Paraphrasing the great Yogi Berra, that effusive articulator of the obvious, "If you missed it, you missed it". Your Alumni Association has latched onto a big winner for school and alums alike with the inception of the annual crab feed into its program.

        "We need to do something special on Lincoln's birthday, and we also need a fund-raiser that everybody likes and benefits from" said President Bill (Rocky) Mason S'44 at one of our Executive Board meetings last year. "Everybody likes crab feeds" offered Gary Bader F'58 member of the Board "I've had some experience with them and find there's always a good turnout". With Toni (Veille) Alstad F'58 and Gary as co-chairs, committees were formed. One thing led to another and voila! We found ourselves sitting in the cafeteria at Lincoln High School munching on an endless supply of Dungeness crab, pasta and salad, mmmmm-mmmm, if you missed it....

        Of course it wasn't exactly that simple, but in retrospect we forget the long hours of planning and worrying and telephoning and meetings and worrying and Emails and check lists and, did I mention worrying? None of this was visible to the guests that attended and picked up their name badges that took hours to make and their programs that took hours to make and print, but it all has to take place before a plan comes together, and we all know how we love to see that.

        This editor has a great new respect for the "behind-the-scenes" people That make an event happen. Which brings us to the teachers and student body of the millennium Abraham Lincoln High School. I'm sure that all of you that attended were greatly impressed with the stature and decorum with which the faculty and students presented themselves. Sacrificing a Saturday evening (the ultimate sacrifice for a teenager) to help make this event a success. Putting in the long tiring hours serving the crab and pasta and salad, always with a smile, tirelessly hurrying back and forth with requests, respectfully making this an event to remember, (not to mention the cleanup).

        The first positive impression was the ROTC students in their immaculate uniforms who guided the guests on the tour of the school. Then the faculty members in the classrooms who helped with the show-and-tell and answered questions. After that it was on to the newly decorated auditorium for the student entertainment. For this I could write a book but all you have to do is come to the Brotherhood/Sisterhood Assembly on Wednesday April 12, 2000 at 7:30 p.m. to see these talented kids for yourselves. Pssst - its free.

        Now it's crab time. Gad! Look at the piles of crab. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds of delicious Pacific Dungeness crab. This is what we came for and nobody was disappointed. We could have marched the Fifth Infantry through there and fed them and still had some left over. Well, it seemed like that anyway.

        We would be remiss if, at this time, we did not acknowledge the Donations made by the following: Scott Alstad for the pasta, cheese and sauce, Mark Johnson of Lunardi Grocery for the French bread and soft drinks, Gilbert Papazian S'47 for the salad, Safeway Stores Inc. for the ice cream, Shasta Co. for soft drinks, and the Tulley Coffee Company for their generous donation and support.

        So now, like graduation, it¹s just a memory. But it's a memory that is reminiscent of the 40's and 50's events where "Respect" was the word of the day. The students and faculty of Lincoln have earned the respect of everyone present at the Crab Feed and have shown us why Lincoln is now the "School of Choice" in San Francisco. Old time values, old time respect.

        Get your reservations in early for next year folks, this year was a sellout.