Cryonics Facility in New York City Area

It's amazing to me that support is apparently so weak in New York City. I'll look into starting a meetup.

It wasn't always that way. The article below is from the November, 1991, issue of Cryonics magazine. Consider it a case study of how to build a local group. Unfortunately most, but not all, of the people in this article have since moved out of NYC. Two were lost in 9-11.

Call or email Alcor and ask for a contact person for the current New York group. I'm sure there are some people still up there.

The Big Apple Bites Back
Or, "Brenda's New York Diary"

by Brenda Peters

ACHIEVEMENTS OF ALCOR NEW YORK MEMBERS

2 members with State EMT Certification
2 members Alcor Transport Technician Certified
1 member with Advanced EMT training
1 member taking EMT Certification Course
Own library of EMT video training tapes
Buying own Stabilization Transport Kit
Largest turnout of an Alcor Membership Meeting in history
Fastest growing area of the U.S. in terms of Alcor membership
Established Bank Account
Established Membership Dues
Initiated Local Fund Raising Efforts
Most successful recruitment drive in Alcor history
Purchased Alcor Slideshow/Lecture
Produced new version of Slideshow/Lecture
Established rapport with 2 local morticians
Pursuing a dialogue with Chief Medical Examiner of New York
Established secure location for equipment and training sessions
Sponsored Local Training Session 1989
Established rapport with other remote Alcor groups
Holding monthly meetings
Sending out monthly meeting minutes
Sending out monthly meeting announcements
Established electronic cryonics mailing list "Cryonet"
Advisory Book for Local Members in production
Responsible for Dr. Gregory Fahy's talk at American Aging Association
Exhibit at I-Con 1991 Conference, S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook
Presentation of slideshow/lecture at I-Con
Initiated Charter Agreement for remote Alcor Transport
and Stabilization Groups
Purchased Pizer Tank
Instrumental in Dr. Gregory Fahy's article appearing
in Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(17)

". . . what if you are involved in an accident, or some other emergency
situation?. . . (and) Alcor is 3000 miles away. Alcor technicians giving
instructions over the phone is not my idea of an optimum rescue situation
and I'm sure it's not yours either. It is for that very reason that we
must not rest. . . until we know that if we become victims of an emergency
situation, we have highly skilled Alcor technicians who are local to our
area, who are on call at all times, and who have the finest equipment
possible in order to help us."

The above quote is from a fund-raising letter I sent out recently.
After 15 years of Los Angeles living and 8 years of being Alcor active, I
moved, with some apprehension, to New York City in June 1990. Since I was
relocating anyway, my hope was that the presence of a Board member in New
York would prove to be useful for growth and activity.

The subsequent events are something I never could have predicted. As I
sit down and put fingertip to keyboard, I reflect upon my 15 months here in
the wilds of New York.

Let's Get Physical

The New York Discussion Group provided information dissemination and a
forum for discussion. Kevin Brown had even established the successful
electronic cryonics mailing list, referred to as "Cryonet." Attendance had
been steady at the Manhattan meetings for over a year and the group had
flown Mike Darwin out to conduct a training session. But I found the
meetings, like the group's title (The New York Cryonics Discussion Group of
Alcor Life Extension Foundation) to be lengthy and disappointingly
unproductive. I could see that there was dedication, all the best
intentions, and some genuine enthusiasm. Unfortunately, little of this had
translated into usable skills and tangible results. If I were in a fatal
accident, I wasn't sure I'd be taken care of in the manner I had come to
expect.

As far as I could see, there were no activities to attend or
participate in and no well focused goals. In reading their minutes of the
previous year I saw the phrase "we need to. . ." or "somebody needs to. .
." in virtually every paragraph. Unfortunately, we still needed to. . . .
just about everything. Only two people had put forth real effort to
respond should there be a local member who needed help. I feel these
efforts were extraordinary considering the malaise which had set in.

Those two people were Gerry Arthus, the New York Coordinator, who had
completed his State EMT Certification course when I arrived, and Curtis
Henderson, who completed his State Advanced EMT Certification course a few
months later.

I couldn't understand why so few people showed up at the meetings
here. There was a healthy mailing list which attested to the fact that at
some time or other at least 80 different people had made an appearance.
Where were they now? What I saw appeared to be cryonics burnout, and
understandably so. The people here who did attend meetings had been
struggling for too long without sufficient encouragement and support. They
had become disheartened and distracted. It reminded me of the French
Foreign Legion. I felt like I'd been sent by the Mother Country and found
myself entering the inner sanctum of the loyal inhabitants of some remote
outpost who were struggling valiantly to survive.

But we had a foundation upon which to build. Alcor Southern California
had supplied the essentials as far as equipment was concerned and we had
two members getting a good basic knowledge of emergency response
techniques. It was a start and it gave me no end of encouragement.
Everyone agreed we needed action. And I knew it would take a lot of action
before I would feel safe so far away from Alcor and home.

We agreed that saving our lives was our number one priority. That
became our "mission statement." As soon as we had a central mission, all
the priorities fell into place. We needed to accomplish several things:
have more people EMT- and Alcor-trained, get better equipment, conduct
ongoing training sessions, encourage more people to come to our meetings,
and motivate them to get involved.

To those ends we decided to try something special and sent out a
personal invitation to the New York mailing list for a barbecue to be held
on August 18, 1990 at the Long Island home of Gerry Arthus and his wife,
Huiying Wei. At this meeting we would examine and discuss the emergency
stabilization equipment which we currently had on hand and attempt to get
volunteers to attend training sessions and to be part of our emergency
response team.

Gerry provided maps, and I designed an invitation and sent them out to
our mystery mailing list. I also sat down and called all 80 of them. (I
called one of the people on the list and was told he was dead. I took him
off the list.) Huiying was providing the feast, and it was with great
expectations that Courtney Smith and I boarded the train to Long Island.
The same 9 people came to the barbecue that had been coming to meetings in
the Manhattan. There was a lot of food left over. We took pictures and
sent some to the Editor of Cryonics. I hoped that if one got in the
magazine, it might improve attendance at our meetings. Nothing appeared in
Cryonics magazine. I know it wasn't a very exciting event, but it was all
we had.

** PHOTO SPACE **
** CAPTION --

"Gerry Arthus, Curtis Henderson, and 'Miss Icecapades 1992.'"

**
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(18)

** PHOTO SPACE **
** CAPTION --

"Let me at 'em!"

**

The Lady Laments

We were at a disadvantage. We had no paid staff members, no great digs
for meetings, no events or social functions like Southern California, and
we were all so spread out. It's quite a hike for a lot of the people who
come to the meetings -- in some cases not such a great distance, but very
time consuming because of traffic bottlenecks, bridges, tunnels, trains,
subways, and never-ending road construction. In short, one needs to be
motivated to show up. And not the least of our problems is that it's
completely volunteer with little apparent payback, but somehow we had to
find ways to get more people involved. Our (and their) lives depended on
it.

Meetings were held on the third Saturday of the month. Who wants to
give up their Saturday night for a cryonics meeting?! Several of us began
lobbying for a Sunday afternoon meeting. (I was told others had tried and
failed.) The location of the monthly discussion meetings is a tall skinny
building full of dance studios. We sign in, then climb two, three,
sometimes four flights of stairs to get to the room they have assigned us.
We rent the room for 2 hours, setting up our own chairs and tables.
There's an exercise bar on one wall and a floor to ceiling mirror across
the opposite wall. It's just a room with little to recommend it, other
than the fact that it's clean.

Clean never impressed me before I came to New York. But then, large
rooms and parking spaces never impressed me before, either. So, we climb
up to this large clean room with no plants, no refreshments allowed, but
lots of light and a big clock to remind us that we should be careful not to
go over our allotted time since it's $12 per hour. We take up a collection
to cover the cost of the room at each meeting.

Having Alcor meetings at my house was one of my favorite things to do
back in Los Angeles. I provided food and drinks and meetings would often
last well into the PM. I really looked forward to their festive,
informative nature. I really regret that I don't have enough room to do
that here. Until we find members in the New York area who are willing to
host meetings like Los Angeles and northern California, I feel that we are
at a great disadvantage. Once we find more hospitable locations, I'm sure
attendance will improve. Maybe the "unknown 80" (now 79) would be
motivated to show up if they knew they'd have a comfortable location,
refreshments, and lots of interesting folks to chat with. At the moment we
have two members in Long Island who have offered to host meetings. But we
really can't switch until we have offers from people in Manhattan who are
also willing to host a meeting once every few months. We need a minimum of
three locations and preferably four or more.

From Donuts to Dollars

I was dismayed to discover that the New York group apparently owed
Alcor $1200 and no efforts had been put forth to honor the debt. The $1200
was for equipment and expenses related to a training session which we were
fortunate enough to have Mike Darwin conduct here in July of '89. I
noticed in the New York minutes of June '89 that Alcor NY was to pay for
his plane fare and would do so in August of '89. It seems that subsequent
to that, the New York group had been told to wait for an invoice from
Alcor, but no bill had been forthcoming, until October '90 for $1200!
There are still disagreements as to who owes how much, to whom, and for
what. I suspect lack of communication and misunderstandings were at work.
Be that as it may, members of the New York group have now put a
considerable dent in the $1200 (and are even paying interest on it -- an
administrative decision we found out about when we got a recent update on
the balance.)

I attended the 1990 European Cryonics Conference in October and,
shortly after my return, we had our November meeting. The $1200 was going
to be a challenge to our progress and it had been disheartening to discover
its existence, but since everyone else's morale was so high, I didn't
wallow in a mire for very long. Fifteen people came to that meeting (a 50%
improvement in attendance)! We decided to have more formal agendas at the
meetings, which would be more conducive to action. We also decided to
purchase Steve Bridge's wonderful Alcor/cryonics slideshow/lecture for
special events. People donated the $200 on the spot to purchase the
slideshow. It was a good indicator of renewed commitment.

We were planning for upcoming events, gathering ideas for advertising,
and getting information on a possible seminar at continuing education
schools. Alvin Steinberg, in an outreach effort to scientists regarding
cryonics and nanotechnology, was writing to his congressman, Dr. Linus
Pauling, and others. Alvin's efforts, including replies he received from
Dr. Pauling and the National Institute of Health resulted in Dr. Gregory
Fahy's article in the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine and Dr. Fahy's
presentation at the American Aging Association.

The New York Group had made some very good decisions regarding
officers. Janet Pinkney (a writer and researcher at heart) had been
appointed Secretary. Janet is relentless when it comes to getting the
data. She's not shy about asking for clarification and always has a tape
recorder
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(19)

going as a backup. Kevin Brown became Treasurer and does a stellar job,
another one for clarity, he's also frugal and diplomatic. We're very
fortunate to have them.

Alcor received a letter, as a result of Gerry Arthus' conversations
with one of the co-ordinators of the I-Con Science Fiction Conference which
would be held at Stony Brook University on Long Island in April, 1991.
David Pizer had directed the letter to me. I-Con wanted an Alcor booth.
In spite of my less than wonderful experiences at science fiction
conferences in the past, I was willing to give it a try. So the New York
group made plans to "work" the conference in April.

Courtney and I went to California in late December and spent time
discussing the situation in New York with Alcor staffers and other
members. As I'm sure most remote groups do, we lamented a slow rate of
progress and isolation syndrome but received encouragement and advice. We
also got Courtney signed up as Alcor's 200th member and his paperwork was
witnessed by Fred and Linda Chamberlain (Alcor's founders). We received
word that the December meeting had been well attended in our absence, (11
people, even without us and only a few days before xmas/winter solstice --
it was a very good sign), a new meeting time (Sundays at 2PM) had been
successfully voted in (even without our votes!), Membership dues were
established at the meeting, people had begun to generously contribute
toward the $1200 debt, the New York group was opening its own bank account,
people had already begun paying their yearly dues ($25), Kevin sent off
the first payments to Alcor for the $1200, he mailed a check to Steve
Bridge, and the slide show was on its way. So, we returned to New York
with renewed enthusiasm and determination.

The Curtain Rises or Curtains for Us?

I was elected to give the slide show. It arrived in time for the
January meeting, so I presented it just as Steve had sent it. One woman
walked out when I was about 3/4 of the way through. I don't attribute this
to the slides or the text, just to the fact that I was just reading it. I
asked for suggestions and got many. I went home and for the next six weeks
worked on a complete rewrite to more suit my own style and to highlight
recent developments in cryonics and nanotechnology. I also produced about
75 new slides. Ultimately, I redesigned it and personalized it so that I
was more comfortable presenting it. We had requested and received from
Alcor a list of necessary medical equipment to augment what we had. We had
increased the amount of yearly dues to $50 to better facilitate the
acquisition of equipment. We changed the name of the group to Alcor New
York to indicate our new commitment to more action, less talk. In general
the meetings were more interesting and more productive. We were walking to
nearby restaurants for dinner afterwards, now that our meetings had been
changed to Sunday afternoons, and this made it easier for people to get to
know one another and to talk shop. We had made some efforts to get on
local Cable TV, but with no luck yet. By now, Curtis, Gerry, and Janet had
been coming into the City to routinely meet with Courtney and I, between
regular meetings, to discuss strategies and improvements in everything from
meeting formats to equipment needs. There was productivity and spirits
were high.

We were going to have a Membership Drive meeting in March 1991. Saul
Kent, Ralph Whelan, JoAnn Martin, and Tanya Jones were to fly out to attend
the meeting. We were thrilled that we would have some support from our
friends in California. It was decided that I would present the
slideshow/lecture. Alcor New York would spring for an ad in the Village
Voice ($100) on two consecutive weeks prior to the Membership Meeting,
offering a free slideshow/lecture and refreshments. We looked for an
alternative meeting place. As it turned out, within our price range, none
were as good as what we had. So we reserved a larger room at the dance
studio, asked for and received special permission to serve refreshments,
and were ready for action.

One day early in February, we got a fax from Mike Darwin informing us
that he had made a decision to pull all the stabilization equipment from
New York. I couldn't believe it. Courtney and I were stunned. Gerry,
Kevin, and Janet were dismayed and deeply disappointed. We had been
reassured by Mike and other staffers, while in California only weeks
before, that Alcor supported the New York group and what we were trying to
do. It was clear that Mike was disappointed (we all were, especially the
people who had been pulling for years to make things happen here) in the
progress toward an emergency response capability in the northeast.
Progress is never fast enough for cryonicists, that's an integral part of
our nature.

Just as impatience is part of our nature, so is determination. We
weren't going to take this lying down. We couldn't. . . our lives might
depend upon it. We insisted upon a vote by the entire Board on this
issue. They were uninformed as to the situation and progress that was
taking place in New York. At a special Board meeting which I attended by
"conference call", once the facts were presented, it was decided that the
equipment would be left in New York.

** PHOTO SPACE **
** CAPTION --

"Is this a test?"

**
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(20)

** PHOTO SPACE **
** CAPTION --

"Left to right: Alvin Steinberg, Kevin Brown, Steven Berger, Stanley
Gerber."

**

In the past, New York members had suggested charters for remote
groups. So at that same meeting the Board agreed that charters would be
drafted in the next few weeks to outline guidelines and standards for
remote groups with equipment. This seemed to satisfy everyone.

The Membership Meeting was approaching. I was given a budget for
refreshments and Courtney and I bought the food the day before, carried it
home in two trips, then taxied it up to the dance studio next day. For
this meeting we were paying $26 an hour for their largest room. Our ad had
been appearing in the Village Voice. The Life Extension Foundation sent
out fliers with their monthly report to Life Extension members in the area,
and Janet made an announcement in her monthly invitation which goes to the
79 mysterious people who never show up. We were ready as far as food was
concerned, nervous as far as the slide show and lecture was concerned, and
excited at the prospect of getting some new members.

A business meeting was scheduled for 4PM and the "event" for 5PM on
March 17th. By 3:30 we had run out of chairs. There were over 60 people
trying to squeeze into the room. I was smiling all over. We dispensed
with the business meeting and proceeded with the "event." I believe we had
a bigger turnout than any cryonics membership meeting in the history of
cryonics, even bigger than some of the conferences.

After our stunningly successful membership meeting, I was handed a copy
of the new issue of Cryonics Magazine, in which it was announced that we
"represented a potential liability" and that "very, very few people from
(our) region were willing to get their hands dirty." The "N.Y. Transport
Capability Withdrawn" headline was a heartbreak to say the least. We all
felt. . . it's difficult to express what we felt. We will never know how
many people had read those words and decided that they made the right
decision when they did not attend our meetings and did not get involved.

I told myself that it must have gone to press before the special
February meeting of the Board. Even at that, it was in my opinion
presumptuous and premature. But I decided not to worry, because at the
very least, there would be a correction in the next issue of the magazine.
Wrong. A few days later I asked Mike Darwin if there was a retraction in
the April issue. I was told that there was not a retraction. Mike said
there had not been room because of more pressing news. I've examined the
next issue and I can only surmise that advising Alcor Members of the holdup
in the release of the movie Late For Dinner, or the large blank spaces on
pages 5, 11, 16, 23, and 24 were considered to be more pressing news.
Pulling the stabilization equipment was newsworthy but keeping east coast
members informed and the correction of a serious error was not? It was May
before one tiny paragraph appeared in Cryonics (which by the way would have
fit into any of the aforementioned blank spaces) stating that the New York
group would retain the "kit."

Two or three of us had communicated by phone and fax to Alcor the new
dates and times of our meetings voted on in December of 1990. It was March
and Cryonics was still printing incorrect information. It was not until
the April issue that the errors were corrected.

In future I will know (as I would advise everyone) that anything
regarding the content of Cryonics should go directly to Ralph Whelan, the
editor. This will save time and reduce errors. I know of at least one
woman who showed up for a nonexistent meeting because of the erroneous
information in the magazine. She even called Alcor and was given the
incorrect information over the phone.

To our delight Ralph Whelan suggested that since there were so many
sign-ups during the Membership Drive that perhaps we could be reimbursed
for our expenses for the meeting. A few weeks later we were indeed
reimbursed $350 and it was a refreshing vote of confidence to receive the
support from Alcor.

Roads are Made By Walking

I-Con was fast approaching and their staff was frantic. Gerry and I
arranged (after numerous calls from me and personal visits from him) to
have a manned (or womanned) booth for the two days of the conference. We
arranged to have a TV monitor and for me to do the slideshow/lecture in one
of their lecture halls. Bill Seidel and Ralph Whelan generously provided
us with materials to hand out and a tape for the TV monitor. I also made
up new versions of previous conference handouts. We got thirteen new names
for our mailing list, almost all solid scientific types.

Kevin Brown manned the booth while I presented the slideshow/lecture,
with Gerry officiating questions and answers. At least 35 people attended
my slideshow in its entirety, with others wandering in and out. Science
fiction author Larry Niven attended. He said that "of course a science
fiction writer has faced these questions before, if only in his own head.
My peers have been mining the implications of longevity/immortality for. .
. well, my lifetime anyway." Overall it was fruitful and well worth doing.

Courtney and I attended the Alcor Southern California meeting in early
May where Coordinator Kit Status was discussed again. Mike Darwin
announced that he was still looking for someone in New York who was
"reachable and accountable" to store the equipment. I thought we were,
even without a paid staff. I, on the other hand, was proud of our progress
and
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(21)

discussed it with numerous people on an individual basis.

It was also in May that we were told we could purchase the Pizer Tank
at near cost plus shipping, so New York sent a check to Alcor and received
the Pizer Tank shortly thereafter. Courtney and I transported one portion
of the Tank from California to New York with our luggage and Curtis and
Gerry picked it up on their next visit to Manhattan. We continue to make
payments against the balance.

In mid May I did a BBC interview for "Women's Hour" and played the tape
at the May Alcor New York meeting.

There was going to be an Alcor Transport training session in California
in June and Gerry and Curtis attended the class at their own expense. The
week long course was a huge success. Everyone was enthusiastic. Gerry and
Curtis returned to New York as Alcor Certified Trained Transport
Technicians. They expressed their delight at the thoroughness of the
course and at the impressive job Mike Darwin and Jerry Leaf and the
attending physician had done. New York is fortunate to have two EMT- and
Alcor-trained techs. Soon after that, Curtis donated a set of Video
Instructional Tapes for EMT which would help in our training sessions.

At the June meeting, we decided to initiate additional fund raising
efforts to upgrade the field equipment and purchase training apparatus to
train new people for peripheral tasks and to maintain current skills.
Three additional members have expressed a desire to be Alcor-trained and we
hope to sponsor a training trip to Southern California for these members in
the coming months. In the mean time, dues from the meetings and directed
donations were continuing to pay off the $1200 debt. Courtney suggested we
make meetings more interesting with talks by individual members on various
aspects of cryonics.

By the July meeting, Curtis had built a squid apparatus which we would
test to see if it may be, in fact, better than Alcor's current device for
recirculating fluids and speeding up cooling rate. Doug Lamm, one of our
local members, was compiling a handbook of local laws, medical regulations,
locations of ice, and anything that would be useful to local members during
a life-threatening situation. Doug plans to give a presentation at a
future meeting.

Also at the July meeting, Gerry, Janet, and Curtis reported on their
trip to Canada (Huiying went, too). They wanted to be supportive of the
efforts of another remote group trying to get their start. They also made
a stop in Boston to attend the MIT Nanotechnology Study Group and to
exchange ideas with our friends in the Boston Alcor Group.

I drafted a letter for people living in and around the Northern
Seaboard area to raise $7,500 for the necessary equipment. I ran the
letter by Alcor staffers in California and officers of the New York group.
I got the go-ahead and licked, folded, stuffed, stamped, and labeled them
for the "missing 79." Carlos Mondragon, President of Alcor, asked staffer
Joe Hovey to provide labels to an additional 120 names who were members and
associate members in the area. My letter went out to everyone on July
8th. We achieved 10% of our goal by the July meeting.

Near the end of July, having heard nothing further on the drafting of a
charter agreement for satellite groups, Gerry, Courtney, Curtis and I sent
suggestions for a list of coordinator responsibilities and guidelines to
Alcor. Subsequent to that, Kevin added his suggestions. We knew everyone
had been inordinately busy and we thought it might get the ball rolling.
It did apparently, and all the satellite groups are now reviewing a first
draft charter agreement.

At the August meeting we began to show cryonics videos as the last item
on the agenda. Curtis and Gerry bought a $42 inflatable woman, which they
donated for training sessions. I wish I had a video tape of them walking
into the porno shop and telling the owner they wanted the doll to use in an
experiment. In the ledger, Kevin calls it the "inflatable transport
training and experimentation module." Curtis and Gerry bought the doll,
but somehow I don't think the porno shop owner bought their story. "Zsa
Zsa" or "Miss IceCapades 1992," as Curtis calls her, will be filled with
water and used as a "patient" for "practice cooldown" training until we are
financially flush to purchase a Resusci-Anne.

One of our new members, Stanley Gerber, enrolled in the State EMT
Certification Course. We would soon have a new member on our Transport and
Stabilization Team! On September 3rd, I drafted and received approval for a
follow-up fund raising letter.

The Art of Freezing

Three of the people at the March Membership Meeting had been an artist,
his wife, and the curator of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, here in
New York. We were informed that the artist John LeKay was purchasing a
dewar from Alcor to display at the Museum exhibit The Interrupted Life, to
be held from mid-September until the end of the year. The curator
interviewed Saul Kent, JoAnn Martin, and me for the exhibition catalogue.

Eight of the New York cryonicists attended the opening night of the
exhibit. There's a monitor on a pedestal near the dewar and Bill Seidel
put a voice track to a

** PHOTO SPACE **
** CAPTION --

"Curtis Henderson and Janet Pinkney"

**
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(22)

** PHOTO SPACE **
** CAPTION --

"Kevin Brown, Alcor New York Treasurer"

**

6-minute video loop which plays continuously. It is one of the most
popular pieces in the exhibit. On average 1500 people file through the
museum every week. Three days later, after our regular Sunday meeting,
eight more of us took subway and taxis to go to the museum. The Alcor
dewar with its brilliant phoenix rising from the flames is the only glimmer
of hope in the exhibit's grim examination of death and dying. Indeed, it
is the only piece which is in fact about life, not death. I'm not
convinced the staff there would agree with me. I don't think they really
"get it," but I hope some of the people who wander through will understand.

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

We are preparing for regular training sessions on the first Sunday of
each month at our coordinator's residence. The first session is planned
for October 6th and we're sending out announcements. It is scheduled the
date that Huiying and Gerry's first child is due, so there may be
additional announcements that day. We are fortunate that Gerry and Huiying
have set aside a very nice space in their newly purchased house (an
attached garage with direct access to the house) for storage of the New
York equipment and as a location for regular training sessions. They are
closing it off and it will not be used as a garage, but rather as a
classroom.

Money is continuing to come in slowly but steadily for acquisition of
equipment. We have a high number of professionals among our ranks and more
people "willing to get their hands dirty" than ever before. We have
another Membership Drive Meeting scheduled for November, with Mike Darwin
as our featured speaker. We will build our own shipping container this
fall, and we will have a working paramedic on our team in January.

We have a lot of ideas floating around but we simply do not have the
time nor the people necessary to enable us to put them into action. As you
can see, we've been busy. We've taken a great many positive steps here in
New York, (my list is not complete by any means) with many yet to come. If
I were in a fatal accident would I be confident that I would be taken care
of in the manner which I have come to expect? Not yet, but the gap is
closing.

If you are among the "lost 79" please don't be shy. Let's work side by
side to save our lives. We need you. And, I humbly suggest. . . you need
us. As Jim Morrison said, "The future's uncertain and the end is always
near." But remember Casablanca: ". . . this [could be] the beginning of a
beautiful friendship."

As you can see, there are obstacles to overcome and problems to solve
associated with being a member of a satellite group. I'd like to stress
that both the satellite groups and Alcor S.C. have a responsibility for
getting the facts and keeping each other informed. If you are reading this
magazine, you know that cryonics has never been easy. We are a small
society of immortalists, scattered around the globe, and the need to be
mutually supportive is critical. The life you save may be your own!

If you are one of these lost and lonely which make up fully 50% of our
organization worldwide, my message to you is this: don't give up, find
others who are like-minded and pull together. A discussion group is a
rational way to begin. Alcor the star is barely within the threshold of
human vision and if Alcor the organization seems at times to be barely
within the threshold of human imagination or communication, don't despair.
I have a feeling they are going to be more accessible and more visible in
the future. . . and therefore, so will our dream.

And now I have to go, there's someone on the phone who says he once
attended an Alcor meeting in New York and he keeps getting letters from
some stranger named Brenda.

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