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 1968 Scorpion: Back to top Latest Topics Updated Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:17 pm AHD comedy Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:57 pm AHD Jihad & Crusade Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:50 pm dsperry PRATTLE IN SEATTLE - PAID REGI... Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:25 pm rzeller Tell the Truth Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:58 am zaware follow your leaders. Back to top Top Ten Posters #1 as usual, m. 3137 #2 szeller 2387 #3 maryp 2372 #4 basima 2329 #5 AHD 2309 #6 Jo 2210 #7 mstar 1927 #8 Danny Hilario 1726 #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

May 2005 Archive Index: Remembering Paola Onori and Kay Mansury (Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 9:15 am) Registrations for 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Now Open (Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 6:44 pm) Can anyone name all these young Scorpions? (Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 7:37 pm) Vasila Update #1 from Stacie Teele (Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 8:47 pm) Vasila Update #2 from Stacie Teele (Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 8:57 pm) Vasila Update #3 from Stacie Teele (Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 9:02 pm) Vasila Update #4 from Stacie Teele (Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 9:43 pm) Vasila Update #5 from Anne (Michalec) Payson (Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 11:04 pm) More Photos of Bamian from Chris 'Tex' Brown (Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 7:24 am) Cigarette Case and Ashtray from Afghanistan (Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 11:34 am) Introducing the International School of Kabul (Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 7:36 pm) Vasila Update #6 from Stacie Teele (Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 8:44 pm) Calligraphy from Afghanistan (Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 2:38 pm) Welcome to Katherine Kleeb-Cummins & Glen Huff (Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 10:15 pm) ... June 2005 Remembering Paola Onori and Kay Mansury Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 9:15 am Doriana (Bertoni) Gould wrote: "As we enter May, I would like to share a few pictures I have of both Paola Onori and Kay Mansury. They were both in my wedding in Kabul. Sweet Paola was my guest book attendant and I thought of her as my littlest sister. Kay was one of my bridesmaids. She and I had way too much fun together and we connected mostly because of our wicked sense of humor. Paola and Kay are here with us today and will always." Thanks Doriana for sharing these photos and memories with us!   Registrations for 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion Now Open Posted: Sun May 01, 2005 6:44 pm Registrations for the 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion events scheduled for Friday, October 21, 2005 to Saturday, October 22, 2005 in Washington, D.C. are now being accepted. The reunion events are: Lunch from Noon to 3PM on Friday at the Afghan Restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia ($35/person) Potomac Mixer Cruise (Beer & Wine) from 7PM to 10PM on Friday ($50/person) Gala Dinner Dance from 6PM to Midnight at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, Virginia ($75/adult and $60/child 12 years or under) Click on the thumbnail of the Registration Form on the right to view the Registration Form. Print, complete, attach check or money order (payable to the "AISK Reunion Committee") and mail the completed Registration Form to our Reunion Treasurer, Ralph Lay. Ralph's mailing address is in the Registration Form. Please submit your registration by Labor Day, September 5, 2005. There will be an additional late registration fee of $50 each for the Saturday Gala Dinner Dance on all registrations postmarked after Labor Day. Reunion Headquarters is the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, Virginia. More information about hotel registrations including our group code will be forthcoming. Post your questions about the 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion in the Forum.   Can anyone name all these young Scorpions? Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 7:37 pm Doriana (Bertoni) Gould has submitted 2 more photos to share with us. Doriana wrote: "Mr. Lehman gave me these two pictures at the end of the '70-71 school year. Can anyone name all these young Scorpions?" Thanks Doriana and I hope to see you again at the 2005 Scorpion/Old Hands Reunion along with the rest of our classmates from the Class of '71. I predict our great class will have the largest number of attendees at this reunion!   Vasila Update #1 from Stacie Teele Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 8:47 pm On Friday, May 13, Stacie Teele wrote: "For those of you who don't know...from your GENEROUS support and other friends and family and the viewers of Nightline we raised enough money to bring Vasila to NY to have her heart surgery at NYU hospital with Dr. Colvin. He is one of the top pediatric cardiac surgeons in the world and has created an organization called Project Kids that brings children from all over the world with heart problems to NYU. He does the surgery for free but there are still about 30 thousand dollars in expenses. The doctors at NYU need to assess Vasila, but they are predicting she will need open heart surgery rather than the fairly simple procedure mentioned in the Nightline piece by the Indian doctor. We actually raised more than we need for Vasila so we created the Vasila's Heart fund at Project Kids. This money will go for purchasing diagnostic heart equipment for the clinics in Kabul as well as sending doctors over for training Afghan doctors and if we continue to raise more money - bringing more children for here for surgery." "Vasila arrived yesterday safe and full of wide eyed stories of her trip from Afghanistan. Her plane arrived on time but they were detained by immigration for five hours - having an Afghan passport apparently buys you 2 to 24 extra hours of scrutiny." "She was amazed by the airport in Dubai which is like a very white and gold Las Vegas. We had reserved a hotel room for them in the airport, but she stayed up all night going up and down the 'moving stairs.'" "She felt very welcomed by her Afghan American host family. It was very touching to see Razia, the 18 year old daughter, teaching Vasila how to use the toilet and turn on the faucets to wash her hands. Since she has no running water or electricity - everything is new to her. Today she is going to take her first shower ever." "Although she was probably fascinated and a bit overwhelmed by it all, Vasila got right down to business with me in the car. She asked me right away when she was going to go to the doctor and have her heart fixed. Later she was asked if she was scared she said no because her friend told her they would give her medicine to put her to sleep and she wouldn't feel anything." "Vasila loves to draw so Ed and I gave her a big pad, markers and colored pencils so she could keep and art journal of her experiences. This morning she already drew a picture of the airplane." "Suzanna asked her class to make welcome cards for Vasila which they each did on the computer! They were very sweet. I gave them to her last night and she loved them! Victoria wrote that she hoped Vasila would come and visit their class and when I read it to her (and it was translated) she very quickly said, "Yes! I want to go!" She was very interested and excited to do so." "We will show her New York and then take her to the hospital on Monday to get started fixing her heart!" "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"   Vasila Update #2 from Stacie Teele Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 8:57 pm Yesterday, Stacie Teele wrote: "Hi - Tomorrow is the big day for Vasila to meet the doctors." "Yesterday she saw a body of water for the first time when we took her on the Staten Island Ferry. She loved it! When she talked about the Statue of Liberty she said 'the lady holding the fork above her head that holds all of New York in it.'" "She did love her shower -'it felt like rain on my face.' And today she told me about how she was told by the doctor in Afghanistan that she shouldn't walk to the well everyday to get the bucket of water because it would damage her heart, but she had to do it because it was needed by the family. And she exclaimed, 'Here you can have all the water you want in your house all day long by just turning the faucet!'" "Vasila met my kids yesterday in the park and chased around with them like they were long lost best friends. She and her father stayed at our house last night and even without a translator they had a great time playing chutes and ladders and Hi Ho Cherrio. They have the Kid's Universal Language of Play." "Arman, Vasila's father, told me today that his wife was very confident before he left that Vasila would be well taken care of because America is a democracy and men and women are treated as equals - so she knew her daughter would be treated well. He told me Vasila was amazed that women drove cars here and that she told him she wanted to drive a car when she grew up. Arman said he was going to work hard to make enough money to buy her a car someday. I'd say coming from a family where his wife wears a burka, change is on the horizon." "Vasila says she is so happy to have her heart operation so she can live. She says she knows the doctors in America are the best...but finally admitted that when she goes to sleep at night she worries that when they operate on her she might not ever wake up." "I was with her host family in Queens tonight when they said a special Islamic prayer for her visit to the doctor and her surgery. I ask that we all keep her in our thoughts in the next few days."   Vasila Update #3 from Stacie Teele Posted: Mon May 16, 2005 9:02 pm Today, Stacie Teele wrote: "I just returned from the hospital where I tucked Vasila in bed after a long day with doctors and tests. The good news today is that they feel they will be able to fix her heart, the upsetting news is that her condition was much worse than they hoped and she has to have open heart surgery. It turns out she has two problems with her heart and they did confirm that if she doesn't have this surgery she would not live." "I will be back there at 6:30 in the morning to go with her to the operation. I was planning to be in the operating room for the film but today Vasila finally had a breakdown from fear and I was happy to be able to promise her I would stay with her the whole time." "She is so smart and strong. She is a ray of sunshine that I know is going to do great things with her life." "Please send your thoughts and prayers."   Vasila Update #4 from Stacie Teele Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 9:43 pm Stacie Teele wrote: "Vasila is fixed! She was in the operating room for about seven hours today and Dr Colvin repaired two major and separate problems with her heart. Both were life threatening. He did an amazing job. I was steady as a rock in the operating room during the surgery, surprised that I didn't faint - but couldn't stop crying this evening seeing her in the intensive care unit with her big scar and in pain. But I also know those were also tears of relief and joy and such a strong mixture of emotions that were too big to hold in any more. Her father Arman and I held hands for a long time sharing these same strong feelings. I truly felt we were exactly the same no matter what country we were from - just two people who cared for a little girl lying in the ICU." "More to tell but I'm exhausted. I started to fall asleep on the couch right when I got home but I knew you were out there caring about Vasila and wanting to know how she was. This morning before her operation I told her about emailing you all and about how I'm been getting emails from all over the country from people that were thinking of her and praying for her. It made her VERY happy. And she said 'Thank you!'"   Vasila Update #5 from Anne (Michalec) Payson Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 11:04 pm Anne (Michalec) Payson wrote: "Everybody is so happy that Vasila had a successful heart operation. Stacie has discovered that Vasila loves getting cards, and we want to extend an invitation to Scorpions to send a get-well cards to her while she recuperates with her host Afghan-American family in Queens during the next four weeks or so. She will be staying with Stacie periodically, too. Get-well cards can be sent to: Vasila c/o Stacie Teele 80 W. 82nd Street New York, NY 10024 We hope everybody is enjoying this good news."   More Photos of Bamian from Chris 'Tex' Brown Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 7:24 am Chris 'Tex' Brown submitted more photos of Bamian and wrote: "Still getting through with teaching school and more time for pics. Old man and kid rummaged through this tank left on the roadway right near the fishing bridge and picnic spot that Van and I became accustomed to. The giant hill at the bottom of the newly graveled road is really Jaludin's buttress and fortification remnants from 1200 and razed by Ghenghis. The hay was being cut outside the Bamian lodge where we comfortably resided and this fine fellow made a good subject. Never pass up a gady horse...guess that is a disguise the asp is wearing. The Bamian Valley is still such a beautiful rustic paradise with its alfalfa and hay fields and endless farm animals calling to one another across the valley meditated upon by the endless niches and caves of Bhudda the Compassionate One." Thanks Chris!   Cigarette Case and Ashtray from Afghanistan Posted: Sun May 22, 2005 11:34 am Here are photos of a cigarette case and a matching ashtray both made of marble with inlaid lapiz lazuli from Afghanistan. These were presented to my Dad, Mamerto F. Geronimo from Sultan M. Ghazi, President of the Afghan Air Authority and Chairman of Ariana Afghan Airlines, in appreciation of my Dad's contributions to Afghanistan's Civil Aviation program from 1959 to 1968 while stationed in Kandahar and Kabul with the USAID Civil Aviation Assistance Group. Both objects show the signs of wear and tear from being transported all over the world. Corners are chipped and cigarette rests are now missing from the ashtray.   Introducing the International School of Kabul Posted: Mon May 23, 2005 7:36 pm Joe Hale wrote: "My name is Joe Hale, and I serve as the president of Oasis International Schools, which has re-opened the American school in Kabul, under the name International School of Kabul. I would like to request your suggestions as to any benefit you think there might be (such as keeping track of alumni, etc.) by having the new school take on the "traditions" of the old AISK--same mascot, etc. We have just been awarded a grant from USAID of $3.5 for the school, but the needs are great. We opened in 2003-04 with 8 students and finished the year with 23. We opened the 04-05 school year with 60 students and end this year with 75. We already have over 100 students enrolled for 05-06. These are exciting times for the rebuilding of Afghanistan and of the school. Do you think alumni of AISK would have any interest in this new school, and if so, what? We are very excited to work with the AISK alumni if this is something they desire. What do you think?" Please post your comments, reactions, feedback and suggestions for Joe in the Forum. Thanks to Joe for sharing this exciting news with us!   Vasila Update #6 from Stacie Teele Posted: Wed May 25, 2005 8:44 pm Stacie Teele wrote: "Vasila has had an amazing recovery! Last Thursday, only three days after her seven hour open heart surgery, the doctors said she was ready to leave the hospital. The Afghan family she is staying with in Queens was not going to be home so I took her home to our apartment. It was so exciting to see her walk out of the hospital by herself. She was wearing her maroon and gold velvet traditional Afghan dress – the long red scar on her chest peeking out of the top. After having been in the surgery and seen all that her tiny body went through I couldn’t stop grinning and saying, “look at you walking!” It was nothing short of a miracle!" "My kids have been so worried about Vasila ever since I returned from Afghanistan and told them about her. For months they have been focused on getting Vasila the operation she needed to save her life. When they came home from school to find her at our house they were very relieved to see her doing so well after the surgery. My five year old son, Bennet, ran into the arms of Arman and Arman hugged him and kissed his head over and over again. Arman says Bennet looks like his son in Afghanistan and I think they’ve forged a special bond." "I arranged for Vasila and her Dad to stay with an Afghan family so they could feel comfortable with the language and customs. I think it has been wonderful for them and us to have them stay here as well. Arman and my kids are teaching each other English and Dari. In the evening my kids stopped playing three times to be quiet for Arman as he rolled out his small carpet and said his prayers in the corner of our living room. They are very interested to know what it all means and notice the ways we are different and the ways we are the same." "Suzanna started teaching Vasila to play the piano and Vasila tried to show Suzanna how to play the tablas by drumming on the top of the piano. Devon and Vasila played fooz-ball. Yes, this is the child that just had open heart surgery. The doctors said she could do whatever she felt up to doing, except heavy lifting. Arman and I both drew the line when she and Devon started to play basketball." "I was so touched when I came into the living room after cooking in the kitchen and found Arman and Bennet crouched on the floor making an art project from wooden popcicle sticks. How Bennet communicated with Arman to get him off the couch and building a house with him I’ll never know. But there they were, Bennet applying the glue drops and Arman placing the sticks. I’m sure in Afghanistan Arman’s life never allowed him the luxury of sitting on the ground making an art project with his kids. He loved it!" "Vasila is now in Queens being invited to all the neighbors houses for dinner each night. Everyone falls in love with her!" "I had one very important conversation with Arman the day of Vasila’s surgery. That day when he was waiting for her surgery to be over he almost passed out several times and was crying on and off for hours. He was so worried about her. When we went into the intensive care unit and saw her lying there with her big scar, tubes, and oxygen mask he almost fainted again. I also finally lost it and started crying for a long time. He and I held hands in silence and then started talking. He told me that seeing me cry for Vasila he knew how much I loved her and that I was like her mother and he would give her to me if I wanted. I know he was saying that he would trust me with her life - and that was the most extreme compliment he could give me. My partner Ed told Arman that when people watched the film they were all so impressed with how much he loved his children. I told Arman that everyone is impressed that he said he wants Vasila to have an education and that she should be what she wants in life – a singer or a doctor." "Arman then told me that in Afghanistan the girls have to stop going to school at 13 and cover their faces with the Burka then as well. He said he called a big family meeting and they discussed and decided that Vasila would not have to do this. They decided that she could continue her education and not ever have to cover her face. She could be “free.” He said that she was very smart and special. I told him how thrilled I was to hear him say all of this! Then he said, “Vasila is special, she is the only one.” I said, “What about your other daughters? What about Nazira??? (Vasila’s younger sister and constant side-kick) Arman looked shy and embarrassed and I knew the plan was not to have them be free as well. I told him I felt all of his daughters should be treated equally and it would be wonderful if they could all have an education and not cover their faces. I told him this could be his gift to me. With a big smile he said okay, it is done – it is a promise." "This makes me very happy!"   Calligraphy from Afghanistan Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 2:38 pm Peg Podlich scanned and submitted this example of calligraphy from Afghanistan that her Dad (Dr. William F. Podlich) "brought back and displayed for years in his home office." Dr. Podlich is an avid photographer and a subset of his collection of Afghan photos are published here and in Clayton Esterson's Photo Galleries. Clayton is Peg's husband and he has meticulously scanned and restored Dr. Podlich's photos. Clayton is an accomplished photograher himself. Peg also wrote: "Happy Memorial Day! Are you planning an Indianapolis 500 Watching Party? A few weeks ago we had family members over for the Kentucky Derby and drank Mint Juleps using a recipe that I got from Dee Blair (aka Spybaby) on one of the forums. That was fun! Summertime heat may bring me more hours to work on my Afghan projects - let's hope so!" Thanks Peg and keep those Afghan memorabilia coming! By the way, can anyone translate the calligraphy shown above?   Welcome to Katherine Kleeb-Cummins & Glen Huff Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 10:15 pm Welcome to Katherine Kleeb-Cummins who is the latest Scorpion addition to our Directory. Katherine was in the Sixth Grade in 1975-76. Her photo on the right is from page 27 of the 1976 Scorpion Yearbook. Today, Katherine lives in Ontario, Canada where she is a Creative Director of Jigsaw Advertising & Marketing, Katherine and her husband's company. Glen Huff has been registered in the Directory for some time now. He was a teacher at AISK from 1963-66. His photo on the left is from page 114 from the 1966 Scorpion Yearbook. Glen recently wrote: "Thanks for the information. I got the dates of the AISK reunion in DC and hope I can come. What is the one the next week in Nashville? If I cant go to one, maybe I can go to the other. I was a teacher at AISK 1963-66 and would hope if I do get to come that there will be some students from my era." "Do you remember an Afghan girl who went her senior year to AISK in 65-66? Her name is Malo Zulfacar and she is now a teacher at Cal Poly. She and her daughter who just finished at Smith are going to Kabul this summer. Her son is a lawyer in Boston." Welcome to Katherine and Glen, and thanks for the updates!   Back to top