Class Notes – Jul/Aug, 2021
Guy Cooper writes, in what may be his first submission to the Class Notes, that “just wondering if any other member of the class of 1969 has survived a tornado? My wife Molly and I were at home on the night of October 20, 2019, half-asleep and half-watching the Dallas Cowboys on a Sunday night, when an E3 tornado zeroed in on our block. We have rebuilt the house and moved back in this month – after 18 months in a rental house. It’s been too much adventure for a 70 year old man, especially combined with COVID.” Anyone else survived an E3?
Terry Benson writes in to report “While perhaps not “involuntarily retired,” my TV work was almost completely eliminated by the pandemic shutdown. You don’t need a stage manager if you don’t have a stage—correspondents and guests Zoom in from home. Usually that would be a cue to travel more —hah! Not in 2020. But in 2021 I’ll be banging around in the starting gate once I’ve had the vaccine.”
In March, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1319, the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, legislation authored by House Budget Committee Chair John Yarmuth. Although our numbers in the House thinned out with the retirement of Lamar Smith, John has now made his mark and upheld the tradition of Yale’s commitment to public service: this legislation should improve the lives of many Americans.
Dave Howorth writes: “Scott Herstin hosted five fellow Davenporters —Ned Culver, Brad Davenport, Dave Howorth, Dick Tucker, Harry Wise, plus spouses and fiancées—for a week on Kiawah Island. Scott is living in Naples, FL, where he takes an interest in Everglades restoration. Ned splits the year between homes in Charleston, SC, and Wayland, MA, and devotes his time to playing bridge and golf (both badly) and doting on his first grandchild, Luke, born last August. Dick lives in Shepherdstown, WV, and spends a lot of time at his newly renovated vacation home in the Alleghenies. Harry left New York to join his fiancée, Peggy Twohig, in Washington, just ahead of the COVID shutdown. He was playing trumpet in some D.C. community orchestras, but that is on hold now. I’m still in Oxford, MS, and I’m happy to report that I’ve become engaged to Sally Killebrew, whom many classmates met at the 50th reunion. We haven’t set a date yet; we’re hoping to await a time when classmates will feel safe to fly in for the hymeneal festivities.”
Tom Weber writes “My main news is that my family was unscathed by the virus, though quite scathed by the lockdowns. Children kept from learning and playing socially, musicians kept from performing, theatre kept dark, churches closed, elderly kept alone, and businesses shuttered or bankrupt—all in my own circle. Cost/benefit? Time will tell…. Enjoy your immunity! Today with my vaccine feels exactly like 1969 with my draft deferment.”
We lost classmate Robert Eisenhauer Jr. in 2020. His connection to Yale seems to have been tenuous, and he was reported as “missing” by the Alumni Records office. His entry in the 1969 Classbook indicates he was a resident of Morse (Morse Experimental Theater), in the Yale Dramat, and a German major. His very brief death notice states he was a resident of Gettysburg, and a teacher for the Gettysburg School District. We have no other information at this time.
The good news is that the mailbag is now empty, with no more deaths to report on. The bad news is that the mailbag is empty, with no living classmates to report on. The bad news will unfortunately fix itself. How about some good news? Or any news?
“Many people consider the things government does for them to be social progress but they regard the things government does for others as socialism.”
Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (19 Mar 1891-1974)
I was in a mall in Nashville when a tornado hit one evening, in the early 70’s. I noticed the two story glass entrance windows bowing in and out, when the windows imploded, leaving glass and water everywhere. I went to my car and noted tree branches all over the parking lot. When I arrived home I learned that a tornado had visited the mall and left mostly broken windows.
On a related issue, in my career as a physician we were taught in a Wilderness Medicine course about the “7 T’s” of snakebites. The “7 T’s” refer to those at risk of snakebite. These include 1) T shirt, 2) Trailer, 3) Toothless, 4) pickup Truck, 5) Tequila or any intoxicant, 6) Testicles, and 7) Trauma. To this list I suggested the lecturer to add Tornado since a friend in Houston suffered a snakebite clearing damage to their property by a tornado. Now all of you reading this know too.
It was nice to hear from Guy Mac Cooper after 50 years!
I will respond that the only Tornado I have experienced was on a consulting trip to OKC in about 2012. I was a business consultant for a General Contractor at a hospital in the city. Sirens went off and everyone was on alert but no panic. We all stopped to watch the weather radar as the tornado moved block by block across OKC, south of I40 and into Moore where it did most of the damage. Because OKC is so flat, we could stand on the front lawn of the hospital and watch the tornado from about a mile away. That’s as close as I ever want to be! About 5 tornadoes hit around OKC in the span of a month!
Coincidently, a tornado watch has been announced for my hometown of Charlotte, NC as I write this reply on Aug 15th … Frequently threatened but rarely occurring. Stay tuned!
Ben Jerman, Saybrook ’69
Having grown up in tornado country (Iowa), I actually never saw one. Now I live in earthquake country–Northern California–and those I have seen. The last “big one” was in October 1989, which may be most noteworthy for having interrupted the World Series between the Giants and the A’s. Now my attention is directed toward drought, and its oft-repeated counterpart, the “atmospheric river,” which visited us this past week. I long for the happy medium of gentle rains, off and on, but alas, this is the 21st Century, which brings little in moderation. Stay safe and well all!