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A year ago, I was nervously holding back news items about two friends who were facing major health challenges. Now I am happy to share good news from each of them. Please note that when—and it happens more frequently these days—I receive troubling health news, I do not put it in Class Notes unless specifically requested to.

Michael Carlson sends us this:  “Feeling grateful after a long illness last year, I indulged in the triumph of hope over experience, with a third-time lucky marriage to Irish-born Elaine Meade in February in Richmond. Wedding was on the eighth anniversary of our first date and was very moving, not least for me. After that bit, it turned into an Irish piss-up, with according to me new brudder-in- law, ‘more fallers than the Grand National,’ including the bride. As Jeanine Basinger told me, ‘at least you were smart enough to marry her.’ That’s all the confirmation anyone needs. After a couple of mini-moon trips as I got my strength back, we recently had a couple of weeks in Carvoeiro and Faro in Portugal, where I continued my 50-year dither with my collected poetry. Many thanks to classmates and other Wes folk for their continued support and encouragement. It was a huge help.”

Michael Arkin had to miss our annual gathering at the annual Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival following a scary cardiac episode, and Elisa and I visited them on our way home. Michael provides this update: “When we last met on our porch in Hudson, you were heading south to Bethel from MNFF 11. I was a shell of my former self, wondering what would become of me. Cardiac arrest is most often terminal. I was saved by my theater friend, Kit Flanagan, performing CPR with instructions from EMS by phone, and Morag calling the EMS. In Hudson, it took them three minutes to arrive. In NYC, I’m confident I would have died. I am happy to report that I am very well recovered. I visit Planet Fitness five times a week and have done since December.”

Michael and Morag went to England for a family wedding, and he provides these shots of them in appropriately formal attire.

On August 10, The New York Times published this story on Mark Frost and his Chronicle—highlighting a small newspaper that is doing well: Small newspapers

In May, Doug Stivison celebrated his 400th baptism as chaplain of the Seamen’s Bethel in New Bedford, Massachusetts. This is the chapel immortalized in Moby Dick, with the ship’s prow serving as the pulpit. Then, in June, he delivered the keynote address at the 72nd annual meeting of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches. He spoke on the challenges of effective preaching about divisive public issues without becoming “a voice for political tribalism.” He says, “Not bad for a guy going blind and listed on the church directory as ‘honorably retired.’”

The eagle-eyed Bob White! sends us this: “Remember our classmate, Robert Weinberg? Robert and I were first-year roommates and sophomore-year floor mates in Harriman Hall. He wrestled a few matches for Wesleyan when the team’s heavyweight was injured. In the summer of 1971, I stayed on campus to start my independent research in the chemistry department. This was when I started karate in Middletown. Robert had already begun his journey in this martial art and became a black belt before we graduated. Now, not only is Robert very high-ranking in karate, but my former roommate is considered a legend. See the attached links for details. Our classmate Robert Weinberg is well accomplished and respected in traditional Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate.”

https://www.warrenerentertainment.com/karate-legends-vol-4-by-inoue-weinberg-and-godshaw

Robin (known to some as “Bob”) Hunt provides this summary of his nine offspring: “Sarah, JD in Virginia; Rachel, MD in Michigan; Bram, PhD in Wisconsin; Gail, PharmD in Nebraska; Paul, DO expected 2027 in Idaho; Adam, BS in South Carolina; and David, Tessa, and Jacob, BS here in New Mexico, near Kathy and me.” I had to remind him that Sarah, with whom I have worked on environmental bar matters, has an LLM as well. Ten grandchildren “so far.” Robin is looking forward to our 55th in May. He appreciates being included even if he didn’t finish with the rest of us. He says that he cannot remember a single one of his Maryland ’76 classmates.

Speaking of Weinbergs and speaking of New Mexico, Larry Weinberg is still in Santa Fe, appreciating the Santa Fe Opera every summer. His daughter, Leah ’08, and her husband, Scott Horowitz ’07, are thriving in Denver. She’s manager of foundations and grants at Rocky Mountain Public Media; he’s tenured faculty at the University of Denver.  

I managed to see Roger Jackson twice in connection with my American Bar Association travels—first in Minnesota in April, then in Chicago in August. Between the two visits, Roger and Pam sold their home in Minnesota and moved to Evanston so as to be closer to their son and grandchildren. Fine with me, since I have two trips to Chicago for the ABA scheduled for the foreseeable future.

From Mark Gelber, still in Beer Sheva, Israel: “Jody ’73 and I became great grandparents in July.   The birth and the brit mila were very moving. The mother is the oldest child of our oldest son. Jody and I continue to work too much in retirement. Escapism? I gave a talk at the MLA convention in Toronto in January, spoke in a lecture series at the University of Potsdam in June, as well as at a conference at the Freie Universitaet in Berlin. A book I edited on Kafka, as well as one on German-Israeli Wissenstransfer, were published this past year. Jody was asked to continue after retirement at the Beer Sheva Psychological Services and has her own clinic as well. The political situation here, as well as elsewhere or everywhere, continues to be horrendous. But we have very good relationships, that is, we are close with most of our grandchildren (11) and with the two spouses who joined the family in the last years. That assuages the pain a tiny bit.”

Geoff Rips found the attached link in Poetry magazine, discussing the growing appreciation of Mel Dixon’s work and the forthcoming publication of his collected works: Meeting Mel Dixon

Blake Allison unearthed what may be the only surviving photo of Wesleyan’s last freshman football team, from fall 1968.

And George Surgeon and Andy Feinstein shared this from their visit this past summer.