Tag: 1970

Aloha, everyone.

Sadly, the Fall ’25 Issue of the magazine reported the deaths of five classmates. I had previously reported on the deaths of Bob Segal and Calvin deGrasse. Here are links to obituaries for Brian Dawe, Michael Mastergeorge, and Randy Miller. 

https://www.bragdonkelley.com/obituaries/Brian-Dawe?obId=45896347

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/middletownpress/name/michael-mastergeorge-obituary?id=59270288

https://tributearchive.com/obituaries/43692986/the-honorable-mayor-randy-h-miller-sr/burlington/new-jersey/tl-hutton-funeral-services

Additionally, we lost Peter Miceli on October 31, 2024.

Russ Bradshaw wrote in memory of crewmate Brian Dawe, sending a team photo (at right). Also, Russ had an interview published in Wesleyan’s fall edition. He says, “It describes my experiences in a New Age group that worked for ‘inner and outer peace,’ based in Queens, meetings in NYC at United Nations. Unfortunately, the leader had a well-hidden ‘shadow side,’ of MeToo sort. . .” The experience resulted in a traumatic experience for Russ’s family, so he “decided to devote my efforts to exposing how cultic groups recruit and try to retain members.” I concur with Russ’s suggestion to read the piece (on p. 36) if you missed it. 

Our very own Brooklyn cowboy, Jeremy Serwer, wrote: “Still living the country life here in northeast Connecticut—close enough to enjoy civilization when needed, yet far enough away to mostly be away from it. Working very part-time with one client; on three nonprofit boards; doing lots of volunteer work focusing on veterans, antisemitism, and equine pursuits. Mostly, working or riding horses three to five days a week. Had a decent 2025 Cowboy Mounted Shooting season. Wife, Nancy, is still flying for American Airlines as a first class purser out of Boston; finally starting to talk about retirement, maybe two years away. Works well, as I managed to rob the cradle anyway—43 years ago.     

“We’re a chip shot off any highway Wes mates might travel between NY and Boston. It’s beautiful on our property. There’s a guaranteed lunch for anyone wishing to take a driving break (jeremy@theserwercompany.com). Last visit we enjoyed was from Chase Van Gorder ’71, Wes Beta bro. Great fun.”

By the time you read this, Jamie Kirkpatrick’s new novel, The People Game (Koehler Books), should be published. More information appeared in the Fall ’25 Issue.

(Dr.) John Yurechko caught us up on his news: “I have published two volumes of poetry, my first, titled Head Lines, way back in 2014; followed in 2025 with Second Thoughts.

“I retired from a 30-year government career in 2011. I have given lectures to various audiences on the Ukraine war, NATO, and other national security topics. I have written articles and contributed to books on Russian/Soviet military issues.

“I met my wife, Jane, a Wellesley graduate, when we were both in graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. (I completed my PhD in history in 1980.)  We settled in northern Virginia, then moved to a lakeside home in central Virginia in 2016.

“Alas, my rickety body demanded that I cease active participation in Revolutionary War (with the 1st Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line) and Civil War (28th Massachusetts Regiment) reenactments, although I continue to do living history talks for local school classes.

“Three daughters and a grandson named Wesley (pure coincidence!).

“I noticed in your most recent notes an update from Steve Talbot, remarking that he was just in Vietnam. Jane and I just finished a trip there and to Cambodia in October 2025. Vietnam was still decorated with flags and slogans celebrating the 50th anniversary. It was quite an experience.

“I get together with Chuck Caramello (who lives in Maryland) on almost a weekly basis to eat sushi and ‘chew the rice.’ Chuck, a professor emeritus of English, retired as a dean at the University of Maryland. He is working on his second book on equine and equestrian history. Jeff Nye (who lives in northern Virginia) joins us at times as well.”

Frank Waters is the equivalent of folks who call in to a radio show and introduce themselves by saying, “Longtime listener, first-time caller.” He sent a summary of his life since graduation: “My wife, Janet, and I have been married for 50 years and have two adult children and three grandchildren.

“I never left Connecticut after Wesleyan. I went to work for a Hartford insurance company after graduation and a few years later, bought a West Hartford property and casualty insurance agency (from Page Harman ’42, another Wesleyan alumnus), which I owned for 35 years. I sold it 12 years ago but remained active on a part-time basis in the insurance industry until last year. Now I just play a lot of golf, run a fantasy football league, which I have been commissioner of for 39 years, and babysit for our two younger grandchildren. Oh, I was also the varsity girls basketball coach at Avon, Connecticut, high school for 19 years (1997–2016), where I had a career record of 378–95, with 13 league championships and one state title. 

“Wesleyan alums that I see most regularly include Brendan Lynch ’68, Jim Akin ’72, John Papa ’79, and occasionally Gary Walford ’71 and Brian Silvestro. I do get back to campus a couple of times a year for athletic contests and golf outings. And I promise to make our 60th Reunion if I am still sound of mind and body.” 

Frank promised his father to write a book about his family’s experiences in WWII, and A Drumstick for Thanksgiving Please is now published. Frank’s description: “It is a true story of the Waters family journey, basically through the World War II years. The principal figures are my father, Frank Waters Jr. ’42, and my uncle, William Waters ’42, who were both Army Air Corps pilots and [Wes grads].” 

Frank wanted his email shared: fwaters2525@gmail.com.

From the book blurb:   

“Frank’s debut literary work fulfills a 30-year-old promise he made to his father, a World War II fighter pilot. A Drumstick for Thanksgiving Please chronicles realities of life in the 1940s, not only for the faithful U.S. Air Force pilots, but also of their families during their absences.

“With multiple family members away in Europe, the Waters family corresponded, even when one of them ended up as a POW in a German camp. Their close relationships carried them all through the war and beyond, proving that family ties make a difference when faced with adversity.

“Follow the decades-long saga of one family who thrived despite the difficulties of a world at war.”

Edward Hazen Walker, aka “Sachin Hazen,” wrote (I believe for the first time) and shared a lot of news and a fascinating story:

“After graduation, cum laude Phi Beta Kappa, I traveled across the country in a VW Bug. Came out as bi/gay in Berkeley, mingled backstage with Joan Baez and Mimi Farina, had my mind exploded in Monterrey, stayed up all night writing/channeling ‘the wisdom of the universe.’

“Returned to the culturally OCD East Coast to share New Age consciousness, failed miserably. Had a breakdown, found the will to live again by following my intuition to my ancestral homeland, the then Soviet Union. Had a successful career in IT, made a lot of money in real estate in Boston. Spent five years in an ashram in western Massachusetts, became a psychotherapist, manifested a beautiful home surrounded by forest in Connecticut.

“Contemplating the end of life, I moved to Mexico to the decadent Oaxacan Coast to relax and chill until death. Instead, my body got stronger and healthier and I had to recalibrate. As a spiritual teacher, I was invited to stay in beautiful homes in fascinating places, San Miguel de Allende, the Ansonia Hotel in Upper West Side Manhattan, and now the Mojave Desert.

“Along the way I had the freedom and encouragement to begin writing again. Short stories, often highly erotic, poured forth from me. After the death of my mother, I started to spend more and more time in the next dimension communing with her. This coincided with developing abilities as a shaman, and ultimately as a psychic and channel.” 

Jerry Cerasale sent good advice (for me, at least): “At our age it’s time to retire.” He says, “I’m still enjoying my time on the Eastham Select Board. However, I’m continually amazed at the ‘pressing’ issues that citizens raise. Eastham is in the midst of facing a state mandate to put in sewers and a wastewater treatment plant, covering new bonds for installing a new water system (before 2020 there were no fire hydrants in town), and paying its part of a $170 million high school. The pressing issues from many citizens are pickleball courts and usage and dog walking. I’ve learned that many times it’s the little things that count.”

Tim Greaney’s new novel, Taking Up Life in Both Hands, is available on Amazon. It’s a satire about a large Catholic hospital system that has lost its way and fallen prey to profit-hungry executives. Information about his first novel, St. Sebastian School of Law, a satirical take on law teaching during the first years of Trump, can be found at www.timgreaney.net.

Peter Ratner wrote, “In my case, I would say no news is good news. We are back in Seatoun and hopefully finishing our house renovation by the end of the year. Did a trip to Scotland, London (where our daughter married her partner after 20 years and two children), and NYC in October. We look after our youngest granddaughter every Thursday. Other than that, we just keep on keeping on.” 

From David Jones: “I’m now in my 38th year as president and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York, a nonprofit, and a member of the Board of the MTA  (Metropolitan Transportation Agency of New York). Still not quite ready to retire but maybe in two or three years. Enjoying my three grandchildren: my 13-year-old Sophia in Boston and my five-year-old Acher and three-year-old Ren in Brooklyn.” He says that he had “a recent advocacy victory, after 10 years of effort, led a successful campaign called Fair Fares for half-priced fares on subways and buses for low-income New Yorkers. To date, more than 300,000 people have signed up. It’s this kind of work which keeps me going well after my expiration date. Best, David”

Bruce Williams sent an update: “I got a tick-borne bacteria, anaplasmosis, which upset my equilibrium —listing to port—which sent me falling down [the] stairs one hot midnight in July 2024, the eve of getting treatment, during which I broke my neck, hence my lengthy rehabilitation. I was working on a film at the time and was unable to bring it to something like a finished form until last spring, eight months, and I’m not completely happy with what I’ve done since my fall. Gives me something to aim for in between poems.”

For those of you who are a bit poetry-challenged like me, Bruce included this note: “Lots of pentameter / except the first line / iambs not so much).”

CLASS NOTES

Aloha, Oy Vey, Aye Bobo, and Howdy!

Last time I wrote to the class as a whole

was for our 50th Reunion book, 

but I never got a copy. Maybe 

there was some right-wing sabotage. Maybe

the post office was being set up to fail.

Maybe it was just your standard SNAFU. 

Now our class moves ever closer to the

back page of the alumni magazine, 

ever more onto obituaries. 

I almost made it. Anaplasmosis,

fractured cervical vertebrae, rock star

neurosurgeon, a book load of nurses,

stuff of legends. My rehab goes well, but

I still list a bit to port. My left foot

still tends to drag. Common names escape me,

but I delight still in what I read, like

after lights out in the women’s lock-up

in Greenwich Village when a sister calls,

“Hey, Angela! What’s imperialism?”

Since my fall, A.I. has metastasized.

Still quite fallible, it says a friend died

two years ago. Wrong. It rightly says I

misremember what professor Davis

actually wrote. The correct copy is,

“Angela, what does ‘imperialism’

mean?” “Lock-up” in the House of Detention,

not “Lights out.” Same thing. Approximately.

Angela answers, teacher that she is.

What I remembered was more dramatic,

more cinematic, and where but in books

can one be a political prisoner 

with Toni Morrison as editor?

How great is that? A happy Hollywood 

ending too. She goes free as a spirit. 

Stuart Frank sent an update on his book publishing: “Delighted to report that my book Biographical Dictionary of Scrimshaw Artists, the product of 35-plus years of research, has now been published in two volumes by Scrimshaw Forensics® and is available online at Amazon.com. This clears the path for me to look for a publisher for my next grand opus, The Herman Melville Song Book, a scholarly anthology and analysis of the authentic songs, ballads, tunes, and chanteys referred to in Redburn, White-Jacket, and Moby-Dick. In a way, it’s a follow-up to (or a follow-through) to my first book, Herman Melville’s Picture Gallery: Sources and types of the “pictorial chapters” of Moby-Dick (1986). Hints and contacts from classmates shall be greatly appreciated! (stuart.m.frank@verizon.net)  Meanwhile my wife, Mary Malloy, has been lecturing occasionally at Wes and is busily engaged in writing articles and chapters on maritime history, Indigenous Northwest Coast art, a book about Americans in the Pacific in the 19th century, and her fifth novel (something about a female pirate in the post-Napoleonic era), while I continue as editor of the triannual journal Scrimshaw Observer and as founding director of the Scrimshaw Forensics® Laboratory. So, we’re both busy in retirement. And I expect you are, too.”

I heard again from Andy Edlen. In case you missed his saga online awhile back, here it is again:  “On the heels of graduation back in the Pleistocene, Jeff Wanshel ’69 told me of a call he got from a high school friend of his, John Emulin, leader of a band called Lothar and the Hand People, about a job opening at Jimi Hendrix’ Electric Lady Studios on 8th street in Greenwich Village. I went to work there a bare week before Jimi’s sad passing. Over the next couple of years, I went from gopher (go fer this . . . ) to night manager to staff engineer. Lots of brushes with fame, amazing audio adventures and a ringside seat viewing the greed and venality of the record biz. The ensuing decades were filled with a blur of bands, work at West Coast studios and some time on the road backing up Bobby Freeman (Do you Wanna Dance and The Swim in a kind of white-boy soul revue. Then, a couple of decades making music and sound fx for computer game companies in the Bay Area, where I’ve resided since 19(gulp)73. And over the last decade, I’ve been doing IT at UC Berkeley.

“My brother Steve and I have a number of songs up on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-568633504 that you and your readers might enjoy. And I escaped the cutting room floor (and was given some generous screen time) in a movie about the studio’s early days, findable on Amazon as Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision. The editors kindly included my sentient moments from the interviews, and it’s a pretty fair time capsule of that window in the studio’s history.

“I’m in touch with precious few friends from the era, and I hope this Class Notes appearance may help remedy that.”

And an update: “At Wesleyan, I translated Neruda and a number of Spanish Golden Age, 16th-century writers like Cervantes and Lope de Vega, and my Spanish is still in decent shape. . . .”

I continue teaching middle school, but plan on retiring next year. Vera, my wife of 38 years, and I live in our little dodecagon house with a two-year-old mini-Aussie dog in a quiet valley on Kauai. We deal with downed trees and rocks rolling into the “road” to pavement, along with flood watches. We plan to sell this house and get a place that’s paid-for elsewhere on the island. I want to finish writing some books, including one on sex education for middle schoolers, based on the questions my students have asked and my answers to them. (Would love suggestions for finding publishers.)

We recently traveled to Nevada and Utah where we visited Bryce and Zion National Parks and hiked around some other gorgeous places. Highly recommended, especially Bryce.

A happy and healthy new year to all.

I’m sorry to have to report the loss of two other classmates. Just as the last column was going to print, I received word that Bob Segal had died. Bob was a religion major at Wesleyan, then earned an MA and PhD in religion at Princeton. He went to Europe years ago after teaching at several colleges and universities in the U.S. He taught at several places in Europe, the last being the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. More information here and here.

During reunion, John Talbot wrote to let me know that his former roommate Calvin deGrasse had died on April 24. Calvin, you recall, was from St. Kitts. Here is a piece that I received from his widow, Elizabeth deGrasse:  

“Calvin Ivan deGrasse was born on December 15, 1946, to Doris Buchanan and Fred Crooke in the town of Sandy Point on the island of St. Kitts, in the British West Indies.

“A consummate learner from grammar school, Calvin earned the highest scores of his class and was subsequently featured in the local newspaper and radio station. He went on to earn admission into Wesleyan University in Connecticut during a time of great racial segregation and cries for equality and inclusion in the United States. At Wesleyan, he was among the first students of color to integrate the University, subsequently graduating in the Class of 1970.  In his later days, he would fondly remember the friends he made during his time at Wesleyan. Calvin continued to pursue his education earning a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia University in 1978. Bachelor of Laws with second class honors (lower division) in 2002 from the University of London.

“For a time, post-Wesleyan, Calvin returned to St. Kitts where he served his country as minister of communication under the Llewellyn Bradshaw administration. After leaving government, Calvin returned to the United States where he pursued various endeavors, including working at Mellon Bank, serving his community via his own company, Liamigua Shipping, and working at the New York Stock Exchange until his retirement.  

“Calvin was charming and charismatic. He had a great smile and a fantastic sense of humor. He was a natural leader and an excellent communicator. He could talk for hours, joyfully and passionately about history, politics, law, and family. He was loving, encouraging, supportive, and honest. He was generous with his time and resources, and he put the needs of his family and friends ahead of his own. He also loved to eat!

“After a long illness, Calvin transitioned to the ever after surrounded by his beloved wife and two children.

“He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Elizabeth deGrasse; siblings Jocelyn Tatum, Warrington Tyson, and Marlene ‘Pat’ Crooke; his daughter and son: Michelle deGrasse and Calvin deGrasse Jr.; nieces and nephews: Natasha Tatum, Warrington Tyson Jr., Tiffany Tyson, Brandon deGrasse, Lennox deGrasse Jr.; grandchildren: Daniella Semper, Hugh deGrasse, Jeremy deGrasse; and many in-laws and countless other family members and friends, some from his childhood days, who loved him dearly.”

We will miss him, as well.

Reunion was fun, although sparsely attended by classes celebrating post-50th reunions. The following folks made it to Middletown this time:  Bob Stone, Ralph Moore, Joel Adams, Jeremy Serwer, Josh Barrett, Pete Stein, Howie Borgstrom, Bob Ament, David Geller, Darwin Poritz, Jerry Schwartz, Jeffrey Elson, and me. As usual, there are new things to see and a variety of activities to attend. Two highlights were a presentation about what the future of the country looks like and a presentation by Wesleyan president Michael Roth. Dinners were with other post-50th classes.

Other news: Jerry Schwartz wins the brevity award. He commented about the reunion: “It was good to see everyone.” The second-place winner is Steve Masten. Steve wrote that he was “unable to attend Reunion because it coincided with (wife) Ann’s retirement celebration. Hope you all had a good time.” (We did!)

Right now, I want to urge everyone to start planning for our 60th Reunion. Let’s face it, folks, we’re not getting any younger. Let’s make the 60th Reunion huge!

In lieu of a standard news offering, Brad Matthews sent a very thoughtful miniessay about life, knowledge, curiosity, etc.: 

The wise man is one who, knows, what he does not know.—Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching.

“Perhaps like you. . .

“I increasingly recognize that I am no wise man, but I am enjoying feeling like I am getting a better understanding of this translation of Lao Tzu’s original words.

“I am focusing much of my remaining time collecting and linking information, seeing glimpses of patterns leading to flashes of understandings of existence.

“I incessantly cogitate on the increasingly obvious, unknowable, micro and macro expanse of reality—including, but in no way limited to, our bodies, minds, emotions, relationships, self-governance, societies, humanity, and our world, as well as the implications of quantum physics, quantum computing, AI, explorations of outer space, etc.

“I find myself noticing and reappraising the myriad of my life’s experiences—reconsidering and redescribing the particles and wholeness of my life. Relieving myself from judgements of past ‘should haves’ and current/future ‘shoulds’ is an enjoyable work in progress.

“As complexity and chaos are now more visibly outer and inner norms in reality, I find a kind of peace in coming to terms with the ying-yang of this life. Recognition, respect, acceptance, and appreciation for all that has been, is, and will be seems to bring me a calming sense of order. And so, I continue to function, similarly and differently than in times past. My functioning for hire as an international organizational development consultant has ended. Now, I focus my functioning almost wholly on my curiosity, caring about and with others (including my 14.5-year-old pup), peace of heart and mind, and maintaining my health to enable it all. I do not desire a long life. I just seek a rewarding life for whatever time I have left, hoping that at my completion I am relaxed and gently smiling.”

One of the pleasures of writing this column is the occasional appearance of someone who has been missing in action for years. This time, we welcome Andy Edlen. Andy’s email described a long career involving music, from working in Jimi Hendrix’s studio, playing backup for performers, “making music and sound effects for computer game companies, a brief appearance in a documentary about Hendrix, etc. Andy lives in the San Francisco Bay area. He writes:

“Apologies for my radio silence and nonparticipation. As the calendar careens forward, it seemed time to catch up. On the heels of graduation, thanks to a call Jeff Wanshel ’69 got from a high school friend of his, John Emulin, leader of a band called Lothar and the Hand People, who told Jeff of a job opening, I went to work at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios on 8th Street in Greenwich Village, a bare week before Jimi’s sad passing. Over the next couple of years, I went from gopher (go fer this. . .) to night manager to staff engineer. Lots of brushes with fame and brushes with the greed and venality of the record biz. The ensuing decades were filled with a blur of bands, some time on the road backing up Bobby Freeman (‘Do you Wanna Dance’ and ‘The Swim’ in a kind of white-boy soul revue. :-}. Then a couple of decades making music and sound effects for computer game companies in the Bay Area, where I’ve resided since 19(gulp)73. And over the last decade, I’ve been doing IT at UC Berkeley.

“My brother Steve and I have a number of songs up on SoundCloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-568633504 that you and your readers might enjoy. And I escaped the cutting room floor in a movie about the studio’s early days, findable on Amazon as Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision. The editors kindly included my sentient moments from the interviews, and it’s a pretty fair time capsule of that window in the studio’s history.

“I’m in touch with precious few friends from the era, and I hope this Class Notes appearance may help remedy that.”

Had a note from Jerry Cerasale. Jerry wrote, “The only news I have other than my knees are talking to me every day is that I was re-elected to the Eastham, Massachusetts, Select Board and was elected by the board to be chair. It’s a bit late to start my political career!”

This from Steve Talbot: “Here’s an item, as San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen used to say, I’ve been up to some wildly disparate things: I spent nearly three amazing weeks in Vietnam in April as an invited guest to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. The trip of a lifetime. Emotional. Uplifting. Then I spent a weekend in LA in June reuniting, after 60-plus years, with Jerry Mathers (the Beaver) at a Hollywood autograph show, a first for me. It was nostalgic and a bit surreal. Came home to San Francisco to join an enormous, inspiring No Kings protest. What can I say? We keep on pushin’.”

Peter Ratner wrote from New Zealand: “Not much to report. As I think you know, we have sold Greytown [a gorgeous old country house] and are back in our old house in Seatoun [Wellington]. We miss the quiet of Greytown, but it is nice to be back by the sea.

“After almost 10 years of being tenanted, the house is looking a bit sad, so we are in the midst of a major renovation. Until that is finished our only significant outside interest is helping to look after our youngest grandchild.  

“We are planning to go to Scotland, London, and New York at the end of October for the wedding (after 20 years and two children) of our London daughter. Most of the kids will be there.

“Just saw the latest version of the Count of Monte Christo at the French Film Festival. When Edmond Dantes is in prison, the guards came along every day to bang on the bars and ask, ‘Are you alive?’, to which the prisoner responds, ‘I live,’ and gets his daily meal. I feel like this is now our version of the same ritual—I am pleased to be able to report, ‘We live.’”

Brian Silvestro wrote: “Retired after 50 years of practicing law effective January 1, 2025. Living in Black Rock, Connecticut. Our four sons live in San Diego and Colorado Springs and Chicago and Richmond. We have five grandchildren with another on the way. Jane and I can now travel as we please. And we are doing just that.”

Foremost Hawaii-water lawyer Bill Tam published a chapter on Hawaii water law (1973–2000) in Wai Wai (an anthology).  Bill, Hardy Spoehr ’66, and others organized the first Wesleyan alumni gathering in Hawaii in 10 years (Michael Roth is scheduled to address the group via Zoom).

Per Bill Tam: David Davis retired from a 29-year career at Oregon Public TV. Accolades from those Dave worked with and mentored are pouring in. His steady leadership and vision turned Oregon Public TV into the third-most powerful PBS station in the country, behind only New York and Washington, D.C. 

We have three offerings in our book department this time.

Jamie Kirkpatrick’s The People Game is the third in the Declan Shaw trilogy. It should be published by the time you read this. Here’s the synopsis:

“Declan Shaw is an Irish journalist who has just been named the Washington bureau chief of The Manchester Guardian. This follows his wartime assignments in Tunisia and Palestine, the settings of my two previous novels, This Salted Soil and The Tales of Bismuth.

“The People Game, the third novel in the Declan Shaw trilogy, begins in 1950 when Shaw arrives in Washington. Over the next two years, he covers multiple important events: the Korean War, the senatorial and presidential campaigns of 1952, the McCarthy hearings on Capitol Hill, and the civil rights movement in Washington, D.C. Declan also meets and interviews several important personalities, among them Presidents Truman and Eisenhower, American spymaster “Wild Bill” Donovan, Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Congressman Jack Kennedy, civil rights activist Mary MacLeod Bethune, and many others.

“Declan falls in love with Tay Riggs, scion of the eponymous Washington banking family. They marry just before Declan is offered a visiting fellowship at Washington College in Chestertown on Maryland’s bucolic Eastern Shore. Tay, Declan, and their infant daughter Phoebee decamp from Georgetown and move to Chestertown where Declan leads a seminar in ‘new journalism’ and uses his contacts in Washington to bring an array of noted speakers to campus.

“The People Game explores the events and people of an important era in American history. Moreover, its underlying theme is the story of Odysseus, his trials and tribulations after the fall of Troy, and his eventual homecoming, years later, to Ithaca. The People Game is the final chapter in Declan Shaw’s personal odyssey.

“The book is divided into 81 chapters, with a prologue and epilogue. There are also author notes.”

Steve Ossad’s new book is Chasing the Shadow: Mickey Marcus’s 200 Days of Destiny. Here is a brief description:

“More than just a citizen-soldiers’ biography, this book explores how local NYC hero Colonel David ‘Mickey’ Marcus helped shape U.S. civil affairs and military government policy during and after WWII, including the war crimes trials. Even more relevant today, from his visit to the just-liberated Dachau Concentration Camp to his appointment as Israel’s first general in 1948, Marcus’s last days dramatize the deep spiritual and national security ties between Israel and America. Chasing the Shadow offers a fresh perspective on shared military history, how legends arise, and the origins of American policy in the Middle East.” 

Steve wrote: “Attached is the press release for my third biography, Chasing the Shadow: Mickey Marcus’s 200 Days of Destiny, available on Amazon. My last book on General Omar Bradley won the Society for Military History Writing Award for biography.”

Press release:

“The life of David ‘Mickey’ Marcus has become the stuff of legends and myths (even fantasy), conspiracy, wild exaggeration, and untethered embellishment. The image of Marcus cast by the character portrayed by Kirk Douglas in the film version of his life still dominates most evocations of the man, for good or ill. And these days, reactions to the book or film rest mostly on the current headlines rather than the historical context of the struggle in which Marcus died, or the events that cast him as a real-life player in an event marked by destiny. 

“Chasing the Shadow: Mickey Marcus’s 200 Days of Destiny is the first comprehensive and balanced biography of David Daniel ‘Mickey’ Marcus, a founder of American Civil Affairs and Military Government doctrine and practice and a seminal figure in early Israeli military history. Far from merely a tribute to Mickey Marcus’s legacy, Ossad’s work serves as a critical tool for understanding the realities of mid-20th-century warfare in a postwar colonial struggle and the dynamics of U.S.-Israeli military and political relations in 1948, the critical year for Israel’s struggle for independence. Indeed, Chasing the Shadow is a valuable read for those interested in Middle East history, Jewish military history, and a fascinating character whose story is told in an engaging, informative, and insightful narrative.”

Stuart Frank wrote: “My only real news is that my latest book, 35-plus years in the making, titled Biographical Dictionary of Scrimshaw Artists, is scheduled to be published in August by Amazon Books through Scrimshaw Forensics®. It has 1,450 biographical entries, 9 appendices, and 12 indexes.”

There was a book launch on Cape Cod in August, and the book is available online at  Books@ScrimshawForensics.net.

A limited number of keychains/zipper pulls commemorating the 55th Reunion are available.  One side has a geographical information about Wesleyan in the format of a geophysical marker.  The other side has the reunion information. If interested, please contact me by email.

Aloha, everyone.  We have lots of news.

First, from what I can tell, our classmates in LA seem to have been lucky in not losing their homes in the fires. Bob Stone published some hair-raising accounts and photos on Facebook.  Guy Prevost posted a “safe” message on FB too.

In book news, Ted Reed’s new book is Unions Flying High about airlines’ unions. I love the publicity photo in which he’s wearing a Wesleyan hoodie. Eric Blumenson’s ’68 book is Why Human Rights? A Philosophical Guide. I’ve seen a lot of email comments on the book. Here’s a wonderful review by Stevens Ingraham:

“Wishing to echo others who have offered applause for your new book. Two paragraphs into the intro, this aging head sees that it is not exactly the stuff of cocktail conversation.   But such soaring themes!

“Deceptively simple . . . starting with the analysis of human rights through the prism of a moral mandate.  Intuitively, yes, of course: human rights are, or should be, rooted in deeper soil than the stuff of  ‘mere’ law . . .  statutes, treaties, even constitutions. We thrill to the courage shown by Gandhi, King and Mandela in opposing unjust laws for this very reason.

“Anyway, way to go, Eric, in taking on such an ambitious project. (I’ll be one of those guys in the back of the class hoping you won’t call on me to expound further, OK?)”

Steve Talbot’s movie The Movement and The “Madman” was scheduled for broadcast in Kentucky on Inauguration Day. Not long ago, it was aired in Vietnam as well. In Steve’s words:  “I just received word from VietnamTV1—the major national broadcaster in Vietnam—that they aired my documentary, The Movement and The “Madman,” in prime time last weekend. . . .  I am elated and very moved. Even though my film focuses on events in the U.S.—on Nixon/Kissinger and the anti-war movement in 1969—the whole context is the war in Vietnam. After it aired on the PBS series American Experience last year, one of my goals was to get it shown in Vietnam.

“Now, at age, 75, it feels like my life is coming full circle—from my days at Wesleyan protesting the war with so many of you in our class and making my first anti-war documentary, March on Washington, with Dave Davis, David White, Bill Tam, and others, to actually going to North Vietnam in 1974 to make a film there with Dave Davis and Deirdre English, to now having my most recent film broadcast on national TV in Vietnam. Things like this make getting old worthwhile!”   

Joining the retirement community are Brian Silvestro and Alan Dubrow. Brian’s retirement from 50 years of law practice was on January 1. Brian wrote, “What’s next? Good question. First and foremost, there will be more trips to San Diego, Chicago, Colorado Springs, and Richmond to visit more often with our four boys and their families. Jane retired five years ago or so, after 25 years of teaching. That should open a whole new world for us to live with no pressure to meet work obligations or deadlines. I can’t even imagine what that will be like! There are also a number of volunteer opportunities for me on the horizon. Starting to sort through those now.”  

And Alan Dubrow, who recently surfaced and got connected with Gus Spohn, wrote, “I am retired from my academic nephrology practice. Married 32 years to Stella, who is a nurse. We have always lived in the Big Apple, traveling a lot, mainly to France and Italy. You couldn’t pay me to move from New York. The weather here is better than that in most parts of the country.”

Jeremy Serwer wrote concerning our upcoming 55th Reunion: “Since I’ve been asked by the alumni office to chair outreach again for our 55th Reunion, we’re calling on all classmates who can make the trip to actually do it. While [so far] there are no specific plans other than a class dinner, we all will be able to avail ourselves of the numerous activities planned by other milestone classes. We’ll also have a class ‘lounge’ somewhere on campus (centrally located, of course!). And, of course, the more who attend from ’70, the better it gets: lots of catching up to do!” We are also looking for classmates to volunteer outreach efforts to other mates for the reunion. Please to contact me directly: jeremy@theserwercompany.com, or jeremy@wesleyan.edu.  Contact access to classmates will be provided.”

Personal note: I urge you all to attend the reunion. Not to be morbid, but we’re not getting any younger. I know there already are some related activities planned, including taking in some Red Sox–Mets games at Fenway just before reunion. See what you can cook up before and after reunion. 

For those who don’t receive emails from globetrotting Marcos Goodman, I’m including an entire email about his trip to Ecuador in December. If you’re interested in travel writing that includes a lot of history, you might want to get onto his email list. 

ALTITUDE SICKNESS IN QUITO

“I was in Quito, Ecuador, the highest capital city in the world, for nine days, and I was in bed for most of the first eight of them. I did pick up some interesting tidbits which I’ll share, and then I’ll go into altitude sickness.

“On my rare forays outside, I noticed that the traffic lights weren’t working. That was because the electricity was out for the entire city, except for those who had private generators. Think of what the traffic is like, or crossing the street, or being in a city with a lot of crime, and no lights. Starting in April, the electricity had been shut off for up to 14 hours each day, although right now it’s down to just a few. This is because Ecuador is reliant on hydroelectric plants, and there has been a severe drought for a few years. They really have no even moderately short-term solution. So, the well-to-do have generators, and the poor live in darkness. So it goes.

“Ecuador is the only country other than Panama, El Salvador, and a few tiny ones, that uses the U.S. dollar as its currency. It makes conversion rates easy. However, they generally use Ecuadorian-produced coins instead of U.S. coins. That’s because U.S. coins don’t have a numerical value stamped on them, and many people who don’t speak English can’t figure out how much the coins are worth. So far, I haven’t been able to find other countries where the coins aren’t denominated. 

“For many years, Ecuador was one of the safer countries in the region. Not anymore. That’s because Peru and Colombia are the major cocaine producers in the world, and the past few years the routes have switched so that Ecuador has become the superhighway of world cocaine export, and the crime followed. Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest port and city, has been the worst hit, as that’s where the boats leave from, but the crime has spread. The murder rate has gone from about 6/1,000 in 2017 to about 45/1,000 this year, which some people say is the worst murder rate in the world. However, it’s not, because a number of Caribbean islands are as bad or worse!

“Oil is by far the greatest source of income for the country of Ecuador. It’s 30% of the country’s exports, and the state-owned company rakes that in to provide the bulk of the national income. A lot of that oil comes from what’s left of Ecuador’s Amazon basin holdings, after Peru took most of it in the 1990s. The second largest export is fish, mostly tuna, making it by far the biggest tuna exporter in South America. Unfortunately, I can’t find out who’s the big tuna kahuna.

“Then come bananas. Danny Noboa was elected president when he was 35 and is the youngest president in the world. He is the scion of the richest man in Ecuador, who is the owner of the biggest banana company, making Danny the richest-man-to-be. He went to NYU, Northwestern, and Harvard, while marrying Gabriela Goldbaum, from whom he is still having a very nasty divorce. Although there are few Jews in Ecuador, she’s Ecuadorian and her lineage is Jewish, as I checked her genealogy, and her grandparents were Katzes. I do my very important research! Okay, on to altitude sickness.

“I arrived in Quito late, took a cab directly to my Airbnb, and went to sleep. As usual, the first thing in the morning I began to walk out to a calisthenics spot. However, I could barely make it across the street. I didn’t know what I had, but I had something. I made it back to my Airbnb and went back to sleep.

“Was it Montezuma’s Revenge? Well, I certainly had diarrhea among other things, but my main symptom was that I had zero energy and was having a hard time breathing. It took me a couple of days before I learned that I’ve really gotta start doing my research ahead of time, not after I arrive, as is my normal procedure.

“So, I finally discovered that I had altitude sickness. Dumb tourist! It turns out that Quito has the highest elevation (9,350’) of any other country’s official capital. Notice that I said ‘official’ capital, because La Paz, Bolivia, is much higher (11,942’), but it’s only the ‘administrative’ capital of Bolivia, where all of the governmental bodies do business. Bolivia’s constitutionally official capital is Sucre, which is just a tad lower than Quito at 9,220’. Bogotá, Columbia, at 8,612’, is the third highest official capital, but I’m skipping Bogota except for the airport transfer. 

“The main thing with altitude sickness is that the altitude offers you less oxygen, the result being that you don’t have any energy, among a number of symptoms. So, during my nine days in Quito, I was only out of my Airbnb for less than an hour each day, very slowly trudging to do some essential things, with long stops to sit down and rest every block. The rest of the time, I was lying down or sleeping, generally 12 hours per day. Luckily, Quito doesn’t have a whole lot of sites that I was interested in seeing anyway, so I didn’t miss out on a whole lot. Also, it was threatening to rain most of the time, and the crime rate is such that I may have been best off just lying in bed, sick or not, which is only a slight exaggeration.

“I normally try to avoid taking drugs to solve my rare health issues, which is not always the smartest approach. But after four days, I finally walked next door to the pharmacy and got the recommended medical solution. Once again, I say ‘medical’ solution, because the common folk solution is tea from the leaves of the coca plant, the basic ingredient of cocaine. Although you need a prescription of the medical solution in the U.S., no prescription was needed in Quito. Maybe I should have gone into a cafe and ordered some coca tea, because the medical solution didn’t do bupkis for me. My last day in town, I forced myself to take the hop-on-hop-off bus up to the equator museum, which was interesting. That was the extent of my touristing in Ecuador.

The good and intriguing thing for me about this altitude sickness was that I lost eight pounds. Now, you really can’t trust what almost all people say about losing a lot of weight fast, as it’s almost always from dehydration or starting with wild overeating followed by purging from whichever end. However, you can trust my weight loss for a few reasons. First, I weigh myself on the same scale at almost the exact same time every morning after taking a pee. Second, except for rare exceptions, I eat the exact same food every day, with the quantities weighed out on my food scale, which I carry with me. Third, I drink the same amount of measured fluid, mostly lemon water and a couple of cups of coffee. On the rare days that I splurge at the bakery, I can almost see the result the next morning, and I eat less afterwards to compensate. Other than those rare splurges, my only other variables are exercise, which is almost the same measured amount five days a week, with a day off for travel and a day off for another exercise break. But totaled up, my exercise calorie expenditure is almost the same every week. That’s except for my nine days in Quito, when I had almost no exercise calories expended.

“Although I was just lying around, I still ate my normal diet. So, my calorie intake from food was the same, but I had almost no calorie expenditure other than the calories used to sustain living. And I still lost eight pounds. I could see it in the mirror. How could that be? I don’t know yet. One possible factor is that you weigh less with an increase in altitude. However, that’s not it, as the decrease in weight from increased altitude is miniscule, .02 pounds for me.

“Another factor could have been hydration, even though I was careful to drink even more liquids than my normal quantity. I was definitely breathing deeper and more rapidly in order to compensate for the lower amount of oxygen, and the exhaled breath contains moisture, which could have added to hydration weight loss. But I doubt it. Lastly, my increased liquid intake could have been overcome by increased urination, which was definitely going on, as I had to get up to pee just about every hour throughout the day and night. Too much information?

“I’m writing this from my third day in Cali, Colombia, and I’ve regained two pounds, but I’m still a skinnier me. I’ll probably never figure out the weight loss and just have to chalk it up to more of the great mystery. But I’ve recovered my energy, and I’m off to see the sights each day. Not that there’s much to see in Cali, Colombia. At least so far.

“Here’s the video, what there is of one: https://youtu.be/r1hlf2fRZTQ”

Here on Kauai, we are keeping on keeping on. Six months after our visit to New Zealand, I’m still pining for New Zealand. We’re trying to get the house ready for sale and I’m preparing for knee replacement early in April. 

I wish everyone well and hope to see many of you at the reunion.

Aloha, everyone. We live in interesting times. Who would have thought that we would see a presidential campaign like the one we’re in, with the first incumbent president since 1968 pulling out of the running, with RFK Jr. throwing his support to the Republican Party’s nominee, and with a mixed-race woman (married to a Jewish guy) in a position to become the country’s first female president?

We’ll begin with news from Howard “Howie” Borgstrom, perhaps the first time he makes an appearance in the column. He wrote, “Not too much news here in Virginia. My wife, Carol, and I are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary this month, first with a family dinner and then with cake and refreshments the next day, after church with our faith family. I keep busy with yard work here in Alexandria and at our ‘farm’ on the Shenandoah River. Plus, during inclement weather, I am actively dostadning, a Swedish word which translates ungraciously as ‘death cleaning.’ We have lived in the same house for 47 of our 50 years, more than enough time to accumulate stuff. My father left me a slide projector, screen, and two huge containers of slide carousels covering back to WWII! I am also the primary caregiver for my wife, who has been diagnosed with FTD (the same form of dementia as Bruce Willis), so the materials I discover in dostadning have to be explained, as if the first time, to Carol.”  

Had this a while ago from David White: “Okay, after a long lapse: I was invited by the New York Public Library’s Performing Arts Library to do an oral history concerning my life and 28-year performing arts producing career at New York’s Dance Theater Workshop. It encompassed six hours of comprehensive interviews, now digitally archived at the library, as well as a camera recording. The interviews should be available online (assuming you really don’t have anything else to do). The 10 years I later spent in a similar role on Martha’s Vineyard as artistic director of The Yard performance and educational center remains to be covered. I retired from there in 2020.

“I want to add a shout-out to Steve Talbot and his collaborators on the success of the documentary, The Movement and The ‘Madman.’ I worked with Steve, Dave Davis, and others from Wes’ progressive forces of 1969/1970 on portions of that film made at Wes, covering the 1969 March on Washington against the Vietnam War and supporting the civil rights struggle.

“Of course, we former student activists are intensely observing a new generation of passionate activists as they both act and learn through a new (and often unruly) protest movement. Despite unacceptable violence toward Jews, Muslims, and other groups, this is indeed a moment of societal self-education—as it was five-plus decades [ago].”   David invites you to join him on the Threads social platform. He says, “So far it’s a refreshing, progressive, content-strong, nonevil place.” He’s also on Facebook.

Russell Bradshaw wrote in April, and I don’t see his note in the previous column, so here goes: “I retired after 30 years teaching, associate professor Lehman College CUNY. Now live in Stockholm, Sweden, with my wife (of 50 years), Gunilla. Presentation on social ‘influence processes’ at the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) in Barcelona in July: ‘You’ll See It—When You Believe It’: The Role of Belief in Cult Recruitment.”

This note from my KNK brother, Gerry Cerasale: “At our age it’s time to retire. 😂  I’m still enjoying my time on the Eastham Select Board. However, I’m continually amazed at the ‘pressing’ issues that citizens raise. Eastham is in the midst of facing a state mandate to put in sewers and [a] wastewater treatment plant, covering new bonds for installing a new water system (before 2020 there were no fire hydrants in town), and paying its part of a $170 million high school; and the pressing issues from many citizens are pickleball courts and usage and dog walking. I’ve learned that many times it’s the little things that count.”  

Had this brief note from Peter Ratner in New Zealand: “I think you have my news.”   Indeed, I do, because Vera and I got to New Zealand (via a quick stopover on Christmas Island and two days in Fiji) for a truly unforgettable 19 days of exploring on North Island in June. Peter’s been there since the early ’80s, practicing law. It’s an amazing country. I truly can see why my father fell in love with it in 1947 when his naval ship, damaged in the ice in Antarctica, was towed there, “forcing” him to spend a month on South Island. All I can say is that I wish I had visited Aotearoa a long time ago. But back to Peter: he’s retired and married to a lovely, retired nurse named Carol, with a blended family spread from New Zealand to London to Australia. He and Carol are great fonts of information about New Zealand, great tour guides, and great hosts. They have a gorgeous, historical house in Greytown, over the mountains from Wellington. They unfortunately are selling it and returning to Wellington full time. (But fortunately, a daughter lives near the Greytown house.) Cheers! “She’ll be right.”

After a long pause, I heard from Corey Rosen who says, “I am still working (mostly as a volunteer, close to full time) for the organization I founded 44 years ago, the National Center for Employee Ownership. We will grow to 23 staff by the end of the year. We focus on research, information, meetings, and outreach to help encourage more companies to share ownership broadly. This May, I was one of the featured guests on Freakonomics, which did an hour-long podcast on the subject.”

I hear frequently from Jeremy Serwer, the Brooklyn Cowboy of northern Connecticut.  Here is an email that he sent to a group of classmates: “Life really does have some simple pleasures. I always wanted to ride a horse in a parade. This year’s Memorial Day was my third straight doing so, representing America’s oldest theft detecting society—The Woodstock (Connecticut) Theft Detecting Society, founded in 1793. I’m the treasurer, as well, and a designated ‘pursuer’ per the original society constitution: It’s the pursuer’s job to posse down and catch (primarily) horse thieves. 

“Fortunately—and perhaps gratefully—there are no covenants in the society’s constitution prohibiting Jewish guys from handling the money, which goes to paying the costs of chasing thieves, etc. Today, it’s all symbolic: We have an annual luncheon in January, read the constitution (called for in the constitution), collect the 25 cents dues, and have a guest speaker—for which my connections to law enforcement folks have been invaluable.

“Wouldn’t the Woodstock founders (12 of them, from Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1684) be surprised; [the newspaper] picture below contains the proof. The other rider is one of my farm neighbors who also serves as a pursuer. The cowboy garb is off by a century, but often requested and welcome. And I was tempted to wear my six-guns . . . for which very few would have cared, but alas, open carry was outlawed in Connecticut earlier this year.

“The parade lasts about 10 minutes (a quarter mile), so you can’t blink. They follow it with speeches honoring veterans, those lost in wars, a firearms salute, music by the Woodstock Cornet Band (ongoing since the 1850s), an occasional low-altitude U.S. Air Force flyover (amazing how they time those), and we hang out on the town green for kids to come and greet the horses.

“I finish up with a quick gallop the length of the green back to the horse trailer. Fun in the country, and my idea of at least one retirement gig.”

Gordon Fain sent a great email to encourage attendance at the reunion in May: “Here’s a quick note to recommend our May 2025 Reunion in person as an economical weekend with a great variety of in-person informal coffees and receptions; film and lectures; and interactions with current senior and young scholars. Also talking with a woman Fulbright Scholar from India, a young unicyclist from Connecticut, and alumni from classes of ’67 through ’69 was great for me and my wife, Lila. Dave Freedman ’69 invited me [to this year’s Reunion weekend], and I enjoyed it so much I came back a second day. Good hotels on Main Street Middletown and in Cromwell. Alumni Affairs keeps costs fair, with many free venues. If you want golf or farm market fruit, they are near at Lyman Orchards, Middlefield. Bradley International Airport–Hartford is one hour by car and easy drive.” 

Robert Stone (aka “Stony” and “Robert Mark Stone, the Trumperick master”) recently visited Nantucket with family. Photo with wife, Nancy Baxter.

Finally, I am glad to report that the trio on O’ahu are great dinner companions. I was fortunate to be able to get together with them a few weeks back. Great company, great minds, great conversation. Here, from right to left:  Elbridge Smith, Bill Tam, Peter Kalischer, and myself.  (BTW, I didn’t suddenly widen 35%. That’s lens distortion.)

OK, so you all be well. Write if you get work and meantime, hang by your thumbs. (Good job if you get that reference. We need some more B&R in our lives.)