CLASS OF 1978 | 2016 | ISSUE 2
Greetings classmates! Hope these notes find you all heading into a summer with sunny skies and plenty of time to relax and enjoy time with loved ones. Here’s what’s up with a few of your classmates:
Jennifer Atkinson lives in Virginia where she is a professor at George Mason University in the MFA/BFA programs in poetry. Her fifth book of poems, The Thinking Eye, is newly out. More details are at www.parlorpress.com/freeverse/the-thinking-eye. Jennifer lives just outside the Beltway and would love to catch up with old friends. If you are in or visiting D.C. she invites you to look her up.
David Weild IV contributed that he “had the wonderful experience of teaching two economics classes at Wesleyan for Prof. Abigail Hornstein in February: Investments and Corporate Finance from the perspective of how the evolution in low-cost electronic trading and capital markets structure is impacting these disciplines.” Among the students in his class was Paul DiSanto ’81.
Ruth van Eck-Rotholz sent a thoughtful, reflective letter, which began by describing Wesleyan as “a place for her to discover.” She felt its small size and flexibility allowed for “focus on the development of individual ideas.” She continued, “With this naive energy I continued to fulfill my dreams in my first years in the triptych of my life.” At 30, Ruth left the USA and became “an architect for the Supreme Court in Jerusalem where she met and fell in love with Swedish geophysicist Torild van Eck.” They moved to the Netherlands, had two beautiful daughters, Miriam and Rachel, and lived in the summers in Sweden. Sadly, Torlid died in his sleep in 2014, just days before his 65th birthday. Ruth reflected that “this was my own private earthquake and I still feel the aftershocks” and “feels that another transition in her life is occurring now” as she turns 60.
She advises all of us to “Listen around you, be patient, remain humble, and gather strength from Nature, and not from titles, prestige, degrees, or status. See the world as a whole and not divided by political forces but by moving plates. Imagine communicating what is essential without language. Realize that ultimately it is the forces of the earth and how we respect them that will prove to be our ultimate guides.” Ruth, thanks for your openness. I’m sure our classmates join me in wishing you all the best.
Mark Laser is preparing to leave on a challenging sailboat race across the Atlantic as part of the ARC Europe Rally on his boat, First Light. There will be a satellite tracker on board, tracking their progress in real time. Mark has done a lot of work in preparation for this “bucket list” item. He’s been Coast Guard certified as a master captain, 50-ton rated, as well as learned the ancient art of celestial navigation. To learn about the boat and crew and follow the journey, go to firstlight.deligent.com. Bon voyage, Mark!
Cheers to Pat and Nancy McCabe who in April celebrated their 150th Birthaversary; two 60th birthdays and a 30th anniversary all in one night. In addition to Pat and Nancy, other ’78s in attendance were Moira McNamara James and Jodi Wilinsky Hill. Other Wesleyan grads at the festivities were Nancy’s father, Herb Kendall ’48; Nancy’s brother, Richard Kendall ’74, Ellen Gerken ’77, and John Bennett ’79. “Wished we could have been there” came from other ‘78’s Jamer Breene, Hank Mathieu, Bill Tabor, and yours truly.
We know the Class Notes are most of your favorite part of the reading Wesleyan, but are the notes rather a disappointment if we don’t have anything to print? Please don’t be shy or bashful, e-mail us what’s new in your lives so we can share it with your classmates.
Until next time, wishing each of you all the best,
SUSIE MUIRHEAD BATES | sbatesdux@hotmail.com
Ken Kramer | kmkramer78@hotmail.com