A Br. BRUCE BENNER MEMORY

Bruce Benner (click on image to enlarge) Archives of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley 2009

Br. Bruce Benner pledged the Phi Delta Psi at Beta Chapter in the Spring of 1960. This a memory of Bruce from Big Al Conahan.

I owe this memory to Brother Bruce Benner. He would recite this Bawdy Diddy in the late evenings at the "Rudnick House" It came to mind the other day and thanks to the enormous store house of knowledge available to us from the world wide web, I found the lyrics by Flanders and Swann. Hope you all enjoy this syllepsis bit of prose as much as we all did when we were too young to truly appreciate it.
HAVE SOME MADEIRA, M'DEAR

Flanders and Swann
She was young, she was pure, she was new, she was nice,
She was fair, she was sweet seventeen.
He was old, he was vile, and no stranger to vice,
He was base, he was bad, he was mean.
He had slyly inveigled her up to his flat
To view his collection of stamps
And he said as he hastened to put out the cat,
the wine, his cigar and the lamps:
'Have some madeira, M'dear
You really have nothing to fear
I'm not trying to tempt you, that wouldn't be right
You shouldn't drink spirits at this time of night
Have some madeira, M'dear
It's very much nicer than beer
I don't care for sherry, one cannot drink stout
and port is a wine I can well do without
It's simply a case of Chacun ð son gout
Have some madeira, M'dear!'
Unaware of the wiles of the snake in the grass
The fate of the maiden who topes
She lowered her standards by raising her glass
Her courage, her eyes and his hopes
She sipped it, she drank it, she drained it, she did
He quietly refilled it again
And he said, as he secretly carved one more notch
on the butt of his gold-handled cane;
'Have some Madeira, M'dear
I've got a small cask of it here.
And once it's been opened, you know it won't keep
Do finish it off, it'll help you to sleep
Have some Madeira, M'dear
It's really an excellent year
Now if it were Gin you'd be wrong to say yes
The evil gin does would be hard to assess
Besides, it's inclined to affect me prowess
Have some Madeira, M'dear!'
Then it flashed through her mind what her mother has said
with her ante penultimate breath;
'Oh, My child, is you look on the wine that is red
then prepare for a fate worse than death!'
She let go the glass with a shrill little cry
Crash! Tinkle! It fell to the floor
When he asked 'What in heaven?' she made no reply,
Up her mind, and a dash for the door.
'Have some Madeira, M'dear'
Rang out down the hall, loud and clear
A tremulous cry that was filled with despair
As she paused to take breath in the cool midnight air,
'Have some Madeira, M'dear!'
The words seemed to ring in her ear,
Until the next morning, she woke up in bed
With a smile on her lips and an ache in her head
And a beard in her ear hole that tickled and said
'Have some Madeira, M'dear!'

Br. JERRY FECHT

Jerry Fecht 2009 (click on image to enlarge)
I have been getting beaten up for not having my picture among those I took at Barone's and Sol y Luna this last week. The reason is simple, I was the one taking the pictures. So, here I am yesterday at San Elijo Lagoon near Cardiff / San Diego. The Lagoon is a nature preserve that Janne and I contribute to.
I was a member of our Fraternity's second pledge class, in the Fall of 1957. Today, I am working to bring about a significant Museum of history and culture for the San Fernando Valley. The fun part about the project is that I get to see Gary Fredburg and Grady Talbot a lot, so much so that I forget that we are all getting older.
Dave Stole once said to me that "people have to work on friendships." and I really believe this. By working on the Phi Delta Psi archives for the Museum, I am in regular communication with LeRoy Hunt. By working on this blog, I hear regularly from John Bogdanoff and Al Conahan.
Life is good. Jerry

DALE ALEXANDER ARRIVES FOR APRIL LUNCH

Dale Alexander - Spring 2009 (click on image to enlarge)
He's supposedly retired, unless working as an actor, making art and frames, and building cigar box musical instruments aren't counted. Dale Alexander, who pledged the Mother Chapter of Phi Delta Psi in the Fall of 1957, continues to make life one adventure after another. Here he joins Brs. Rod Davis and Jerry Fecht for lunch in Tarzana at the Sol y Luna Restaurant.

ROD DAVIS AT SOL Y LUNA 2009

Rodney Davis - 2009 (click on image to enlarge)
Br. Rod Davis joined Brs. Dale Alexander and Jerry Fecht for lunch at Sol y Luna in Woodland Hills on April 24th.
Rod still maintains an intense interest in painting and the promotion of the arts. He was initiated into the Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Psi in the Spring of 1961.

SURPRISE! IT'S Br. HANK GARFIELD

We had just about finished our Phi Delt 13th Hour lunch at Barone's Pizza Restaurant, when Tom Montelone leaned around a wooden pillar and announced, "I've got a Phi Delt surprise for you guys!" Then appeared Br. Hank Garfiled, whom most of us hadn't seen in years and years. I didn't recognize him until he spoke. His voice hasn't changed an iota.
Br. Garfield was initiated into our Fraternity in the Fall of 1959. He was among the first initiates in the Oxnard House.
Hank spends his retirement years inventing things useful to the film and television industry. He was one of the four Brothers who formed the Phi Delt Barber Shop Quartet (Craig Pinkard, Mike Padden and Jerry Cipperly).

Hank Garfield at Barone's April 23, 2009 (click on image to enlarge)


Tommy Monteleone is the proprietor of Barone's Italian Restaurant, where we will be having our last Thursday of the month lunches. He was a Sig Delt at Valley College, and graduated from Notre Dame High School, I believe in Al Aquino's class.

Br. GARY FREDBURG ORGANIZES 23th HOUR LUNCHES

Gary Fredburg at April 23, 2009 Phi Delt lunch at Barone's. (click on image to enlarge)
When asked at what time we should have our monthly Phi Delta Psi lunches, Br. Gary Fredburg looked amazed. "At the 13th hour, of course", he stated!
Brother Fredburg was initiated in the Alpha Chapter of Phi Delta Psi at Valley College in the Spring of 1962. He has been the Vice President of The Museum of the San Fernando Valley since its reorganization in 2005. Gary organized the historic postcard collection of The Museum.

LARRY PITSCH VISITS FROM THAILAND

Larry Pitsch 2009 - Barone's lunch

Joining his Phi Delta Psi Brothers for lunch was onetime Alpha Chapter president Larry Pitsch. Larry was initiated into our Fraternity in the Spring of 1962 and became President of the Valley College chapter the following year.
When we decided on a regular monthly lunch at Barroni's, the idea was that our old gang would always know where and when they have a chance to see each other.
Larry Pitsch, who lives in Thailand, was in Los Angeles on business.


The last Thursday of the month at 1 pm is Phi Delt lunch day. Come join us!