COVID-19 is bringing out the best in your Yale classmates
May 18, 2020
Classmates:
It appears that social distancing motivates 1964 classmates to communicate even more with each other. The latest issue of Class Notes for July-August 2020 is by far the most expanded column we’ve ever written. Most of the 13,000 words are directly from classmates, and many describe the experiences they are having during this period. I think you will find them uplifting. Frankly, I was amazed at how many classmates have direct involvement and expertise in the public-health response.
My only frustration is that just 10% of this online column will appear in the Yale Alumni Magazine in early July, due to their word limits. So, I hope you’ll forward or discuss some of this material with other classmates who might expect to see all of it in the magazine. Remember, you just click on a classmate's name and it should drop their email address into an email template. There are well over 100 classmates mentioned in the column, which is an all-time record. Only our 50th Reunion Class Book contained more material written by classmates.
Keep reaching out and doing good!
Cheers,
Tony Lavely
July/August Class Notes
Since the previous issue of Class Notes (posted on March 9 and printed in YAM in early May), our world has been turned upside down by the coronavirus. Classmate get-togethers were canceled under social distancing guidelines. In early April, we sent a blast email to all 760 of our 806 classmates for whom we have email addresses. In the face of the crisis, it expressed personal messages of friendship from all 36 Class Council members. Jennifer Julier responded immediately: “This is truly wonderful, I read every word!” There was such an outpouring of messages in response to that email — wherein other classmates expressed their own sentiments — that I am using them as the substance of this expanded issue of Class Notes. The version that appears in YAM in early July will be highly truncated due to limits on word count.
Regional classmate luncheons in February proved to be the last group gatherings for a while, but many of them were soon replaced with Zoom “virtual luncheons.” (See a story in Class News.) Jerry Flannelly reported that five classmates had lunch at the Stockyard in Boston on February 21: “There were at least five different points of view about what’s happening in our world today; we listened well and learned from each other.” Peter Putzel reported that eleven classmates met at The Yale Club of NYC on February 25: “Ed Trippe and Bobbie were packing to head to Egypt. John Evans had just returned from Florida and offered some early advice on coronavirus.” A new regional group emerged before things got shut down. Don Van Doren emailed: “Sam Deloria, Ed Gaffney, and I, along with spouses and partners, convened another installment of our irregular luncheon gatherings at a BBQ dive in Albuquerque. The conversation was better than the food!” We look forward to the day when these regional gatherings can return. Another casualty of the pandemic was the Spring golf outing in May. Ted Jones reports that it will be rescheduled.
In the meantime, Zoom and other video technologies have become the new “social connection.” The Mory’s group moved first with a Zoom video call on April 7, hosted by Don Edwards: “Sixteen classmates were on the call. Most of the conversations were about coronavirus and its limiting conditions, but the mood was still upbeat. Plans for monthly Zoom calls were endorsed.” The Boston group was next with a Zoom call on April 23 hosted by Van Lanckton, attended by nine classmates, and a follow-up call on April 27 hosted by Jerry Flannelly to capture six more classmates who were unable to be on the first call. Jerry plans to continue the Boston calls via Zoom for the foreseeable future. I participated in a Zoom conference call with President Peter Salovey on April 7, which was focused on changes on the Yale campus (and around the world) necessitated by the pandemic. Peter called on two Yale experts from the Yale Institute for Global Health to inform the 500 alumni on the call. Later, on April 27, I participated in a Zoom conference call with Yale College Dean Marvin Chun, who addressed the response to the COVID-19 crisis in Yale College. Separately, I also participated on a Zoom that launched a new Yale Alumni Association initiative called “Cross Campus.” The goal is to provide a Yale network of mentors to support young alumni as they navigate their careers (read a story in Class News). Looking forward, Tony Lee has scheduled a series of Zoom workshops with twelve classmates and friends for a series called “Can we stop climate change?” Rounding out this section about online/virtual communications, I recommend the Coursera library of online courses. I would be remiss if I did not mention that not everyone is enamored of the online video medium for learning and communications. John More commented: “This is a reminder that, although distance learning is crucial during our current lockdown, it is inferior to in-person learning. We are social animals.” John also posted a video, “Protect yourself from being Zoombombed.”
Douglass Lea posted: “Conference call companies have gotten away with not really caring about bandwidth, mainly because their use of their software was fairly niche. This has changed, and it’s putting the spotlight on the different qualities of data that different apps need.” Ed Gaffney posted: “With the dramatic growth in demand for its product, Zoom has encountered a crisis of its own: concerns over security and privacy.” As a break from this high-level expertise, I’ll wrap this section up with a little levity from what might be called the Luddite dialogue: Chris Getman emailed: “Some of you guys, who are considerably younger than I, for whom technological applications are illegal without a grandchild present, are opining that a Zoom conference might be fun. This was not a unanimous viewpoint by the way. Might I suggest that those of us, including Robert Whitby, who is older than I, who responded with such condescending sneers at my ineptitude, consider ‘hosting’ a Zoom conference at a time TBD. Those of us who are so inclined or technologically able can join if so inclined. I’ll try to see if I can round up a local grandchild and attend. Any takers?” Robert Whitby replied: “You managed to pass freshman English, Chris. I’m sure you can learn Zoom. Stay well!” Frank Basler replied: “Good idea, Chris. I’d prefer Zoom. it’s very easy to use. If it gets too cacophonous, you can have folks mute themselves.”
The News section of our Class website continues to have record postings. This is where we post articles, by or about classmates, that are too long to be included in Class Notes. Since the previous issue, we have posted 26 new articles by or about Edward Massey, Sam Francis, Chris Getman, Howard Gillette, Bill Morse, Terry Holcombe, Ted Jones, Jim Rogers, Sam Low, Tony Lavely, Dick Ainsworth, Angus Gillespie, Phil Anderson, Waldo Johnston, Chuck Mokriski, Jon McBride, Ron Parlato, Stephen Greenblatt, and Nancy Upper. With assistance from Ted Jones and Sam Francis, we have posted our 1960 Old Campus: Directory (Facebook in its time) on the Class website (see it here).
This new section of Class Notes brings together comments related to experiences during the coronavirus. Many were prompted by the blast email from the Class Council on April 5, “Words of Friendship.” Joe Wishcamper posted with a photo: “Shabbat Shalom! Family Shabbat dinner COVID-19 style via video conference. Homemade challah and matzoh ball soup.” Later, Joe emailed Paul Manchester: “I haven’t ventured further than the local grocery store for the last five weeks. I for sure don’t know what’s happening at the state line. The police in Portland are reportedly stopping cars to ascertain that the drivers are driving for allowable reasons, but elsewhere I think it is a matter of voluntary compliance locally. Once things return to ‘normal’ you’re always welcome here, too. We have a guest house that is available for friends including fellow classmates.”
Pat Caviness emailed: “There is a lot of commotion here over the C virus. Thailand is near China. The most tourists coming to Thailand by a mile are the Chinese. That flow has almost completely stopped. Thai tourism, a big money generator for this country, is drying up. Having a degree in public health, I'm one who says the world should err on the side of caution. I ask my friends, who are more cavalier about it than I am, if they remember the 1918 Spanish flu. And of course, no one does. It killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people.” Later, Pat added: “One of the many things we value about living in Samui is what we call ‘our island lifestyle.’ Now, we are experiencing the flip side of that lifestyle. The island is shut down. Bangkok Airways has discontinued all flights with no end date. The only way on and off the island is by ferry. Suddenly, we have an eerie feeling of being marooned on this beautiful island. We think that the first case of the C virus has occurred on Samui but no verification of that. We do know there are one or two reported cases on our sister island called Phangan. Nothing happening here has any relationship to reality in the rest of the world. We were planning a three-month trip to Europe with lengthy stays in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and France. All that is now on hold, and I suspect we will be spending most of the summer here on Samui. On a happier note, we are enjoying our newly remodeled kitchen immensely.”
Sam Low posted: “Suddenly the whole nation is depending on the very people they don’t believe should make $15 an hour.” In reply to a question from Ed Massey, Sam Francis emailed: “Much of what keeps me busy is EMS-related, even though I’m not riding the ambulances anymore because of an orthopedic problem. I do all the Squad’s IT work, including its website and much of its record-keeping. And much of the current work has to do with COVID-19. As just one example, the Squad just bought and put into use a disinfecting sprayer to disinfect our ambulances and their equipment after each call. I just created a procedures document for that device and added a related training video to our website. We are also fit-testing every member for N-95 masks, and I maintain the training records. I rode the ambulances for 18 years and never put on a mask (although we always fit-test annually). Now the crews wear masks all the time on calls with COVID-like symptoms. In fact, they wear full HazMat gear, including goggles, masks, and Tyvek ‘spacesuits.’ And then they disinfect everything after such a call. Another related thing I just did was to configure the Squad’s computers for remote access, so that financial and personnel records can be maintained remotely without going to the Squad building. It’s another form of ‘social distancing. The crews used to stay in the ready room during their shift and dispatch from there on 911 calls. Now there’s only one crew member in the ready room, to pull the ambulance. The rest of the crew responds from home directly to the scene. Another form of social distancing. I have to go to the Squad building frequently to do my job, but I wait until the crew is dispatched on a call so that when I go there the building is empty. Our Squad has transported at least four confirmed COVID cases, so you can’t be too careful. If one of us were to be exposed, that would require that any member exposed to that member would have to quarantine for 14 days. So, we can’t be too careful. If that were to happen more than once, it has the potential to put the whole Squad out of business, leaving the town without coverage.” Ed Massey replied to Sam: “Your e-mail gave me a lot of feel for the needs and actions in dealing with the COVID-19’s impact on any part of the system, but of course, mainly on the health care system. I was particularly interested by the frailty in the chain of continued operation. Everyone has to act with a high degree of personal responsibility lest they contribute to (or even cause) a community-wide problem.”
Douglass Lea posted: “Don’t touch your face? Come on, get serious. What about nose-picking? Science says it’s the fourth most pleasurable experience available to humans, especially those living alone. And ear wax? Many Americans can’t afford to hire professional help or buy the small extractive appliances. Early morning eye gunk? Does it stay there all day?” Douglass also posted Stephen Greenblatt’s New Yorker article, “Invisible Bullets: What Lucretius Taught Us About Pandemics.” (Read that article here.) A dog lover himself, Douglass posted “Real hope at last,” when he read that dogs are being trained to sniff out the coronavirus. And lastly, Douglass posted: “I hate to tell you, but toilet paper has no magical properties. I’ve run out occasionally, so here’s a tip: Take a shower and spend a few extra seconds on that special place. You did it to babies, you can do it to yourself now.” Rise Nelson, the Director of the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale (who attended our 55th Class Reunion), emailed: “I wanted to check on you to see how you are doing in these strange times. You and your family have been on my mind. I’m incredibly busy on this end; my son and I are still trying to adjust to life under quarantine.”
Frank Basler emailed: “Susie and I are doing well and are focused on cooking and expanding our online coaching and therapy business.” David Sherman emailed: How are you surviving the virus? Here in the UK, we have the highest death rate in all of Europe.” Len Gaffga emailed: “My son, who is an epidemiologist with the CDC, tells me he is about to be deployed somewhere in the fight against coronavirus. He will need our prayers.” Ron Parlato addressed aspects of COVID-19 on his prolific blog. Notably, “Corona Virus — The importance of individual responsibility and classical epidemiology.” Also, “Quarantined, sequestered, and locked down — Who am I really?” In reply to my post about holding three-days-a-week Zoom meetings with my three granddaughters and grandniece teaching them Greek mythology and Shakespeare, Ron and I also exchanged posts about the value of generational family teaching. Ron wrote: “I’m surprised that parents are not taking advantage of the lock-down with their children and doing things they love, like walking in the woods, cooking, reading, and acting. We love teachers, but this is an opportunity for parent-child bonding.”
Sam Deloria posted: “With this virus pandemic, we are living through historical trauma. This will have a fundamental and largely permanent impact on virtually every aspect of our lives. I have been a skeptic of the historical trauma fad among some academics and members of the ‘helping professions.’ You would have to be a total idiot not to see the common sense that a major trauma would have various lasting effects. My misgivings have had to do with the way it was immediately embraced as the root cause of all our problems.” Many classmates shared posts about the benefits of walking outside regularly (with social distance). I have Frederick Law Olmsted’s Piedmont Park only minutes away and typically walk 3-5 miles a day. Ron Sipherd commented: “There is much to be said for getting outside. We are fortunate to live within walking distance of many country trails.” Ron Parlato added: “The walk lifted my spirits more than the gym. Something about Nature!” John More added: “Great five-mile hike today past Meadowbrook Stables to see some caryatids in Maryland. Four of them used to hold up a grape arbor; it was like a leafy temple.” Later, John posted: “Gym closed. Had a calming walk with Livy in Rock Creek Park.” John also posted “Advice on exercising during an epidemic,” from “Ask the Past.”
Ed Gaffney posted: “Like thousands of Americans and Europeans scrambling to get to the United States before the travel ban went into effect and flights were canceled, I flew back to the US from Vienna. Arriving at Dulles International via London, I encountered a case study in how to spread a pandemic.” Later Ed posted: “My brother, who is a psychiatrist, just posted: ‘A doctor on TV said that in this time of Coronavirus staying at home, we should focus on inner peace. To achieve this, we should always finish things we start.’ So, I looked through my house to find things I’d started and hadn’t finished. I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Bailey’s, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiumun, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how feckin fablus I feel rite now!” After he sobered up, Ed posted “The brutal lesson of 1918-19? John Barry (author of The Great Influenza) was enlisted fifteen years ago in a Bush administration drive to prepare all levels of government for pandemics. Instead, Barry has seen denial, followed by a chaotic federal response.”
Edward Massey posted: I encouraged Sam Francis to write about his experiences with the EMS in his community (now posted as a News article), and I mentioned it at our Zoom Mory’s lunch yesterday. Anne and I were involved with Sunrise Café, but when they dropped meals and went to brown bag breakfasts, they also ruled us out because of age. In a sort of a weak way, we tried, and I suspect we have had other classmates who got ruled out. Nevertheless, my suggestion is that you write one of your blast e-mails pointing to Sam’s posting on the website [it’s out with this issue of Class Notes] and soliciting all classmates to write their story of involvement with COVID-19 [herein are the stories]. We may have had a few doctors involved, and I would love to hear them, too. Maybe we have active politicians remaining.” Jim Currie posted a WSJ article, “Economics vs. Epidemiology: Quantifying the Trade-Off." Waldo Johnston emailed: “Hello ’64 classmates. Thank you for your thoughtful comments at this time when the world is, indeed, upside down. I appreciated the variety of your comments and especially your respective regrets that you could not spend more time with your friends and family. Throughout, however, was your sense of optimism that once more our country could pull through in a crisis.” Candy Johnston posted advice from a Yale epidemiologist.
Joe Lieberman commented on my post of luminaries in our neighborhood to salute all health-care workers: “Beautiful. Unifying and encouraging. Hadassah loved the pictures. She loves light.” Pete Putzel emailed: “I write this from the woods of northwest Connecticut, where Anne and I have hunkered down in an effort to avoid the Coronavirus. Given the prevailing advice that we receive, it seems prudent to cancel our March luncheon. I do so with regret, but I am aware that our age group is viewed with particular concern by health experts and that as many as half of our usual group must usually travel a fair distance to join us. And, of course, once we convene, we are enjoined to avoid sitting at close quarters. All in all, I would rather be cautious under these circumstances. If the eight Ivy League Presidents can unanimously cancel the entire spring sports calendar, we can manage to forego our March luncheon. I hope that we can re-convene in April but must simply ask you to stand by for further announcements. Meanwhile, please stay healthy.”
Butch Hetherington emailed: “I just read your ‘Words of Friendship’ and I wanted to correct a conclusion that many might draw from Pete Putzel's contribution which correctly states that CT has permitted CT golf courses to open. One might conclude from this that the Yale Golf Course is open. To the best I can determine, the Yale Golf Course is not open because Yale rules apply, and it has not been opened by Yale. I don't know to whom you can convey this information, but I will write to Ted Jones who I think is running our golf outing in May and tell him I think even our golf outing is in jeopardy.” Putzel replied: “Thank you, Butch. The CT Golf Association’s rules are highly restrictive: no guests, twosomes only, no driving carts. As a practical matter, we couldn’t have our outing under these rules. The sad upshot is that, until we can play, Getman will continue to proclaim himself champion.”
Paul Ruden posted a number of his blogs about the experiences in NYC during the coronavirus, notably, “New York as a dead city.” He posted: “Sitting by the window on the 50th floor of our building listening to New Yorkers applauding from balconies the health-care workers who are putting their lives on the line for everyone else. Every night at 7:00 PM.” Dina Ruden added: “Mr. Rogers said in times of crisis, look for the helpers. When we were at a very low point, a miracle occurred.” Dina added: “I can see the hospital ship USNS Comfort out my bedroom window. I liked it much better when it was the Disney ship that played, ‘When you wish upon a star.’ Here’s to wishing upon lots of stars for better times ahead.”
Gerry Shea’s wife Claire was hospitalized with symptoms of COVID-19. It had a happy ending: “The French doctors, nurses, and nurses’ aides were extraordinary; they fought the high temperatures and low oxygen/blood levels and brought her home.” Gerry Shea emailed Sam Francis and me: “As to partisan vitriol, I’m afraid people’s frazzled nerves may make it worse. Time to help each other!” Sam shared a video of an ICU doctor (he calls himself a “hand Nazi”) with common-sense explanation of preventative measures. Gerry added: “One entertaining, and even educational, thing to do, when there are no baseball, tennis, golf, or football games to watch, or pubs, cafes, bars, restaurants, gyms, or the like is to read. Books. They can take you to distant times and places. We can make this a blissful time. I do miss Mantle, Berra, Ford, Rizzuto, Williams, and Robinson. They no longer play, but I can think about the way they did, as I drift off to sleep.”
John More posted: “Thought for the day, from the Rector of my church, St. John’s Lafayette Square. We should replace the term ‘social distancing’ with the term ‘physical distancing,’ because while keeping a physical distance to combat Coronavirus, we need more social closeness than ever. We need to use all the tools now available to reach out and provide support to others: Facebook, Skype, Zoom, Facetime, and the phone.” John also posted: “Never thought Camus’ The Plague, which I read as a teenager, would come to life as it has now. Message remains as true. Recognition of the fragility of human life should lead to love, not despair.” In another post, John said: “Reminder that, although distance learning is crucial during our current lockdown, it is inferior to in-person learning. We are social animals.” John also posted the other side of this dilemma: “A YouTube discussion about bridging the digital divide,” in a NYC Virtual Town Hall. Sam Deloria posted: “You can now download over 300,000 books from the NY Public Library for free.” Terry Holcombe emailed: “It may be interesting for classmates to learn, as I did, through Joan Cates, that Ward Cates and Dr. Anthony Fauci were very close colleagues all the way back to when the two of them were the main CDC focus during the early stages of AIDS/HIV. Ward’s commitment and expertise would have been helpful in these times.”
Our newest Honorary classmate Officer Tristan Kiekel emailed Terry: “I’m looking for a shopping trolley for Charlie Johnston. Since the COVID-19 crisis, Charlie is more alone than ever, but he got extra money so I’m going to buy him a laptop and give him my Hulu password so he can watch TV.” (See a news story about Officer Kiekel.) Marya Holcombe posted the Easter Bunny in costume (“our daughter, who made masks for all of us to wear”): “The governor said the Easter Bunny was an essential worker and was not subject to the state travel ban!” In a later post, Marya added: “If you want a lift, try this: Go to your 2021 calendar, find the date for Easter or Passover and write down all the things you will be grateful for on that date. Mine are, among other things, going to church, hugging people, having a family dinner, and looking forward to cruises and other vacations. This too shall pass.” Later Marya posted: “All the charities will be suffering as a result of fewer donations and fewer volunteers. Here’s a simple suggestion: Estimate what you would have spent on eating out and entertainment and send that amount to your favorite charity. You’ll never miss it, and it will be a morale boast to those brave people who volunteer under these circumstances.” Waldo Johnston commented to Marya: “Here’s a very important adage for husbands, ‘It’s far better to ask for forgiveness than permission’.” Marya replied: “Especially husbands who persist in going to the store three times a day.” Waldo: “and they usually return with steaks and beer.” Celeste Finn (wife of Eric Fossel) posted: “Visual communication while social distancing. Has anybody seen anything about development of gestures and hand signals to be universally adopted, considering the hard of hearing? I wonder if (when allowed outdoors again) we shouldn’t all just have our cell-phone numbers printed in white on baseball caps. Or face masks.”
Sam Low posted: “Nantucket seasonal visitors will be asked to quarantine themselves for two weeks when they arrive this summer. Worse yet, many people are canceling their Vineyard reservations due to COVID-19 fears.” Later, Sam posted a staggering bit of history from the Spanish Flu, when 200,000 people lined the streets of Philadelphia for a Liberty Bond parade, turning the city into an epicenter of the pandemic. Rick Salomon posted an article from Foreign Affairs, “The Pandemic Will Accelerate History Rather Than Reshape It:” “An interesting article by a truly expert observer.” Doane Perry posted a NYT Opinion piece: “What Shakespeare teaches Us About Living With Pandemics.” Doane also posted: “10 Binge-Worthy Art Podcasts in the Age of Coronavirus.” Later, Doane posted: “Enjoy this virtual tour of the East River waterfront of New York, with love from Doane and Karen.” Frank Franklin, Professor Emeritus of Public Health at UAB, was interviewed in an article on BirminghamWatch.org, “Should Governor Ivey loosen COVID-19 restrictors? Not yet.” (read the article) Later Frank posted: “The best source on the epidemic is Tony Fauci MD. Skip the bloviators and blov-idiots and listen to an authoritarian source.” Frank went on to say: “We are pitifully weak in areas that have effectively controlled COVID-19 in Asia. We lack an integrated health system and coordination with the economic and social sectors. People get more misinformation from social media than factual content.” Later Frank posted: “After reading the revisions to the face-mask regulations, the BS meter on my computer increased from ‘put on life vests’ to ‘man the lifeboats’.” Frank also posted: “Once social distancing is relaxed, COVID-19 will accelerate its spread, with the South likely to have the highest death rate.” Frank also posted an explanation of ‘R’ – the reproductive number – or how many people a given patient is likely to infect. “The epidemic will increase if the R is more than 1.”
Bill Kridel emailed about the work being done to develop a vaccine solution to COVID-19. Jim Whitney emailed: “I do miss our get-togethers at Mory's, and I'd be up for an attempt at a Zoom substitute. Unlike those of you on extended vacations, Betty and I are here at home, isolating ourselves from friends and neighbors, except those who come by our porch with groceries. Like Steve Hoffman, I am trying to keep my law practice going remotely, by way of emails and phone calls. So far, I am managing to accomplish what really has to be done, but there is not much in the way of new calls for work. The courts have virtually closed down, and real-estate transactions have largely dried up too. Betty is doing a great job keeping us both well fed. She has been baking our bread and trying new recipes to make use of the ingredients at hand. We talk with our children and grandchildren almost every day, and we have been substitute home-school teachers, via Facetime, for a couple of the grandchildren. That's been about the best part of this pandemic for us.” Tony Lee emailed: “Margie and I participated in an excellent one-hour En-ROADS Climate Webinar workshop.” Tony added: “We’ve been riding out the COVID-19 storm with a lot of lovely hiking in local conservation land. We are very grateful to the vision of those before us who set aside so much beautiful land.” Tony emailed me: “Your Zoom mythology lessons with your granddaughters sound wonderful. You might ask other classmates what creative things we grandparents are doing with our grandchildren.”
Phil Anderson emailed: “I’m sitting at home, north of Dallas in Richardson, TX, and while reflecting on the Covid-19 problems, I thought back to the years at Yale. My wife and I recently lost two very close friends and decided we wanted to avoid leaving a mess to our kids, so we have been cleaning out, donating worthwhile stuff and disposing of the rest. We have been in the same house since 1973. So the storage spaces hold a trove of memories and some reminders of Yale. Family update: my brother and his family and my sister and her family both moved to the Dallas area by 1985 (we all grew up outside Kansas City), so they are all close, we get together frequently, even now. My oldest son, Brian, is on the faculty and Associate. Dean of Graduate Studies in the College of Optical Sciences at the U of Arizona in Tucson. The university has closed for now, so his current challenge is overseeing the selection of the fall 2020 group of graduate students. Our spring trip to Tucson had to be cancelled. My wife’s son, also named Brian, and his family live near us in Plano, TX. He manages his own computer-based business, his wife works for the state education system, his daughter is now at home from College Station and hopes A&M will reopen in the fall. We see them often as well. My youngest son Michael is a USAF Colonel, currently assigned to the National Security Council at the White House. His wife works for the Architect of the Capital. Our trip to D.C. obviously is also canceled. We missed our Yale 55th because we were on a choir tour of Italy, where we sang for the principal Sunday Mass at El Duomo in Milan and the next week at St. Mark’s in Venice (we were there before the flood). While Texas remains safe compared to NYC and parts of the East Coast, we go out very little, doing necessary shopping and helping a couple of friends who are immobile. Remember, our challenge is to be a servant to others. The current isolation is a great time to catch-up on reading. Realizing that at a time like this, music is a way to experience the love and joy of community, I have included links to several recordings of my Dallas-based choral group, The Vocal Majority (see the accompanying news story). If you can access a decent set of speakers, rather than the tin cans on your laptop computer, it is well worthwhile. These recordings include myself singing along with between 100 to 150 of my closest friends; the recordings go as far back as 1976. If I had been able to attend our 55th, this would have been the basis for my personal passion presentation [Note: This collection is posted in Class News.] The current isolation is a great time to catch up on reading. I highly recommend the work of one of our classmates, Tom Powers. His book, The Killing of Crazy Horse, illuminates not only aspects of much overlooked American history, but is a compelling reflection on personal courage. One will experience a deep emotional response after finishing the book, and it will inspire strong personal introspection. Hard to imagine how one could ask more from the printed word.”
Dennis DeSilvey emailed: “I go to work every day, as a cardiologist, at my two local hospitals. We have had cases, and we do what we need to do. I worry most about my wife, Kathleen, who is isolated at home on my recommendation. While we live in rural Maine, the COVID-19 is very much with us, and we do our best. I mask at work and take my clothes off on the porch and head to the shower. I so much respect my colleagues who are in the ED and call me only when I am needed. COVID-19 has some major cardiac effects so the need is not infrequent. We have not seen our peak in Maine yet, and the best would be that it never arrives. I also thank my many classmates who have self-isolated. I sense it is most if not all and that will do much to make my work less. I take this all very seriously. I was Tony Fauci's Assistant Chief Resident at New York Hospital in 1971, and he speaks only when he knows what is best for his patients. We remain close friends, but now we do our work in our own spaces.”
Neil Hoffmann emailed: “Like all of you, I suspect, I am struggling with the world being turned upside down, nothing normal and nothing comfortable. No Masters Golf Tournament. I try to focus on the positive and, hard as it is, stay away from the hyped-up scary politicized news. Patience and love for friends and family. Optimism for the outcome. Sorrow for the victims. Sharing strategies for staying safe. A brighter day by the middle of May.”
Bob Hilgendorf emailed: “I so appreciate your Class Notes. I looked out my office window in Santa Fe and my apricot tree was in bloom and a flutter of Monarch butterflies (small ones) were feasting on the blossoms. That I take as a sign of hope. They are probably on their way to Mexico. I play a lot of duplicate bridge online at the Bridge Base Website. Can play with partner anywhere in world, if any classmates want to join up for a game. Riding my mountain bike along the railroad trail, my replaced knees work well. I figure high altitude and exercise will keep my lungs healthy if the virus attacks. Sons in Rome and Frankfurt with Foreign Service. I think US will take care of them and their families should the need arise. Ling’s family in China sent us a box of 100 masks. Every night we sit in our Jacuzzi and look up at the night sky and count our lucky stars.”
Russell Sunshine emailed: “The Class Council ‘Words of Friendship’ were interesting and somehow reassuring. I've focused my virus messaging on my Agile Aging blog. The March 31st post attempted to record and report in real time how our Retirement Community has been preparing for the pending arrival of this plague. (Pepys in Portola Valley.) The professional management team is taking the threat very seriously: no visitors from outside; no resident travel off-campus, either by car or on foot; all meals brought to apartment doors, with the community dining room closed; now masks for everyone. So far, no residents infected and only one staffer, who was promptly sent home for two weeks' quarantine. No way of knowing where this is all going. The next two to three weeks should give us all a clearer picture. Tony, thanks to you, especially in these unsettling times, for being a bridge. Ironically, enforced separation is bringing us all closer together.” Later Russell added: “With things moving so fast, my March 31st snapshot is probably already obsolete. I plan to keep up monthly Blog posts to at least record ground-level impressions of how this crisis is impacting our senior community.”
Dick Devens emailed: “Since I lived off campus our senior year, I don't recognize many of the Class Council names. I met Joe Wishcamper in Bath, Maine last summer, and my friend had shown me one of his projects for low-income housing there; very nice! He was still tall and handsome, and he and his wife looked healthy. It was good to meet him. I'd heard of him at Yale when I was there. Bruce Driver was in Dickinson House with me at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, before we both went to Yale. I'd seen him at more than one Lawrenceville reunion, and last year saw him at our 55th in New Haven. We have been trading emails occasionally for a few years now. He sends analyses of political candidates periodically which are very thorough. Also saw Bill Galvin at our 55th. He was across the hall from us in Vanderbilt, freshman year. I roomed with Rick Kroon, and Bob Fiore. Bob died recently, and Rick sent me his impressive obituary; he was quite a photographer, and worked in movies in Hollywood. Paul Balser was another Lawrenceville classmate, as was Mike Price, one of the signers of my yearbook there. I remember Jay Huffard from my years in Greenwich CT, but don't remember seeing him at Yale, just hearing that he was there. I remember Bill Morse and Sam Callaway; Sam I remember seeing at the 55th. We chatted, and I realized that his career was in architecture, like mine. Rick Kroon was my roommate for two years in Berkeley. He and I have gotten together the last four winters for lunch, meeting halfway between here and Ludlow VT, where he and his family ski. I also visited him twice in Rumson NJ, when my wife Iris was alive, and had a wonderful time with him and Mary Jane. Iris and I also visited Kroon Hall more than once in New Haven. She died April 25, 2014, in my arms. I'm still in reasonably good health here in Center Sandwich NH, still hike and play tennis, having survived prostate cancer. At this point I'm still alone in a house I designed in 2002. A woman may join me when this COVID-19 virus passes. Thanks for all you do for Yale, Tony!”
Nick Baskey emailed: “As I write this, it is March 15th, and my wife and I are sitting on a cruise ship in the middle of the Pacific near the Cook Islands. All activities have been reduced. No port will let us land. There is no coronavirus, but everyone is afraid. We are steaming on to Hilo in the hope that we can dock and fly home to Sarasota FL somehow, but nothing is certain. I spend my time in the gym and studying Italian. Think of us.” Later: “Well, we sailed on for fifteen more days without disembarking. We were turned down at all Hawaiian ports thanks to a decision by the governor. We finally landed in San Diego on March 31st, and even that was only a last-minute decision after hours of negotiation. Fortunately, no one had the virus, otherwise we, like a lot of other cruise ships, might have been out for a long time. The good burghers of San Diego let us know quickly that we were not wanted as they loaded us on buses and took us straight to the airport, which was deserted. After getting on and off one plane that had mechanical difficulties, we finally caught a plane to Tampa in the middle of the night and got home safely, all nine of us on board. We quarantined for fourteen days and then pronounced fit enough. Quite an experience. While things are a bit boring here, Sarasota is better than most places to be in lockdown. We wonder whether we will be able to go to London as we usually do in the summer.”
Rich Niglio emailed: “Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. Been busy dealing with the fallout from the pandemic. It’s really taking a toll on our family company. Otherwise, we are all fine.” Francis Snyder emailed: “Many thanks for this inspiring, yes inspiring, bunch of comments from the Class Council. It is great to hear from so many classmates. Many comments echoed my own feelings and perceptions of this terrible disease and its effects. Here in Aix-en-Provence, France, Anne-Lise and I are locked down and mainly staying at home. I have canceled all travel plans until July at least. We need an official attestation (available online) to go out of the house, giving name and address, reason for going out, and date and time, one hour per day maximum and within one kilometer of our house. We have established a workable routine, with me trying to make progress in my writing, and Anne-Lise practicing music (she sings in two choirs, but for the moment all concerts have been canceled), and then doing many chores around the house. We both like cooking so we spend a good part of the day with this. We had tickets for many Easter concerts here, but all public gatherings have been canceled. Fortunately, we can do a lot of walking, including up and down stairs in the house, and also are enjoying the beautiful spring weather and the Provencal light. We have also resumed qi gong and taken up tai qi, though we had only a few tai qi lessons with our teacher before all contact stopped. Our small neighborhood has established a help-and-support group for shopping, etc. We keep in touch with our son and family in NYC very regularly via Facetime. Every evening at 8 pm we go out on the patio and clap for the health workers, and so do many other people in this small city. We are so aware of our good fortune and are contributing to local food banks in cash and kind. No one here knows how long this will go on, but personally I am anticipating an end to the lockdown sometime in May. The long-term effects on society and economies are likely to be dramatic, including increasing inequality, even with the European safety nets.”
Chris Getman emailed: “I hope that all of you are happily secluded in a nice place. I’m working out of my office in Rhode Island where we’ve been for pushing three weeks. So far so good, although the market is very challenging. We heard from one set of friends who said that things were fine, but they’re glad there isn’t a gun in the house. Hope we’re back in action in May, even if it means going to the Lawn Club.” Dave Kalayjian replied: “Glad to hear you're bearing up well, Chris. We're still hunkered down in FL, where things could be a lot worse. Weather has been great and our golf course still open, with restrictions, such as, no touching flagsticks or other players balls (always a good idea).” Dieter Brand emailed: “Thank you, Tony, for putting these Council messages together. What a nice visit from so many classmates! I’m surviving in Medicine Hat, Alberta, at home. You see, it was still snowing here. Choose for good health to all.”
Dick Ainsworth, who has a longer update in a story in Class News, emailed: “Given the dead silence from any of my Classmates in response (or non-response) to my November 15th, 2019 ‘Life Update,’ I feel a bit lost among a sea of Yale '64 Super-Achiever Techno-crats who can't relate to the likes of Lil-Oh- Me. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, though, and there might have been a few Internet responses that I never saw. I must admit to being a total stranger in today's Technocrat Savvy World, although I'm proud of it and have made a nice and lucrative career out of it in several of my creative writing spoofs tied to my tech ineptitude. Also, I regret in retrospect not having included either my home land-line phone number (216 761-4129) or my personal email address (dickainsworth@aol.com) in my original message to you. My Bottom Line? I really would like to hear from someone/anyone about what they've been up to and where we go from here in these troubled times. All my best personal regards to you and yours — one of my favorite Beta Bros from the good-ole' days, Brother Dick (or simply Ains, as my old roommates would have said).”
Don Edwards emailed: “Sally and I are holding up well in North Haven, which has only nine confirmed cases as of. April 1, but surrounded by Hamden with 47. I’ve gone to North Haven Stop & Shop during senior hours, but not sure if I will risk it again. My daughter Jenny organized a Zoom happy hour for my birthday last Sunday, and we’ve being going to ‘Zoom church.’ If somebody has an account we can use, we should set up a virtual lunch!”
Steve Floman emailed: “Susan, I, two children and six grandchildren (North Caldwell, NJ and Tampa, FL) are healthy; at least we think we are. Everyone is a little stir-crazy at this point. The uncertainty is troubling, for sure. For me, personally, a big challenge is running our law practice, remotely (but still personally). My partner and I are not taking any salary. We have five employees who create a great team. We have had a local community presence for many years which we want to maintain. My partner and I anticipated this a bit sooner than it became critical, so we had plans in place. So far, we are doing reasonably well, all things considered. We worry about keeping things afloat if this lasts six months or longer. There is a noticeable downtick in activity, not surprisingly. However, I’ve always been more of a half-full than half-empty person, so I consider myself lucky and blessed. I wish good health to all of you and your families.”
Steve Hoffman emailed: “I am not too concerned about lack of personal protective equipment for our quarantined selves, but I am anxious about running out of hand lotion for my dishpan hands from my jobs in the kitchen and the constant refrain of ‘Wash, wash and then wash again!’ I hope all of you are staying out of harm’s way. My NYC daughter, her husband, and two kids under 4 either have tested positive or are assumed to have mild to moderate cases. They are cooped up inside their apartment. My wife and I feel helpless in not being able to pitch in, but we have been Zoom babysitting every so often.”
Kip Burgweiger emailed: “It is great that people are reaching out and contacting colleagues and classmates and other friends. My wife Kath and I are sequestered in Dallas, TX. Our daughter gave birth to her first child and our first grandchild on March 6th. We made it just in time to be here for the birth. It is a son named Noah. We do not leave the house except to walk around the neighborhood. My daughter has all essentials delivered, and we wash our hands after picking up the box from the porch. We will probably be here for the rest of this month. I saw a most delightful video on YouTube that I have titled ‘Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp Children Explain How to Survive Sheltering in Place’.”
Alan McFarland emailed: “These messages from the Class Council are wonderful. Thanks. On lightening reading of many, still remembered friends, methinks that Waldo Johnston and Sam Francis have a near-best longer view. The WuFlu crisis is visibly overcome by the typical vituperations of any ‘Presidential election year.’ To see a bit of McFarland life (since I once wrote our Class Council original governance document), read or listen to a vivid tale about some recent years: KT's book REVOLUTION, Trump, Washington and We the People. Individuals count in our Democracy. And all ‘we’ collectively ‘have’ comes from payments to us all from those who work and save and pay ALL the taxes. Beyond all our individual Bull...x this is the simple fact. I hope leadership of 1964 (important on many other scales) can be better than so-called leadership located in Washington D.C., where thousands of even many never-elected play the game. Read or listen to my shrewd wife's fine book.”
Dick Berk emailed: “Nice stuff from the Class Council but misses some real positives. More than any time in history the international scientific community is working together, and there have already been some amazing advances. Over the long run, this will advance science and the often-ignored norm of true collaboration. In the short run, importance interventions will soon be live. For me, I have moved my machine-learning tools to development risk algorithms to use at triage that in turn would be employed for prioritizing patients. Turns out you can forecast the risk of death with remarkable accuracy. Ghoulish but useful.”
Larry Crutcher emailed: “No longer on the Council, but I’ll kick in a little commentary from the great Southwest. In early March, Hannah and I ran up to Alaska for the start of the Iditarod, which we sponsor. We passed through Sea-Tac twice and saw a face mask or two among the several thousand in the terminal. The following week we flew up to San Francisco for a little apartment maintenance. The flights and terminal were half-empty. We made the mistake of dropping in Trader Joe’s for some victuals, where we were swarmed by rude Millennials grabbing everything in sight, bumping carts, and so forth. We conducted our business and high-tailed it back to Tucson, our now-official residence. That was two weeks ago, so we are either in the clear or are asymptomatic carriers. Our governor has been dealing with the crisis incrementally, re-defining non-essential services every few days in a reasonable fashion. Restaurants and bars were early losers, and most have switched to take-out. Arizona being an open-carry state, the concept also seems to apply to margaritas. We pick up a delicious meal along with a large cup-with-straw of margarita, and by the time we get home, mine is gone! We belong to a club, on whose board I sit, and which is still getting delivered by those great Sysco 18-wheelers. So, the restaurant and bar have switched to takeout, and since the facility is being over-provisioned, the club set up a store as well. It has practically anything (eight rolls of toilet paper, max, per order, however). We call in the order, and pick it up a few hours later, at the club’s cost plus 10%. I hope I’m not sounding smug. Tucson was initially projected to peak on April. 17th, now the 27th. The hospitals here approached the issue so aggressively, terminating elective surgeries, etc., that they have empty beds and are laying off staff. They project excess beds even at the peak, albeit a little shortage of ER space. We are social distancing. In reality, a Costco visit entails a line to get in, 6 feet apart, but once in it is orderly. At checkout you show your card to the cashier for scanning; he doesn’t take it. You assemble everything on the belt barcode-up, and to some extent you box it yourself. He is behind a plexiglass screen. So is the exit-checker, to whom you display the ticket without handing it to him. Seems common-sensical, and maybe adds 15 minutes to the trip. Meanwhile back in San Francisco, a friend who shops at our usual emporium, Mollie Stones, reports the eggs are $13. We have a few blown airline tickets, one in a couple of weeks to see relatives in North Carolina, another to Boston to my granddaughter’s canceled Andover graduation, and a third to Rome in the Fall for a postponed dinner honoring the 200th anniversary of John Keats’ death there. Ah well, we’ll see how that all works out. This past week our house was painted, and the HVAC went through an upgrade. Next week the roofer comes and a guy to scrub our pool. All essential, of course. Meanwhile, I wish the best of health to all of you, and I hope that Putzel does well banging his putts off the side of the cup.”
Randy Labbe emailed: “Thanks for orchestrating these informative and inspiring messages. All of the contributions are intriguing, but I found the messages from Bob Buchanan and Waldo Johnston particularly compelling. This crisis is devastating in so many ways, but we will survive, learn from it, and change many of our ways for the better. Leslie and I along with our lab, Skater, are isolated at our cabin on the banks of the Grande Ronde River in the remote NE corner of Oregon, an 8-hour drive from our home in Portland. We have to drive 90 minutes to get to a grocery store and our county, Wallowa, has only one reported case of the virus as of yesterday. Thankfully we have no TV, but we do have shaky satellite Internet coverage, electricity, and most of the comforts of home. We hike in our woodlot and on trails in the river canyon. We have not seen a human in three weeks but lots of elk, deer, and wild turkeys. At night Skater informs us when a scary predator is visiting.”
Toby Tompkins emailed: “Like many of you, my wife Patsy and I are fortunate enough to have a vacation home. Ours is in Peterborough. NH, and we left New York City and moved into it in early March, when it became apparent that the coronavirus was causing a pandemic. Of course, the virus has reached New Hampshire by now. Early on, there was some panic buying in the local supermarket, with shelves being stripped bare of certain essentials, like toilet paper. The pharmacy ran out of paper protective masks and vinyl surgical gloves, but I already had a stock of the gloves left over from a time when Patsy had an operation that left a wound that had to be left open so it would heal from the bottom up; it had to be swabbed daily with antiseptic applied with Q-tips. And in case you don’t know already, you can find a way to make a serviceable mask out of a bandanna handkerchief on the internet. So we’re prepared to stay here in our cabin until the virus runs its course. Patsy now has a desktop computer, keyboard, and printer so that she can continue to work at her job remotely. I have a similar setup, so I can go on writing. One of the things I write is a blog called Ragbag Mind. I post essays, short stories, and satirical poetry to it several times a month. Check it out if you have a spare moment. Stay safe and well.”
Chip Nielsen emailed: “Thank you for the ‘words of friendship’ from so many of our class members. It was good to hear that many are living in homes that allow them to go outside. Arlene and I came home from New Zealand after seeing one of our families, including their darling six-year-old son, and since I retired 12/31/19, we started catching up on what we hadn’t been able to do for 45 years. It also gave me time to read everything on COVID-19, and on advice of our three families, we decided to Stay-at-Home on March 10th, just a few days before California decided that ours would not be a voluntary decision. New Zealand is now also Stay-at Home, and the family there is doing well. Our oldest daughter works at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, and she and her husband bought their first house a couple months ago. And our son, who started out as a techie in San Francisco, but moved to central California to work a 38-acre farm and now is also the manager of most of the farmers markets in and around Cambri, and just had their second child two months before the lockdown. My free time is much shorter now, because I subscribe to the local newspapers and online to the Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Sacramento Bee, and many political blogs. Now every morning is spent finding out what each is saying differently than the others. But I am lucky to not be employed in Washington D.C. and have to navigate very treacherous political waters. Best wishes to all the classmates, and hopefully this current week will be the turning point on the path to recovering our wellness, our economy, our schools, and our thanks to our health providers.”
And now for some general classmate notes, i.e., not on the coronavirus theme. Bob Hilgendorf emailed: “Mike Sherwood made a recent visit to Santa Fe. We had a great lunch together celebrating his recent award and catching up on events. Pianist Jeremy Denk rehearsed at our house for three days; we had dinner together, and then he performed a symphony concert in Santa Fe. I’ve reached the 300 masterpoint plateau under American Contract Bridge scoring system.” When he read about the Joe Wishcamper’s recent award, Paul Manchester emailed: “Joe, I’m still working for the FHFA, which has a key role in the housing crisis. I’ll be interested to see how things work out on your affordable housing properties.” Separately, Joe Wishcamper emailed me after I posted pictures of my parents (who were both teachers) on National Teachers Day: “I did not know your parents were teachers, Tony. Their influence is one of their great gifts to you! I always think of this when I consider all the people who never had parents who shaped their children’s values and aspirations.” Carol Wishcamper posted on the hashtag, #pledgemystimulus, to encourage people to focus their stimulus checks on local charities and small community businesses.
Bob Kaiser posted: “Thanks to all who took the time to salute my 77th. This was by far the strangest birthday of my long life, but I was pleased to be here to celebrate it and to hear from all who wrote.” Candy Johnston posted with a photo, “Orchids are survivors, thriving on moist air and Waldo’s loving care.” Later, Candy added, “Widor’s ‘Toccatta’ is the way I like to end my Easter service.” One of Waldo Johnston’s long-ago advisees (Yale ’76) posted, “Mr. Johnston, I want to thank you for your college guidance 45 years ago. Your advice put me on a trajectory to enjoy a very blessed and fulfilling life.” Jim Currie posted a YouTube video, “The Global Dimming Paradox,” about the complexity of climate change. Sam Low circulated a petition on how to support the sovereignty of the Wampanoag tribe on Martha’s Vineyard.” Sam also posted a YouTube video of attending Racing School at Limerock in 1987.
Bill Bowe posted about historical Chicago architecture: “Among those listed on the Robbie House Committee were my uncle, Hon. Augustine J. Bowe. Later, he worked in the unsuccessful effort to save Adler and Sullivan’s Garrick Theater.” Ron Sipherd posted, “Great set of Class Notes! I remember playing squash in the J.E. basement court. It seemed slightly more hazardous than cage fighting; those balls traveled at the speed of light.” Ron continues to post photos he takes, almost daily, of the beautiful botany in the northern California area.
After reading a National Review article about Harvard and Yale funding, posted by Mike Mazer, Dick Berk emailed: “The National Review piece raises some important issues but does not follow up sufficiently on the mention of modern international interactions. We live in a global economy and we have both allies and adversaries (and in between). Much the same issues arise with tech companies although the tension is between profits and aiding adversaries. The same comes up with defense firms when they sell advanced guidance systems to countries like Egypt. And even the federal government is in the same bind when, for example, we have joint military operations with, say, South Korea and subsequently the two Koreas may become one. It is not just universities that are caught in this bind. I live with these issues daily because I work on what the media breathlessly call AI. To complicate things further, I train students, some of whom are Chinese and will return to China. Does that make me a traitor? Is my university complicit because it gives stipends to all graduate students, including the Chinese students? I wish it were as easy as choosing one of the two paths the National Review piece offered.” Seeing this exchange, Howard Gillette emailed: “Dick Berk and I got together once each semester while I taught at Penn. I very much enjoyed our lunches together.”
Sam Deloria, who is always ready to pounce on word usage, posted: “The chattering class [newscasters] no longer analyze. Now they ‘unpack.’ Like maids or valets.” Sam added: “Handbook for reporters and those about to be interviewed on TV. No-no’s: ‘That’s a great question.’ You’re a condescending jerk to call every question ‘great.’ Just answer it.” And another Deloria zinger: “As a skeptic who is often mistaken for being sarcastic, I am a bit protective of the word, even if it never applies to me.”
Gerry Shea posted an uplifting movie of son Alex skillfully playing Mozart’s variation on “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” on the piano with his son Felix seated on his lap. Later, Gerry emailed me: “Several years ago, Steve Clay and I were going to have a reunion in Atlanta and wanted to include Maynard Jackson. Maynard died before we could plan it. I sold encyclopedias with Maynard in Boston (he drove the getaway car) during the summer of 1962. Steve knew Maynard well.” Toddie and Chris Getman sent out a “Happy Spring” greeting card in lieu of a holiday card this year. It included a great extended family photo and news about all their progeny.
John More posted his typical tour de force of Washington D.C. cultural events: “Vida Americana is a great show of Mexican muralists at the Whitney Museum.” “Great evening of music by Jake Blount at the Strathmore, where he is an artist in residence.” “A beautifully sung Earthday chorale using words from Rachael Carson’s ‘Sense of Wonder’.” On other themes John More also posted: “Seth Taylor’s article in Soccer America is very interesting for anyone who has been or is an athlete, parent of one, coach, or referee. Sobering on the effects of parents. Explains why players over the years have thanked me for sending obnoxious parents to the parking lot.” “An article about Homer in the WSJ is a wonderful paean to listening/reading Homer out loud. Reminds me of re-reading all of Homer in Greek while riding the Metro to work in D.C. Sometimes I would miss my stop.”
John Boardman wrote: “I’m still in St. Petersburg FL keeping fit and studying ancient Greek and Latin. We have suspended world cruising because of coronavirus. I lectured on the Foreign Service at a Rhodes Scholars seminar and moderated a discussion at the St. Petersburg World Affairs Conference in February: ‘Career Diplomates: Deep State or Defenders of the Constitution.’ I was sorry to see the Yale4Life Program, in which I took part for nine years, terminated by the YAA without any explanation.”
Stephen Marx, a Distinguished Scientist at the National Institutes of Health, wrote: “Last December, I received the Orto Med Career Award in Florence, Italy and gave the keynote address for their 14th Congress.” Many classmates commented on our naming Officer Tristan Kiekel an Honorary Classmate. After reading the Yale Daily News coverage of the Kiekel award, Ted Jones emailed: “This is a wonderful story. No better way for our class to recognize someone with such empathy and dedication to her job and life. Makes me proud to be a member of the Class of 1964!” Bob Buchanan added: “You made us proud of where we came from.” Ed Gaffney posted: “It was 41F when I got up this morning, so I wasn’t worried that I had planted my very hard-to-germinate and frost-sensitive jicama seedlings last Saturday. But when the temperature dropped into the thirties, I had to hurry to put the three delicates under transparent Solo cups.” Later Ed posted: “Grammar Police, please note! I am introducing a new editorial convention. Because of the difficulty of inter-nesting “ and ‘ in standard quotes of quotes and the fact that square brackets are conventionally used for [insertions], from now on I will be using squiggly brackets { } to indicate that the enclosed material is quoted from a source. You will learn to live with it; approval is unnecessary.”
Martin Padley emailed: “I just heard from the fellow who had contacted you regarding my email address, and he confirmed that he did not go to Yale and he found my father by Googling him. The wedding program book, by the way, was a somewhat elaborate affair with photos and background on the two of us. Included were photos of our parents, their backgrounds, how they met, etc. As you are doubtless increasingly isolated thanks to the virus, I have attached the program book to help you while away the hours, should you be in need of a diversion.”
Steve Klingelhofer emailed: “Yesterday I was sitting in my house by the Chester River, reading with the window open on a pleasant day. I heard faint shouts of, ‘Help, Help!’ Went out to the riverbank and realized someone had capsized far out mid-river and was barely hanging onto his half-sunk kayak. I shouted to him to let him know he was heard ... ran to 75-year-old neighbor's house. We launched his kayak (no boats out this early), took life preserver, raced out, got the kid into the life preserver, and brought him to shore, as the rescue squad arrived. The guy was freezing and exhausted and went off in ambulance. We were out of breath and suddenly feeling our age, too, after adrenaline rush. I returned home for a restorative drink and my book. Lessons: (1) take a life jacket or preserver when you kayak; and (2) during a plague, anything can happen.”
Chip Thomas (son of departed classmate, Stan Thomas) has started a new clothing company, “Dye for Life.” “We are doing custom, handmade, tie-dye-based hoodies, tee shirts, and hats. With each batch, we will be donating 50% of proceeds to charities that are helping combat COVID-19.” Douglass Lea posted about a new book, The Language of Poetry: “If we take the idea of a poetic language seriously, it can be defined as a language in which the sound of the words is raised to an importance equal to that of their meaning.” On another language theme, Douglass posted: “Gardini wants to rescue Latin from utilitarian brain trainers and from being put to work as ‘cognitive boot camp’ for aspiring logicians and lawyers.” Douglass added: “I took high-school Latin for four years form the same teacher. I still see her as a beautiful, gentle, white-haired genius who was able to inspire many generations of kids to love a ‘dead’ language.”
Marty Gerstel is living and working in Tel Aviv as Director and CFO of MazeBolt. Dan Pollack reminisced about our football captain, George Humphrey: “George was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever known. I visited with him when he was in the Marines in California. We shared philosophies of life at our 40th and 45th reunions. It broke my heart to see him losing his memory. I will always remember his fighting spirit. A real warrior.” Dan and Nancy posted the celebration of their 52nd wedding anniversary: ”Loving the ride and we pray it keeps on going.” They’re in the Arizona desert. Nancy posted: “Spring in the desert. The blooms this year are spectacular. Something to make us all smile.” Pat Caviness also remembered George Humphrey: “George learned to play the harmonica so he could play the Orange Blossom Special.” Pat also posted and commented about Bob Dylan’s new song, “Murder Most Foul:” “The coronavirus has transformed American life with shocking speed; Bob Dylan wants you to know that he feels your pain.” Later, Pat posted about Frederique’s starring role in a new play in Koh Samui — ‘If You Float’ — but alas it was postponed due to social distancing.
Michael Nagel emailed: “Thanks Tony for the latest update, from across the Pond! The UK/US special relationship has gone limp with Boris Johnson in the hospital with the Coronavirus. Living in Central London next to leafy squares without any traffic has provided me with increased volumes of birds singing. It has also meant more time to read books, especially two I can recommend highly: What it Takes by Stephen Schwarzman and The Reluctant Meister by Stephen Green. Ironically my Chinese friend from Wuhan, whom I brought to the Reunion, had moved to Tasmania a month before the virus was discovered. When I visited her in Wuhan a year ago, very few people knew where it was, except in Swansea, Wales which is its ‘Partnered City,’ thanks to the first hospital having been established in the 19th century by a doctor from Swansea. Now all of us will appreciate more than ever the freedom we took for granted to be able to move about freely. Hopefully this pandemic will also underline the enormous global cooperation required not only to kill the virus but also the very critical interdependence of nations in the globalized world to work more closely together to solve the very critical issues of the 21st century.” Later Michael added: “Best wishes from Brexitland. I’ve been taking a trip around the world by re-reading Jimmy Rogers’ very informative and delightful book, Adventure Capitalist.”
Yale once again thanked Chuck Mokriski for the J. Frederick Mokriski Scholarship Fund. (see a news article) John Witherspoon emailed: “Your Class Notes are so dramatically comprehensive. Just informatively spectacular. My profoundest thanks.” After I read a book recommended by Marya Holcombe — How the Scots Invented the Modern World — I asked John Witherspoon if he was related to the Scotsman who was the first president of Princeton. John confirmed: “Yes, Reverend Dr. John Witherspoon was my grandfather. He migrated from Paisley Scotland in 1750. He had two sons die in the Revolutionary War, one at Germantown, the other at Long Island Brooklyn Heights. Reverend Witherspoon was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence.” Joe Lieberman had to cancel his planned March trip to Atlanta and emailed: “My son, Matt had to postpone his fundraiser because of the virus, in part to save his Dad from the plane trip.”
After reading about John Tully’s recent award, Sam Francis emailed: “I’m a Yale classmate of yours, and as our 1964 Class webmaster, I’ve just posted a news article which you can see here. I’m more than happy to congratulate you on your NAS recognition. As a fellow graduate in what’s now called STEM (me in physics, you in chemistry), it’s always fun to see a fellow graduate in the sciences (few of us as there were) be recognized for his achievements. Your recognition prompted me to look at our 50th Reunion Class Book, and I noticed that you, like me, passed through Bell Labs. I was a lifer at Bell Labs (27 years), and still live in Chatham. At Bell Labs I did physics for a while (ionospheric), then helped develop an AT&T submarine (for maintenance of undersea cables), then led a team in developing a sonar system for US ballistic-missile submarines, then went on to senior management (less interesting). My office was in Whippany.” John Tully replied: “Thank you for your nice note. I was at Bell Labs for 26 years at Murray Hill. Most of my research on the theory of molecular motion that was cited by the NAS was done at Bell Labs. In addition, I worked on projects including semiconductor device fabrication, cell phone safety, and optical fibers. Our home was in Berkeley Heights. In 1996 when my part of Bell Labs went to Lucent, I retired and joined the chemistry faculty at Yale. I enjoyed my new career, particularly working with students, but had to retire three years ago due to my wife's illness. Thank you, Sam and Tony, for including this writeup on the class website.” Sadly, John Tully’s wife died in early April. Chris Getman added: “From a distance, we all admired John for his constant attention to Mary who was in declining health for a long period of time. He’s been an active member of both our lunch and golf groups as time has permitted. It’s been good getting to know him. He’s a very engaging and fun guy, and I think we all admire his commitment and loyalty to Mary. You’re in our thoughts, John.”
Since the previous issue, two classmates have joined the ranks of published authors. This brings the total number of classmate authors to 70, who have published 135 books in the past 20 years. You can see them all on the Class website's Publications page. Andy Harris has published Spirituality & Social Action. Len Gaffga has published Following on Seas of Glory (see a news article). Edward Massey’s new book, Founding Sheriff, was to have been available on Amazon in August, but is now delayed to February 2021 due to the pandemic (read about the book). Frank Hotchkiss is publishing Just a Common Man. Alan McFarland’s wife, KT, has published Revolution. Sam Low is working on a new book about his grandfather who was a famous cowboy (“paniolo”) in Hawaii (read our news story). Sam recently wrote an article published in The Martha’s Vineyard Gazette, “Listen to Your Ancestors.” Dan Berman is working on a new book. Stephen Greenblatt has two new articles about the coronavirus (see them here). Gus Speth cosigned a letter-to-the-editor of Yale Alumni Magazine in March about climate change. Nancy Upper (surviving spouse of Dennis Upper) has written a new blog, “Now is the Time for All Good Distilleries to Come to the Aid of their Country.” Nancy is also a regular at Boston-area lunches/Zooms. Bruce Driver has expanded his series on political contests to include the NC Senate race, the SC Senate race, and the MT Senate race. Bloggers Russell Sunshine, Ron Parlato, and Paul Ruden all wrote about COVID-19 in recent months. Mo Dean and his guest blogger, Jim Carney, both added interesting blogs last month.
Since the previous issue, I received notices that four of our classmates have died. No deaths were attributed to the coronavirus; the Class of 1963 has lost two members to the pandemic. Hugh Straley emailed: “I am sad to report that my very good friend and our classmate John Bermon died after a long illness on March 31st at his home in Jamaica Plains, MA. John was a wise and funny friend who searched for meaning in everything he did. John came to terms with his illness, passing on with love and grace.” Jim Currie added a vivid remembrance of John, including a photo of an airplane crash that they shared. Mo Dean emailed: “I learned from Rolf Dumke’s son, Tristan, that his father passed away on February 29th in Bavaria, Germany. With a sad heart, I updated Rolf’s biographical entry in my blog to which he often contributed with ‘Growing Up in America.’ ” Neil Hoffmann emailed about Rolf: “It’s depressing to know someone for so long, and then suddenly have him gone.” Greg Gilbert emailed: “Rolf was such a great light and was very good at keeping his Yale roommates up on lots of subjects. I will miss him a lot.” After a long and brave battle with leukemia, Harvey Berenson died on May 13th in NYC. A memorial service via Zoom is being planned. See his obituary in our In Memoriam section. Gene Roberts died on April 18th in Prince George’s County MD. He had a lifelong love of Angus cattle. His distinguished obituary in our In Memoriam section includes a memorial video. Steve Klingelhofer emailed: “I read Gene’s obituary in the Post. What a remarkable fellow. Wish I’d known him.” When I reported the death of Dick Campbell in the previous issue, we had not received or found an obituary; apparently, none was written. Therefore, we are grateful to John More, who knew Dick, for writing a remembrance of Dick and reviewing it with some of Dick’s friends. John added: “I have tried to capture Dick’s complexity, but also the sadness of the latter part of his life.”
Our class should be pleased that there is no departed classmate (currently 233 classmates) who does not have an obituary or a remembrance included in In Memoriam. As most classmate know, we also try to honor classmates with Mory’s Memorial Bricks; this has been a tireless effort by Chris Getman. Sam Francis provides a progressive status here. We invite you to purchase a memorial brick in the name of any classmate, for the general pool going forward, or for yourself (as some have done). Ron Sipherd posted a memoriam: “For Ray Sipherd, 1935-2020, prize-winning author, brother, and mensch.” Sam Francis lost his older brother John (Harvard ’63) in February. As we reported in the previous issue, Waldo Johnston’s son, Cory, died in a tragic skiing accident in February. Waldo wrote: “We are back in Vero Beach after the most intense couple of weeks we have ever endured. We are doing very well, thanks to the support of so many friends and classmates who reached out to us.” (Read a story in Class News on Cory's tragic death.)
