Author: classnotes

Spring is sprung as I write this on a rare sunny afternoon between rainstorms in Northern California—fitting for the vernal equinox.

Paul Bennett, seven years retired, keeps busy with nonprofit boards and home projects. “I have to chuckle when I reflect on my board roles—when heading for retirement, I promised myself I wouldn’t do board work, but that’s exactly what I’ve ended up doing. I spend a good bit of time on two organization boards—Cristo Rey De La Salle High School in Oakland and Berkeley Symphony. The COVID years have been an enormous challenge for both organizations (and for so many others). The symphony, of course, is a performing art. As we all know, audiences disappeared when COVID hit and have been slow to return. While Berkeley Symphony is now back to its normal performance schedule, we’re still well off on audience counts—and unsure what future trends will look like.  We’ve had to address all sorts of unique problems over the last three years—definitely stretched my brain. The high school has been hard hit by COVID, not only with the challenges of maintaining classes and academics during remote learning, but also because the Cristo Rey model depends on the students being employed one day a week in our Corporate Work-Study Program. When many of our employer companies went almost completely remote, many of the jobs for our students (largely clerical/administrative/IT support) disappeared—and with them, the crucial revenue we depend on. We’ve been slowly clawing our way back, but it’s been an enormous challenge. They didn’t cover this stuff at Wes when I was there.” On the personal front, Paul and his wife still live in Oakland; older son is in Brooklyn teaching high school math, younger son in SF working a tech job. Paul’s summary? “Healthy, happy and staying active—all good.”

Dave Rosenblum writes that he retired from Deloitte Consulting in 2013, but “flunked retirement and am reasonably busy with a couple of corporate boards, private equity work, and nonprofit boards. Sue and I live in LA, but we have an apartment in Manhattan and spend roughly three months a year there—babysitting and hanging out with two young grandchildren (and their parents), who live in South Orange, New Jersey, plus really taking advantage of all that NYC has to offer. Had dinner recently with Steve McCarthy, who came in from Connecticut, which was a lot of fun. We are fanatic Dodgers fans, so the best part of the year is soon upon us!”

Susan Gans reports that “after more than 35 years toiling as in-house counsel for various television production companies, I stopped working a few years ago and am enjoying retirement. Being an avid cyclist since my teens, I started riding a tandem bicycle with my significant other just before the pandemic hit, and the tandem has changed our lives.” They tandem toured the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany last spring and will be touring Japan, the Greek islands, New Zealand, and Spain with their tandem in 2023–24. On the home front, Susan started a Facebook group called SoCal Tandem Riders, which now has over 225 members, through which they’ve made many wonderful new friends. She adds, “I’m looking forward to seeing my classmates next year at our 50th Reunion!”

Cory Kratz sent word of her stay at the Bogliasco Study Center in in Bogliasco, Italy, near Genoa, working on a new book called Rhetorics of Value: Exhibit, Design, Communication, which will be published by Duke University Press. “I was with a great group of eight other fellows, each working on his/her own creative projects. An idyllic and productive time in the center’s villa and garden on the shore of the Ligurian Sea. In Cape Town, I’ll be hiking the Perlemoen Trail with friends before going to this year’s African Critical Inquiry Program Workshop, which is called Archiving Otherwise: Sound Thinking and Sonic Practice.”

John Cavadini writes that he is still a professor in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, and director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life (at Notre Dame). In another higher ed note, Bruce Weinraub, who lives and practices internal medicine in Northampton, Massachusetts, spoke on his experience in internal medicine to Wesleyan’s premed students in late March.

Janet Brodie is another classmate who appreciated a rare COVID gift—her regular Zooms with Risa Korn and Jane Hutchins. “They started out my college roommates and ended up my friends for life.” She loves the saying, “It takes a long time to make an old friend.” I want to point out that you all qualify, my friends, now that it has been more than a half century since we first met!

Bruce Tobey wrote, “I am still plugging away as an environmental attorney and business consultant. Living each month 60% of the time in Fort Lauderdale, I work with a remarkable wastewater technology entrepreneur and also avoid much of the winter cold (but also endure the summer heat). The other 40% is spent up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with my wife Pat (Skidmore ’81).  Our four daughters (Emily, Dana, Melanie, and Pamela) all came back to Gloucester after earning bachelor degrees at Wagner College, Tulane University, Merrimack College, and Rollins College respectively. All are happily settled down, and they and their men have presented us with a brood of eight grandkids, with a ninth on the way.

My nine years as mayor (1993–2002) still color my life. In 1998 we had a yearlong celebration of Gloucester’s 375th anniversary, both for its own sake and as a warm-up for the 400thin 2023. Because no good deed goes unpunished, 25 years later, I am still at it, serving as president of the nonprofit that has spent the last five years organizing, fundraising, and event planning. The year is off to a fantastic beginning—if you’re in the neighborhood this summer, stop on by!

Dan Gold has a tale straight out of the movies. “Four years ago, with retirement looming on the horizon, my wife Nancy and I sold our Southern California house of 22 years and rented a neighbor’s small guest house. No more chickens, pigs, or horses. Time to downsize. Some of our belongings went into storage, but the important stuff came with us to the rental. Three weeks after we moved in, the Woolsey Fire came through the canyon and burned the little guest house to the ground. We got out okay, but much of the physical stuff of our lives was gone. It was disorienting. I felt as if I was adrift, off balance. It was like I had no anchor. We stayed in motels for a bit then Nancy’s cousin gave us her house for a month. The fire was a weird chapter in our lives and the strange feeling of it comes back occasionally. Like when I’m looking for a favorite T-shirt, then realize, ‘Oh yeah . . . it was in the fire.’ Fast forward a bit and we decided it was time to get serious about relocating. So, we moved to Ventura, a cool little beach town up the coast. I decided to do one more season on the TV series Grace and Frankie and then retire from 40 years of working in camera in the film business. We love our little house in Ventura. We can walk to the beach and walk to the shops and restaurants on Main Street. I have time for surfing, biking, and pursuing my former passion for still photography. I volunteer at the community bike shop in town and Nancy and I enjoy brewing beer together (I mostly wash the kegs). Every once in a while, I get together with Chris Vane and Dave Babcock, and it’s like old times.

Oh, I almost forgot! We have a grandson, Miles. He’s amazing. He’s such a smart, good-lookin’ kid. He really should have his own TV show.”

David Bickford is enjoying life in Los Angeles. “After reaching retirement age I’ve slowed down the pace a bit, but still acting and voice coaching and loving it. My wife and I often travel to Thailand to spend time with her family. I shot a nice supporting role in a film called Discussion Materials but I don’t know yet when it will be released.”

Stephen Blumenthal admits it took a long time for his first contribution to Class Notes. “Forty-eight years until my first peep!” He’s lost touch with classmates, except for Wendy Lustbader ’76 occasionally and Barbara Bachelder.  Here’s his interesting journey with a pivotal ’70s Wesleyan moment: “After 10 sweet years of teaching high school English and 12 years at a nonprofit, I was trained in the ’90s to provide psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy and am heartened to see that modality helping more and more people now. Had my organic chem professor not introduced us to LSD, I might never have discovered the path I’ve taken. Thank you, Wesleyan! My partner James and I live in San Francisco and love hiking in the redwoods.”

Tom Wheeler and his wife Sondra Ely Wheeler ’79 spend lots of time away from their D.C.-area home, in New England and Pennsylvania. Those are the locations of their daughters and respective husbands (two doctors, a therapist, and COO of a climate change nonprofit) and five grandkids ranging from age nine to age four (an aspiring ballerina, engineer, artist, paleontologist, and princess-unicorn respectively). “While I’ve resisted the siren calls to return to work designing large-scale software and DB systems for the Feds, Sondra still teaches religious ethics and fills speaking engagements occasionally. Most of our time has gone to helping an old friend with accelerating dementia to get her house sold and get moved into a new living situation near us, and to fundraising for a Christian dalit orphanage in Bangalore, whose donor base was ravaged by COVID (full story at violetschildrenshome.com). We got mild cases of COVID from the grandkids last year, plan a long trip across the American West this spring, and a longer one through Spain and to Siena sometime afterward. We’d love to hear from any classmates passing through the D.C. area.”

Brian Steinbach lamented this winter’s lack of snow in D.C. (come on out to the Sierras, my friend!), and sent the following news at the very last moment: “I have to note the sad demise of the houses at 28 and 34 Lawn Avenue, apparently torn down for the new science labs, as an aerial view reached via a link from the recent Wesleyan Connection showed. Many great memories of parties at 28, which most recently was the ‘Community Engagements House.’ I shared this with Steve Pippin, who lived there with Jeff Cox, Phil Swoboda, and Bruce McClellan ’76  sophomore year. And Steve forwarded it to Jeff, who recalled it was ‘home to the Bite-Me Pumpkin and many raucous parties.’ Jeff, now University of Colorado ‘Distinguished Professor of English and Humanities,’ reports he is still teaching and also still chairs his English department ‘for my sins.’”

But if you want to and can still party like it’s 1975, plan to join us at the Class of ’75 50th Reunion, May 23–26, 2025.  While it’s hard to believe, it will be too good to miss.

Reminder: Consider joining our 50th Reunion Planning Committee. You can participate as little or as much as your time and interest permit. We have monthly Zoom calls.  Also, continue providing ideas for our reunion. Contact me (Sharon Purdie, spurdie@wesleyan.edu) or Mandy Broulik at abroulik@wesleyan.edu or Kate Lynch at klynch@wesleyan.edu to join the committee or to suggest ideas.

Harold Sogard updates us on his trying to start a new career as a voice actor: He was  signed by an agent in January and has started auditioning for a variety of interesting gigs. “Haven’t gotten hired for anything yet, but at least I’m getting some at bats!”

Monique Witt reports that the last few months were both sad and joyful. Ben got married on seven-day’s notice at city hall at noon; then he and Yoko drove to Baltimore an hour later for residence with the Baltimore Symphony. Dev has been doing IP for his new tech. Sadly, Steven’s father died at 99 and it has left a huge emptiness—the last living grandparent. OneTrickDog* has had four albums to get out, and the labs are very busy.  Ben’s official release of A Thousand Pebbles was at Smalls and was terrific. The reviews have been very strong. The CD release [includes] two sets from Smalls [and they] are up on YouTube and Facebook.

Jim Gilson sent in this report: “Two pairs of roommates assigned to 202 Washington Street our freshman year, along with their spouses, have continued to see each other over the years, including more frequently connecting on Zoom during the pandemic. Mark Decker still lives in northern New Jersey and works as general counsel for a large privately held company. His former roommate, Jim Gilson, relocated to Alexandria, Virginia, in 2016 when he retired as general counsel of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, though he continues to work on occasional nonprofit governance and law projects, including volunteering as a museum accreditation peer reviewer. Rip Dauster retired from a high school teaching career in southern Connecticut and, together with his wife Marjorie Allen ’76 (who recently retired from the Connecticut attorney general’s appellate division) has taken advantage of their time and Rip’s photography talent to share photos of their several trips to Europe. Paul Liscom continues to live in Boulder where he has greatly scaled back on his home-building business but continues to take on a few projects, including supervising and doing much of the labor on a major trail restoration and boardwalk enhancement in the upper elevations of the Rockies.

“Over the last year or so, the Zoom call group has been able to expand. Don Middleton—another 202 Washington Street ‘alum’—has joined in. Don continues to practice urgent care medicine and live in the south coast area of Massachusetts. Larry Green also has joined the calls; he still is practicing law at a Boston firm but has enjoyed being able to work more frequently from his house on the coast of southern Maine. Larry agreed to serve on the class reunion committee, helping to plan some panel discussions that already sound intriguing.

“As their time has become more flexible and COVID restrictions have lessened to some extent, couples in this group have been able to stop in on each during their travels and, health permitting, are hoping for a few times we all can be together even before the class reunion in a year.”

Howard Curzer recently published a book entitled, Virtue Ethics for the Real World: Improving Character without Idealization (Routledge 2023). A brief description of his book may be found here:

He is till teaching in the Texas Tech University Philosophy Department and is married to Anne Epstein. His daughter, Mirah Epstein Curzer, is an assistant district attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. His grandson, Jonah (age four), is training for the Olympic cuteness competition.

Bob Baum recently returned from Senegal—from the same village he started going to the summer after we graduated from Wesleyan. He was adopted by a family there and he is now the oldest living family member. It was his first time back in four years. This summer he become chair of the new Department of African and African American Studies at Dartmouth.

Christopher Moeller shares, “My wife and I are still retired. The entire family is reasonably healthy. Finally, after three years of pandemic restrictions, we feel somewhat safe going out to concerts, dances, and other performances. I hope that trend continues! The only recent news (last August) is that our son Steffen and his wife have adopted a newborn and named him Owen, and they are thrilled.

“In February, Carolyn White-Lesieur, sent an email to me of the upcoming reunion and to offer to have ‘a conversation.’  She and I each sent a few emails, then had a lengthy phone call that covered many aspects of the last 50 years, or perhaps just a few. I asked Carolyn to pass my contact information along to a number of others who were significant to me during my year and a half in Middletown. Perhaps some will follow up!”

In February my husband Ted Sybertz and I went on a National Geographic expedition to Anarctica. The trip was fabulous and included  hiking, viewing lots of penguins, seals, whales, and icebergs, as well as kayaking, taking the “polar plunge,” and attending lectures by scientists conducting research during the expedition.

Our condolences to the family of Randy Brown who passed away on April 20, 2023, due to complications from a stroke that he suffered on Christmas Day of 2021. At his death, Randy lived in Boulder Creek, California. He was the author or coauthor of several books and pamphlets about the history of the greater Santa Cruz area and was a regular speaker at historical gatherings. He was also passionate about the history of baseball, in particular, the Negro leagues.

From Colorado, William “Billy” Burke writes, “I’m so excited about our upcoming 50th Reunion! It has already been terrific seeing classmates during reunion planning meetings on Zoom. I also had the good fortune to attend a planning meeting on campus the morning of Homecoming where the Class of 1972 shared tips from their 50th. It was the start of a busy day.”

He adds, “The next stop was the Spurrier-Snyder Rink where hockey coach Chris Potter hosted a very special reception organized by Billy Devereaux ’75 and Jim LaLiberty ’77. About 30 Wes hockey alums honored Dave (Duke) and Diane Snyder. After watching the football team demolish Williams, several of us enjoyed dinner with Dave and Diane. Great stories, memories, and even a few tears. Not sure if you heard that Duke was recently the recipient of the John ‘Snooks’ Kelley Founders Award, as someone instrumental to the growth of hockey in the U.S. It was presented by the American Hockey Coaches Association.”

Billy says it was a fantastic time on campus. And he adds, “Of course, in the last dozen years or so it’s always bittersweet to walk down the steps from Foss Hill to the Vine Street tennis courts. It’s a nice grassy slope with a flower bed. But it’s no McConaughy Hall. I know the University had their reasons to tear it down but I want to preserve the memory of our very own flying saucer. So, I’m composing a rock opera that will memorialize the venerable venue. So far, I have the opening number and a high-level storyboard. As you may have said in your early reporter days, ‘Film at 11.’”

Michael Fossel writes that “Retirement is a silly idea, so we’re moving ahead with our biotechnology company and planning our FDA human trials.” He says they have a commitment for essentially unlimited funding, which should enable them to target both the dementias and cardiovascular disease. “In the meantime, I’ve agreed to be the editor and senior author for a new Elsevier Publishing medical textbook on aging, age-related diseases, and the prospects for curing them. Much more fun, however, is building a new ‘hygge’ loft over the garage and getting ready for a glorious summer of gardening,” he says.

Stephen Sullivan writes he is not sure if he be able to make it back for our 50th Reunion but he says he looks forward to reading the news of our class.

From South Carolina, Kie Westby writes that he has moved to Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Kie says he had a stroke in March of last year but reports, “I have recovered fairly well. Just started playing golf again. Am retired from the law practice.”

My senior year East College roommate, Dr. Brian Mahoney, writes that he and Nancy Collins “are now 51 years together and counting. Both retired physicians. Three great kids with in-laws and five grandchildren. The most recent is Cullan, born November 29, 2022, which means ‘handsome boy’ in Gaelic. He is a real Gerber Baby.” Brian says they hope to be at the 50th Reunion. He is having a total knee surgery on April 19.

Our colorful and eloquent classmate Eddie Nathan writes, “I’ve joined the committee planning our 50th Reunion. I’ve enjoyed reconnecting, though my sievelike memory doesn’t attach adequate history to the other men on the committee. Even so, it’s gratifying to see and hear them. I accept that the years have opened me a bit more to emotional recollections and gentler feelings, though I still cringe at the sound and smell of infants.” And he thanks us “for keeping these nourishing connections alive.”

And in light of that, at this writing, it looks as if we are going to have a very nice turnout of our classmates for the reunion. I’m sure I enjoyed seeing you on what I’m sure was a very special and memorable time in Middletown.

Roger Day sent a note to both Peter D’Oench ’73 and me, daring us to fight over which class gets him. Since Peter is probably swamped with reunion-related stuff, I hereby claim Roger. This “duel” status stems from the fact that while he entered with the class of 1973, Roger earned sufficient credits to graduate with us, a fact that came to his attention while he was sitting high on Foss Hill (his words, not mine) on May 24, 1972, and heard his name called in our commencement ceremony. Well, we missed you in the D section, Roger. Roger will soon celebrate 40 years married to his “sweepotato Abby,” with whom they “issued three fascinating children.”

“My retirement from University of Pittsburgh Biostatistics and Informatics (& Cancer Institute) is far in the rearview mirror. Lots of kooks in academia. The teaching was my favorite part. Now I tutor kids from Central America . . . I love that even more. My creativity goes into tuba playing . . . . ‘Music is my medicine. And I am heavily medicated.’  Down from 50 shows a year to about six, all outdoors now, due to COVID. My favorite CDs are with the Blues Orphans: Hystericana and More Fake Blues. Pure fun the lyrics. Great tuba sound engineering. The YouTube channel, professorbeautiful, documents some of the crazy variety of music I have played. Cumbia, Andean, Cuban, bossa, jazz, R&B, klezmer, Croatian, Fado, Irish, lounge . . . . Currently at 20 movements of Bach Cello Suites/Bellow Cheeks, all on the professorbeautiful channel. Sixteeen to go, then Brandenburg 3. Body parts, don’t fail me now!”

You can see more about Roger’s music at professorbeautiful.org. As I have played some of those Bach suites on the instrument for which they were intended, I had to check out how they would sound on a tuba, and, well, it’s a unique experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YZOjJFbfZA&list=PLnw3n9JWwFxG7xbJy8qe0wDlv–beo7SP

Steve Schiff wrote me about the time of the Writers Guild of America Awards, at which he was nominated for two awards for his writing on Andor. Steve previously had four nominations and two wins for The Americans, not to mention a Peabody Award, a Golden Globe, two Emmy nominations, an AFI Award, a Producers Guild Award, a Critics Choice Award, and a Television Critics Association Award. What do they have in common? “They’re all heavier than they look. I thinks it’s a requirement.” (Steve asked me not to quote him but rather to provide my own pithy summary. Sorry, but I can’t top that.)

Blackwall Hitch, the band that played our last two reunions, will be playing once again at the class of 1973’s 50th. The group includes Michael Kaloyanides, Blake Allison, and Steve Blum, as well as Mike Kishbauch ’71 and Paul Fletcher ’73. Blake has found these performances to be a:

“Blessing of, at a late time in my life, being able to reunite and spend meaningful time with dear friends. You may not know that for Blackwall Hitch, to perform at our 45th and 50th Reunions, we gathered for a Monday-to-Thursday stretch before each reunion, practicing six plus or minus hours a day. Just being together and making music with cherished colleagues for an extended period of time was such an unexpected, but very much welcomed and gratifying, blessing.”

If you didn’t get enough about Jim Hoxie’s recent exploits in the last issue, you can see him give the opening remarks at the recent Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, of which he was program chair at www.croiconference.org/preliminary-agenda/. Let me commend to you the short film on the work of the organization at about 1:44, followed by a speech by and presentation of an award to Anthony Fauci.

Rob Gelblum’s glide path toward retirement from environmental law is just about over, and some venues actually calendar him for musical gigs. “And my wife and kids still put up with me! And I receive wisdom from our classmates RS&B—the Rips, Schultz, Bober Conspiracy.”

Finally, we lost Harry Glasspiegel to a stroke in December. Another luminary of the first floor of Clark Hall. Harry had a prominent career developing the concept of outsourcing, first as a lawyer and then as a consultant. In a 2015 interview with Who’s Who Legal, Harry gave this bit of guidance, which those of us still in the trenches should take to heart:

“I’ve seen and experienced the damage to clients and organizations of adversarial behaviors, tone, communications, and relationships, and conversely, have seen the benefits of having likeable, sensible people guiding the discussion and build process.”

Likeable and sensible. Harry will be missed.

Aloha, Class of 1971! Here are your most recent emails to me about your transitions and other items. Enjoy!

Fran Pawlowski said: “Wow! The online format is practical, the written comments are extraordinary, and the design is exquisite. Your entry was particularly interesting to read. You sort of ‘retired’ then were resurrected and went back to work!

“On my end, I retired from teaching and serve as first officer to my wife as we participate daily in the lives of our 14 grandkids—ages two to 22.  All live close to us, our home reminds me of Grand Central Station, and I feel I am experiencing one of the best parts of my life right now!”

Fran’s pet project idea for MoCon: “ideas which have been vibrating through my head for several years. Let me proceed this way: 1.) MoCon Hall was born in 1962, I believe, and died in 2012;  2.) If my math is correct, the Hall existed for 50 years.

“I have no idea how many thousands of Wes students passed through its doors during that half century for meals, concerts, dances, meetings, and so on. The design was magnificent, the layout was practical, the floor-to-ceiling glass windows were visually striking and offered panoramic views as well.

“Even though the building is gone, its memory is not. My concept basically has two parts and the first is easy. The University should have a stone monument ( 5 feet high, 10 feet wide?) erected on the site the Hall occupied. Designs for the monument could be solicited from Wes graduates, employees, and faculty. A committee could be assigned the task of selecting the design. The University would not bear the cost because the donations would come from Wes graduates, employees, and faculty.

“The second part is more complicated. There are a lot of materials on campus ( letters, copies of the Argus, yearbooks, photos, etc.) which would provide a wealth of information about the Hall. My idea is that this material could be developed into an online program which could be accessed by computers from anywhere in the world. Secondly, I envision a walking tour on the site of the departed Hall with 10, 12, 15 stops or more, perhaps arranged in a downward/upward circular pattern. I am sure you remember the steps leading down to the Hall’s front doors?  At each stop along the way, visual and verbal Hall information would be available and accessed electronically. There is a bountiful amount of information stored on campus—probably in more than one location—to select from. A committee could also be selected to determine what information to include and perhaps the visual tour information would be changed/rotated three or four times a year?

“That’s it, in a nutshell. I suspect that this idea has been raised and discussed during the past half century. I further suspect that nothing has happened so far for a variety of reasons. However, the need to create an ongoing memory of the Hall is obvious: the Hall itself has been demolished, but its 50-year existence ought to honored for future generations of Wes students, workers, and faculty members.”

Malcolm Cochran writes: “I am hopeful that a notice about my most recent work could be published….  It is a major project, and in many ways is a culmination of my five-decades-long career since graduating from Wesleyan.” While not true a transition, it is the culmination of things he has done. https://www.instagram.com/mhcochran/;

https://columbusunderground.com/art-review-a-truly-miraculous-experience-at-requiem-jr1/

Mary O. McWilliams’ comment on my transition post in the online edition: “Neil, you’re a Renaissance man—medicine, design, biotech, and poetry. Thank you for sharing your gifts with your classmates and for pioneering in palliative care, another important calling. Best wishes to you!”

John Cuddy writes about his transition: “I had observed that when you retire that after six months of catching up all your delayed projects, you can wander aimlessly without purpose.  So, I started to teach accounting as an adjunct at Towson University. I really enjoy working with the young folk, trying to introduce them to business, including a sense of responsibility and ethics, as well as how you can make a potentially boring subject fascinating. And then there is the home front, with gardening, catching up all the reading I want to do—have enough books to last until I am 135, and being my wife’s help desk as she teaches home and hospital students via Google Meet.  But of course, can’t stop there—we decided to learn Irish and have been in a class for that since last fall. Interesting language. Our first goal was simply to pronounce signs and names correctly. Now I am trying to do a dual-language reading of Alice in Wonderland and looking forward to seeing The Quiet Girl when available for free streaming. Of course, aging has its fun moments—we took turns with health issues from October 2020 to early 2022, which kept us close to home. But COVID did help us find a different parish and we have become pretty active in our religious life, which of course forces me to read theology.

“By the way, I am with Alan Epstein on revisiting the classics from freshman humanities. In retrospect, that is a course that has stuck with me more than any other.

Slàn go fòill.

Lawrence Madlock ’70 writes: “Just wanted to say hello for Yvonne (MAT ’72) and me. She is retired from public health but works very hard as a volunteer. I’m still doing volunteer work in addiction medicine and clinical care about half a day a week. We’ll start back traveling soon.”

Warren White “thought Professor Thornton Page’s 1967 students might find it interesting to remember the required nighttimetour of Van Vleck Observatory given the recent discussion of UFOs and the sightings of Chinese balloons.” Warren shares a link to an article about Professor Page, which includes photos of him. In 1966 Page was interviewed, along with Carl Sagan, by Walter Cronkite about UFOs. Sagan, by Walter Cronkite about UFOs. https://underctskies.wordpress.com/category/thornton-l-page/.

And last but not least, check out the March 2023 National Geographic issue. Photographer classmate Michael Yamashita’s photo is featured there.

Thanks for reading and send more emails.

Aloha,

Neil

Aloha.

First, I have to apologize that somehow I missed a print deadline completely. No idea what went on there. Maybe it was finally moving into the house we’ve been building for several years, maybe a warp in the space-time continuum. I’d blame it on COVID, but I didn’t get it until recently. If you sent me news in the past eight months that isn’t in this column and hasn’t been in print or in the virtual edition of the alumni magazine, please consider resubmitting.  Again, my deepest apologies.

Beginning with those from whom we haven’t heard in a long time, or maybe never. Jerry Schwartz wrote,“Since the pandemic started, I’ve been teaching religious (Torah) classes for synagogues and temples around the country. I never would have imagined this. Tip of the hat to Zoom for making it possible.”

David Davis wrote, “After 27 years at Oregon Public Broadcasting, I am finally retiring at the end of June. I’ll continue to work a few hours a week after that to finish up a few projects. Last June, I received a Silver Circle Award from NATAS, the organization that awards television Emmys. This award recognizes people who have worked more than 25 years in the industry and have made a significant contribution. I hope life after retirement includes more travel with my wife Cindy Talbot (sister of classmate Steve Talbot). Cindy is also retiring as a family practice physician. My youngest daughter Eva has followed in her footsteps—she’s a family practice resident in Tacoma, Washington.”

Mitch Grashin popped up on Facebook. He lives in the San Fransisco Bay area. I’ll put his update at the end. (It gets the award for longest classmate news post I’ve ever received, I think.)

Tim McGlue lives in France now, by the sea in Le Havre. He wrote, “Last fall, I published my first historical novel, Mixed Blood: Last Winter in America, at Polyverse Publications in California. Many years of research and writing finally come to fruition, now out there for people to read. I hope this news reaches some of my friends from Wesleyan, and the College of Letters professors who had a big hand in my writing genesis. Some are still with us, I know. Many thanks to them and to Wesleyan. Last time I gave news was for the 1970 Class Reunion that didn’t happen (COVID took over. . .). Maybe next time around.    

“Attached is a poster page with the cover photograph of Mixed Blood. . .  and how to order. I also keep up a Facebook author’s page (link on the poster) with a Reader’s Companion and illustrations appearing in the book, with full color maps, diagrams, related issues and articles, and more.

“I write and publish now as ‘Tim Warren McGlue,’ taking up the name of my mother’s and my own ancestors. There are still many Warrens on the White Earth Chippewa Reservation in Minnesota—I went to visit last year. And there are many of us out and abroad, as it were. It is a beautiful place, with wonderful people who, I was happy to see, are doing very well.”

            “Mixed Blood: Last Winter in America is the story of William W. Warren, the son of an Ojibwe mother and white trader father at the edge of the frontier. Torn between cultures, Warren gathers the oral histories of the elders to preserve them against the ravages of progress. Finally, only 27 years old but with failing health, he takes his manuscript in hand to embark on a perilous mid-winter journey to New York City.

            “Author Tim Warren McGlue uses historical records, letters and photographs to bring us this historical biofiction based on the life of his ancestor, William Whipple Warren, as he struggles to publish the book that would become the classic History of the Ojibway People, a first-of-its-kind collection of Native American stories and traditions still in print today.” Two links about the book:

https://www.amazon.fr/Mixed-Blood-Winter-America-English-ebook/dp/BOBN68Y8P7

https://www.facebook.com/people/Mixed-Blood-Last-Winter-in-America/100088090835382/

Gordon Fain wrote from Hamden-near-New Haven:“Swim team and Foss Hill classmates may remember swimmer Gus Spohn, and his girlfriend Sarah Clark ’73, who transferred to Wes and  graduated with us. Sara, Gus, my wife Lila, and I all live on the same block in Hamden. Sara and Gus are blessed to have grandchildren in our neighborhood, while we are fortunate that our grandchildren are enjoying schools in Michigan and California. Gus jogs by our house. 

“Classmates who studied government, economics, international affairs, etc., may be interested that a new Public Affairs center is in progress on campus.”

Guy Prevost wrote, “I’ve been toggling between film and fiction writing recently, more emphasis on the latter. Had a number of short stories published in various journals, and one was just included in an impressive anthology where I share space with Nathaniel Hawthorne and H. G. Wells. Meanwhile have been in friendly touch with Steve Talbot, Dave Davis, and Mark Fuller. Also, Steve Policoff who starred in my thesis film at Wes.”

Bob Stone wrote, “In late April, 11 Wes Delts gathered for a minireunion in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Many were accompanied by their very brave spouses. The reunion was attended by Hank Shelton ’72 (chief organizer of the event), Rick Birinyi ’72, Larry Mendelowitz ’72, Jim Hoxie ’72, Mike Blake ’72, John Hester ’71, Joel Adams, Ralph Moore, Pete Stein, Marc Pickard, and yours truly. We enjoyed three days of endless chatting, walks on the beach, too much food and drink, and wonderful camaraderie. Rico arranged for delicious gourmet dinners. At the end of our first dinner, the group spontaneously broke into a boisterous rendition of ‘The Old College Medley.’ The restaurant had mostly cleared by then, but the staff found it highly amusing.  

David Redden wrote,“I’ve beaten the odds-on ALS longevity by several years now, and cheerfully agreed to be the subject in an astonishing effort to engineer telepathic communication with machines. Last October, in an extraordinary operation involving 12 surgeons working over eight hours, I had an array of electrodes inserted in my brain and connected to transmitter in my chest, allowing me to communicate with computers through thought alone. I am now Patient One in the U.S. and Patient Two in the world to be involved with this experimental technology. I spend ten hours a week training how to use the electrodes. But for someone who has become a mute quadriplegic it’s very exciting to be at the forefront of this astonishing new technology.

“My daughter marries her girlfriend next month and, surprisingly, I’ll be there.”  

Steve Talbot has had his latest documentary, The Movement and the “Madman”, aired on the PBS American Experience series. A few of his thoughts about the project include, “One of the bonuses of making my documentary was reconnecting with so many Wesleyan friends who had taken part in the fall 1969 protests that the film covered. I thank everyone who watched and for sharing their memories of marching down Main Street in Middletown for the October 15 Moratorium and going to Washington, D.C., on November 15 for the largest march and rally the country had ever seen. 

“For anyone who missed the film or would like to see it again, you can watch it on PBS Passport, Amazon, or iTunes.” The film has gotten great reviews and is a must-see, IMHO.

John Sheffield wrote, “Still working as crew and/or delivery captain of sailing vessels. Most recent gigs: brought  a 33-foot Halberg sloop from Chesapeake Bay to Long Island Sound, did fix-up tasks and taught sailing to a young sailor on Long Island South Bay. Enjoying time with our 10-year-old grandson in NYC and connecting with some Wes undergrads through LinkedIn. Still playing tennis regularly.”  

Congratulations to Jamie Kirkpatrick, who has published a new novel, This Salted Soil.  Jamie’s description: “This Salted Soil is historical fiction, centered on the North African campaign in World War II. Ever since I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Tunisia, I’ve wanted to write about the battle for Tunisia and two related themes: Tunisia’s struggle for independence from France and the role of Third World countries in the Cold War.” The book is available on Amazon.

Maurice Hakim wrote, “First, I want to clear the air by saying I have no classified documents in my house, garage, or barn in Clinton, Connecticut.  

“Carol and I spent December and the first week of January in Florida. Much to my chagrin, I had a tooth infection that resulted in two root canals and two subsequent crowns. If that wasn’t enough, we took the autotrain back north, and as I unloaded my overnight bag, I closed the rear door on my hand. We spent the next night at my Lawrenceville classmate Bob McEwen’s home in New Hope, Pennsylvania. The following day, we drove home to Clinton, Connecticut, and stopped at the Middlesex Hospital’s ER where it was discovered that I incurred a broken middle figure, the one I use to express my total frustration with Joe Biden. Today, the splint will be removed and two  fingers will be taped. Thereafter, I start finger therapy for a few weeks.

“Business is starting to boom. Earth Fare is back in business under new ownership. Their first 44-pallet order (4,488 cases of teas and lemonades) goes out next month along with another 22 pallets for Heinen’s and a smaller order for the Mister Mo’s Lemonade distributor that covers Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They are coming into Connecticut soon. 

“It’s cold in Connecticut and taxes are high, of course. But we no longer support two homes. We can now see Alexandra all the time rather than six months every year. She’s now working at the Boston Consulting Group. Great salary and terrific perks. Carol is doing very well in real estate. She specializes in retail leasing and commercial sales.”

A salute to Jacob Scherr who has kept a weekly, nonreunion reunion Zoom going for a few years now. About 35 folks are on the email list for the Zoom and I’m sure you can join in, too, if you want to.  It’s good to see actual and adopted ’70 folks semi-regularly, like David Williams ’72, Peter Kalischer, Elliot Daum (and, of course) Harvey Yazijian, Jeremy Serwer, Prince Chambliss, Bernie Freamon ’69, Josh Barrett, Demetrie Comnas ’71, etc.

Marcos Goodman gets the Class Notes award for “Widest Travels That We Know” About. Although Jacob Scherr and Elliot Daum are in Europe as I write this and have connected with some Wes folks, including Basil Comnas, Marcos travels extensively and to places most folks never thought about visiting. (Albania or Ukraine, anyone?)  He writes long posts that appear on Facebook, full of all sorts of interesting information about the places and their history, all the while playing a silent recorder into an electronic gizmo and doing a blog on whistling. 

I recently reconnected with Mitch Grashin on Facebook. He sent me the following update: 

“I’m glad to be thinking back on the things I mentioned that I’ve done since Wesleyan. I really don’t think much about where I’ve been and what I’ve done; I just kind of seem to always be caught up in what’s happening now, so I appreciate this chance to look back. I wanted to tell you about the two restaurants I was involved with just after Wesleyan times. First off, I did them both with my longtime buddy Bob McAfee, who you may have met when he came to stay with me at Wesleyan during the ’67–’68 school year. Our first restaurant, opened in 1969, The Great Shanghai Steel and Iron Works, was a vegetarian Chinese restaurant in Berkeley, just off the Cal campus. I think it was the only vegetarian Chinese restaurant in the country at the time. It was frequented daily by the likes of Eldridge Cleaver, Huey Newton, Timothy Leary, Sly Stone, etc., etc., as well as many of the visiting Chinese students at Cal. We served brown rice (scandalous), and we were so arrogant that if you wanted white rice we charged extra for it. Our next restaurant, The Vitium Capitale (capital vice), opened in the refurbished Farmers Market in Seattle in 1974. It was vegetarian, and during the day we served crepes, desserts, and cappuccino. In the evenings we reopened and served five-course vegetarian meals, by reservation. We had farmers in the market growing specialty vegetables for us, and we had several of Bob’s recipes in the Gourmet magazine of the time. We were on the circuit of various music groups touring that came through Seattle and cooked many an after-midnight banquet (complete with magic mushrooms) for musicians of the day. We also catered for the Super Sonics, because Coach Bill Russel liked us and wanted to support Black-owned business. We also used to cater dinners at his house in Mercer Island, and oh my God, the guest list at Bill’s dinner parties was breathtaking. I’m told that from our humble Vitium Capitale  we started the so-called ‘California Cuisine’ using locally sourced and specialty grown vegetables, and in the early days, we were scoped by the soon-to-be cultural food icons Jeremy Towers and Alice Waters (my son Pal later worked at her restaurant, Che Panisse, in Berkeley). That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Thanks, again, Russ for providing me a mirror from my past.”

But wait, there’s more: “I am in my eighth decade of playing martial arts. My dad put my brother and me in a traditional dojo (no English spoken) in Seattle, three nights a week when we were there and four years old, respectively. I got my black belt when I was 12, then the next year, Bruce Lee moved in next door and I hung out with that blessed brother for a couple of years, and I have been practicing Chinese forms since then.”

But, wait, there’s still more: “I went from Wesleyan to getting my acupuncture degree in 1970 (same as Wes), then opened a couple of restaurants in Berkeley and then in Seattle in the refurbished Farmers Market (early ’70s), then moved to Jamaica, early ’70s, working as an acupuncturist in a medical clinic. While living in Jamaica, met over several years with the Chinese delegation (the U.S. had no relations with China), eventually getting, in 1972, the first invitation to the Canton Trade Fair, and then we were the first American company in China, two years before Nixon! When I came back to America in the mid-’70s (sold our invitation to the Canton Trad Fare to Shell Oil in 1976 for $50,000), acupuncture wasn’t legal yet, so I spent the next 25 years as a broker. I retired twice, first from real estate, then from mortgages. Now I have unretired for the second time, and we now have a start-up, providing insurance, proof of which is required in all states, for the commercial cannabis market. I think this may be my last hurrah in the business world, as we struck gold on this, having the great good fortune to PARTNER with Lloyds of London, who have been wanting to get into the cannabis market but didn’t know how until we got together and showed them how to reach the growers, and provided an avenue for conventional banking services without violating interstate money laundering laws. We have an exclusive contract to market the policies we helped them develop for the cannabis market, in the U.S., Canada, and now worldwide. We are now insuring oceangoing cargo ships of cannabis and hemp, coming full circle back to Lloyds original mission of insuring the oceangoing vessels that went on expeditions to the East Indies and the spice islands. We are a privately held company, all old-timers (six of us), pretty much women and people of color, no MBAs, no vulture capitalist (just sold stock to friends and family) funding, and just received a valuation of $140 million, based solely on our Lloyds contracts. We are doing some merging of parts of the company with a BIG insurance network (6,000 agents) and now after five years of not getting paid, we are looking at a good payday, and ongoing stock that pays dividends, with a pretty good chance of getting to $1 billion valuation within five years, based on the growing worldwide cannabis market. The new company we will merge operations with [will] do the day-to-day administration and will provide a legitimate CEO and COO, and one of our own will be the CO. We have been meeting with the Chinese and New Zealand governments to provide a $5 million/year blanket insurance policy for the tonnes of cannabis that China has contracted with New Zealand to grow for Southeast Asia (because New Zealand has the same perfect-for-growing-cannabis climate as Northern California). The first few years of this company, my partner and I spent visiting and getting to know the growers and networks of North American cannabis and hemp growers.  Those connections, and the solution we found for commercial banking, are two things that attracted Lloyds to us. My whole life has been a great ride, and I have a front row seat! . . . .

“I guess I’m a serial multitasker, and I forgot to mention that I have also been in the cannabis industry for the past 55 years.”

Until next time, aloha.

Russ