CLASS OF 1957 | 2017 | ISSUE 1
Everyone’s on the move—one way or another. Jim Killough and wife Donna have relocated to Granbury, Texas, southwest of Ft. Worth, where the couple met in 1983. Jim says that it’s short on snow and long on longhorns. He’s selling his software business and establishing an online consulting practice aimed at improving performance for knowledge workers—like he had set up with Morgan Stanley. He’s also working in a similar vein with Psi U brothers, Ken Travis and Hal Ochsner, for Psi U undergrads on development of leadership skills. He adds a note of remembrance for a lifetime of good works by Jack Corrodi and family.
The Wilmots are still along the East Coast seasonal route—north to south, and return. Current transportation is a Fusion plug-in hybrid sedan—gets good mileage and charging stations are becoming more accessible. Gordy reports that their oldest granddaughter is in the U.S. Army’s language immersion school. He’s now acclimated to his pacemaker, achieving the proper number of beats.
Bill Shepard and wife Lois were invited to Budapest for events recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Hungarian uprising. One of Bill’s State Department assignments was there in the early 1970s, and he observes that the city “still welcomes the visitor.” In addition to the range of social and theatrical events at the celebration, there were addresses by the Hungarian prime minister and the president of Poland.
In a remembrance of Bill Christopher ’54, Bill relates a story where Bill C. asked his Sigma Chi bro, Bill S., to join him for a drink at a town bar. Turns out no one would serve youthful-appearing Bill C., but freshman Bill S. passed muster, and two drinks (at least) were put up. No doubt “Father Mulcahy” overcame all of that in his great acting career.
Another Bill—Dr. Pratt—continues to work for health improvement within his community in New Mexico. He thinks much illness is related to toxic stress. He believes that social conditions have a direct impact on the quality of healthcare in a given community. The emphasis is on families with young children. Realizing that it’s a hard sell, an investment in healthcare for such families would yield positive benefits all around.
Staying with health for the moment, I report that we’ve had two classmates on the DL. Mike Stein is feeling better following four hospital days with a bout of pneumonia. He observes that our class is moving inexorably towards the front of the Class Notes section, a point that has not been lost on your scribe. Further, Al Kalb now concludes that “getting old isn’t so easy” after undergoing a quad bypass and aortic valve replacement. I’m happy to report that both are recovered and will suit up for the Reunion. Al says that three grandchildren are now in college—Emory, Colby, and Niagara, and a fourth will be at Bowdoin. He and wife Elizabeth enjoy driving around visiting them.
Far to the south, find a note from Naren Bali, officially retired yet taking on some consulting, while wife Margarita continues to work at producing sculpture-related videos. A daughter and husband are in Michigan—both university professors—and a son likewise at the University of Buenos Aires. He adds that life in Argentina is “not easy,” what with high inflation in a struggling economy. Alluding to having witnessed this before, Naren quotes an old Spanish proverb that “man is the only animal that trips on the same stone twice.”
The Braitmayers—Jack and Nancy—enjoyed a trip through the upper Midwest last summer. He bought a new boat, a 33-footer well-suited to cruising on Buzzards Bay. While not on the water, Jack finds time to work with Tabor Academy and the New Bedford Whaling Museum. A holiday family reunion included a pleasant surprise via a marriage proposal to granddaughter, Anina.
Tony Austin checked in with a reminder that he’s also out on the deep, still reeling them in for the ultimate benefit of seafood fans.
Al Jay celebrated the big 8-0 with a Disney cruise. One of his two granddaughters offered the comment “that’s a lot of numbers, Papa”, and the younger one made a reference to “chopped liver.” Both of his sons work in tech in San Diego, one result of which is that he and wife Ricky are the recipients of electronic gadgetry they are unable to comprehend. Some help comes from the granddaughters.
Courtesy of John Allison, who passed on a January issue of Connecticut magazine about college radio stations, including WESU. The station, which dates back to 1939, has moved beyond its traditional campus market to the greater Middletown area, wherefrom there are as many volunteers as from Wes itself. Programming includes a Saturday Italian language segment, a testament to the influence of Italian immigration in Middletown. Sounds as though the station has come a long way since yours truly hosted “Jive at Five.”
Art Typermass | AGType@msn.com
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