Evelyn Wood helps with Class Notes!

May 11, 2021

Dear classmates and friends:

This is to bring you the 1964 Class Notes for July-August 2021. They are embedded in full below and also posted on the Class Website. During the past two months, classmates posted or sent me messages totaling over 85,000 words (I counted), so if these Class Notes are too long for you, blame yourselves! For myself, I’m glad I took the Evelyn Wood reading course years ago. I cut the 85,000 words down to 7,200 for this website version. The much shorter version that will arrive in the Yale Alumni Magazine in mid-July is less than 1,200. Take your pick. In this version, you’ll read about 117 classmates and 23 spouses (they give me some of the best stuff).

In addition to sheer volume, the basic tenor of messages from classmates in recent months has been more optimistic, reflecting, I think, the expansion of vaccinations and the easing of physical gatherings. In my opinion, Zoom will still be with us in the future, giving us a hybrid model of gathering and communicating. To substantiate this prediction, I call your attention to two upcoming Class Zoom events:

• On May 27, Edward Massey and his most recent book Founding Sheriff will be featured in our first-ever “Yale 1964 Authors Book Club.” Jan Truebner, an experienced book-club enthusiast herself, will moderate the event. Go to Events on the Class website for details.

• On Saturday, October 9, Robert Whitby and Chris Getman will co-chair a mini-reunion Zoom event, “The Yale Canon, then and now.” They have assembled an all-star cast of presenters and discussion leaders. Mark your calendars and watch for details in the coming months.

As always, I invite your feedback on any of the topics contained in the Notes or any new topics for that matter. Enjoy the summer, and I look forward to seeing you either in person or in a Zoom gallery sometime soon.

Cheers,

July/August Class Notes

April was National Poetry Month, so it inspired me to remember some of e e cummings’ poetry, especially “In Just-spring / when the world is mud-luscious …”. With springtime, the U.S. seems to be making progress in emerging from the pandemic. All the events I report here were virtual, but nonetheless social.
 
Regional classmate “luncheons” have continued apace, albeit as Zoom calls. The Mory’s group Zoomed on the first Wednesday of March and April, led by Don Edwards. Attendance averaged 13. While not unanimous, the consensus was to return to an in-person luncheon at Mory’s on May 5, requesting all attendees to be fully vaccinated. Jay Huffard emailed: The COVID rate in New Haven is high, so caution is in order.” Chris Getman will reclaim the reins for these gatherings. The Bay Area group also had good attendance in March and April, with their Zoom calls organized by Owen O’Donnell. Twelve classmates attended each event. Owen typically sets up a theme question for each gathering, and the discussions are very lively. The Bay Area group decided to continue with the Zoom format for the time being. The Boston group, led by Jerry Flannelly, had fourteen attendees for both March and April. In the New England spirit, invitations were extended to the U.K., which added three attendees. Rena Koumantou, Nancy Upper, and Karen Carmean made it a coeducational affair. Boston also decided to forego in-person gatherings for a while longer, though opinions were sharply divided. The New York group managed a Zoom call in March, attended by eight classmates. Pete Putzel’s permanent relocation to Sherman CT preempted the April call but will surely reconvene in May.

The YAA concluded its series of Zoom events in April with a multi-media Zoom that focused on Yale Collections. Our Class delegate Bill Morse attended, as did Tony Lavely. You can read Bill’s report here. An earlier Zoom in March from the new Schwarzman Center offered a video tour of its new facilities, for socializing and performances. The Yale Alumni Fund Board (Kai Lassen and Tony Lavely are members) hosted a virtual California wine tasting in April. Kai emailed: “Wine can’t be delivered in Delaware, so I never received the samples. I thought enviously about everyone having a great time.” Earlier, in March, there was a more serious YAF Zoom event called “Sounding Board,” in which a wide range of Yale issues was discussed. The Alumni Fund also sponsored a Zoom event about the new Building Lab at Yale. It demonstrated great collaboration between the Schools of Architecture and the Environment as well as Yale Peabody Museum. There is a new Yale organization called “Accelerate Yale,” in which entrepreneurial founders like Kevin Ryan (Gilt, Business Insider) tell their stories on Zoom. Yale Clubs also stepped up their activity via Zoom. My congressional representative Carolyn Bourdeaux was featured in an event co-sponsored by the Yale Club of Georgia and the Yale Club of Washington, D.C. Stephen Greenblatt was the moderator of an event sponsored by the Boston Athenaeum in which his featured guest was Emma Smith, author of This is Shakespeare. Many classmates are active in the Yale Alumni Schools Committee (ASC). This year all applicants to Yale were interviewed via Zoom. In Atlanta we had a Zoom reception in April for the 45 admitted students who met as a group with four alumni interviewers. Rest assured that this new generation is totally comfortable, even animated, on Zoom. We used breakout rooms to make the conversations more personal. The election of the Yale Alumni Fellow generated more interest this year than in the past, largely due to petition candidates. The ballot and the election were heavily promoted online.

Looking at upcoming events, as I write this Jon McBride announced that there will be a Squash Haven event, called Showdown, on May 8 in which contributions will be matched, and in some cases double-matched. Edward Massey will be the featured author on the first ever “Yale 1964 Authors Book Club,” on May 27. Jan Truebner will interview Edward about his latest book, Founding Sheriff. Register here. Edward asks classmates: “What did your great-grandfather do for a living?”

Jennifer Julier gave us advance notice that the newest “Campaign for Yale” will be launched on Saturday, October 2: “The virtual nature of the launch will allow us to be more inclusive than ever before. All alumni will be invited to attend virtually, and alumni will be featured throughout the program. It will very much be an event for the full Yale community, not just for donors.” Robert Whitby and Chris Getman announced their upcoming event, as follows: “Please save the date of Saturday, October 9, 2021, to participate in a mini-reunion for our 1964 Class that will be conducted by Zoom. We plan to start at 10:00am EDT and should conclude by 3:00pm. An excellent panel of presenters has been assembled to lead us in a serious discussion of the many changes that have been made to the teaching curriculum at Yale and to the Yale academic canon since our days there. We hope to take a hard look at what is different now, why, and gain a better understanding of what is being taught to our grandchildren.”

There have been 11 new News stories posted on our Class website in the last 30 days. No doubt, given the prodigious activity of classmates, there will be more posted even before these Class Notes are sent to you in an all-classmate email. You’ll find articles by or about Lee Sigal, Stephen Greenblatt, Tony Lavely, Angus Gillespie, Denny Lynch, Bill Morse, Tristan Kiekel, Jim Rogers, Tom Lovejoy, and Len Baker. Sam Francis updated an earlier News story about our own Vietnam Veterans. Sam discovered that eight classmate veterans had been inadvertently omitted from our 50th Reunion Class Book list of Vietnam vets, and they have now been added to this honored list.

Len Baker emailed: “I never write, but I’m still hanging in there and playing a lot of golf. Interesting the percentage of classmates still around; a healthy class. My prep, Tabor, had a small class but most still around. Good schools must also provide good diets.” After getting the April all-classmate email, Len Baker emailed: “This cartoon is on the wall of the Yale Club of NYC and is one of my favorites.” Tom Barnard emailed: “Carol’s recovery from knee replacement has taken twice as long as expected, but she has restarted golfing and is leading a kayak paddle next week.” Frank Basler emailed: “The theme of your all-classmate email in March reminded me that I had promised to take Susie to New York for dinner now that we’ve both finished with our shots.” Steve Bingham circulated a TEDx Talk by Wilford Welch ‘61, “Corporate America and the Climate Crisis.” Bill Bowe posted a video journal of his son Andy’s trip to Dubai in 2011. Larry Capodilupo missed one of the Boston classmates Zooms: “We’re still in Vero Beach and flying home that day.” Patrick Caviness and Frederique posted the completion of their two-level garden on Koh Samui: “Our garden progresses as we create our own little Paradise.” About another project, Patrick posted: “Frederique and her talented mural painters finish another house wall. This team of artists enjoys enlivening the neighborhood with their delightful paintings of Thai beach houses.” Later, Patrick reminisced about another building project back in Little Rock: “My first apartment project in 1977 was a rundown eight-unit complex across the street from a magnificent Victorian home. My able lawyer and partner was Jim Guy Tucker.” During National Poetry Month, Patrick posted: I like e e cummings, but my favorite is Mary Oliver.” Patrick also gave a shout-out to Mike Mazer for posting “The Peace of Wild Things” by Wendell Berry. Don Crabtree emailed: “I'd like to be on the email lists for any future Zoom get-togethers. Sam Francis lives near me in Chatham NJ and I'm in Basking Ridge. I look forward to Zooming but more so to meeting at the NYC Yale Club like the 'good old days' when life in retrospect seemed so regular.” Jim Currie emailed: “This program about Teddy Roosevelt — ‘Tales of TR’ — comes from my old friend, Tweed Roosevelt.”

It was Nick Danforth who sent me the Yale cartoon in the April all-classmate email. Nick replied: “Thanks for crediting me with the Stevenson cartoon. It fitted perfectly with your pep talk to classmates ... and to the patient wives who approve our draft letters to Yale.” Bill Drennen commented on a FB post I did about the famous minister who baptized me: “And you turned out well!” Bob Dunn emailed: “Knowing your special interest in vote process and vote suppression, I'm interested in your take on the Yale Corporation withholding the name of its nominee until so late in the day, as well as the lack of discussion and interviews of candidates by the YDN.” When I posted one of Jim Duderstadt’s books on the Yale Authors Facebook page, Patrick Caviness commented: “He was ‘The Dude’ to his teammates, a stalwart starting tackle and a guy you wanted on your side when the going got rough. He was also a real rocket scientist!” John Evans, a regular on the Mory’s Zooms, emailed: “Thinking about venues for our 60th class reunion, the Peabody Museum is undergoing a major rebuilding and will reopen in just under three years, in time for our 60th. Probably most of our class has not seen the mineral collection in David Friend Hall; it’s spectacular, and there will be more dinosaurs on display in expanded exhibit space. The other obvious tour would be the new Schwarzman Center.” John also posted an NPR video showing how mRNA vaccines work. When I posted the Red Sox yellow and blue uniforms as their tribute to the Boston Marathon on Patriots Day, Jerry Flannelly emailed: “I ran Boston a couple of times in the early 1980s. Maybe we did it together?” Frank Franklin, an expert on vaccines, posted: “Sam Francis is working on a vaccine for stupidity, since he was inoculated at birth.” Frank is my early warning system for the tornados that race across Alabama on their way to Georgia. In March, Frank emailed: “The tornado passed about half a mile south of us. We moved to the windowless hall in the basement with leftover fajita chicken, black beans, and rice. While sheltering in our wine cellar, I searched Google for what wine is best with tornados. They gave me a pairing for ‘beef tournedos.’ It’s only the second time we’ve sheltered in our basement in 30 years.” After the storm passed, Frank posted: “The Cahaba is running very fast and high. While there are flash flood warnings, we are well above the river.” In April, Frank got back on the pitch: “First refereeing since last November, on my new knee.” In May, Frank added: “Today is World Laughter Day. A good laugh has great short-term effects. It doesn’t just lighten your load mentally; it induces positive physical changes in your body.”

Ed Gaffney posted the “Shot in the Arm” cartoon on Facebook with proper attribution to Lewiston Maine in 1916. Later, he posted: “No, I haven’t fallen off the edge of the earth. (a) It is not flat. (b) For the last three days all of my posts went to only one person. Over the last 10 minutes, I’ve reset all my settings to ‘Public.’ Pardon my deluge!” Ed was one of many classmates who posted images of flora (“My apple tree is bleeding? Is this normal?”), which seemed fitting for the springtime. Harvey Geiger sent some family photos for posting on the Class website in “Photo Gallery.” Any classmate is welcome to do this. After doing the National MS Society Walk virtually last year (and still finishing as the second highest fundraiser in the state), Chris Getman participated in the Walk at Harkness Park in Waterford. Toddie, who was diagnosed 46 years ago, is leading a reasonably normal life with a very positive outlook.” During April, I touched base with my Beta fraternity father, Wally Grant ’63. Wally still lives in Boulder CO. He emailed: “I have four children and nine grandchildren, all doing well and enjoying life. They all live within 30 minutes of my house, so I see them fairly regularly.” Bob Hilgendorf emailed: “Great to hear from you, Tony, and thanks for being the glue that keeps us together. My news is that I replaced both knees and one hip in the last few months and report that I successfully but carefully skied the black diamond runs at the Santa Fe Ski Basin this season. Plan on mountain biking around Santa Fe this summer. Reached 400 master points in duplicate bridge (online this year) and am working on my development of the Ferguson Dairy property near downtown Santa Fe.” Neil Hoffmann is a regular on the Mory’s Zoom calls (and likes Zoom better than in-person, since it’s easier to hear everyone). Neil also participates in and energizes many email threads. Recently, he has expressed concern about the apathy of Yale alumni, compared to Princeton. Neil emailed: “I was President of the Yale Club of Philadelphia for two years, back in the day when our members paid dues and we sent a representative to YAA. The Yale Club Council, which I was on for 10 years or so, was voted on at the Club annual meeting by the small percentage of members who attended. The existing Council created the ballot. Members were about 10% of the graduates in the area. 1% of area graduates elected the Council and YAA representative. Not exactly democratic. We tried to reach out to everyone in the area at least once a year by snail mail and recruit more participants. Not easy because we didn’t have the resources to do much. At some point after I stepped aside, dues went away and were replaced with a much smaller group making contributions, but theoretically every graduate is a member. I think New Haven was calling the shots and maybe providing resources, although there were only about 30 folks at the last Christmas Party I attended four years ago.” On a more enthusiastic note, Neil was “surprised and impressed” with Yale’s recent announcement, “New Principles Regarding Fossil Fuels.” He wrote: “As one who has been frustrated with the opaqueness of Yale governance, I am surprised and impressed with this document and its rapid adoption by the Trustees. Importantly, the apparent commitment to transparency in the implementation of the plan and sharing findings as they develop seems to promise both meaningful change and leadership for other institutions.” Lastly, Neil emailed: I was reassured by Frank Franklin’s comments on the side effects of the second vaccine shot, all of which I seemed to have experienced.”

Terry Holcombe and (mostly) Marya posted a number of uplifting stories. When NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made history on Mars, Marya posted: “Turn off the news and meditate on how great America is … just one more example. Fly on and never give up.” After a surprise spring snowfall, Marya posted: “April in New Hampshire. Imagine my surprise. The cherry tree was pretty shocked, too.” When the Yale Women’s Rugby Club persevered during COVID-19, Marya posted a team photo with the caption, “Never give up!” Terry and Marya are strong supporters of the Kurn Hattin Homes for Children. “On Monday, the weather was perfect to get everyone outside for a field day. The children and staff had a great afternoon enjoying chalk drawing, volleyball, gaga ball, BINGO, cornhole toss, and s’mores making.” When I posted greetings on Terry’s birthday, Marya commented: “I think I’ll keep him. He’s almost done with training and shows promise.” Waldo Johnston and Candy got back on the road in their repaired RV. Before they left, Candy posted: “We observed the contrail of the SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket. The thrill of these launches never gets old.” Once underway, Candy posted: “Pathfinder’s been fitted with a new quilt, ‘Grassy Creek.’ First night of our Excellent Adventures in Ocala FL, ‘Horse Capital of the World.’ Our destination is the mountain-biking mecca at Santos Trailhead. We ride Raleigh e-bikes and are happy with the 16 miles of paved trail.” Sadly, the Johnson’s dog Eli died in April: Candy posted:” You died in my arms this morning, Eli. Despite my tears, I’m smiling for the joy you brought us. Natty is still with us, camping in the Pathfinder.” Waldo added: “We’re headed for Oregon in the Pathfinder, stopping along the way to view our beautiful country and visit friends. Bill Manuel and Will Elting are among the first on our list when we breeze through Houston. I’m trying out new locations for the grill mounted in back. The bike rack is an interesting placement.” The Johnstons had to leave behind Waldo’s “magical orchid wall, looking better than good.” Ralph Jones, an activist for the environment, emailed: “I hope you value trees, because they need your help. There is a bill presently before our CT General Assembly that, if passed, will give our electric utilities the right to remove all the trees and much of the vegetation within about 12 feet of each side of the poles (8 feet from the outermost wires) on many of our streets. Please help make sure it is defeated.”

Bob Kaiser posted: “Everyone who wished me a happy birthday yesterday deserves a medal and my heartfelt thanks. As I’ve said before, birthdays are the one occasion when I feel genuinely warm thoughts about Facebook.” Responding to one of my FB posts, Steve Klingelhofer emailed: “How did it happen that your daughter was married at the Washington National Cathedral? I was ordained there, served two D.C. churches, and worked closely with Bishop John Walker. Also performed a number of weddings and funerals at the Cathedral.” It remains, ever since my high school years, essentially my spiritual home. Holy space.” Douglass Lea posted a photo of him hugging his dog on the veranda: “Sparkie-whispering, a giant step for interspecies communications.” Both Patrick Caviness and I messaged Douglass when the La Soufriére volcano erupted on St. Vincent. Only miles to the south on Bequia, Douglass posted a photo: “Here, taken from my house yesterday evening at last light is the dark mass of dust approaching us from St. Vincent.” Tony Lee and Margie spent two weeks in April on the Outer Banks NC with his family. In conjunction with his tireless work on climate change, Tony circulated this from Yale School of the Environment: “Anthony Leiserowitz ranks as the second-most influential climate scientist. Pretty impressive. Michael Mann is 37. Gavin Schmidt 84. William Nordhaus 173. And Katharine Hayhoe is 301.” Jethro Lieberman emailed: “I’m writing because in a fever of pandemic cleaning, I’ve stumbled upon a cache of mint copies of the 25th Reunion Class Book, plus some photos of various classmates from that era, and possibly some related files. I have no use for any of it, and I suspect the photos and files are remnants of a larger stash of files that got chucked years ago. The question is whether there are class archives for which any of this would be useful or whether there’s a need for a copy or two of the Class Book. I’ll be glad to send them along, if so. Otherwise, I’m afraid it’s to the dustbin that they’ll be sent, there being only so much room in a downsized house.” Jon McBride sent his holiday greetings a little late this year: “I know this card is really late, but no, it is not an April Fool’s Day joke. One of the few bright spots for this year was Rose Elizabeth McBride’s birth in February.” Jon also forwarded a copy of a Letter to the Editors of The Washington Post written by Steve Klingelhofer in March, “How a 1980s policy contributed to homelessness.” Later, Jon McBride emailed: “I joined the private Yale FB Group, ‘Yale Food & Wine,’ so I could see your recommendation on Croix D’Aumedes, a 2018 French blend of Carignan, Syrah, and Grenache. I couldn’t imagine you recommending such a reasonably-priced wine. I ordered a case!”

Michelle Mead (surviving spouse of John Armor) posted: “When John and I got married, we were the ‘wedding of the week’ in the New York Times. Ten years later they interviewed me for a follow up. Both articles are available online.” Later, reacting to posts by Rick Salomon and me about running the New York Marathon, Michelle posted: “I never ran the New York Marathon, but I had a tremendous time acting as an interpreter for the French runners.” John Meigs emailed: “I really appreciate all you’re doing with Class Notes and enjoy the website. So much so that I thought I’d chime in. My wife Carolyn Adams and I have been weathering the pandemic mostly at our house in leafy Philadelphia, she involved with her garden-club activities and as Secretary of a local land trust. To humor my addiction to outdoor physical activity, she kindly agreed to fly to Tucson in January so we could go hiking and I do road biking. Then we had two weeks in Big Sky, Montana for skiing, both downhill and Nordic. While we have otherwise been very careful regarding the virus, at my age I’m not as ready to defer gratification as I’d be at age 50. We flew business class on both trips for more space, something that I’ve never sprung for before. I am still doing a little lawyering (private client and family businesses) but am telling clients who want me to do anything demanding that I’m a ‘shirker,’ and I enlist one of my younger colleagues. I find it rewarding that clients still want my input. I’m able to use what I’ve learned as a lawyer to be a Director of several nonprofits. One of them is the Library Company of Philadelphia, Ben Franklin’s library founded in 1731 and a highly regarded trove of material, revered by scholars. Another is the Flagship Olympia Foundation which we formed to raise money to take Commodore Dewey’s flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay (“You may fire when ready, Gridley”) to dry dock for sorely needed work on her bottom, among other things. Naval historians view Olympia as the second most important U.S. historic warship after USS Constitution. We’ve been working with lobbyists in Washington and otherwise to try to raise the $15 million necessary but without much success. If any readers of this are interested in this project, please feel free to contact me. I’m happy to arrange tours of Olympia, dockside at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. We’ve had a visit from Spike Forbes whom we entertained for a few hours in November for dinner, he at the other end of a 10’ table with the cold pouring in from open windows in our dining room and a roaring fire in the fireplace to enhance airflow. Then, in late March, we had a very tasty and satisfying brunch with Jethro Lieberman and Jo at their house in Bethesda, all of us feeling relieved and somewhat liberated, having been fully vaccinated. Jethro has a mystery novel coming out soon, involving “Jake.” Carolyn and I have read it and recommend it highly.” Yale once again thanked Chuck Mokriski for the J. Frederick Mokriski Scholarship Fund. This year, the Fund supports a first-year student in Saybrook College.

John More posted: “It’s wonderful to be in St. John’s for Easter Service, enjoying the music and greeting fellow parishioners after such a long time.” Michael Nagel emailed: “Good morning Tony. I never ceased to be amazed by your journalistic talents to compile the very informative class newsletters. As an Alien having only lived 20 years in the USA, they give me a chance to vicariously experience what I have been missing. Thank you, bravissimo! Brexitland is currently undergoing its teething problems with the EU, especially with France. After hundreds of years of wars, differences begin to resurface again as this latest funny confrontation shows! Mankind never ceases to imagine, explore, develop new worlds; we are so fortunate to still be participants in this ongoing evolution.” Later, Michael commented on maternal roots in Northern Ireland: “Your great, great, great great grandfather Daniel made a wise decision to emigrate from Northern Ireland as it remains the last British ‘Colony’ of sorts. The Irish club around the corner from me made me an honorary member, thinking I was Mick Nagle from Cork. The Irish have always been close to my heart.” Chip Nielsen, a regular on the Northern California Zoom calls, had to regret for April: “I will not be on the call. Our son and his family in Cambria CA recently got their second vaccine shots and invited us to visit for six days, starting tomorrow (have not been there since December 2019). I was looking forward to listening and participating on the call.” Rich Niglio emailed: “Thanks for the Easter good wishes and congrats on Vanessa's upcoming marriage. Dana and I got our second Pfizer shots about a month and a half ago, so hopefully we are all immune now. We are planning a trip in June to visit my boys. First stop, San Diego to see Dustin, then on to Tahoe to see Britton. Then driving back to Minneapolis in an old 4-Runner I kept at Tahoe for the past 15 years that has been used very sparingly. I'm sure we will also visit my daughter Tami in Punta Gorda when the temperature drops around here.” Martin Padley emailed: “I saw your article about Gail Sheehy at our 40th Class Reunion, so imagine my surprise when I heard her name on The Sopranos. We’ve been watching the series as part of our nightly COVID entertainment program and were rather taken aback by a reference to Gail Sheehy's oeuvre during a scene involving Tony's Russian mistress and consigliere Silvio Dante. I would have said that The Sopranos was the last place that Sheehy would show up. But it’s a very clever show with a good many curve balls. So why not our Gail?” Ron Parlato posted a kitchen-top photo of raw oysters with all the fixins: “I’m back!” I was reminded of Ron — New Havenite and pizza aficionado — when I heard that Gary Bimonte, the third-generation owner of Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, died. Michelle Mead added: “I was watching The Pizza Show this morning. It seemed like it would be particularly interesting, since it featured famous pizza places in New Haven.”

Dan Pollack and Nancy celebrated 53 years of marriage: “Loving the ride, and we pray it keeps going. Proud of our kiddos; six young adults and six grandkids.” Nancy added: “Our 18-year-old grandson Max came over to welcome us back home. No, Popsi and I are not standing in a hole. [Max is a foot taller in the photo.]” Dan emailed: “Sixteen year-old Luke caught his first TD pass for 34 yards versus my high-school alma mater, Highland Park.” And from the West Coast, Dan emailed: “So proud of our son-in-law Bradley on being promoted to Senior Estate Manager for Jackson Family Vineyards.” Before they left the Arizona desert, Nancy posted a panorama of photos of blooming cacti. John Podeschi responded to my all-classmate email in March: “I had to write and compliment you on your March 12 Class Notes. Wow! It was a tour de force — lengthy, detailed, yet enjoyably readable in its entirety. My family and I are all well, having escaped the COVID onslaught. I am thinking of selling my rare books, probably through Heritage Auction Galleries. But first I must sell my ‘investment’ hoard of over two million mint back-issue comic books. Way back in the 1960s, I foresaw that comic books would be collectible. But who would ever have guessed that early issues of Spider-Man comic books would eclipse, in market value, literary first editions of that period?” Bob Rands, an astute tracker of environmental damage, circulated an article about the damage caused by toxic ponds in Florida. Bob is a supporter of ten environmental non-profits: “There was one non-profit that was near the top of our rankings that would have made the list, World Resources Institute in D.C. But since my wife’s older daughter Katherine has been working there, we have decided to send them some money from our family foundation. She was a long-term ED for Higher Achievement, a great D.C. middle-school non-profit for academic enrichment. She has a Master’s in Education from Harvard. While in Singapore for the past three years having her two children, she got a Master’s in Environmental Sciences from Johns Hopkins. Her husband was working at our embassy.” Eleanor Ridley (surviving spouse of Clancy Ridley) emailed after the April all-classmate email: “Cheers back at you! Thought the cartoon was a hoot, not that we look anything like those stuffy people.” When I told Jim Rogers that my 11-year-old granddaughter was inspired to take Mandarin in 5th grade by his daughters, he emailed: “Your granddaughter sounds great!” Later, when Jim saw my News post about the classmates we lost in Vietnam — Charles Brown, Bruce Warner, and Phinney Works — he commented: “They were great kids who should not have died. I’m pleased you mentioned them. A Nobel Prize author put on his son’s tomb: ‘When they ask you why we died, explain it was because our fathers lied.’”

Paul Ruden and Dina Marie posted: “And so, a new chapter begins. Paul and I have relocated to D.C. In a few weeks, I will begin my studies at Georgetown University Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership. I will never forget the grace and resilience demonstrated by the travel advisors who were my former colleagues, many of whom witnessed the devastation of their livelihood and life’s work as travel ground to a halt. I look forward to rejoicing with all of you as travel rebounds.” Later Paul posted: “Even though the weather tomorrow in D.C. will be terrible, I’m envious of those who will be sitting in the stands for the opening night of Nationals’ baseball.” On Easter, Dina Marie posted a photo: “My Gardenia is blooming just in time. Happy easter to all!” When Rick Salomon saw the FB post of my 1982 London Marathon run, he commented: “Tony, I ran the New York Marathon that same year in 3:01:33, ten seconds slower than you ran London.” I reminded Rick that his athletic career lasted longer than mine, as I have seen his name at the top of every squash and tennis plaque at the Field Club in Greenwich CT, where my daughter Hillary just finished serving as president. Rick replied: “I really miss the Field Club; it was the heart and soul of our family for 25 years.” Now a spectator, Rick posted a photo: “Here’s my granddaughter Ava, scoring on a breakaway at the U.S. Nationals U19.” Sam Francis, our venerable webmaster, told me: “I got an email today form Bill Schultz with a bunch of photos and a request to add them to the website’s photo gallery. It’s the first time in years that’s happened, but any classmate is welcome to send me photos to post there.” When I read a review of a new biography of Alexander Graham Bell, I sent it to Gerry Shea, who replied: “Thanks Tony. I’ve bought that book. I’ll send you the chapter from my book, The Language of Light, on Bell and Helen Keller, which I think (hope) says it all. He was a disaster for the Deaf.” David Sherman emailed from the UK: “You probably know that at 3:00pm UK time the Prince of Wales will be buried in Windsor Castle. It will be quite an event.” Russell Sunshine, a regular on the Northern California Zoom calls, replied to the March all-classmate email: “Thanks for your magnetic contributions, as always. It’s a moment of hope. It’s a treat to read about so many active classmates.” Russell did miss the April Zoom call, as he explained: “Unfortunately on April 14, Nancy and I will be on the road, en route to two weeks of isolated serenity in the coastal woods.” [Note: The trip became the subject of a recent entry in Russell’s blog, Agile Aging.]. After Yale released “New Principles Regarding Fossil Fuel Investments,” Harvey Tananbaum emailed: “This is a well-thought-out approach, and I do think that the University has laid out a straightforward set of principles with regard to investments with fossil-fuel producers. Whether meaningful change can/will be accomplished depends in part on how transparent the fossil-fuel producers will be (if they have nothing good to report, will they simply fake their numbers and lie, and if they do that how easy will it be to spot their deceptions?). Tangible results from Yale's disinvesting will also depend on how many other organizations follow Yale's lead and adopt similar standards and principles, so that the bad actors will actually feel pain if they fail to clean up their activity. Definitely a positive step forward by Yale with results TBD.”

Tony Thomson emailed: “Tony, I enjoy the notes a lot — thanks! I noted a class note on parachuting. I too went to Orange MA to jump about 1966. I wondered if anyone would like to celebrate being alive by making a jump or two? — my golden wedding is in December and I wouldn't want to do it before then — not because I expect anything bad to happen but there would be too much incoming flak on the home front if the plans leaked. So that would mean next spring when it warms up. Plenty of time to imagine going out the open door.” I replied to Tony: “Thanks, Tony. Actually, I was thinking of doing a jump again (2007 was my first, from 18,000 feet) to celebrate my 80th birthday in July 2022. Didn't George Bush I jump on his 80th? My preference is for Cape Canaveral FL where I jumped before with two of my kids in the air at the same time. Maybe we can make it a mini-reunion? I bet we can get Sam Low to do it again.” Later, Sam Low demurred: “At my age, I would not make a jump. Either alone or strapped onto someone else. Too scaredy cat! Remember, I did it solo in 1963 with Bill Lear and Sandy Wightman. Charlie Thomson emailed: “Memories and updates! Thanks so much for all your hard work, Tony. Really interesting. I’ll send my own update soon.” Jan Truebner, who will moderate the first “Yale 1964 Authors Book Club” on May 27, emailed: “I’ll be sending your March all-classmate email along to surviving spouses very soon. I’ve had out-of-town guests, house guests, and golf tournaments this week and am waiting the arrival of my daughter and her family.” Nancy Upper (surviving spouse of Dennis Upper) recently relocated to Lexington MA. Nancy emailed: “It’s just two miles from the Winchester neighborhood where Dennis and I lived from 1982-2018.” Nancy was also saddened by the recent death of James Levine, artistic director of the Metropolitan Opera for more than 40 years. She wrote: “Jimmy was a classmate of mine at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati from 7th through 12th grades. He conducted the WHHS orchestra for musical performances I choreographed, and in which I danced and soloed.” Nancy is a regular on the Boston Zoom calls and is hard at work writing more articles and even a book about her specialty, the ampersand. Andy Villalon, already one of our classmate authors, emailed: “I just finished corrections for a new book being published by Brill. I’ll let you know when it’s released.”

John Witherspoon, aka “Dr. J’s Field Communicator,” emailed: “Thank you Tony and Sam for all you do for all the rest of us. I thoroughly enjoy ‘keeping up.’ My interest currently is screenplay writing encouraged by my family of actors ... perhaps I should say tolerated by them ... after months of writing ‘Deacon Travels to Planet X.’ l have now begun a screenplay about the dramatically sad death of a Nashville preteen schoolgirl who was selling Girl Scout Cookies door to door, only to be murdered and raped. The problem is engaging the audience in the first three minutes starting with fun pleasant banter, then slowly moving into the dark side of the story. All this is additive to my ongoing engagement in medical and surgical studies. After being a private MD for decades, concurrently with a military surgical practice spanning 52 years … and an abiding interest in anything with a motor — cars, trucks, motorcycles, hot rods, and boats. My final thoughts on this might be to rather become Warren Buffett, just sit in an easy chair, buying but never selling stocks. I’m trying to walk 10 to 15 miles a day ... never give up ... mind active, body active.” David Wyles, who is still recovering from a bad accident last year, posted a blast from the past: “That’s me with the granny glasses, long hair, and flowered shirt at a screening at the American Film Institute. I was among the lucky few who were chosen to be fellows in the original class of 1969.” Later, like so many other classmates this spring, David posted flowers in full bloom: “Poppies at the Big Sur.” John Wylie liked my post of a song by Van Morrison, only a few miles from Island Magee in Northern Ireland.

The list of classmate authors who have published books since 2000 is now up to 83. Collectively, they have published 216 books in that period. A book by Michael Price had been inadvertently omitted: Boston’s Immigrants: 1840-1925. Mike emailed: “It grew out of a photo exhibit I did when I worked for the International Institute of Boston which worked with immigrants. I wanted to show that they weren’t the first to be thrown into this strange and disturbing situation.” We also learned that Don Rosenthal published The Photographs of Frederick Rolfe, Baron Corvo, and it has been added to the website’s Publications page. Classmate bloggers are as prolific as ever. Frank Basler wrote a moving piece in Pandemic Musings about depression. Mo Dean’s son, Geoffrey Dean, wrote a piece in Moristotle on Shakespeare’s 457th birthday in April that sparked a lot of commentary, especially from Jim Carney and Neil Hoffmann. Ron Parlato added a whimsical entry to his blog, Uncle Guido’s Facts: “Did Jesus have a sense of humor?” Paul Ruden continues to add to his blog, Shining Sea, and Patrick Caviness commented: “Paul republished a piece titled “Hidden Figures” (Paul’s most popular blog), and we all need to take in Paul’s words.” Ron Sipherd captured the beauty of spring in Northern California in his blog, Ronksville. Russell Sunshine blogged in Agile Aging: “Our latest excursion took us to California’s North Coast, moseying from Bodega Bay to Mendocino along the Shoreline Highway, State Route 1. These journal notes home in on two historical landmarks.” John Wylie has been featuring graphical morphs and other symbols in his blog, Why We Became Human. The Women’s Leadership Initiative at Yale is compiling a digital tapestry of the experiences of women at Yale. I offered them a copy of Howard Gillette’s book, Class Divide: Yale ’64 and the Conflicted Legacy of the Sixties, in the hope that it will tell them what it was like without women at Yale.

Three of our classmates have died since the previous issue of Notes. All have been added to our Class website’s In Memoriam page. Tony Morris died last December in southern California. I admired Tony’s dedication to fire-fighting prevention and research and visited him once at his California home. Rick Hatton, about whom Tony wrote frequently, emailed: “Not having known Tony Morris at Yale, I met him in 2006 regarding wildfires. He mentioned his older brother had flown for Pan Am, and I mentioned my close friend in college is a son of the airline’s founder. About three more back-and-forths and we discovered we were classmates. We spoke frequently about wildfire over the years since. He became a vocal critic of the agencies. I’m sure he will be missed by many friends.” Alan McFarland bought a Mory’s memorial brick for Tony Morris. Chuck Rose died in February in Louisville KY after a short stay in the hospital. Bob Rands and Bill Chandler (who was also his high-school classmate) were very helpful contacting his surviving spouse, Margie, to confirm details of a service in September. They had been married for 53 years and had no children. Margie is planning an open memorial service at Resthaven Cemetery in Louisville, probably in September, and expects to post an obituary in August. We will post details as they become available. Chuck spent three years at Yale with the Class of 1964 but did not graduate. Nevertheless, he was a very engaged classmate and wrote a nice personal essay for our 50th Reunion Class Book. Dennis Lynch died in April in New Jersey following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Denny was a star on the basketball team and captain of the tennis team, reflecting both his athleticism and his popularity. He was our Class Secretary 1994-1999 and inspired those of us who followed in his shoes. Ann Marie Lynch sent a wonderful slideshow of photos which are posted on Denny’s In Memoriam page. She also told us about an article in the WSJ that recognized their son Dennis for his performance on Wall Street. There was an outpouring of Mory’s memorial bricks for Denny: Hank Bryant, Ted Jones, Rick Kaminsky, Rick Kroon, Tony Lavely, Sam Francis, and Edward Massey (who said, “Denny was a great partner in the New Haven Ravens”). Apparently, class secretaries get paid in bricks! Other contributions to the Mory’s Memorial Brick Fund were: Bam Alling (for Andy Combe), Edward Massey (for Tim Bachmeyer), Tony Lavely (for Dave Ritchie), Charlie Payne (for Doug Gebler). Remembrances were added by Patrick Caviness and Francis Snyder for Tim Bachmeyer. The news of David Swensen’s death arrived at the deadline for these notes, so we have expressed more of our admiration for him and sadness over his death on the Class website. We named David an honorary classmate in 2014, as a small token of our appreciation for him and what he did for our class and for Yale. David and Meghan attended our 55th class reunion, and we treasure those memories. Rick Salomon remembered David: “David was an extraordinary friend and mentor. I served an 8-year term on the Yale Investment Committee in the 1990s. By the end of my term, David could have said he recommended building hotels on the moon, and the committee would have gone along. David was an outstanding investor and a wonderful human being.” Marya Holcombe added: “Play ‘I’ll Fly Away,’ by Alison Krauss and think of David Swensen. This world is not our home, and we will all meet again on the other side.”