Class Notes

March/April 2025

Note: Classmates' names in gold font are links to a pre-addressed email form (if your browser is properly configured). Other links (underlined) take you to more information about the topic. A shorter version of these Notes is published in the Yale Alumni Magazine. If you would like to write a guest column, please let me know. Do we have your current email address in our website directory?

Happy New Year! Many classmates exchanged year-end holiday greetings — both mailed and online — no doubt kindled by the friendships renewed at our 60th reunion last May. I’ll include some of those messages later in this column. At this writing in early January, I’m pleased to report that no classmate deaths have been reported since the previous issue. That’s a welcome start for the New Year! I did see Joe Lieberman’s death reported on the CNN New Year’s Eve program on “Notable Deaths in 2024.” Several classmates evoked memories on the December 29 death of President Jimmy Carter, notably Gus Speth, who served for two years as chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President. Gus emailed: “What a hero Carter was! Thanks for remembering.” Joe Wishcamper wrote, “I remember that Steve Clay from Atlanta was assigned by Carter to represent the US in the Maine Indian Land Claims dispute in the late 70s.” Douglass Lea posted the official presidential photo done by Ansel Adams, noting, “It is still the only official portrait depicting a first couple (at Carter’s explicit request).”

Barring unforeseen developments, the Class Council will take place on Saturday, February 15, 2025. It will be a hybrid event, attended in New Haven by some Council members, and attended by others via Zoom. We will welcome six new Council members: Frank Basler, Kip Burgweger, John Hunsaker, Rick Kroon, Don Van Doren, and Bill Woodfin. It will be our first Council meeting since our 60th Class Reunion, so it will not be as intense from a planning standpoint. Nevertheless, there will be planning for events in 2025. Joe Wishcamper scheduled the first Zoom event of 2025 on January 23, which was a talk by Rick Hatton on “Wildfire Containment and Suppression from the Air,” moderated by Sam Callaway. As of January 16, 91 classmates had signed up, including a number of surviving spouses who responded to Jan Truebner’s invitation. The event is very timely, given the extreme wildfires in the Los Angeles area this month. Regrettably, a number of our classmates and/or their families have been affected by the fires. The Zoom session was recorded and is posted on our Class website here. The January-February 2025 YAM headlined Rick’s commitment on page 74: “Rick Hatton has shown a lifelong commitment to aerial firefighting with his DC-10 tanker.” Joe Wishcamper is planning additional Zoom sessions on a quarterly schedule, so check our Class website and watch your email for details. Edward Massey is planning Yale Authors Book Club sessions via Zoom in 2025. On a date to be determined, Stephen Greenblatt will discuss his new book about Christopher Marlowe set for release this year from Norton Publishing.

At the February meeting, the Class Council will also welcome staff and students from the two New Haven organizations we have traditionally supported. Colleen Murphy-Dunning, Program Director at Hixon Center for Urban Sustainability, will introduce our 2024 Summer Intern, Tashi, from Urban Resources Initiative (URI) who will give a presentation on his successful summer of work in New Haven. Julie Greenwood, Executive Director at Squash Haven, will bring a panel of students and Yale squash players/coaches from this program that tutors and coaches disadvantaged high-school students from the New Haven area, with the involvement of the Yale squash team. We will also welcome a panel of students from the Native American Cultural Center at Yale who will speak about their experiences at Yale and their work in the New Haven area.

Classmate lunches and/or Zoom sessions continue to be scheduled on a regional basis in 2025. Ralph Jones schedules luncheons at Mory’s, typically on first Wednesdays; Ted Wagner schedules luncheons at the Yale Club of NYC, typically on third Wednesdays. Owen O’Donnell schedules Zoom calls for the Northern California Bay-area group, typically on second Wednesdays, but the January get-together was an actual luncheon at the Pacific-Union Club in San Francisco, hosted by Ray Haas. In November, Owen posed the question: “What is your favorite destination outside the US?” In November, he asked: “What is the best book, film, or TV series you have read/seen in the past year?” These questions always stimulate lively conversations, but there are plenty of spontaneous topics, too. Jerry Flannelly schedules Zoom calls for the Boston-area group, typically on third Wednesdays. Zoom calls are not limited to classmates who live in the geographic area, so make sure you’re on the host’s invitation list if you’d like to attend. For the November 2024 Zoom, Jerry circulated an article about the impact of NIL (Name-Image-Likeness) on Ivy League sports. Sixteen people attended. In December 2024, there were fifteen classmates/friends, notably, Karl Ziegler and Sheldon Leader from England. In January 2025, Karen Carmean and Doane Perry joined via Zoom. Karl Ziegler emailed: “It was great to see you all, especially, Karen and Doane again.” Karl added, “Kenya and Lamu are a huge part of Jane’s and my adventures; a memorably beautiful part of the world.” Due to Mory’s holiday schedule, Ralph Jones had to move around the November and January lunches at Mory’s, so watch for his email invitations during 2025. Same with Ted Wagner for the classmate luncheons at The Yale Club of NYC. On their own during Christmas week in NYC, Nancy and Tony Lavely had lunch in the Grill Room at the Yale Club of NYC. “We were impressed with the beautiful holiday decorations throughout the Club, and the food was terrific!”

In November, Tony Lavely posted, “Along with Dana and Dick Niglio, Nancy and I attended the ESPN telecast of the Yale-Princeton game at a local Minneapolis tavern. Yale won 42-28, their fifth win in a row.” Later, Lavely posted: “In January, Nancy and I attended the first Minnesota Yale Club event of 2025, to hear the Yale a cappella group ‘Something Extra’ perform at the Woodhill Country Club in front of 100 people. These newer singing groups don’t seem to know ‘Bright College Years,’ so Dick and I grabbed the mic at the end of the evening and led everyone in the alma mater!”

In November, Class Treasurer Chip Brennan sent his annual appeal for 1964 Class Dues, which are a modest $100. Please respond, as these dues help support class activates (like our reunions) and the Yale Alumni Magazine mailings. It’s easy to pay these dues online.

In his role as Class Secretary, Tony Lavely attended the Yale Presidential Quarterly Webinar via Zoom on December 4, 2024. President Maurie McInnis ’90 MA, ’96 Ph.D. spoke about her first six months as president of the University, during which she visited many Yale alumni groups.

At our 60th reunion, several classmates presented their experience and point of view on Artificial Intelligence (AI). In January, Tony Lavely attended a Yale Zoom webinar sponsored by Yale College Reunion Giving Volunteers that focused on “The Future of Learning: AI and the Poorvu Center at Yale.” The principal speaker was Jennifer Frederick, Executive Director of the Poorvu Center and Associate Provost for Academic Initiatives. Our classmates may recall that there were three classmate-led sessions at our 60th Reunion last May that focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI): Tom Barnard led one, and John Wylie led another that described his experience using AI to create illustrations for his book, The Rise of Authoritarianism in Home Sapiens. Unfortunately, Dick Berk had to cancel his appearance due to illness, but we are hoping to schedule a Zoom event in 2025 for his session. Given the strong interest among classmates for advances in AI, we are planning to schedule a Class Zoom session about AI in 2025. In January, Tony Lavely attended the Zoom webinar for “The Future of Learning: AI and the Poorvu Center at Yale.”

Ted Jones is planning a golf outing for Spring 2025, so let him know if you’re not already on his email list. Ted emailed: “It’s a little early for any definitive plans, but we usually schedule late May or early June. Last two times we played Tasha Knolls, about ½ hour west near Trumbull, CT. Last time we also played The Vue, in Hamden. We had looked at a two-course layout, also near Hamden, called Lyman Orchard, but the ‘easy’ course (deemed appropriate for us codgers by Butch Hetherington and John Tully) was unavailable, and the other course was vetoed by them (and John Evans) as too hard. More to come when I hear back from the ‘gang’ after my early February invite email.”

The vitality of 1964 Classmates in the News often exceeds our reporting and indexing for these achievements. We’ll do our best to catch up here. In addition to organizing monthly luncheons at Mory’s, Ralph Jones is 1964 Class Delegate to the Yale Alumni Association. He attended the YAA Assembly in November 2024, "Leading for a Better World: Advancements in Health, Historical Inquiry, and the Environment at Yale." Ralph’s excellent report is posted on our Class website/News. Gus Speth continues to expand his series, “Essays from the Edge.” His December 2024 essay is, “Climate in the New Context: Facing Reality and Fighting Back.” John Wylie created a 46-minute AI-Illustrated video titled “The Mind’s Evolution.” In January, Ralph DeFronzo was listed among the top 2% of scientists worldwide. Classmates in Ralph’s Trumbull College posse commented right away. John Hunsaker emailed, “Who is this guy, highlighted on today's YC '64 website, with too-much-testosterone-caused follicular challenge? Someone — an engaged Trumbullian and DKE — I am proud to have known for ~4 years @ YC, who kept us all out of trouble. Yes, I still have the letter Dr. Nicholas sent to our parents for breaking that damn door (never got us for the water bombs), who sometimes rudely interrupted Dan's nose stuck in the books, who was one of the few who could steal home, who answered every question in the calculus textbook ['60-61], and whose boundless energy, insight, and Italian brazenness then and now continuously kindle admiration and awe!” John added, “Way to go Ralphie! I knew my tutoring you in biochem and advanced physics would pay off. Let me know when we're goin' across the Atlantic for the biggie!” Frank Franklin commented, “Very nice, and well-deserved recognition, Ralph. Keep it up.” Tony Thomson added: “Stay healthy Ralph — maybe the Nobel? — as I will try to stay healthy with Metformin and Jardiance — maybe your work? — bring on the A1C!”

Bob Buchanan was named the 2024 Montgomery County “Philanthropist of the Year” by the Greater Washington Community Foundation. The video that honored Bob is posted on our Class website/News. Last summer, Joe Wishcamper was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Southern Maine. Joe emailed the text of his remarks at commencement: “I am grateful to USM for awarding me this degree. USM means a lot to me and so receiving this degree from USM means a lot to me, as well. Even better, unlike all of you receiving degrees today, I didn’t have to write a single paper or take a single exam to get the degree. I am also grateful to USM for providing all of you receiving degrees today with the key to the door to success in your career and your life. My college experience changed my life completely. It opened me to a bigger world than I, a poor kid from west Texas, could ever have imagined. It helped me see that I could be more and do more with my life than my parents and the people I had grown up with had modeled for me. I know that USM has broadened your world, too. By awarding you this degree, USM is certifying that you are equipped to succeed. I encourage you to raise your sights and believe that you, too, can open that door and do more than you could have imagined when you enrolled here.”

Many classmates told me that they were excited to see the news that the Ivy League has dropped their longstanding ban (since 1956) on post-season Bowl games. Beginning in 2025, the winner of the Ivy League will get an automatic bid for Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) post-season play. It was won by North Dakota State. Let’s hope the Bulldogs can extend their two-year streak of League titles (and four in the last six years). Dan Pollack, who has two grandsons competing in bigtime college athletics, commented: “It’s about time Yale moved into the modern era. Been doing it in basketball, hockey, lacrosse. Why not football and other sports? Next thing you know, Yale will have an NIL … not really.” Pat Caviness added, “This new rule makes it possible for college athletes to remain and compete in college sports for up to seven years. That's amazing!” On a related topic, Dan Pollack commented on the totally refurbished Lapham Field House near the Yale Bowl, “Incredible renovation of Lapham Field House! God willing, we will gather again for our 65th reunion, and I look forward to seeing it in person.” Tony Lavely added, “Too bad our trainer Bill Dayton won’t be there to tape us up!” You can read about the Lapham opening ceremony here. Sam Callaway continued to circulate the MTHSS Hockey Newsletter from Substack about the Yale men’s hockey season. Pete Putzel commented, “This is a particularly interesting piece on the Yale hockey team and, more generally, on the intersection of DIL and Ivy league athletics.”

Urban Resources Initiative (URI) posted on Facebook: “Did you know that most of the trees we plant should be pruned every five years? Shout-out to Yale School of the Environment student interns Tashi, Emelia, and Asnakech for going out to the Cedar Hill, East Rock, Annex, and Dixwell neighborhoods to prune trees that URI has planted in the past. Out with dying branches and in with the new growth for this new year!” The 1964 Class Council will hear Tashi’s report in February. Squash Haven, the other New Haven non-profit supported by our Class, posted in December: “Thank you to everyone who contributed to Squash Haven this Giving Tuesday! We wouldn’t be able to do any of this work without your support!” In January, during the wildfire crisis in California, Yale Climate Connections posted, “The role of climate change in the catastrophic 2025 Los Angeles fires.” Dick Berk circulated two articles with this comment: “The January 1 issue of The Economist has two excellent articles on the admissions practices at Ivy Plus schools and subsequent student success: Finance, consulting and tech are gobbling up top students; The making of America’s Ivy League elite. There is substantial research on the issue, not just ideological hot air. I taught Ivy kids at Penn for 20 years. Many of the trends described seem accurate, but they miss a critical advantage: networking after graduation. Ivy employers like to hire recent Ivy graduates and that is just a start because so much of upward mobility is through whom you know. Both of my kids graduated Penn and have some talent. Still, the ‘Quaker’ network has opened many doors that otherwise might have remained closed.” Yale continues to expand its reputation in theater studies by announcing a new building: “Yale’s New Drama, Theater Building OK’d.”

A number of classmates replied to the question I posed in November 2024: “What is #1 on your Bucket List? Tony Thomson emailed: “My detrusor and I wish everyone a great Xmas and Happy New Year — good old Flomax! Not to forget the importance of maintaining a tight sphincter in the face of whatever fate throws our way in 2025 — Greenland does nothing for me but it would be neat to have the canal back — so we would have something fun to look forward to — even at our age. Try to avoid falls unlike Nancy Pelosi — and generally just enjoy!” Ron Sipherd emailed: “I can't say that I have a bucket list; or ever did, now that I think about it. I'm more inclined to the principle of ‘play the hand you're dealt’ and make the most of it. We have been to about all the travel destinations we wanted to visit, but they are not everyone's: the top of Steens Mountain and Steptoe Butte, roadless Stehekin in Washington (three times), down the Missouri River out of Fort Benton in a canoe, and photographed rural county courthouses and homesteaders' shacks all over the Pacific Northwest. Some places easily reached, some not. At our present age, we are content to stay near home in the S.F. Bay area (hard to beat the weather here) and be content with what we have.”

Tony Lee replied, “Knocking off the last one today and tomorrow. Visiting the Afro-American Museum in D.C.” Dick Devens wrote: “I don't travel, because I don't like to travel, and love staying home. It's also better for the environment. I've made contact with Andy Burrows, a classmate from Silliman who lives in southern Vermont. Also, Gerry Ives lives about ten minutes away, here in Sandwich NH. Thanks for your efforts to keep us informed, Tony. I had to unsubscribe from other Yale news because it was way too much.” Jim Currie replied: “Sorry to hear of your election ‘burnout’ (understandable), Tony. Hopefully, yesterday's brilliant 'spoil it for Harvard' Game helped get you out of that. I think Biden blew it for the Dems by failing to retire gracefully, which resulted in an equally flawed alternative. Given the opportunity, I would have voted for Josh Shapiro. But with Kamala running, I decided to go for the other hopeless cause: Nikki. I think any serious talent scout would have done the same. Glad you had a successful bucket trip to Africa, welcome back, and Happy Holidays! PS. My previous #1 item was satisfied during the '64 Reunion wherein I got to thank you in person for your dedication and hard work. Next #1 will be doing the same thing to someone else for my 65th Millbrook Reunion, June 2025).” Bob Buchanan sent a one-word answer for his “Bucket List”: “Philanthropy.” Bill Bowe emailed: “Many of our classmates have no doubt from time to time pondered the age-old Happiness question as their lives have rolled along. For what it’s worth, I recently had a chance to review Aristotle, Mortimer Adler, and Charles Van Doren on the topic.”

Many classmates and friends of 1964 sent holiday greetings. My favorites were the ones that included news and photos. Phil Anderson emailed: “Just in time for Christmas, we want to share the two-hour video of the Vocal Majority Christmas Concert at White’s Chapel!” Susie and Frank Basler sent their “wish for resilience” in the New Year. Lorna and Dan Berman sent a photo holiday card on which Dan wrote, “Maybe we’ll see you at our 65th high-school reunion in October.” Bill Bowe posted a family holiday photo with New Year Wishes. Frederique Deleage and Pat Caviness posted: “This was our first New Year celebration in our Shambala villa on Koh Samui. A very special night.” Weili Cheng (former YAA) sent greetings from her home in Hawaii. Enrique De La Cruz sent greetings from Branford College (where he is Head). Dottie and John Evans emailed greetings with a historical factoid: “Winterset, and in Rome Saturnalia, a pagan festival of the solstice, was adopted as Christmas by Julius I in 337 CE. Before that, only Easter was celebrated. Shepherds abiding in their fields in the midst of winter? Perhaps. An astronomical quiz: The solstice is the shortest day of the year, but mornings are darker each day until something like Jan 10. Why? A question of orbits.” Dorrie and Jerry Flannelly emailed a poem by Susan Cooper, titled “Welcome Yule!” Steve Hoffman emailed: “Our family of twelve spent holiday week in Costa Rica where the six grandkids ranging from 5 to 19 voted once again to lobby for a return next December. I survived one session of bodysurfing and decided that it was time to retire from that lifelong favorite! I have definitely not retired from enjoying the family during these special occasions when we can gather everyone together.” John Howells mailed greetings with a current photo and added wryly “I won’t start celebrating until I get your card, Tony.” Kirk and Jay Huffard emailed, “We’re in Florida for the winter.”

John Hunsaker emailed: “Greetings to one and all! Can’t match Tony L’s yuletide pictorial pronouncement, so here is my online wish for a healthy and happy holiday get-together, and beyond! Despite some outcries of gloom and doom, we have much to rejoice. I can’t contemplate 13.8 billion light-years, not to mention ~ 46 billion light-years across the observable universe, nor ponder that there are some conditions moving faster than the speed of light. Believing that your quarks, gluons, and neutrinos are homeostatic with all your vacuums, I do however rejoice in the unlikely probability that you and I have consciously come to know each other in contexts more than engaging in propositional speech: my contacts with each of you have fulfilling meaning. Thank you! A final thought: recently viewing the movie on black women serving with great contribution during WWII, I also rejoice in recognizing the unbelievable courage and glorious dedication of all those ones of color who served unswervingly during that horrible conflict in spite of despicable obstacles [yes, I remember in the late 40’s when I went to the cinema on the first floor and those folks had to go to the second]. Be well during this 9th decade, with reasonable detrusor control. Hope to see you now and again.” Later, John Hunsaker added, “Thanks for your pictorial card, Tony. Who are all those youngins? Hope to see you in Feb! I’m snowed in in Lex KY [my first time for " in in" in English sentence [now 3]. PS Did we ever get the accurate history of Frosh football Yale v Cornell 1960 and Pete Gogolak?”

Diana and Ted Jones sent a card from Northbrook IL., “May 2025 prove bountiful.” Jocelyn Kane sent greetings from the Yale Alumni Fund. Jane and Blaine Krickl emailed from London: “Tony, your lovely, newsy card arrived on Monday with images and news aplenty. It pleased me just a bit that you, like Jane and me, were running behind getting seasonal greetings dispatched. I learned from my brother only today that ours have now reached him [bulk-mailed] and are now in the hands of USPS. What you would have received is attached ... family images including the latest arrival, Jamie, on 9 December ... it was awaiting his birth that caused our delay ... plus, for the first time in years, a broadcast letter of the bit of news we had to impart. I can report that on 31 December I received a call from Wally Grant ’63 to mark my 83rd birthday. One can never predict which of one's friends from long ago will remain so over the years, like you. Though wholly different in background and character, Wally and I have managed it and entwined our families into the bargain. So pleased you and Nancy are so full of energy and adventure, most strongly evidenced by the great adventure your honeymoon in Africa represented. Our best for the year to come ... I may well see you tomorrow for Boston Zoom.”

Sally and Larry Lawrence sent an extended family photo (including two great-looking Yellow Labs). Nancy and Tony Lavely sent a card with a photo of them wearing their Ultimate Africa T-shirts surrounded by their five grandchildren (ages 15 – 8 months). Margie and Tony Lee emailed: “This was intended to be a holiday letter but is now a post-New-Year blessing. Thanks to germey gifts from grand kids. All will be well in a few days. We need to buckle up because next year is going to be a wild and crazy ride.” Tony added: “Our inaugural EV road trip at Thanksgiving worked well, and importantly, the heated seats and steering wheel did not eat into the battery range.” Sam Low emailed a giant red heart and said,” It sounds like you are having a wonderful life together. I send you lotsa ALOHA.” Anne and Edward Massey sent a newsy card from their new home in Salem NH: “Edward has finished the draft of a new book … no, it is not a sheriff book!” Edward added: “Anne captured the year and its mystical result of bring us closer to all family and friends.” Dana Wood and Dick Niglio sent an extended family photo card that showed off a budding football star in the making in San Diego. Melissa and Martin Padley sent a nice photo journal that chronicled their travel adventures in 2024. Nancy and Dan Pollack posted photos with their extended family “We love winter break, a most special time with family and friends and so grateful to have our crew together. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy safe, and peaceful 2025!” Later, Dan wrote about the cancer radiation treatment and care Nancy received at Kathy’s House, at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “Nancy and I have made a generous donation to this non-profit, as a way of saying ‘thank you’.” Dan added, “We leave for Scottsdale in January.”

Mike Price telephoned New Year greetings, with regrets that he won’t be able to attend Class Council in February. Jan Truebner posted a family photo from Connecticut, “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Truebners. I leave for Florida on January 25 so I’m still up here freezing with the rest of you! Loved your beautiful Christmas card! I didn’t get one out this year for the first time in 50 years! I must say, it made for a much less hectic Christmas season!” Diane Senior and Don Van Doren emailed, “This photo, accompanied by a poem by Mary Oliver, is taken from our dining room window two days after 15 inches of wet snow fell in November. Snow sliding off the roof, our obelisk down the mesa, clouds and the Cerrillos Hills, and clouds obscuring Santa Fe and the Sangre de Christo mountains beyond. Just one highlight of 2024! The attachment contains more highlights of our 2024. With best wishes to you for a wonderful 2025!” Ann and John Wylie sent a photo with their five grandchildren. Jane Fuller and Karl Ziegler posted: “Dearest Family and Friends: May this New Year bring you peace, joy and all the things you love! Have A Purrrfectly Happy New Year!”

Now, to the main section of Class Notes … what classmates are doing and talking about, beginning this issue with the end of the alphabet. BTW, classmates whose last names begin with “C” and “P” are the most prolific communicators. Replying in November to a message from Dick duPont about a book he had put together for his youngest son, Joe Wishcamper emailed: “Dups, Happy Thanksgiving from spectacular Groot Bos Lodge in Western Cape, South Africa. I learned on this trip that, while there's no Thanksgiving in SA, Black Friday is observed throughout the land! Off tomorrow for Rovos Rail adventure out of Pretoria. Die beste vir jou, Joe.” On his return from South Africa in early December, Joe Wishcamper emailed: “Got back at 11:00 this morning. Splendid trip. Beautiful country. Sad to see the deterioration of virtually all the infrastructure. As an example, the country's postal service is essentially closed down. Terrible decline of nearly all cities except in the Cape province.”

Bill Woodfin emailed: “Tony: So sorry that I will have to miss in person attendance at my first Class Council meeting but grateful for the Zoom link. Along with our doctor who turns 70 and another good friend celebrating her 90th, Fran, who turns 80, and I are cohosting a large birthday bash that evening with around 60-70 guests. It’s the only date we could coordinate. It’s so typical that for all of February the only two events of importance to me occur on the same date. Not only do I regret missing the meeting but also the dinner at Mory’s and a chance to sneak over to Sally’s or Pepe’s. Your bummed out Classmate, Bill.” Later, Bill Woodfin emailed, “Our friend Peggy (one of the instructors in our ‘Can We Stop Climate Change’ group) gave us a beautiful 90-minute presentation Monday on help for dealing with the anxiety, fear, grief, sadness, and other emotions many of us are experiencing since the election the consequences of which might very well lead to any number of environmental tipping points. She subsequently sent out the attached bibliography providing additional resources which you might find helpful. I suspect she will give repeat online presentations which we plan to offer to our students and any friends with legitimate interest.” Worried that I might have missed this thoughtful email that Bill Woodfin sent following our 60th reunion, I include it here: “Tony: Again, I want to thank you for all of the time, work, and consideration you put in for our Class of ‘64 especially, along with a number of other classmates, regarding our Reunion. After a two-day delay relating to American Airlines, Fran and I returned home last night awash in happy recollections of the three days we had spent at TD with classmates, spouses, and widows of deceased classmates. We very much enjoyed the music and dancing with Saturday evening’s combo though we didn’t last right up to the 11:00pm closing as I suspect you and Nancy did. As usual Yale made some star faculty members available to us and I thought it particularly informative listening to what Scott Stroebel had to say about upcoming expansion plans and what Pericles Lewis regarded as the purpose of a liberal education. I also enjoyed the opportunity to talk with Margie and Tony Lee and Jon Greene about the educational work we have been doing on climate change. I also want to give an emphatic ‘shout out’ for the beautiful product Bill Galvin gave us with the 60th Reunion Book. In a phone conversation yesterday, Larry Speidell told me he had read all the essays. I particularly admired the rather amusing photos on the jacket, the color photos inside, and the essays by the widows of our deceased members. My thanks for all you do and I look forward to our ongoing monthly discussions via Jerry Flannelly’s Boston ’64 Zoom sessions which, living 1,500 miles from New Haven, is about my only chance of visiting with classmates. Let’s do all we can to stay above ground and fit for the 65th.”

John Wylie sparked a torrent of responses in the Bay-Area Zoom group to his October posting of AI Illustrated Blues. In early January, David Wyles posted a quote from Joan Didion: "Los Angeles weather is the weather of catastrophe, of apocalypse, and, just as the reliably long and bitter winters of New England determine the way life is lived there, so the violence and the unpredictability of the Santa Ana affect the entire quality of life in Los Angeles, accentuate its impermanence, its unreliability. The winds show us how close to the edge we are.” Joan Didion "Slouching toward Bethlehem." When he saw Tony Lavely’s Facebook post with him and Dick Niglio at the Yale-Princeton game telecast, Gerry Shea emailed: “Tis a jolly life we lead. Hugs to you all-stars.” Later, when Gerry Shea read Dick Goodyear’s In Memoriam that was circulated by Nick Danforth, Gerry wrote poignantly, “Dick was an intimate friend and colleague at the firm, and his wife Connie’s sister Helen Martin was my love for the year before I was sent to Paris (1972). But are you, Nick, spending your time reading year-old remembrances!? Well, if so, and even if not, here’s another. Dick really couldn’t resist the stage. In 1981, I traveled to SF from Dallas (Arabian pipeline issues) for Connie and Helen's parents' 40th wedding anniversary. On the plane I wrote lyrics for their mother Nini (une grande dame de SF) and Fran their father to the tune Bianca from Cole Porter's Kiss me Kate. That evening we all rehearsed various songs for the party the next night, including Dick a song he had done and I mine. The Martins had a great pianist there and at the party to accompany us — a star. Timing, pitch (as each began), volume — everything. When I finished my rehearsal, Dick came storming toward me, even more intimidating than his startling Teddy Roosevelt at Andover, and, almost shouting, said, ‘Great! Let's do that together!’ I started to say, timidly, for he was a member of the family — and he was Dick — well, OK, I'd love — when the three Martin girls, Connie, Helen, and Candy, a trio of red-haired Walkyries, stormed Dick in their turn, crying out, ‘Leave Gerry alone! He does his song and you do yours.’ So that's what happened. I think he just thought it would be a bigger hit as a duet, particularly if he were to be half of it, and I bet he was right. In any event, all went well, Dick sang before me (I can't remember his song, alas, but it went extremely well) and I sang the song for Nini and Fran alone. We were followed by Jimmy Stewart who sang “Chinatown,” Ray Bolger who danced a bit, and, I believe, the director Mervin Leroy who did his own number. James Stewart had exactly the same kind of hearing aids I did at the time (ugly black eyeglasses fitted with the aids — good at high frequencies) and had the poise, wit, and grace of a flight of angels. He could fly, too.”

After the Bay-Area luncheon in January, Russell Sunshine emailed: “Yesterday, as you may already have heard, we had a cordial luncheon gathering of SF Bay Area Zoomers. Ray Haas was our generous host at the Pacific Union Club. As usual, Owen O’Donnell was our convenor. Present and participating were Messrs. Archer, McKleroy, Morrison, and Sherwood. Very nice to be together face to face. All smiling and necktied, if creaky.” Nancy Upper (surviving spouse of Dennis Upper) replied to Jan Truebner’s invitation to the Rick Hatton Zoom: “The afternoon of January 23, I have a research appointment at the Boston Athenaeum. Rick Hatton’s five-minute talk at the 55th Reunion gives a good introduction to his initiatives with aerial firefighting.” Later, Nancy added: “David and I will travel to London and Trinity College, Cambridge (David’s alma mater) UK March 16-28, 2025. I emailed Karl Ziegler and Blaine Krickl about meeting in London with their wives, Jane Fuller and Jane Krickl. We will meet for lunch at Queens Club (date TBD) and possibly again during our visit.” Eleanor Ridley (surviving spouse of Clancy Ridley) also regretted to the Hatton Zoom, “I will be away in Iceland at that time.”

Dick Roskos reacted to Dan Pollack’s recollection of the 1963 Harvard-Yale Game: “I have a whole different football memory! On November 22, 1963, my quarterback, John Ashcroft, of the Branford first-place football team and I were on the bus going to the intramural fields to play the Harvard Elliot house team. We heard on the way that JFK had been shot. We won the game and of course John threw me a touchdown pass. We did not find out until after the game that JFK had died! This memory never leaves me.” Ron Sipherd also commented: “I remember November 22, 1963, very well.” Karen Carmean (spouse of Doane Perry) posted: “One of Doane’s classmates got a summer job. His responsibilities included throwing a bucket of stuff out the window onto the banks of the Charles River. The next day an older fellow warned him not to put his thumb in the yuck or he wouldn’t have a thumb. Years later, I remember, it was still too stinky to walk or run along the Charles. Few people did. Years later when I or anyone would capsize in the Charles River, we were sent immediately into the shower and then across the street to Mass General Hospital to get the first in a series of shots to protect ourselves from the filthy water. Now, runners and strollers enjoy the banks of the river. Now you can swim in the Charles again where there is four feet of clarity, so you don’t stumble on hidden rocks. Now folks can sail, capsize, and even windsurf. Let us not go back ... to those good old days.” Later, Karen posted, “Costa Manos [who died in 2025] was Doane's mentor in photography and an advisor to his thesis. He was also the Boston Symphony Orchestra's photographer at age 19. The story I heard was that he used a Leica and was quiet without flashes so didn't disrupt the concerts.”

Pete Putzel commented on John Evans’ recollection of keeping time. Evans wrote: “As a former employee of the National Bureau of Standards, this story about train schedules brought a smile to my face. Going back further in time, in the Middle Ages a parish was defined as the region where all could hear the bells of the church. The bells provided some key times (for prayers) throughout the day. Putzel replied: “According to Google, the international system based on Greenwich Mean Time was adopted a year later, in 1884. Thank you for sending this, John.”

Dan Pollack circulated a video on X of his grandson Jake playing in a Thanksgiving high-school basketball tournament: “Wish I was 6'8" 65 years ago — not even 6' now but all my medical stuff says 6'.” Kip Burgweger commented: “Jake gave you a lot of things to be thankful for at the Thanksgiving tournament and presumably at the Thanksgiving dinner later. And if you were 6' 8", you'd have made a great tight end.”

Your Class Secretary does his best to avoid errata in Class Notes, but Martin Padley found one in the last issue. Martin emailed: “In our most recent electronic class notes, Tony included an email of mine along with responses from recipients including one from Sam Low. So, Sam, if you have read through the class notes, you may have been surprised to see the comment from you because, as we know, you actually didn’t send it. As it turns out, the Sam Low who did respond was Keith Huffman’s grandson, the son of his daughter Elizabeth who is married to David Low, a retired physician. They live in a tiny village in northern England not far from Hadrian’s Wall. Elizabeth is my god daughter and Sam, who is now living in Boston, and I play golf together from time to time. The email that started all this was about an experience I had in England in September while playing golf and that I had sent to Tony along with a number of people I play golf with. I am pretty sure that Sam (of this email) doesn’t play golf, although I do know that he has done — perhaps still does — a fair amount of sailing.”

Jon McBride posted a comment about the Harvard-Yale Game last November, “I was among the meager 7,600 along with Toddie Getman and daughters and several friends. I’ve never seen such a ‘meager’ crowd at the tailgates. Missed you, Tony. It was a splendid fall Saturday in New Haven.” Sandy McKleroy posted to the Bay-Area Zoom group (of which his is a regular): “Dear Yalesters! Our troubles truly transcend politics for ‘we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ (Paul to the Ephesians). Therefore, pray for guidance from God/the Good/Grandfather/Great Spirit, and choose love not fear, showing it and sowing it every day in our interactions, forgiving our enemies (though not complying with their evil deeds and being aware as good citizens). Play with children and animals when you can and spend much time in nature. Love and Blessings, Sandy.”

Alan McFarland regretted to the Yale Club of NYC luncheon in January, “Sad to miss yet again. Hard to drive in and out about five hours for brilliance of luncheon with some wonderful enduring old guys. But have a grand gathering. Produce excellent gossip — and even some useful wisdom. Happy New Year and sustaining good health for all.” Douglass Lea posted about cruise ships in Alaska, “Juneau is hardly alone; now it's the whole bloody world.” Following the Boston-Area Zoom call in December, Tony Lee emailed: “Nice to see you and thanks for asking about climate change. We are very disappointed, but the fight goes on. There’s a huge win that just got released this afternoon. Apparently, there are over 30 different cases along these lines. Someone has been injured, and the plaintiffs are connecting the damages to the fossil-fuel industry. Optimists are predicting settlements similar to the tobacco industry. We continue to teach. I’ll be teaching at UGA OLLI starting in late February.” Later, Tony Lee empathized with Tony Lavely’s mobility challenges and emailed: “I also have ambulatory problems and can barely get around the block without hiking sticks. But I can mountain bike and fat-tire bike. I’d say I’m an average forgetful 82-year-old. The climate-change courses force me to rise to a higher level of paying attention and working harder at it. I have problems with both feet, left knee, and both shoulders, but I just carry on — hopefully without too much whining. So — overall — I’m slightly above average.” Frank Kugeler commented on Tony Lavely’s post about classmate veterans of Vietnam: “While I didn’t serve in-country, I was Supply Officer on the USS Agerholm (DD 826) on deployments in 1967 and 1969.”

Waldo Johnston left a voice message for Tony Lavely in November: “Just calling to thank you for all your emails and posts about your travels and adventures … especially about the Harvard Game yesterday which I thought was fantastic. You spend so much time making sure we’re all in the loop, and I really appreciate it.” Later, as winter descended, Candy Johnston posted a snowy scene in Cooperstown, “We miss the Johnston Road beauty, however Florida warmth beckons.” Candy also posted a lovely photo of her quilt handicraft, “EQ* Digital design of my last 2024 project, inspired by ‘Beyond the Cube’.” From Florida in January, Candy posted: “We're camped among the dormant vines at Summer Crush Vineyards, Johnston Road, Fort Pierce, FL where it's quiet, serene, and scenic. [Editor’s question: “Is there a ‘Johnston Road’ everywhere you live?’] They grow muscadine grapes, harvest and vint their own wines right here in FL, not far from Vero Beach. Improvements have made this campground our new local favorite.” Later in January, Candy posted, “We love January days like today when it's 75° and we can have the house wide open. View from our lanai. There was a Roseate spoonbill out there not long ago.”

In late November, Marya Holcombe (surviving spouse of Terry Holcombe) posted from New Hampshire, “First snow of the season with our dog, Cash!” John Hunsaker emailed last Thanksgiving, “Having read all the essays by classmates and some widows in our Yale 1964 At 60 reunion book, I observe that, in some fashion or another, most express family-grounded happiness and thankfulness as the capstone of their lives since 1964. Who can argue? Of the many elements I am thankful for, one of the first on my list is the service given graciously to our great republic by so many in YC 64. So, on this hallowed holiday, thank you vets for your steadfast devotion and dedication to our vibrant commonweal! In many cases where our leaders pursued misguided, failed policies, you still unselfishly undertook your solemn duties. I applaud you.”

Our former YAA liaison, Stephanie Hartnett, emailed, “My fiancé Kevin and I will be heading to Saint Vincent and The Grenadines to elope on March 21, 2025. I have my wedding dress, and we are planning a party to celebrate with friends and family this summer. I'll be sure to share photos when we return. I can't believe it's already the middle of January! Time is flying by.” Best wishes to Stephanie!

Stephen Greenblatt emailed, “Tony, Thanks for the glimpse of my past! I came back to Marlowe after 50 years and, lo and behold, he looked different to me. Or rather, I now view his struggles, when he was in his 20s, in a different light. Thanks too for the Christmas card and the update. You had quite the year, and it is wonderful that you not only triumphed over some adversity but managed to have that splendid adventure in Africa. Ramie and I are both on leave and are flying later this afternoon to Rome, where we'll be spending most of the spring. We have a brief jaunt to the Jaipur Literature Festival — the largest such event in the world, attracting some 300,000 visitors. We did this some years ago and had a great time. This time Ramie is presenting her book Shakespeare's Sisters, and I will do a couple of events, one a retrospective on The Swerve and another on Second Chances, plus a lecture in Delhi. Rajasthan is amazing, though we're only giving ourselves a week there on this visit.”

Celeste Finn (spouse of Eric Fossel) posted last November, “I had a wonderfully peaceful Thanksgiving with my parents, who came to my house with groceries and cooked. I won the lottery. Now, on the way to visit Eric at MGH with his supper and requested rare label seltzers.” Later, in December, Celeste posted, “Eric’s been in hospital since early October. And he just came home. Santa got my whole wish list.” In January, Frank Franklin posted from Birmingham, “With recent real winter weather and home confinement, Cindy prepared these healthy, hearty, and delicious meals. Enough leftovers for next week.” After Ralph DeFronzo thanked Sam Francis for posting the News story about Ralph’s recent recognition for being in the top 2% of scientists worldwide, Sam emailed, “One advantage of maintaining our class website is that I get to learn about so many classmates of extraordinary distinction whom I otherwise would not know of. It proves that Yale is an excellent place to get your start.” [Tony Lavely seconds that!]. In early January, John Evans RSVPed for the Mory’s classmate luncheon, “I am scheduled to get a new hip in two weeks, limping around with a cane at the moment. Mory's may be possible, but I won't be able to make the call until I see how mobile I am next week.” About the same time, John Evans circulated an interesting article about the “Wolf Moon,” the first full moon of the year.

Dick duPont emailed about Tony Lavely’s observations in Africa. Dick wrote: “I thought that you, your son Benjamin and cousin Stephanie might also enjoy a sort of 60s prelude to "The Fate Of Africa" (to add to the ongoing Lavely saga). Below is the rear jacket of "The Reds and The Blacks" — by my second of three fathers-in-law, the late Bill Attwood. See also the page excerpted from my ‘Tanzania’ book. Bill was publisher of the Long Island paper, NewsDay, during my time with his family. Earlier in the '60s under JFK, he was Ambassador first to Guinea and then Kenya. We got along just fine and had some interesting times together. Perhaps the best one was a trip to Cuba to break the ice for President Carter who wanted to reach out to Fidel Castro. I arranged the travel to Havana in my cousin Kip's DC3, which we piloted. Bill brought along his family and Kip's wife, Caroline. Afterward, I wrote an article for our Wilmington paper, the News Journal. I'll dig it up if you like.” duPs also commented during the mourning period for Jimmy Carter, “It may surprise you to learn that I voted for Jimmy Carter. That was the only time I voted for a Democrat presidential candidate in my 83 years on our planet. I was ashamed and pissed off over Nixon's behavior. Better a saint than a sinner — politics and executive acumen aside. Given the same two choices, I'd vote that way again. I wholeheartedly endorse the coverage bestowed upon Jimmy Carter now. Presidential accolades (and accusations) aside, very few, if any, past Presidents came near equaling his post-presidential record. His overall conduct during the century he lived was exceptional.” After our 60th reunion Dick duPont (who attended) emailed Pat Caviness (who didn’t attend), “Pat, you and Joe Wishcamper were the first to welcome me back to the class of 1964 — followed closely by Tony Lavely and Sam Francis — all four good value, as my Kenya chums would say.” Earlier, duPs emailed fellow-pilot Jim Currie, “Jim, I have attached an excerpt from a book I put together for my youngest son, Sam — just before his first and only safari (to Tanzania in 2005). It touches on the African trip which Teddy Roosevelt took right after his presidency — arguably the most famous safari ever. The story is woven together by inclusion of tidbits on Frederick Selous, who organized TR's trip and became a great friend of TR's.” Jim Currie replied, “I have to thank YOU (hopefully again) for sending me an original of your African piece and the aviation piece. I took the liberty of sending a copy of your note to another TR (Tweed, a Millbrook classmate) because he also went to Africa with his dad Archie (TR's grandson) sometime way back. Tweed did another famous TR trip in the Amazon, one in which he almost met his demise and from which he never truly recovered. Dick duPont also reconnected with another classmate pilot, Rick Hatton, and emailed, “I really enjoyed our chat yesterday. When it comes to Yale and the sixty odd years which followed, our lives, interests and modus operandi were remarkably similar. As promised, a couple of my exaggerative, self-serving memoir booklets are on their way West to the 2nd Tee. On the news this morning, I saw an impressive dump from one of your DC-10's (with a particularly decorative empennage). What a sight — what an inspiration! I'm psyched to join your program on January 23.”

Pat Caviness posted his first trip of the New Year to Bangkok, “A night out in Bangkok! When in Bangkok do not miss this amazing new Urban Beach Club TRIBE Sky Beach Club! It is located at the MSPHERE MALL! Very stylish and vibrant venue with tropical paradise vibe. We went at 9 pm and it was thriving! Throbbing! With sexy decadent entertainment! Super high energy! The decor was over the top and theatrical! The music beating Beach Club sexy tunes! The dining room is gorgeous and cocktails, gourmet food, and live music, create a great atmosphere for socializing around the pool and bar! A very fun experience.” Pat Caviness also remembered our freshman football game against Harvard in 1960, “Tony, thanks to you and your roll-out pass to Strachan Donnelly in the end zone at Harvard in the last minutes of The ‘Little 3’ Game (of freshmen teams)!” Pat Caviness (who must have the best archived and indexed of old photos around) sent me one of my daughter Vanessa and son Benjamin on Koh Samui with him in 2009. Over the holidays, Pat Caviness persuaded Tony Lavely to give WhatsApp another try for a video call. It worked despite our twelve-hour time difference. Lavely has learned that it’s the go-to app among foreign callers. Pat Caviness shared his Little Rock AR high-school experience with teammate Dick Berk, “I want to clear up my football playing days in Arkansas. When I went to Central in my first year in high school, it was one of the largest high schools in the nation. We had about 2,500 students. Central High was ranked among the best football teams in the country. Certainly, in the South they were considered a juggernaut. I had played football in junior high, so the coaches at Central asked me if I was coming out. I looked around and thought no way. The following year, my junior year, a new high school opened called Hall High. Most of my junior high coaches and players and I went there. I was on the first-ever Hall School football team. That year, we played mostly second-tier high schools in Arkansas. But our first-ever football game was against a big high school in Memphis. We had no idea how good we were because we had never played another team. On opening night at Central High stadium (the stadium you saw Jud) we received our first kickoff. My best friend, Jimmy Holley, who ran a fast 10-second hundred, ran it back for a touchdown. We proceeded to beat the Memphis team 52-6. Holley simply outran everyone all night long. I was a guard and linebacker. That year we lost two games but thrashed most of the competition. So, the following year, my senior year, we played top-tier teams. We were undefeated and ranked #1 in the state going into our last game with Central High School. The game was on Thanksgiving Day, and 18,000 attended to see the first intercity game for the state championship. We were favored because we had won more games than Central. It was by far the most brutal game I ever played in — high school or college. Central had one All-American guard who gave me fits all day long. We couldn't get Holley loose through the line and couldn't connect with a pass. They scored one touchdown, and the game ended 7-0. I was beaten up and remember having to be carried to the Arkansas Razorback game the next day. In those days, there was only one All-State team. I was named to the All-State team as a linebacker on defense. In those days of Friday-night lights high-school football in Arkansas, the All-State team was considered made up of the best football players in the state. You may remember that in 1958, our governor, Orville Faubus, closed the high schools in Little Rock to keep them from becoming integrated. So, I had no senior year and no graduation. I went to the Taft School in Connecticut the following fall for my senior academic year. I played fullback at Taft because I knew how to block and played linebacker on defense. I had no idea how to run and would always try, semi-successfully, to run over tacklers. At Yale, Oliver had seen a highlight film my Taft coach had put together for him (my Taft coach had played at Yale). Oliver told me he thought I would play a lot of ball at Yale, so based on his comment, I was all in for Yale. I was invited to Yale for the Yale-Harvard game and watched Harvard beat Yale on a rainy fall day in the bowl. But Johnny Bowen had gotten me a date, and we had a grand weekend. I had visited Harvard, and the coach there told me he thought I was small to play college ball, but I might get in some playing time. I wasn't impressed. There you have it.” Dick Berk replied, “Those sorts of memories as a blessing as we age even if we have mixed feelings about them. And you certainly lived in interesting times in Arkansas.” Our friend and teammate from 1963, Jud Calkins, posted a photo of Yale football Betas in 1963, including the late George Humphrey ’64 and Jerry Kenney ‘63. Wally Grant ’63 commented, “They only wanted the good-looking Beta footballers in the photo. Bill Kay ’63 and I didn’t make the cut!”

As mentioned earlier, Dick Berk became ill and was unable to attend our 60th reunion, where he was scheduled to give a presentation about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Tony Lavely engaged Dick on the subject, especially about Yale expertise in AI. Dick emailed: “Thanks for getting back to me. As far as I know, Yale has been largely invisible in AI developments. The statistics department is small and quite good, but very traditional. I am unfamiliar with the Computer Science Department and in skimming the faculty names did not recognize any. My sense is that the department is just starting get involved in AI and is otherwise, like statistics, very traditional. Below is a blurb from their website. It looks like there is real interest in AI, but they are playing catch up. Because Yale is so small in most disciplines, changing direction takes time and traditional perspectives tend to dominate. It is academically a pretty conservative place. ‘At Yale Computer Science, our faculty and students are at the forefront of innovation and discoveries. We conduct ground-breaking research covering a full range of areas in theory, systems, and applications. Our department is currently in the middle of substantial growth. Data and Computer Science is listed as one of the top five science priorities in Yale’s recent University Science Strategy Committee Report. Yale’s School of Engineering and Applied Science is also launching a substantial initiative in Artificial Intelligence, broadly construed, that will include research in the foundations of AI, in applications and technology, and in societal and scientific impacts.’ On your idea of a class zoom call on AI, you would face the same complications I worried about. The range of expertise will be very large. Also, the issues around AI are very broad including not just modern computing and algorithms, but law, policy and ethics. Penn Law School, for example, is all over the regulation of AI. Yale Law School may be as well, but again, I don’t recall any particular names. Happy to talk more about this when convenient. A very accessible and short book by two computer science colleagues at Penn is The Ethical Algorithm by Michael Kearns and Aaron Roth. It might be worth considering going forward. But the field is moving so very quickly that the book is a bit behind recent stuff. Happy to talk about all this when convenient.”

During the wildfires in LA, Dick Berk emailed, “My daughter Rachel and her family were at ground zero in the Pacific Palisades. The good news is that they were among the first ordered out. The bad news is most everything they know is gone: their house, the neighborhood school, the houses of neighbors, the local shops, etc. They are safe and managed to get to Santa Barbara where they will stay with relatives at least for a while. My son, Michael, was in Guatemala (climbing some volcano … prescient I guess), but managed to fly to LAX and take an airport bus to Santa Barbara to help out for a week or so. The family rallied. It was quite a scene for Rachel and the two boys driving down from the Palisades with fires burning on both sides of the road and abandoned cars pushed to the side by bulldozers. I would not say my two grandsons (both under 7) were traumatized, but they surely have a lots of mental processing to do. Rachel is expecting a third boy next week and she, nevertheless, made the drive from LA to Santa Barbara along the Pacific Coast Highway with the two boys. Her husband drove up later after helping his elderly parents evacuate. A 90-minute drive took five hours. But all are safe. Twenty years ago, Susan and I left UCLA and LA because of just these kinds of risks that also include earthquakes and mudslides. We had experienced all three but on a much smaller scale. We have colleagues who over the past five years have made the same decision. The inserted opinion piece below is by a climate scientist I recently started working with on my heat-wave forecasting algorithms. Sadly, we (i.e., the world) passed another key temperature threshold in 2024. It may be too late. Lots more of this stuff is on the way. With Trump in charge, we are walking into a dystopian catastrophe.”

Albert Bellas wrote that he has a new email address: bellsac100@gmail.com. As noted earlier, we can change these in our Class Directory, but only you can change your contact information in the Yale Alumni Directory. Frank Basler sent his regrets (and good news) for the Class Council meeting in February. “I’m afraid I can’t attend. Our son is celebrating the end of my prostate cancer radiation treatments by flying us to the Virgin Islands.” In January, Bill Bowe posted, “In 2007, as President of The Cliff Dwellers, I asked then President of the Chicago History Museum, Gary T. Johnson, to deliver the arts club’s Centennial Address. More recently, Gary, now Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees, reviewed my memoir Riots & Rockets when it was published on Amazon: 5.0 out of 5 stars.” Later, Bill Bowe reminisced, “As a newly minted lawyer enlisting for three years in the Army during the Vietnam War years in 1968, I recalled in Riots & Rockets my two-time visit to what later became the Chicago headquarters of Tyson's Chicken. The possibility of being assigned to spend several years of my life defending or prosecuting AWOLs, handling damage claims brought about by tanks taking too wide a turn, or otherwise spending my time on mind-numbing tasks, was completely abhorrent to me. My solution to this quandary, six weeks before I turned 26, was to enlist for three years in the Army Intelligence Branch on May 13, 1968. Like all recruits, I was going off to Basic Training that day. Seriously hung over from a farewell party thrown by friends the night before, I was dropped off that morning at 6 a.m. at a large yellow brick building west of Chicago’s Loop. Later converted into a headquarters for Tyson’s Chicken, this was the same building where I had recently had the physical exam that found me qualified to enter the Army. There I had been required to strip off my clothes and walk naked single file with dozens of other men along a painted line that wove up, down and around two floors. Sprinkled along the painted line were way stations for you to pause at for various intrusive inspections of your body. To this day, I remember the impolite request barked at the most humiliating stop, “BEND OVER AND SPREAD ‘EM.” That was literally my first exposure to Army life.”

In November, Kip Burgweger RSVPed for the Mory’s luncheon, “My church is holding a Christmas tea on December 4, and I have been recruited to hold open heavy doors for guests starting at 1:45pm. I doubt if I can have lunch at Mory's and be back home before 2:30 so I will have to pass on this month's lunch.” Later, in January, Kip emailed: “Hi Ralph, I am sorry for my late response. I have been away for three weeks on a road trip to Dallas, TX, Sarasota, FL, and Windermere, FL. I do intend to join your lunch on Wednesday, January 15 at noon. I spent time Sunday afternoon getting the right perspective by attending a two-hour concert by the Yale Glee Club and alumni in Greenwich.”

In January, Michelle Mead (surviving spouse of John Armor) posted, “I don't want anyone to think I forgot John's birthday on January 11. He would have been 82. It just didn't seem to make sense for the people who had forgotten to remind them and make them sad. Here is John in Ireland, looking very tweedy.”

Tragically, Nick Allis was unable to attend the Rick Hatton Zoom call, as he reported, “I’m sorry I cannot attend. It is because I lost my entire house and belongings in the Pacific Palisades fire and have to work 24/7 it feels like on different aspects. I was a US Forest Service 2d interregional hotshot crew member in the summer of 1962 based in Grangeville Idaho.”

There is no better sign of the vibrancy in our class than the continued writings of classmate authors and bloggers: Chas Freeman, Stephen Greenblatt, Syd Lea, Sam Low, Ron Parlato, Ron Sipherd, Gus Speth, Russell Sunshine, and John Wylie. You can find their work indexed on our Class website in Publications. Fortunately, Chas Freeman gave me a shortcut on how you can find the 18 articles/interviews he posted since the previous issue of Class Notes: “Thanks, Tony. No, I don't index these appearances on my website — only prepared texts. If you want to tell classmates about them, I'd suggest saying that there are multiple appearances to be found on YouTube at, in this case, ‘The Duran.’ Or ‘Judging Freedom’ or ‘Deep Dive’ or ‘Dialogue Works’ or ‘Neutrality Studies’ or whatever. I never imagined that geezerdom would entail becoming an online pundit and talking head. It's keeping me much busier than I would like. But we live in an age when everything is plausible and nothing is true, so there is some utility to giving us an alternative to inhaling our own propaganda. Sadly, reality is now overwhelming the narratives on Israel-Palestine and Ukraine and bids fair to do the same on China. It's a sad period in our history when the most accurate information about current trends and events is on alternative media and comedy shows.” Separately, Chas commented on my cousin, Stephanie Sanders Sullivan, who is serving as US Ambassador in her third country in Africa. As an aside, Stephanie’s father John Sanders taught Geology at Yale while we were undergraduates, and they were the [pre-Getman] keepers of Handsome Dan. Pete Putzel recalls that John Sanders was coach of the Calhoun football team. Chas wrote: “Very interesting to learn of Ambassador Sullivan's connection to you. A different generation, of course, but I know Accra, Addis Ababa, Brazzaville, and Kinshasa well. They are not ‘shithole countries,’ as our president-elect once described them. All the best for the new year.”

Almost as prolific as Chas Freeman is Syd Lea, who posts on Substack. Syd has five new works since the previous issue: “One Poem, One Essay;” “To Purify the Language of the Tribe;” “What the Smart People Think;” “The Pontoon Problem;” and “Curmudgeonly Musings.” Sam Low posted on Facebook: “During the celebrations for Hokule'a on her 50th anniversary I will be selling and signing my book — Hawaiki Rising — at various events. My proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Polynesian Voyaging Society. I look forward to seeing you there. Aloha!” Ron Sipherd emailed to Bay-Area Zoom group: “Alas, I will not be able to attend the coming classmate lunch atop the hill; recuperating from some oral surgery. Not serious but renders me temporarily limited to Very Soft Foods. However, I just wrapped up my 2024 favorite-photos album by adding shots from November and December; the result can be seen here. Sending wishes to all for a happy new year and some posh dining.” Ron added, “I have a new email address: ronks@sonic.net [Editor’s Note: We appreciate it when you notify us of a new email address, and we promptly change it in our 1964 Class Directory. Please note, however, that only you can change your contact information in the Yale Alumni Directory].] As reported in Class News, Gus Speth continues to expand his series of essays, “Essays from the Edge.” His thirteenth in the series is titled “Climate in the New Context: Facing Reality and Fighting Back.” Russell Sunshine added his final blog post of 2024 in Agile Aging: “Directing a Senior Play Reading.” Don Van Doren commented: “What a delightful post, Russell. Full of good lessons for each of us to stay engaged, to embrace our frailties, and to adapt the task to our capabilities.” As he posted it, Russell commented about his audio-only participation in the November Bay-Area Zoom call: “Owen and all, I'm so sorry I could see and hear you all without ability to be seen or heard. Not having a grandchild (as Peaslee suggested), I could not resolve my incommunicado problem. It was curiously interesting to listen and observe without being perceived. I felt like a visiting alien in an orbiting spaceship with a glitch. You won't be surprised that you all came across as a circle of experienced, sensitive earthlings. I'm almost finished writing my November blog post. This one is on “Trump 2.0: Battening Down Our Hatches.” When he received additional comments, Russell added, “Thanks to all for your continuing expressions of appreciation. Nancy and I both blog monthly and sometimes feedback emails are our best indication we're not merely egotistical transmitters. For me, the Y64 Zoomers are my most faithful respondents.”

John Wylie, an avid member of the Bay-Area Zoom group, posted more of his AI design-assisted work: “Tony, and Sam, thank you for kindly keeping my previous video on our class website for so long. I’m writing to share a link to a new 21-minute video hosted on FilmFreeway, which represents an updated version of my thinking. This video features advanced AI text-to-voice technology with remarkably nuanced intonation, making complex sentences clear and intelligible, along with AI-driven lip-sync and illustrations, building on what I used in the first video. The target audience is our classmates — intelligent, older men. I’ll also be submitting it to independent film festivals, as I did with the previous video, which won 19 awards for Best Experimental Film. Here’s the link to the new video, where you can also find several short descriptions of it.” Later, John Wylie posted another video: “I'm emailing to kindly post my new 46-minute video, which adds an extensive Part Two to the video you posted in September. It is simply called, "The Mind's Evolution." It is the culmination of a sustained effort to answer E. O. Wilson's call for a unifying human mythos consistent with evolutionary science, and it has an important message to counter the cynicism afield today — so opposite from 1964! But the fun part is to behold mind-blowing cutting-edge AI text editing, text-to-image, text-to-speech, and lip-sync technology.”

During the hockey season, as noted earlier, Sam Callaway posts a hockey newsletter in PDF format (from Substack) that chronicles the Yale hockey season. Contact Sam if you’d like to be included on it. Stephen Greenblatt and his wife Ramie are currently on sabbatical in Italy where Stephen is working on his 2025 book about Marlowe. With an assist from AI, Tony Lavely found the seed of Stephen’s new book in an earlier book (2005), Renaissance Self-Fashioning: More to Shakespeare. It included a chapter titled, “Marlowe and the Will to Absolute Play,” that explored the life of Christopher Marlowe through the lens of selfhood and identity.” Ron Parlato added 15 posts in January 2025 on his blog, “Uncle Guido’s Facts.” Ron usually isn’t talking to me, but my favorite was, “The Life and Death of an Overachiever.” Gerry Shea sent another Letter to the Editor of the New York Times, “Your article of January 4, 2025, states that the Israeli military ‘has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, including many civilians.’ How many is ‘many’? 8? 14? 23? 42? 30,000?”

Catherine Masud, niece of Stephen Bingham and producer of the film A Double Life (that many classmates watched at our 60th Reunion), sent a update: “A Double Life is now available for streaming on Amazon, with thanks to our fabulous distributor Indie Rights! As per the Amazon system for new streaming films, we need to give a big push in the first 30 days of streaming so that as many people as possible not only watch but also rate/review the film. This will ensure that A Double Life gets moved up to a more prominent and permanent streaming status on Amazon Prime. It costs only $2.99 to rent — a real bargain! Please also forward to your friends and family networks so that we can get the widest possible audience response to the film! Here is the link to the film on Amazon. Here is also a link to the latest news of the film from 2024.” Catherine added: “I just wanted to alert all of you that there is apparently a file error on Amazon — they have uploaded a version of the film that doesn't have English subtitles for the French-speaking sections. We are working with our distributor to resolve this issue as soon as possible!”

As noted at the beginning of this column, no 1964 classmate deaths have been reported since the previous issue in November. In fact, the most recent deaths reported were last September. However, I do want to call attention to the report of a classmate death that dates back to June 2024. Scott Shaw died on June 24, 2024, in Athens GA. His obituary and reunion book essays are posted on his In Memoriam page. Since the previous issue, Neil Hoffman’s daughter, Liz Hoffmann, informed us that a memorial service for Neil Hoffmann was held in September 2024. Liz wrote: “Here is the memorial video from September (which is posted on Neil’s In Memoriam page). If you skip to the 6-minute mark, that starts the beginning of the ‘silence.’ Rich was able to put the photo montage at the end, which was playing throughout the service in the reception rooms. Many of you requested the poem to be sent to them. You can find it below and the link I provided. I am so deeply grateful for all the stories and memories shared of Dad. If you think of anymore, please send them my way, or better yet give me a call and I'll meet you for coffee. I promise to, just like Dad would, rearrange every object on the table between us as we talk.” In conclusion, I’d like to remind you that you can donate a Mory’s Memorial Brick for any departed classmates by contacting Ted Jones or me. Currently, 311 classmates have been remembered with Memorial Bricks, but 13 classmates have not been remembered. Our longstanding goal is to remember all classmates on our Class website and with Memorial Bricks. All classmate obituaries and information on how to donate a Memorial Brick are available on our Class Website/In Memoriam.