect for his work, and consider him to be an Afghan, period." Homira is a Scorpion who currently lives in Kabul, Afghanistan serving as an Advisor to Senior Women in Management - UNDP. Thanks Homira!   Danny & Gina Hilario Visit Washington State Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2004 9:48 am Danny & Gina Hilario (1960-69) recently visited Olympia, Washington to spend Thanksgiving with Dave & Leta Sperry (both Class of '72). While at the Sperrys in Olympia, they met Tim Kelly (1971-72) and his family (including mother, Barbara Kelly). The Hilarios also went to Belfair, Washington to visit Lee Anne (Bennett) Martinez (1965-69, taught 1975) and her family. View Danny's photos from their trip. Thanks Danny!   December 2004 Issue of Lemar-Aftaab Published Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2004 9:17 pm The December 2004 issue of Lemar-Aftaab (an Afghan magazine) has been published. In this issue, Spozhmai Zaryab presents part one of her short story "The Black Cloak"; Zohra Saed offers a poem; and Massoud Hossaini shares his photographic work "Children" and provides the cover. The publisher of Lemar-Aftaab is Farhad Azad (photo is from a Dinner at the Helmand in San Francisco with Scorpions and Afghan friends from the American Society of Afghan Professionals (ASAP) and Society of Afghan Professionals (SAP) on January 31, 2003). Farhad is a friend and colleague. Farhad is actively involved in promoting the work of Afghan artists, writers and musicians, including Memories of Kabul featuring Larry Porter and Tameem which a few Scorpions attended. It was a magical evening of Afghan music.   Listen to the Joint Venture III (1974 Prom) Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2004 10:36 pm If you attended the 1974 Prom, here's a special treat for you: a sneak preview of recordings of the Joint Venture III performance from the 1974 Prom. The Joint Venture III were Mike Flanagan, Dave Fliehr, Randy Givens, Mike Hilario, and Dante Tangco. Here was the Introduction (352 KB MP3) to their performance and their cover of Chicago's Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? (2.59 MB MP3) Lots more to come! Thanks to Dave Fliehr for sending this and more. And thanks to Tom Goddard for the MP3 encodings!   The Rest of the Dave Sperry Collection Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2004 2:43 pm Here's the rest of Dave Sperry's photo collection: Page 21 - Afghan scenes Page 22 - Afghan scenes Page 23 - Afghan scenes Page 24 - Afghan scenes Page 25 - Afghan scenes Thanks to Dave for sharing his collection of photos with us.   1974 AISK Prom: Joint Venture III Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2004 7:43 pm Here's the rest of the Joint Venture III performance from the 1974 AISK Prom - a total of 17 song covers! The Joint Venture III were Mike Flanagan '74, Dave Fliehr '74, Randy Givens '74, Mike Hilario '74, and Dante Tangco '73. If you know the titles of the 4th, 16th and 17th songs, please email the title(s) to geronimo@sonic.net. Although the songs sound familiar, neither Danny nor I could come up with the titles. Thanks to Tom Goddard '74 for encoding the recordings to MP3 and to Dave Fliehr for the original reel to reel recordings and submitting them.   Introducing The Alexander & Fliehr Collection Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:01 pm One evening last week, I noticed a big package when I arrived home. I kiddingly asked my wife whether my present had arrived. She replied that the package was actually for me and looked at me accusingly wondering aloud what I had bought myself this time. I wasn't expecting anything in the mail so I quickly checked who it was from: David Fliehr! Dave had sent me his collection of Afghan slides along with Harry & Molly Alexander's slides to share with all of us! The package was a present for all of us. I've already shared the initial installment of the Joint Venture III recordings included in the package. Here's the initial installment of The Alexander & Fliehr Collection of Afghan photos. We will be opening this present for some time to come. Thanks Dave, Harry and Molly!   Merry Christmas from aisk.org Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2004 12:30 am Merry Christmas ... from aisk.org The Christmas card shown on the right is a photo taken by Van Auburn (1962-66) on his Return to Kabul in August 2003. The photo shows the mountain side in beautiful Bamiyan Valley where the the colossal Buddhas were carved into. Van wrote at the time he shared this photo with us: "In a fit of iconoclastic fury, the Taliban destroyed the colossal Buddhas of Bamiyan. Yet the valley's incomparable beauty remains. Its long and colorful history cannot be destroyed, nor can its aura of grandeur and mystery."   2004: The Year in Review Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2004 10:02 pm Despite taking almost 3 months off this year without updating our Web site, there were a lot of changes to aisk.org in 2004. First, there were a lot of additions to our library: The Dr. William F. Podlich Collection of Afghan photos from the 1960's was expanded thanks to the Podlich family and Clayton Esterson. Clayton and the Podlich family also shared their copy of a Concise English-Afghan Dari Dictionary with us. The Christine (Plumb) Gordon Collection of Afghan photos from the 1970's thanks to Christine and the Plumb family. Christine also provided her copy of the movie Kandahar for a review. The Allison (Hicks) Delventhal Collection of Afghan photos from the 1970's thanks to Allison and the Hicks family. Allison also shared her Afghan Postcards, Afghan Currency and Staff House Chits, The Oracle (AISK student paper), AISK Kazoo (another student paper) and The Kabul American (a weekly publication of the US Embassy for the American community in Afghanistan). Van Auburn & Chris "Tex" Brown's Return to Kabul was updated with Van's second return trip to Afghanistan. The Shelton "Sandy" Mackey Collection of Afghan photos from the 1980's thanks to Sandy. Scorpion in Iraq (photos of Camp Victory & Camp Echo) thanks to Chris "Tex" Brown. The Dave Sperry Collection of Afghan photos from the 1970's thanks to Dave. The Howard & Viola Meadows Collection of Afghan photos from 1968-1974 thanks to Mary (Meadows) Pyburn and the Meadows family. The Alexander & Fliehr Collection of Afghan photos from the 1970's thanks to Dave Fliehr, Harry and Molly Alexander. Dave also shared his recordings of Joint Venture III from the 1974 AISK Prom. There were no reunions this year but Scorpions still found a reason to get together: Superbowl Party at Dave & Leta Sperry's home in Santa Rosa, California. A Valentine's Day Reunion in Scottsdale, Arizona. A Visit with Dr. Paquita Reyes in San Francisco, California. A Going Away Party for Dave & Leta Sperry at Danny & Gina Hilario's home in Rohnert Park, California. A Pot-Luck Party at Jim Springer & Dawn Erickson's home in Oakland, California. Danny & Gina Hilario Visit Washington (state). Thanks also to the following individuals for their submissions: Paul Hartsig, Basima (Abdalla) Anani, Marnie (Hartung) Gustavson, Tom Goddard, Dawn Erickson, Peter R. King, Kenneth Lanza, Richard "Jake" Jacobson, Greg Carper, Timothy McTaggart, Tod Sloan, Randy Givens, Susie (Messall) Kessler, Lee Anne (Bennett) Martinez, Homira G. Nassery, Danny & Gina Hilario, Dave Fliehr, Harry and Molly Alexander, and Maggi (Bennett) Stoner.   Happy New Year! Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 3:05 pm Happy New Year! We start 2005 in a new and renovated home. Yes, aisk.org has moved completely to our own server located in my home. When you access any part of aisk.org, you are virtually coming into my home. Welcome! The renovation of our Web site has also been completed although you will continue to see a few tweaks here and there. I've also graduated from using Notepad to Wordpad in maintaining our site (that's a Geek joke). This coming year we will be celebrating two notable anniversaries: The 40th Anniversary of AISK (see the About page for more information about the history of the American International School of Kabul) The 10th Anniversary of aisk.org (later in October 2005) The purpose of aisk.org remains the same: aisk.org is the home of the AISK Scorpions, teachers, administrators, "Old Hands," our families and our friends on the Internet. All are welcome to our home! It's our home where we come to search for old friends and classmates, to meet and reminisce, to discuss and argue about current events, and to share our memorabilia of AISK, Kabul and Afghanistan. The photo on the left (submitted by Chris "Tex" Brown) exemplifies the common bond which unites us all: our love for Afghanistan and its people. The caption for the photo which Chris wrote in the Forum is "a shot of me outside the Mustafa Hotel with a few local boys hawking papers and maps and whatnot..." Thanks Chris! There is a wealth of AISK and Afghanistan-related photos and other memorabilia in the Library of our Web site. All are welcome to explore aisk.org and its many treasures.   Back to top