CLASS OF 1957 | 2020 | ISSUE 2

Heard from Mark Feldman that he and wife Mimi are sheltering in place, and so far, so good. He plans to resume teaching this fall, most likely via Zoom, which he terms a challenge for an “aging bookworm.” Meanwhile, he is busy with pro bono work, including responses to environmental issues. He reports that daughter Ilana ’91 is the vice dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at GWU.

The Clowes—Rusty and Diane—sold their house in Higganum and have moved to Middletown to a condo. Rusty is glad to be rid of gardening chores and the like. They’re in In Town Terrace—a stone’s throw from the Freeman Athletic Center—which is a 28-unit complex called The Pines. Rusty comments on the new normal, e.g., masks, gloves, staying home, yet it is a time when we all think not only of ourselves but helping to preserve the well-being of others.

Bob Anderson writes that he’s reduced a diverse program of interests such as church activities, art/drawing workshops, and historical society. For companionship, he has a cat—one meow for food and two meows for attention—this latter evocative of questions for Bob (he doesn’t specify whether he has answers therefor). Nonetheless, this hasn’t detracted from trips to nearby Guemes Island, a five-minute ferry ride from his home in Anacortes. He says he’s spending time there in self-isolation, the island only home to 800 folks, such that it’s suitable for quarantine. Turning thoughtful, Bob laments what he terms “replacement experience,” such as he attributes to the internet as a substitute for active personal relationships.

Early this year Al Fitz-Gerald worked to give legs to his play about climate change—recalling some of our classmates did a partial reading at the 2012 Reunion. After some revisions to add a portion of “entertainment” and a staged reading, he found from comments that the play is “too conservative for liberals and too liberal for conservatives.” Perhaps an example of the struggle to get a play into mainstream theaters.

I sadly report the passing of John Kandravy in April. A note from daughter Elizabeth Cassidy ’88 attributed the cause as COVID-19. John always valued his Wes experience as shaping his future. A good friend, he lived an exemplary life, and I wish to extend sympathy on behalf of our class.

Art Typermass | joanarth64@gmail.com
144 East Ave., #302B, Norwalk, CT 06851 | 203/504-8942