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 Sun Mar 21, 2010 6:28 pm Gas Guzzler Veterans’ Day Tribute Sat Mar 20, 2010 4:27 pm Jo Reprobate Bar and Grille Sat Mar 20, 2010 10:56 am dsperry PRATTLE IN SEATTLE - Q & A Fri Mar 19, 2010 8:05 pm dsperry Another NGO, and someone we kn... 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 2210 #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

March 2005 Archive Index: American International School/American Embassy School (Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:23 pm) Photos of Vasila (Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:47 pm) Vasila's Heart (Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:07 am) Preliminary Analysis of aisk.org Statistics (Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:46 pm) Stacie Teele's Film "Back to Afghanistan" (Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:11 pm) Buzkashi Game Design Competition (Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 11:25 am) Local Mom Leads Charge to Build Afghan School (Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 9:05 pm) 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Update (Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 10:46 pm) Preview of The Eschbach Collection (Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:46 pm) Kabul Photos & Stories from Chris 'Tex' Brown (Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:13 pm) The Lost Buddhas of Bamiyan (Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:28 pm) Schools and Futures (Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:01 am) The Eschbach Collection: Afghan Photos from the 1970's (Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:50 pm) 1978 Ariana Afghan Airlines Calendar (Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:30 pm) Interest in the Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Heating Up! (Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:41 pm) New: Index to the Archive of Latest Updates (Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:49 am) 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Update (Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 10:31 am) 1972-74 Photos: Helmand Valley, Kajakai Dam and more... (Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:20 pm) May 7, 1974: Sad Memories of a Terrible Accident (Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:34 pm) Danny & Gina Hilario Meet with Basima (Abdalla) Anani (Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:31 pm) A Couple of Scorpions Striking a Pose in the Ajar Valley (Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:19 pm) A Story About the Recent Afghan Elections and the Ballot (Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:54 pm) Afghan Recipes (Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 10:03 pm) ... April 2005 American International School/American Embassy School Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:23 pm Suzanne Bakey Fricke (AIS New Delhi Class of '72) wrote: "I love your Web site! I'm an AIS New Delhi alumnae and am working on our alumni site. Would it be okay if we put a link to your site on our site? You are of course welcome to link to ours: American Embassy School (Formerly the American International School), New Delhi, India." "Found your site this afternoon when I was looking for other overseas alumni sites. Was excited to find that AIS Kabul had a site....my father was assigned to the embassy in Kabul in 1967, but was then reassigned to Delhi. When I looked at your site, I kept thinking ' could have gone there and those 'kids' could have been my friends and the Kabul story, my story!" "Well, it's a small world. I imagine some of your alumni went to AIS Delhi and some of ours may have gone to your school. I think listing the links for different overseas schools in our Asian neighborhood is a great idea.....no telling how this may help other former alumni or friends of alumni." Welcome to our site, Suzanne! I've added a link to your Alumni site in our Related Links page.   Photos of Vasila Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 9:47 pm Here are photos of Vasila from Stacie Teele: Stacie's short film of Vasila will be shown on ABC Nightline on Wednesday, March 2 at 11:30PM EST (Check your local TV listings if you are in a different time zone). Vasila needs a heart operation and Stacie is spearheading an effort to raise funds to save Vasila's life. Please inform your family and friends about Vasila's plight and the broadcast of Stacie's short film about her.   Vasila's Heart Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 2:07 am Stacie Teele's film titled "Back to Afghanistan" was shown nationally on ABC Nightline just a little over an hour ago. It was a captivating film about Vasila, a beautiful Afghan girl in need of a heart surgery which her poor family cannot afford. If you would like to donate towards this cause, please visit: Teachers without Borders, or Project Kids Worldwide You can also post your comments and feedback about the film in the Forum.   Preliminary Analysis of aisk.org Statistics Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005 8:46 pm This preliminary analysis is based on the aisk.org statistics collected for the last 7 days of February 2005. It is indeed a World Wide Web. Although the majority of our visitors are from the United States, we had visitors from almost every corner of the world. During this brief period, we had an average of 158 visits per day with an average of 11.78 pages viewed per visit. Almost all of these visits (92.2%) started from a browser "bookmark" - e.g., "Favorites" link. 6.2% of these visits came through Google with a search for "aisk" - no surprise there. Most of these visits started with the home page. The Forum was the most active section of our site, and this is also where most visits ended. The majority of our users (87%) are Windows PC users (mostly XP) and the browser of choice is Microsoft Internet Explorer (86.6%) - mostly Version 6.0. It's interesting to note that these statistics are not significantly different from the statistics collected from January - July 2002 period as reported in the September 2002 Issue of this site's "What's New" section. I'll conduct the next analysis of our Web site statistics at the end of this month after we have collected a full month's worth of data.   Stacie Teele's Film "Back to Afghanistan" Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:11 pm In case you missed watching Stacie Teele's film "Back to Afghanistan" which was broadcasted nationally on ABC Nightline recently, here are some animated clips. The film is "a realistic view of Afghanistan and also one of hope." Vasila Hossaini Vasila's father: "I like everything about my children." Vasila's father: "I am a refugee, and this house is not mine." Vasila: "When I bring water, it hurts my arms." Vasila on the subject of land mines: "It makes this sound like 'duff.'" Vasila: "Who's anklet is that?" Vasila's father: "Vasila has a bad heart." Dr. Vishant Tivari, Indira Ghandi Institute of Child health Polyclinic Dr. Vishant Tivari: "Prognosis is congenital heart disease called 'patent ductus anteriosus' - PDA." Dr. Vishant Tivari: "The problem is these surgical procedures are not available in Afghanistan." Dr. Vishant Tivari: "The prognosis is not very good... five to ten years." Vasila: "It makes me sad." Mobile Mini Circus for Children performance: "Come, Vasila, come!" Vasila: "When I sing on stage, I feel... I feel happy." Credits: David Mason (founder of Mobile Mini Circus for Children), Berit Muhlhausen (MMCC), Ted Koppel (ABC News Nightline) Assembling these animated clips gave me an even greater appreciation of this film by Stacie Teele, an AISK Scorpion! Check out the previous coverages of this film and Vasila here to see how you can help.   Buzkashi Game Design Competition Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2005 11:25 am The Maverick's Buzkashi Game Design Competition Web site has been added to our Related Links page. This competition runs from February 27, 2005 to September 1, 2005. This site has links to the rules for the competition itself, as well as to other information about the game of Buzkashi. This information includes a movie (The Horsemen) which includes a Buzkashi game, some of the most beautiful Buzkashi photographs I've seen to date, personal accounts of watching the game, video of the game, and more! I highly recommend that you visit and explore the many links on Maverick's site for a nice "walkabout" on the 'Net. I found this site when I recently reviewed a report of the aisk.org Statistics. The report showed that Maverick's site linked to the Buzkashi Contest page on our site which includes a program for a 1971 Buzkashi Contest held "on the occasion of the 57th birthday anniversary of His Majesty the King" of Afghanistan (Thanks to Harry Alexander for sharing this program with the rest of us).   Local Mom Leads Charge to Build Afghan School Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 9:05 pm "Local mom leads charge to build Afghan School" was the title of an article which appeared in "The Community Leader" published in Falmouth, ME on February 3, 2005. The "local mom" is our own Anne Michalec Payson and the article is about her effort to raise funds to build a Girls School in Qurabagh, Afghanistan. Anne wrote: "Here is the article about the Qurabagh Girls School Project I am raising money for through my local Rotary Club and Advocates for Afghanistan. I'd really like for Scorpions to know about it. We have $21,000 raised and need $59,000 more. The school will serve 250 girls in 15 villages near Qurabagh. Right now they only have a tent. I will provide updates on the AFA Website." Click on the thumbnail to read the beginning of the article and here's the rest of the article. Thanks Anne.   2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Update Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 10:46 pm The date for the 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion is set: October 21-23, 2005, and the location is Washington, D.C., our nation's capital. The Reunion headquarters will be the Doubletree Hotel located in Crystal City, Virginia. Ralph Lay has agreed to serve as the treasurer for this reunion as he did for the last reunion. He will be responsible for receiving, paying and accounting for all reunion fees and expenses. Molly Alexander will be the reunion souvenir designer. Reunion souvenirs will include T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats. Coco Ashton and Geof Uyehara are the Scorpion/Old Hand coordinators. Yours truly has been requested to serve as the reunion publicist. The Reunion Committee still needs volunteers to help at the front desk and to check people in during the event. Please email AISKREUNION@hotmail.com if you would like to volunteer. This means that we will have 2 back-to-back reunions this year. The second Gathering/reunion the following weekend will be in Nashville. Anyone want to caravan with me from Washington, D.C. to Nashville and make it a week-long party?   Preview of The Eschbach Collection Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 9:46 pm The photo on the right is a preview of The Eschbach Collection of Afghan photos from the early 1970's. This collection consists of 18 black & white photos and 32 color photos (for a total of 50 photos). The complete set will be published here this coming weekend. Here's what was written in the back of this photo: "a fighting dog - they fight dogs here like cock fights. The dogs resemble St. Bernards and can cost up to $600. The people bet on the fights." Thanks to Edward & Barbara Eschbach for sharing their Afghan photos with the rest of us. And thanks to Danny Hilario for arranging the loan of these photos.   Kabul Photos & Stories from Chris 'Tex' Brown Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2005 11:13 pm These are the latest photos and related stories from Chris 'Tex' Brown when he and Van returned to Kabul in 2003. "Guy in shirt smiling saved my butt after I became dizzy in Kabul's infamous covered bazaar. I had looked for some skoal (naswaar) after buying some "hing" and got a small packet of Indian skoal. I put a pinch between my cheek and gum and promptly got dizzy. I spit it out and washed my mouth out to no avail. I had to sit down and began sweating. I wandered down the grain aisles till I sat in this shop keepers stoop. He listened to my pitiful story and promptly ordered green tea and lots of sugar. I drank a pot and over an hours time I felt like I could stand and walk out weakly. While there a group of hazra men gathered and one of them asked the shop keeper what to do with me. The shop keeper announced to this man that I was his guest and then turned to me and told me this fellow sitting next to me was Al Quida." "The other pic is a fun-loving young man from Peshawar that Van and I usurped from his room....twice. He was Seik I believe and cried each time we moved him out of each room (they were remodeling the quarters) to finally another guest house altogether." Thanks Chris!   The Lost Buddhas of Bamiyan Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:28 pm Thanks to Rick Burgess for sharing the following with us: "The March 2005 issue of Harper's Magazine has a long feature article about the Buddhas of Bamiyan: "The Lost Buddhas of Bamiyan" by Matthew Power. An excellent read." There are recent photos of Bamiyan published here: Documentary Trip to Afghanistan, The Chris 'Tex' Brown Collection, and Return to Kabul. We also have 60's and 70's photos of Bamiyan and its famous Buddhas here: The Alexander & Fliehr Collection, The Marwil Gillette Collection, The Dr. William F. Podlich Collection, and The Dave Sperry Collection.   Schools and Futures Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 10:01 am A link to the Schools and Futures has been added to the Related Links page. The logo for Schools and Futures states: "We are building schools for Afghan children, so they can build futures for themselves." "Our group is currently composed of more than two hundred students in a dozen schools in Western New York. Our focus is to provide educational opportunity for the women and children of Afghanistan with an emphasis on gender equity. We have been very successful in addressing our goal and have completed five projects in Afghanistan including two school construction projects. We have two additional school construction projects in the planning stage and we are eager to share our methods with other concerned schools and community groups to help win the hearts and minds of the wonderful and long suffering people of this ancient land." Visit their Web site which includes more information about the organization and also photos of Afghanistan.   The Eschbach Collection: Afghan Photos from the 1970's Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 1:50 pm Here's The Eschbach Collection of Afghan photos from the early 1970's as promised: Page 1 - Afghan scenes (black & white photos) Page 2 - Afghan scenes (black & white and color photos) Page 3 - Afghan scenes (color photos) Page 4 - Afghan scenes (color photos) Page 5 - Afghan scenes (color photos) Thanks to Edward and Barbara Eschbach for sharing their beautiful Afghan photos with us. And thanks to Danny Hilario for arranging the loan of these photos.   1978 Ariana Afghan Airlines Calendar Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:30 pm Thanks to Don Woodward (1974-1978) for sharing his copy of the 1978 Ariana Afghan Airlines calendar with all of us. Don wrote: "I took some pictures of a calendar I have hanging on the wall of my office. It's the 1978 Ariana Afghan Airlines calendar. My mom worked at the time for PanAm which shared an office in the InterCon hotel in Kabul with Ariana. I've retained the calendar all this time..." You can also visit Don's Web site: www.woodward.org. Thanks Don! We also have the following Ariana Afghan Airlines calendars puiblished here thanks to Mary (Meadows) Pyburn: 1972 Ariana Afghan Airlines calendar 1973 Ariana Afghan Airlines calendar   Interest in the Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Heating Up! Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 9:41 pm Interest in the Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion to be held on October 21-23, 2005 in Washington, D.C. is starting to heat up! Here are some of the Scorpions and Old Hands who have expressed interest in attending the reunion: Ambassador and Mrs. Lewis, Ambassador and Penny Laingen, Victor Skiles, Connie Duncan, Coco Ashton, Ralph Lay, Ibrahim Parvanta, Bruce Flatin, Ken and Melody Glave, Jim Springer, Molly Alexander, David Bilyeu, Akbar Piloti, Dave Chan, Eric Claussen, Mary Meadows Pyburn, Jody Nankivell Herriot, Doriana Gould, Mr and Mrs Uyehara, Geof Uyehara, Suraya Sadeed, Mark Ward, Gerry Geronimo, Judy and Stanley Hallet, Kirk and Ellen Brandt (2 adults three kids), Janet Hawley, Art and Virginia Reich, Rich Owens, and many with their significant others. Let's all get our classmates, parents, teachers, and other Kabulites to start thinking about attending the reunion!   New: Index to the Archive of Latest Updates Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 11:49 am An Index to the Archive of Latest Updates in chronological order has been added to our site. This feature will be helpful to both new and infrequent visitors to our site in catching up with the updates here. The Home page (this page) always displays the 10 most recent "Latest Updates" to the aisk.org site in reverse chronological order, i.e., the most recent update first. The "Latest Updates" older than the 10 most recent are accessible by using the navigational links displayed at the bottom of the Home page: Clicking on the word "Archive" will take you to the Index to the Archive of Latest Updates in chronological order. Clicking on a specific page number or "Next" will take you to the selected archive page in reverse chronological order. Coming up next: Photos of the Khyber Pass, Jalalabad, Helmand Valley and Kajakai Dam from The Alexander and Fliehr Collection   2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Update Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 10:31 am For the latest update on the 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion, Geof Uyehara wrote: "Some Scorpions were able to get together recently here in D.C.. David Fitzhugh flew in from Arizona on business and called to say hello. Anna Maripuu, David and I regrouped at the Afghan Grill (formerly the Khyber Resturant) in downtown D.C.. We had good food and talked about old times. Saturday the 19th was good too. I was able to clear up some details at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City. Anna Maripuu and I checked out the Ball Room and some other great overlook places in the Hotel. I have attached some photos. I received an email from Elaine Duncan saying that she is interested in meeting and greeting at the next D.C. Reunion. Please put David Fitzhugh and Elaine down with the rest of the group in the interested category." View from the hotel: Photo #1, Photo #2, Photo #3, Photo #4 & Photo #5 Hotel Ballroom: Photo #1 & Photo #2 Thanks Geof!   1972-74 Photos: Helmand Valley, Kajakai Dam and more... Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 8:20 pm It was difficult to select a single photo from the latest batch of photos from The Alexander & Fliehr Collection to feature with this announcement since there are so many beautiful ones. The one I selected is one of the many photos of the Kajakai Dam. Here are the latest additions to this collection: Khyber Pass, Jalalabad & Kuchis Kuchis, Helmand Valley & Kajakai Dam Helmand Valley Helmand Valley & Kajakai Dam Thanks to Dave Fliehr, Harry & Molly Alexander for these photos.   May 7, 1974: Sad Memories of a Terrible Accident Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2005 12:34 pm These sad memories of a tragic event which took place in Kabul, Afghanistan on the evening of May 7, 1974 were originally intended to be published here last year on its 30th anniversary. This publication was postponed because the effects of that event were still strongly felt by the individuals directly involved in that terrible accident. These sad memories are being shared now to help with the healing process. On the evening of May 7, 1974, Molly Alexander, Laura Fliehr, Glen Helseth, Allison Hicks and Paola Onori were returning home from the last dress rehearsal of a play when they became involved in a car accident. Paola died and the other four AISK students were seriously injured and evacuated to a medical facility in Wiesbaden, Germany. The photo on the right is the medically equipped USAF C-141 which was used in the evacuation. Here are the rest of the memorabilia related to this sad event: In Memory of Paola Onori (June 2, 1959 - May 7, 1974) from the 1974 Scorpion (yearbook) Utterly Professional - an article from the Wiesbaden Post (July 19, 1974) written by Ambassador Theodore L. Eliot, Jr. Emergency Air Medical Evacuation - memo written by Dr. Frank Pettinga (May 8, 1974) Handwritten note from Mary Meadows to Laurie, Allison, Molly & Glen Handwritten note from Louise Letter to Allison from Pastor Clarence Hiebert (June 12, 1974) The Kabul American, Volume 12, No. 23 (June 4, 1974) Allison's note to me (Page 1 & Page 2) related to sharing these memories with us (January 7, 2004) Thanks to Allison for sharing these memories with us, painful as they are. Share your feelings and memories about this sad event in the Forum.   Danny & Gina Hilario Meet with Basima (Abdalla) Anani Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:31 pm Danny & Gina Hilario were recently in Southern California to visit family. They took the opportunity to get together and have dinner with Basima (Abdalla) Anani and her family at Basima's home. According to Danny & Gina, they got lost in their rented PT Cruiser and they were several hours late for dinner. These 2 photos are from Basima. That's Danny & Gina in the photo on the left. Basima joins Gina & Danny in the photo on the right. Danny also took photos which he promises to share with us in the near future. Thanks to Basima for these photos.   A Couple of Scorpions Striking a Pose in the Ajar Valley Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:19 pm I'm in the process of preparing to publish the next batch of photos from The Alexander & Fliehr Collection: The 1974 Senior Class Trip to the Ajar Valley. This is a preview and I could not resist selecting this photo to show you. The photo on the right is one of many photos from the next batch. It shows a couple of Scorpions striking a pose in the Ajar Valley. The Scorpion in the red shirt is carefully balancing himself on one foot like a graceful ballerina while the Scorpion in the background appears to be performing an Irish or Scottish dance. Does anyone recognize these graceful Scorpions?   A Story About the Recent Afghan Elections and the Ballot Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2005 9:54 pm Maggi (Bennett) Stoner wrote: "One of Steve's former students (currently stationed in Kabul) sent his alma mater a US Flag that flew over the US Embassy in Kabul on 9 October 2004, the day Hamid Karzai was (as stated in the documentation providing provenance for the Flag) 'elected as Afghanistan's first democratically elected leader in history.' Also included with the Flag and documentation was a Ballot from that election. The paper ballot with the slate of 18 is 6 ¼ inches wide and 21 ½ inches long. It has perforations at either end as if it had been printed in a long roll. The icons for party affiliations, I thought, were quite interesting . although I do not 'know' any of the candidates, the logotypes let me know the basic platform of the candidate - or at least I think I know what the platform is just by looking at them. The use of English along with the Farsi, I think, is a sign of the times - I can't read any of the Farsi but maybe one of our Forum readers will translate the words for us. And, I'm not certain, but I believe the boxes down the left-hand side of the ballot are for the voter to place their purple-inked finger print in rather than using a tick mark or an 'x' we might be accustomed to using to cast our vote in the days before our electronic voting machines were introduced. as usual, m." Thanks Maggi for sharing this with us!   Afghan Recipes Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2005 10:03 pm Peter King '77 wrote: "Thought maybe some of the old Afghan cronies might like some traditional Afghan recipes. I remember eating these dishes at different locales in Kabul." Qabeli Pilau (Yellow Rice with Carrot & Raisins) Afghan Chicken Afghan Chicken Kebobs Afghan Kofta (Meatballs) Afghan Kadu Bouranee (Sweet Pumpkin) Afghan Spice Rub Afghani Lamb with Spinach Aush (Noodles with pulses, meat & yoghurt) Pilau Nan-i-Afghani (Afghan Bread) Thanks Peter! More Afghan recipes are available here: Afghan Cookery.   Back to top