Class Notes, Jul-Aug 2024
Another successful reunion organized by Bill Newman and Derry Allen! We were headquartered in Timothy Dwight, and coddled with excellent food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with our Class Dinner, served under the tent in the courtyard, as the pièce de resistance. Our overfull schedule of lectures, tours and discussions began on Thursday afternoon with a private guided tour of the remodeled Peabody Museum, with the requisite dinosaurs, (including us?) but most notably the David Friend ’69 collection of precious stones and minerals, which astounded even your jaded scribe.
I can only report briefly on the sessions I attended, but there were many more for every interest an alum might have. Friday morning sessions included a brilliant, insightful, and somewhat disturbing lecture by Amy Chua of Yale Law (most famous as the Tiger Mom), which dissected the state of political tribalism in America today, while relating it to the spread of authoritarian ethnonationalism around the world.
Later Friday morning Yale’s Laurie Santos reprised her work on Happiness (the most popular course ever taught at Yale) and discussed many ways we can be a little happier. Key takeways: live more in the moment; and it is more likely that happiness brings you money rather than the other way round. And especially cherish your Yale friends during our all-too-brief journey from Freshman Assembly to Memorial Service.
Friday afternoon your scribe was part of an SRO crowd at Catherine Sheehy’s “What’s So Funny?” lecture /performance: a laugh-out-loud tour de force of comic history from Aristophanes to The Simpsons. Her encyclopedic knowledge and sparkling wit were a great reminder of what keeps Yale great.
Also Friday: Professor Terri Fried spoke on the medicine and science of “Aging Gracefully,” with panelists Harold Mancusi-Ungaro, Jerry Rosenbaum, and Will Lam. Key takeaways: the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, maintaining personal connections (!) and above all, regular exercise. Your scribe’s prescription appears at the end of this report.
Saturday morning we selected “Emotional Intelligence at Yale” with Marc Brackett. He shared his tools which appear in his book on the subject. He convinced us all that we may still be emotionally challenged, but there is hope for us.
In the afternoon we attended 1969’s session “Artificial Intelligence for Boomers.” Yale’s Professor Vishnoi explained how much of AI is just an extension of ourselves (a frightening prospect) while Ted Wittenstein of the Jackson School looked at cutting-edge applications of AI in a variety of fields. Both convinced me that this will be a game-changer.
On Saturday afternoon in Battell Chapel, Reverend Doug Ousley presided over a very moving Memorial Service highlighted by our incomparable Dick Williams singing “Goin’ Home,” accompanied by Eliot Norman. Your scribe read the names one last time as they were goin’ home. We were reminded by many classmates how many of those we lost had lived full rich lives, and how lucky we are to have known them.
Our Class Dinner was followed by musical entertainment–the ’69 Blue Notes: Norman, Guterbock, Williams, Hoffman, Adams, Wise, Castelli, and Kastner. A reminder of just how much musical talent the class still has! Art Segal reported that the class officers will serve five more years: Art as Secretary, Ken Brown as Treasurer, and your scribe as Corresponding Secretary. The redoubtable Wayne Willis will remain as webmaster. Total attendance: 232, including guests; Reunion gift: over $14 million. On Sunday it was announced that Harold Mancusi-Ungaro will be the Reunion Chair for our 60th reunion in 2029. Bottom line: if you want to live longer and happier lives, come to the 60th reunion! See you in five, my friends.