CLASS OF 1970 | 2018 | ISSUE 2
Aloha, everyone. Greetings from Catastrophe Central, Mid-Pacific Division. Not a lot of news came in this time. For a while it looked like it was going to be “The Steves Column,” then it mutated into “The Steves, Roberts, and Jeremy Column.”
Steve Masten attended wife Ann’s 45th reunion at Smith. They married when she was a junior, so my calculations are they’ve been married 46 years. Wow, congratulations! Afterward, Steve and Ann visited with Charley Ferrucci ’69 in Connecticut. “Also had dinner with Wayne Slitt ’69. It’s always good to be reminded where you came from.”
Steve Talbot, who’s prolific on Facebook, posted that a friend “. . . talked me into walking the Path of the Gods, high above the Amalfi Coast. And like a fool, I agreed. The hour or so hike straight up from the town of Praiano to the rocky trail nearly did me in. But once on the relatively flat path it was all worth it. A spectacular view of the coastline. Precious few tourists on the trail, at least in May. The main person we encountered was a young Italian gardener who trekked up the mountains every day. Descending endless steps to the coastal road tested the old knees, but I was revived by a large glass of pure lemon juice, fresh squeezed from the prized Amalfi citrus. Straight, no chaser. [Wife] Pippa, meanwhile, was doing yoga moves down below, and we glimpsed Positano up ahead. Our total round trip: 10 miles and the equivalent of walking up 157 floors, according to my know-it-all phone.”
And the third Steve is Steve Ching, now retired from medical practice and living on the west side of Kaua’i. We run into one another from time to time. Last contact was Steve inquiring about a contractor to do some concrete work as part of a home remodeling project. (Hope it comes out as planned, Steve.) Meanwhile wife Mary was traveling “as our son and daughter-in-law are expecting their first child.” (Congratulations!) Steve says he’s trying to adjust to retirement.
Speaking of Facebook, Bob Stone, aka Robert Mark Stone, continues to publish his Trumpericks regularly. He took a short hiatus while on photo safari in Africa (from where he posted gorgeous photos), but he’s now back and writing. So much material!
And Rob Baker of Park City, Utah, and an occasional Kaua’i visitor, reported, “Our daughter Emily (Whitman ’02) and her husband Micah (Conn College ’06) had our first grandchild, Eli Patton Blazar, this May. We have been hanging out in Del Mar, Calif., for the event. I’ve found time to surf the North Country, too.”
Jeremy Serwer reported “. . . some 70-ish craziness, two-fold: (1) I had the honor of being accepted to this year’s FBI Citizens Academy in New Haven, a weekly class for eight weeks that introduces regular citizens to all that the FBI does—a public relations effort, for sure, and fascinating.” Jeremy’s conclusion is that “. . . 99 percent of the folks at the FBI are doing amazing things solving crimes, assisting victims and their families, protecting the American people, and honoring the Constitution.”
“(2) Closer to home, I’ve finally achieved the entry level to a relatively new American pastime I’ve long wanted to pursue: Cowboy mounted shooting. While horses and the Old West have been passions of mine for many years, combining six-gun target shooting with western riding is too exciting to describe. This season I’ll finally enter my first matches.” [I admit, one of the more unusual bits of news.]
Finally, Jeremy reports that “. . . wife Nancy is well; she has nine marathons under her belt, and has become a serious weight trainer. She’s truly ripped!”
As for us, we’re getting a new contractor, as the original one has totally folded. Aside from the April flooding (which left us with lots of mud, damaged materials, ruined personal items, and a bit of looting, just for some extra fun), we’re trying to proceed with the long-overdue construction of our house in Kalihiwai Valley. The major road work done last June mercifully held up for the most part. Damage done by an angry waterfall at a water crossing largely has been repaired by a contractor hired by the state to remove major trees lodged against the bridge supports.
After attending the Hawaii Democratic Party’s state convention recently (along with Neil Clendeninn ’71), I took a bus to Hilo and was able to see the volcanic eruptions on the Big Island (about 12 miles from our former home) by helicopter. (Some flooding photos sold to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser helped pay for the flight!) As is typical with me, I have posted lots of photos, both of the flooding and of the volcano, on Facebook.
REMINDER: Our 50th Reunion will be here in no time on May 21–24, 2020. Contact Kate Quigley Lynch ’82, P’17, ’19 (klynch@wesleyan.edu) if you’d like to be involved in the planning. “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”
Russ Josephson | russ_josephson@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 1151, Kilauea, HI 96754