Class Notes

October 1999

by Tony Lee

I look forward to serving as Class Secretary for the next five years. It's a particularly interesting time to serve. More classmates have e-mail, making communications quick and simple, and many classmates are in transition between careers and "second adulthood." The exchange of information at the reunion was rich, and we can continue this exchange if you will send or e-mail me your news.

We owe a big thanks to our new Class Webmaster, Sam Francis, who has re-created our class website at www.aya.yale.edu/classes/yc1964. Take a look. We're building lists of e-mail addresses and interest groups. We're looking for specific help in writing eulogies for deceased classmates. Many of the conversations at the reunion were about deceased classmates and we're hoping to provide information on the website.

I encourage all of you who do not have access to the Internet to seriously consider doing so. The Internet is no longer just a super Nintendo game. It provides access to libraries, history, current affairs, and old classmates. Although these class notes will continue to chug along in the monthly AYA magazine, a lot more class news will be communicated via our class website.

Denny Lynch did a great report on our 35th reunion in the last Class Notes, but I would like to provide a few more observations. George McQuilkin in our 35th Reunion Class Book reflected on the documentary film Reunion that he and Rich Patterson produced in 1969. Thirty years ago they observed, "The 35th reunion was most notable for being welcoming and benign, as if they had come to terms with their lives, accepted what they had done, and hadn't done, and were reconciled to who they were." George concurred and added, "but underneath, there is still a stirring to do things."

The keynote speaker at our reunion, Gail Sheehy, in talking about men's passages said that we have a chance to custom-design our second adulthood, and the most successful men are able to find a passion and act on it. She said that many people our age, feel and act, and are indeed, 10 years younger than their parents were at this age. We shouldn't think of ourselves as retired but as redirected for the next chapter of our lives.

Other comments from the 35th Class Book that touch on our second childhood: Jim Barton "For the future, I hope that I can ... devote the last decade of (my) life to helping a variety of people in (my) community." Chris Getman "(Toddie and I) hope to leave the world a better place than we entered it." Ed Price "I have met a number of retired people who describe themselves in terms of what they were. They are not excited by their current lives," and have no future plans. Jim Miner "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required."

Take an evening to read the 35th Class Book from cover to cover. One thing I noticed was that five of our classmates live in Hawaii and three of them, John Sawyer, Jon Van Dyke, and David Johnson, invited us to visit. Do you think they might be willing to host our 40th reunion?

The Washington Post in June reported that John Nields, a partner at Howrey and Simon, was elected president-elect of the D. C. Bar. John has recently been defending Webster Hubbell, but his real claims to fame, according to the Post, are his two daughters, Narissa and Katryna, who comprise the heart of The Nields, a pop band with a strong local following. When John was asked what he could do for the band, now that he's been elected to a big new job, he said with a chuckle, "You're asking it the wrong way around. That implies that the band needs some help. In fact, the bar needs some help. You should be asking what the band can do for the bar."

Melissa and Toby Hubbard spent two weeks in June touring South Africa. Their son, Frost, had taken a semester abroad in Cape Town giving the parents an excuse to visit. Jethro Lieberman has published yet another book, A Practical Companion to the Constitution How the Supreme Court Has Ruled on Issues from Abortion to Zoning.

One of my trail-running buddies, Ted Ridout, gave me an update on his twin brother and our classmate, George Ridout. George is an assistant principal at the high school in Novato, California. George and Ted spent 10 days together in June camping, hiking and bird-watching in British Columbia. George's wife is an accomplished masters swimmer and holds many records for her age.

I regret to report the death of one of our classmates, Joe DiMaggio Jr. Joe was with us for our freshman year and then dropped out. According to the obituary in the Boston Globe, Joe had a tough life and was unable to cope with his father's fame. The obituary is on the class website.

That's all the news from Lake Cochituate. I look forward to hearing from you.