X-Message-Number: 1622
Date: 15 Jan 93 18:02:08 EST
From: Brenda Peters <>
Subject: CRYONET

To: Cryonet
From: Brenda Peters
> Subject: Letter sent to Alcor Northeast and Friends

January 9, 1993

I am as proud of having been President of Alcor New York for the past year as 
I am of anything I have ever done. One reason is because it has been an 
experience which has given me invaluable insight into what it's like for the 
majority of the Alcor membership and cryonics advocates the world over. 
Something very few Alcor Directors can fully appreciate.

Before I came to New York, (for six years) I was safely tucked inside the cozy
environment of Alcor headquarters (Alcor HQ). For the majority of that time, I
was in the warm embrace of an Alcor with Jerry Leaf and Michael Darwin at the 
helm (two of the most admirable, impressive human beings I have ever known).

I was a dedicated, hard-working, proselytizing, blue-skying cryonicist and 
assumed that surely this was enough for anyone to do to insure their chances 
of survival. And if that wasn't enough, there was Saul Kent and his Life 
Extension Foundation promoting life extension research all over the globe. In 
general, I had the rosiest of rosy outlooks to be found anywhere. It was like 
a sweet comforting dream.

Then I woke up. Suddenly I was in New York. If I were in an accident, Alcor 
was 3,000 (count 'em) miles away. Hold everything - there was something very 
wrong with this picture. Then the greatest shock of my life - Jerry was placed
into suspension. Jerry Leaf, the Rock of Gibraltar, was human after all. What 
could possibly happen next?! Michael Darwin retired from Alcor.

It felt as if we had no legs left upon which to stand. Michael said to me "If 
this organization deserves to survive, it will do so without me." I knew we 
deserved to survive. I just didn't know how we could. It was time for a rude 
reality check. I took off my rose colored glasses and what I got was a cold, 
hard slap in the face.

Even after my two years in New York, I can still feel the sting, but I have 
taken steps, however faltering, however far from the ideal they may be, to 
bring a feeling of warmth and hope to those of us who are not fortunate enough
to be nestled in the bosom of Alcor HQ. What I have learned is what most of 
Alcor's members feel every day; isolation and a sense of reality about what we
must do for ourselves.

I hope you agree with me that Alcor has proven to us all that it can and will 
and deserves to survive and I am eternally grateful for the dedication and 
hard work of our members and especially our staffers, each and every wonderful
one of them.

On occasion I have listened to complaints about spending so much money in New 
York on equipment and working so hard to be able to respond professionally, 
competently, studying so much so we understand physiology, getting E.M.T. 
licenses, etc. The complainers say that is Alcor's job, that's what we're 
paying Alcor for. The most important thing I have learned is that it is 
ultimately and always will be OUR job, you and I as individuals, if we are 
serious about saving ours and our loved ones' lives. The people we are doing 
favors for with our preparations, our fund raising, and our hard work is US. 
Let us never forget that.

The understanding and enlightenment I have received in the last two years will
color the activities and the goals which I will set for myself in all my years
to come.

I am sad to say that the time has come that I must step down as President of 
Alcor NY, though I will continue to be a card carrying, dues paying member. 
Having moved to Chicago, I feel it has become impossible for me to be a strong
enough presence to continue in the position of President. I am honored to have
held this position, more honored than you will ever know. Because 
cryonicists/life extensionists are the people I respect most on this planet, 
to have been "the leader of a small rag-tag band" of immortalists has been so 
satisfying and pleasurable that it will be the experience by which all 
subsequent experiences must be measured. I am also grateful for what I have 
learned working side by side with the dedicated NY/CT/NJ members and associate
members. It is with the deepest sadness that I feel I must step down.

On a happy note, I would like to heartily nominate and endorse Charles Platt 
as the next President of Alcor NY. I sincerely believe you will not go wrong 
with Charles In Charge. I have the utmost confidence and respect in Charles. 
What can I say, I am crazy about the guy; Charles is a real tiger! Alcor NY 
will thrive and prosper under Charles Platt.

I would also like to nominate Courtney Smith as Vice President. Though he is 
here in Chicago, he will be able to attend most monthly meetings in New York 
and get together with members there almost weekly.

I am grateful to all the wonderful people who are part of or who have 
contributed their time, money, and talents, to Alcor NY., but a special 
respectful, heartfelt, and loving thank you to Curtis Henderson, Esq., without
whose early pioneering efforts, there might be no cryonics as we know it.

I am very proud of Gerry Arthus, Curtis Henderson, Robbie Henderson and 
Stanley Gerber who have achieved their state E.M.T. licenses (two of them have
taken the advanced state courses as well) and I understand Stanley Gerber will
begin his studies as a Professional Paramedic beginning this month. And 
apparently we may have other New Yorkers who will achieve their NY state 
certified E.M.T. licenses this year. We'll keep you posted. Thank you guys, 
for attending the twice monthly training sessions and to those of you who have
traveled to Alcor HQ for additional training (Alcor Certification) which you 
have all now achieved. Thank you for your sacrifices. Maybe someday this will 
all be done in hospitals and you will have forged the way. You are my heroes.

I owe a special thanks to Dr. Kevin Brown, our Treasurer, and to Ms. Janet 
Pinkney, our Secretary. They have done exemplary jobs. We would have been in 
constant confusion without them. Thank you both so much for your hard work and
for your financial support.

I want to personally thank Saul Kent, Dr. Ralph Merkle, and Mike Darwin for 
their generous help in drawing record breaking attendance to our NY Special 
Events. I also would like to thank Dr. Peter Gouras and Dr. Gregory Fahy for 
their distinguished presence at our various events in NY. I encourage their 
continued support in any way possible. In fact, I insist upon it!!!

Thank you to all the good people in PA, and MD/VA/DC. I feel a little like 
your mommy. And BOSTON/MA, I feel like your godmother. I was so happy (after I
held up ENGINES OF CREATION and said "you should read this", when the producer
of "PEOPLE ARE TALKING" came to me after the show and said "The MIT 
nanotechnology group wants you to call them back"). Alas, my job as a Medical 
Administrator would not allow me to spend still another day away from the 
clinic, but I sent Curtis and Gerry in my place. Apparently they and Mike 
Darwin who soon followed, encouraged the beginnings of the Boston group. All I
can say is that they were a rather bright group to begin with and with the 
help of Eric Drexler's book, reality was upon them.

I have one last round of "outreach" in the process and will be sending you 
each a new list in a couple of weeks. I plan to ask Alcor for a constant 
update of any new signed up members in the northeast and will contact them as 
they come in. I'll apprise you of additions for your local mailing lists as I 
receive permission from the individual members to do so.

I also hope to visit each of the Alcor Chapters and groups throughout the 
world this year, and if there's anything I can do to help out, in the 
meantime, please let me know. I can be reached at (312)587-7050 or Brenda 
Peters, Huron Plaza, 30 E. Huron St., Suite 4709, Chicago, IL 60611.

If you haven't guessed yet, I hope to form Alcor Chicago. I plan to have the 
first meeting late January or early February.

I wish to thank Courtney Smith. If he hadn't asked me to marry him and move to
New York, I would have missed out on all the wonderful experiences of the last
two years, and all the knowledge, and friendships. I don't want to lose any of
it. Without his help, ideas, and encouragement, I could not have succeeded in 
leading New York to the accomplishment of so many of the goals we set for 
ourselves.

You must all come to visit us in Chicago and I'll be back to see you as often 
as I can. Please call if you're in the area.


Some thoughts for 1993

There are a number of things which I would like to encourage you to do or 
become involved in this year. Never forget the "Big Picture". We want to save 
our lives. We must not expect to achieve this goal without hard work from each
and every one of us.

1.)Please try to attend the Cryonics Conference on Memorial Day Weekend in 
Ontario, CA which will explore and address the future of cryonics, the 
structure of Alcor, the goals, and the most business-like, longevity-based 
methodology for achieving our goals. Take charge of your future and attend 
this conference. Share your ideas with the people who are trying to achieve 
the same things.

2.)Contribute to the relocation of Alcor (out of an earthquake zone) possibly 
to Arizona or Nevada.

3.)Contribute and promote research. If enough research were done, we might not
ever need to be suspended. Think about that!!!! Can we avoid cryonic 
suspension? Can we save our lives just by giving as much money as possible to 
those shining stars we happen to have among us who have the know-how and are 
willing to do the research? Saul Kent, Alcor, Biopreservation, and Cryovita 
will be spear-heading life extension research of every kind in '93. Help them 
help us!!!

4.)Support your local group. Give at least one full work week (40 hours) of 
solid work or at least one full work week of pay to make sure your local group
will be ready to arrive immediately and to give you the best chance of 
survival possible. Don't you owe it to yourself? Aren't you worth it? You 
won't find anything better to invest in than your own life.

5.)Always say Thank You. We are by and large a volunteer organiza-tion. Saying
Thank You can mean the difference in having a volunteer and not having one.

Take care of yourselves!

Forever,

Brenda Peters
President, Alcor New York


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