Is Shorthand A Dying Art??

I decided to write about shorthand since most of us had taken shorthand in high school.  I am sure many of you will relate to this and recognize the script or may even be able to read it.

I was first introduced to shorthand in my junior year when I and a group of other girls entered into the Pre-Tech program which required us to take business courses and office skills.  The Pre-Tech program consisted of a 2 year study of shorthand, typing, and academic studies needed to complete in order to fulfill my grading requirements and continue to the next level of my studies. With the completion of the 2 year program we would be able to attend a 2 year community college. We were the first group to enter into this program. You might say that we were the ones that were the test group being the deciding factor whether this program was going to continue depending on the success of the program.

I can recall how exciting it was to learn shorthand.  I also knew that once I understood it that other people would not be able to read it.  Everyday we learned a new

consonant

vowel

punctuations. 

It was a fun class and I learned alot.  Here is a video of the introduction of Gregg Shorthand Dictation.  You will have to mute the music on the right side Ipod in order to hear the video.  As the man is talking, he or she is writing it all down in shorthand. 



Here is an article about a woman who translates shorthand from documents and it is titled Miss Stevens, can you take a letter? Shorthand skills dying out   Her name is Letha Sanders and she is a shorthand translator and she has turned it into a business.  Here is her website Shorthand Translation Services.


How many still use shorthand at your job or in writing your journal?  Has court stenography replaced shorthand? Would high schools bring this art back into their curriculum? For anyone who has been through this program and remembers shorthand, let us know what you think about this.  Are you or have you used shorthand at your present or previous jobs?  You can leave a comment on after this article.

References:
Gregg Shorthand - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_shorthand
Gregg Shorthand on Facebook "like" page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gregg-shorthand/106179482745866
Gregg Shorthand Dictionary - http://books.google.com/books/about/Gregg_shorthand_dictionary.html?id=J5kLAAAACAAJ

Class of 1968 43rd Reunion 2011

June 25, 1968 was the day of our graduation and June 25, 2011 was our 43rd High School Reunion.  What a wonderful day to celebrate that day. We had a smaller group this year and it was just as fantastic as it was the year before.  Our celebration started at Tosca Cafe which is located in Bronx, NY and ended at Sonia Peralta-Munoz house for a gathering. It was a wonderful reunion and we all enjoyed seeing each other again.

Now that I am back from my fantastic vacation from New York City, I was a bit saddened that I was not able to spend more time with friends and more time in the city.  Our reunion turned out FANTASTIC!!..I as well as classmates who were able to attend this years reunion had a time of our lives.  A big surprise was in store for us all which Sonia Peralta-Munoz planned out but did not tell anyone except we were going to have a surprise coming.  I wondered why Sonia put her bag on the chair next to her and said leave this chair empty.  Could it be Eric Estrada?????...or (Henry Estrada) as we knew him.  He is our famous actor of our time..OURS because he belongs to LDBrandeis HS Class of 1968. How can anyone forget CHIPS!!.  It was a much BETTER surprise (we love you Eric!!), it was someone we have not forgotten.

Sonia had left the room and missed what was about to happen, and  here we are all talking with each other and catching up on what has been going on in our lives when a surprise caught my eyes and I turned to my left as our beloved teacher Miss Libby Bleaman walked in.

Miss Libby Bleaman

We were totally surprised, so surprised that I have proof on pictures how we all were shocked to see her. As one of our classmates wife said "She came right out of a Vogue magazine", I do agree!!  Miss Bleaman looked fantastic.She was as surprised to see us as we were.  There was plenty to talk about and catch up on all these years.

From left, Nylsa Carrasquillo, Miss Libby Bleaman, Maureen Johns-Davilla, Kenneth Lattimore (sitting),
Sharon McIntyre-Marks, Lurlene Lowe (back) Millie Diaz, Alma Medina Fielder, Senaf Dillon-Pickhardt,
Sonia Peralta-Munoz, Jean Moriwaki (sitting)

.  

As last year, I will be posting videos of pictures that I am working on and videos which were taken by Angel Munoz who is working diligently on them will be posted here.  In the meantime, please leave a comment on how you enjoyed the reunion this year and what you might want to see happen next year.  I welcome each and everyone to leave a comment.  Look for the videos very soon!!

JUNE 25, 1968 - JUNE 25, 2011 (Same day as our graduation)

The Apollo Theater

How We Remember

We all know that the Apollo Theater is still there around 125th Street,. but it brought some memories back for me.  Jean Moriwaki and I had tickets to go see Cousin Brucie at the Apollo..WOW!!..yes WOW!!. First of all I never attended a concert or seen Cousin Brucie other than hearing him on my transister radio that I would carry with me.  This was a highlight of our high school years. Jean and I both bought dresses that were just alike..meaning only the style not the pattern. The dress was called a tent dress and it was the in style in 1967.I bet most of you do remember this dress. I remember it was around Easter..either before or after. It was a beautiful spring day but a bit windy because the dress would blow up from the wind and I remember having to hold the front of my dress down as we walked. When we arrived at the Apollo there were many people waiting to get in. We received free tickets. I don't remember how or why but we both had tickets to see the show. My parents would never let me go to any concert let alone by tickets. There was no money for that kind of luxury. But, nevertheless, we both had tickets in our hands and we were on line to go in. The seats were on the lower level and we both had good seats. It was not close enough for me. I wanted to be in the front row.  

I remember Jefferson Airplanes  (once called Jefferson Starships) were there, James Brown and Aretha Franklin making up the motown group including The Supremes and Marvin Gaye.  There were others, but it has been so long that these are the ones who stand out in my mind.  The concert was not that long because when the concert was over it was still light outside.

Did anyone attend a concert at the Apollo?  Were you at the concert at the same time?  Write down in a comment and share it with us.