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Bruce Franklin is “staying active with 3-on-3 half-court basketball with a few other 80-plus guys, along with typical walking and weights. Biggest change is dishwashing and busing tables at a local diner for the breakfast crowd a couple times a week, which I was surprised to find very satisfying. I also got to use Olin Library for some basic research on the Constitution Convention (1787), a longtime interest ever since my sophomore seminar days for my history major. I’m looking forward to our 65th in 2027.”
Eric Greenleaf, writing from Larkspur, California, “was widowed three years ago, after a long, loving marriage. My son and grandkids are close by, so much good family time is given me.” He is still practicing online for 20 hours a week, capping a 55-year career as an expert on brief hypnotic psychotherapy. His work has taken him to many places in the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia; and “in Bali, I’ve filmed and studied trance ceremonies and interviewed healers possessed by the gods.” He modestly describes his book, The Problem of Evil: Ancient Dilemmas and Modern Therapy, as “largely unread in English, Spanish, and Mandarin.” His doctors have pronounced him as “in excellent health for a man your age.”
Vin Hoagland and his wife, Margo, celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary by having their picture taken with Santa Claus, a tradition they practice every five years. Following three corneal transplants in five years, Vin was finally able to renew his driver’s license. Fortunately, he was and remains an avid bike rider: “When teaching chemistry at Sonoma State University from 1962 to 2002, I rode my bike the three miles to the campus from our 125-year-old restored Victorian farmhouse. I still manage to ride my bike doing errands, as I plant and harvest a vegetable garden, and I sing in a church choir.” For 32 years he has served on the Sonoma County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board, and for 15 years on the board of an organization that was able to purchase and convert a two-mile strip of land that was to be a freeway into a linear park. Vin continues to appreciate “the Mediterranean climate where we live in Santa Rosa, California, as opposed to Massachusetts.”
Bruce and Karen Menke have continued to be highly active in Georgia Democratic politics and have played important roles in recent electoral successes in their Athens home region, some of which attracted national attention. In January, Bruce widely distributed a letter to local newspaper editors, describing eight major social/political issues deserving immediate attention as “New Year’s Resolutions.” He and Karen continue to take pride in their grandchildren, the oldest of whom graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Duke in physical anthropology; another just started at Tufts in fine arts, and a third is at Georgia Tech in mechanical engineering. A fourth granddaughter has started high school at Athens Academy.
Mike Riley “had a heart ‘event’ this past summer, and now I must not weigh more than 167 pounds—as skinny as when I was a teenager—to keep congestive heart failure at bay.” He wryly adds, “Since retiring I’ve written more books than I have readers, and I am summarizing their critical reviews as a New York Review of Books piece with the help of ChatGPT, which (with typical AI sycophancy) does understand me.”
Len Wilson reports that “Joyce and I are planning to drive to and attend a worldwide conference in Toronto of YMCA staff and leaders as part of Y retiree groups from 20-plus countries.” They will retire from their role as editors of their group’s newsletter but will remain participants in “all local gatherings regarding the drift of our government.” Len continues to be active with his Center City Philadelphia church as it recovers from a bad electrical fire, while still maintaining its services to the unhoused and needy in the area. He also enjoys pickleball most mornings and claims he and his partner would “easily win the 85-plus division in most tournaments (if such a division existed).” Because he and Joyce are still mobile and healthy, they have felt no need to change either lifestyle or auto trips, “but stay tuned for developments on that front.”
Chuck Work writes, “After 10 years in Naples, Florida, Roni and I are moving to the San Francisco area to be near our three sons and our grandchildren, in an excellent retirement community near Livermore. We look forward to our next chapter and not having to cook.” Chuck “was honored to be asked to speak at Milt Schroeder’s memorial service last July,” commemorating Milt’s outstanding career as a judge on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and his service and teaching record at Arizona State University.
RAY FANCHER | fancher@yorku.ca