Martin (Marty) Machover:
CLASS OF 1965
Forest Hills High SchoolClass of 1965
Forest hills, NY
Spring Valley High SchoolClass of 2003
Spring valley, NY
CUNY Hunter CollegeClass of 1970
New york, NY
Stephen A. Halsey Junior High School 157Class of 1962
Rego park, NY
Horace Harding Public School 206Class of 1959
Rego park, NY
Martin (Marty)'s Story
*AFTER YOU READ THIS, FIND ME ON FACEBOOK. AS OF May 8, 2019, I HAVE ACTIVATED MY LONG-DORMANT ACCOUNT...ONCE MY CLASSMATES' REGISTRATION EXPIRES, I WON'T BE RENEWING. THIS WILL BE ON OCTOBER 12, 2019.
GUESS WHAT? IT'S JULY 18, 2020, AND I JUST REJOINED AND RENEWED FOR A THREE-MONTH GIG. I GUESS CURIOSITY WON OUT, BUT I STILL PREFER FACEBOOK. SO, IF YOU WANT TO COMMUNICATE GO THERE AND FIND ME. IF YOU SEND ME A MESSAGE OR FRIEND ME THERE, YOU WILL GET A PROMPT REPLY.
WELL, I WENT AND DID IT AGAIN. IT'S APRIL 1ST, 2022, AND FOOL THAT I AM, I REJOINED AND RENEWED FOR A FULL YEAR.. BUT STILL, IF YOU WANT TO CONTACT ME, PLEASE GO TO FACEBOOK. NEVERTHELESS, IF YOU CONTACT ME HERE, BE PATIENT, AND AFTER I SEE IT, I WILL REPLY..
OK, I DID IT YET AGAIN. IN JUNE OF 2023 SO MANY PEOPLE VISITED MY PROFILE, BUT UNLESS I AM AN ACTIVE MEMBER, I CAN'T SEE WHO THEY ARE. So, I RENEWED FOR A SHORT TIME AGAIN. TRUTH BE TOLD,, WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE VISITED ME ( ESPECIALLY FHHS PEOPLE) ARE NOT PEOPLE WHOM I REMEMBER'. BUT I STILL APPRECIATE THE GESTURE
FYI: OTHER THAN MY YEARLY METS LAMENTATION AT THE VERY END,I AM NOT MAKING ANY ADDITIONS OR MODIFICATIONS BELOW.. SO, AS I HAVE SAID BEFORE, DO THE MATH REGARDING DATES.
IF YOU ARE READING THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME, I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOY IT AND ARE INFORMED BY IT. IF YOU ARE SOMEONE WHO HAS READ IT IN THE PAST, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS ADDITIONS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. * THE MOST RECENT ONES WERE ADDED from 2013 to 2019. FOR ANYTHING BEYOND THAT, IF AGES OR DURATION YEARS ARE INVOLVED, PLEASE DO THE MATH.. LET ME ADD THAT ALTHOUGH I'VE TRIED TO KEEP THIS LOGICAL AND SENSIBLE, ITS DIARY-LIKE NATURE HAS CAUSED SOME INCONSISTENCIES AND REDUNDANCIES. ALONG WITH SOME CHRONOLOGICAL CONFUSION, IT WOULD REALLY BE TIME-CONSUMING TO REARRANGE IT ALL INTO A DISCERNIBLE ORDER. NEVERTHELESS, IT IS NEVER BORING, AND IT REALLY DOES COVER JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING TO DATE.
AS A FORMER ENGLISH TEACHER, I FEEL THE NEED TO TELL YOU THAT YOU MAY HAVE TO CHANGE THE TENSE OF SOME OF THE VERBS. OK, THAT'S ENOUGH OF A DISCLAIMER AND A WARNING.
OH, FOR THE RECORD, I REVIEWED THIS ON HALLOWEEN OF 2021. SINCE THERE HAVE BEEN NO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN MY LIFE, I AM LEAVING IT AS IS. BUT AS IS THE CASE WITH ALL THE REST OF YOU, I AM GETTING OLDER AS ARE MY LOVED ONES. SO, AGAIN, SIMPLY DO THE MATH.
THANKS
Life
After a fulfilling thirty-one-year career as a teacher of English, speech, and TV Production at Spring Valley HS in Spring Valley, NY, I retired in 2003 at the very young age of fifty-five, based upon a buyout. Since then, I bummed for two years. I enjoyed it for a year and a half and then got bored. I returned to work in September of 2006 as a mentor to student teachers through Fordham University and as an Adjunct Professor of Speech at Rockland Community College in Suffern, NY. I re-retired from RCC in the spring of 2012. I now live a life of leisure. Oh yes, there was the unfortunate adventure of trying to be a middle school teacher in NJ. The less said about that the better. I still live in Rockland County (New City). Admittedly, there is some allure to escaping the winter, but right now cruising the Caribbean during the winter and trips to various warm areas suffice. So, I am still living within three miles of Spring Valley High. School.
Believe it or not, my experiences all those many years ago at my alma mater, Forest Hills High School, have greatly influenced my career choices, and although I have not entered FHHS in almost fifty years, and hardly ever return to the old neighborhood, I still have a strong sense of loyalty for the school. My Play Pro experiences and my participation in Sing top the list. Speaking of Play Pro, I looked at its picture in the 1965 yearbook the other day and noticed that I am standing in the last row on the far left ( as you look at the picture) and that I am the tallest in the group. Considering that I never made it to six feet tall, that is pretty amazing. I guess it's no wonder actors of our time often wore lifts in their shoes.
Nonetheless, I guess I can summarize my FHHS experience in one sentence: During my FHHS years, I was so far out of the loop that I didn't even know that there was such a thing as a loop. Still, it is listed as my primary affiliation here on the Classmates site. If I could change it to SVHS, I would, but the site does not seem to allow that.
In case any of my former SVHS students are wondering, the "Then" picture is from my own high school days. As you can perhaps tell by looking at me, those were not easy years, but fortunately, sometimes the sands of time can be kind. But even I marvel at those geeky glasses. Interestingly, however, I think they are back in style. Go figure. My "NOW" PICTURE IS TRULY A NOW PICTURE. IT IS FROM JANUARY OF 2019. IT WAS TAKEN WHEN I WAS ON A R...Expand for more
IVERBOAT RIDE THROUGH THE "JUNGLES " OR ARGENTINA. LET'S JUST SAY THAT I'M 71 AND LOOK IT; WHATEVER THAT MEANS. Forgive, and please allow my conceit, but I think that I look pretty good for 71. I finally replaced a picture that I had from 2003.. Trust me, if I didn't think I looked good, you would not be looking at the (Red Shirt) picture. To paraphrase Shakespeare incorrectly: Vanity thy name is Marty. Bill's actual line from Hamlet was "Frailty, thy name is woman." Once an English teacher, always an English teacher.
Incidentally, I've been married for thirty-nine years (as of June 22, 2019), and have two grown children, a son, 38, and a daughter, 35. They are both successfully making their way in the world. My daughter became a bride during the summer of 2009. She and her husband have blessed us with two grandchildren. My son married a lovely young woman, who is from Sweden, in October 2010. Remember what I said above about "Doing the Math." Please do so where it is appropriate in this paragraph, but the ages have been updated by me today. I REALLY DO SOUND LIKE A TEACHER, DON'T I? If you are reading this in 2022., further updates are needed.
Of course, Hunter College trained me to enter my profession, but to be perfectly frank about it, taking a subway to college every day does not really create strong ties to my dear old alma mater. Nonetheless, my memories of 68th and Park are good ones. I also have fond memories of my time as a Sammy - Beta Kappa Chapter
The academic picture is completed with two advanced degrees from NYU and Iona respectively as well as a bunch of related credits, leaving me quite educated. Full disclosure: The credits beyond the second Master's' Degree were motivated mostly by salary increments.
There's a lot more to say, but this is enough (and maybe even too much) for now.
Workplace
Regarding my years at Spring Valley HS, I find it ironic that I started there as the school's youngest male teacher and retired from there as one of the older teachers of either gender in the building. Or to put it another way, when I started at SVHS, I was more than a decade younger than my grown kids are now and younger than many of my student's siblings. It was a great ride. I even earned some national honors in the mid and late 90s.
Believe it or not, I was considered by some to be the cool, young teacher. My later (RCC) college-aged and adult students got a good laugh out of that. Furthermore, when I left SVHS, I was teaching the children of the people that I had once taught. Now, that is what I call a career.
*PLEASE REFER BACK TO MY FACEBOOK REFERENCE IN THE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH.
If you are a former colleague or a former student, please identify yourself as such. I would be happy to share memories through FACEBOOK. INTERESTING NOTE: ALTHOUGH OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE GOTTEN MANY COMMUNICATIONS FROM FORMER SV STUDENTS, I DO NOT RECALL EVER HEARING FROM AN FHHS PERSON. REMEMBER WHAT I SAID ABOUT BEING OUT OF THE LOOP.. LOL. HOWEVER, PERHAPS IT WILL BE DIFFERENT ON FACEBOOK.
Another biggie is what I refer to as my second retirement. As noted above, my thirty-one-year career at Spring Valley High School ended in 2003. (By the way, IT IS sad how the East Ramapo District has been corrupted and has essentially fallen into disarray. I'm referring to the district's leaders, not its students or teachers. ) After a brief first retirement, I returned to work in 05, and finally landed at Rockland Community College as an Adjunct Professor of Speech / Communication in 06 and stayed there until May of 2012. So, when this FHHS grad, class of 65, reached the age of 65 in 2012, I retired again. This time it's been for good.
Finally, the kids are well and both marriages are strong. My daughter gave birth to her first child (our first grandchild) in March. of 2013. Her name is Taylor Olivia Murphy Taylor was followed by her baby brother, Blake Andrew in June of 2017.
My son and daughter-in-law relocated to Colorado in October of 2014. and then to Vegas in 2021. Both moves were work-related.. Now, I am completely up to date. This is kind of redundant, isn't it?
For now, I'll sign off by wishing all of my former colleagues and friends, and students from SVHS well, along with any of my former friends and classmates from FHHS, Hunter, or Hunter's long-defunct Beta Kappa chapter of Sammy or even Halsey JHS & PS 206 who happen to read this.
LIFE HAS BEEN GOOD. I HOPE THAT EVERYONE WHO READS THIS CAN SAY THE SAME.
Best Wishes,
MJM
PS. If you are reading this during the baseball season, "Let's Go Mets!" They are another passion of mine. Unfortunately, that is often a painful passion, As of April 1, 2022, until September 2022, the pain subsided for a while. In July 2023.: the pain is back and almost as severe as ever. SO, IT'S J-E-T-S, JETS JETS JETS! a little early this year.
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