May 1999

Greetings again, classmates. It is only a few days away from reunion, but this is being written in March, while many of us are emerging from the winter blues. I am still digging out of the email deluge resulting from President Chopivsky’s emailing and the responses. For once, those of you not computer savvy should consider yourselves lucky. The “You’ve Got Mail” announcement never was more obnoxious. It should have said, “You’ve got a s—load of mail.”

I look forward to seeing many of you Memorial Day weekend — I’ll be there early to evaluate the golf course — and I apologize in advance for the fact that much of what you are about to read will be repeated to you in a few days.

First let me apologize for an omission from my initial missive. Jim Schweitzer called to say that I must have been the comatose one last fall, because I forgot to mention thatDuke Collier and Tim Harris were also at our Harvard game meeting at the NYC Yale Club. Well, I didn’t say he was the only comatose one. Actually I had emailed an addendum with their names, but it apparently became a cybercasualty.

Onward. Peter Rodgers wrote to offer his condolences on my position. He also expressed his frustration in realizing his early retirement (“as in now”) plans. He heads the energy practice group at Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan in Washington and boasts a son who is a sophomore at Carleton College and a daughter at Exeter. He and wife Beverly devote their resources and spare time to travel, and they dream about moving to Italy or Vancouver. Peter relayed the following information on other classmates: John Oleyer is doing well, with eldest son in law school and others in college; Bill Dahl is in tax practice in Fresno with daughters at Yale and Vassar; John Banderob heads the math department at Milton Academy; Jim Grew, married a year ago, lives in Florida, where he runs a foundation devoted to promoting water skiing by disabled individuals.

Claude Thau reports that he and Tina, who was a Yalie during the spring 1969 experiment, have been married for 28 years. They live in Shawnee, Kansas, and have a son, Andrew, at Boston College and a daughter, Tracy, who is a high school junior. Claude heads Transamerica’s long-term care insurance program (that should interest all of us), which has grown at five times the industry average for the last three years, he wrote.

My predecessor, the inimitable Will Bogaty, forwarded an email from Dave Schwartz, now living in Philadelphia with his wife Maryellen. Don’t look for him at the reunion, he advised, because he is hosting a party before his son’s senior prom. (Seems like a flimsy excuse to this observer; it’s a four-day reunion.) Anyway, Dave is an attorney at Glenmede Trust Company in Philly. His wife is principal at Friends’ Central School. Son Nathan will attend the University of Pennsylvania next fall.

He also wrote the following: “My three Davenport roommates, Jim Sleeper, Dan Tucker, John Willingham, and I had not all gotten together in more than 25 years. John called me one day from North Carolina, where he runs his family textile business, to say he had seen Jim was giving a speech in NYC, and that he would be there on business that week. Why don’t I take the train up and we’ll surprise him? Jim is a journalist and political commentator in New York and author of a couple of books, most recentlyLiberal Racism (which I urge everyone to buy now that it’s in paperback). [Question: Does that imply a recommendation to read it as well, or is that just a push for royalties?]

”I called Dan down in Florida, on the off chance he might come, and it turned out he was moving to New Haven. He would take the train down, too. So it happened at 6pm one evening at the Union League in New York, the three of us were standing in front of the elevator as the doors opened and Jim stepped out to receive one of the shocks of his life. We were placed at Jim’s table for dinner (the League chairman was in on the surprise), and afterwards we shared drinks and laughs into the wee hours. We met again since then and are trying to make it an annual event. Dan now lives in Louisville, where he is a researcher in child psychiatry.“ Comment: Egad. He’s here. I’d best make contact.

”BTW, friends,“ begins an e-mail from Macon Cowles, which I think means ”By the way,“ but it might mean “Beat the wimps,” although nothing follows about Princeton. Cowles goes on to explain that he turned 50 last year, as if this were some kind of distinguishing characteristic. No, actually I think he meant to connect that to his decision to give up his career as a trial attorney. ”This year I am reading, dreaming, talking, figuring out what my next life’s work is to be. I am going to turn my work to building community, working side by side with people, rather than behind the closed door of my office, sharpening my sword and shining my shield for the next battle. I loved putting a case to a jury. But a look at the last two years showed me that the ratio of scut work in law to courtroom time was 11:1. So it was definitely time to take a different tack.“ Please let us know when you choose your tack, Macon.

Cowles also advised that Bob Horvitz is now in the Czech Republic, and his email address is (horvitz@mbox.vol.cz). Horvitz will be traveling through the USA this summer and stopping in on Cowles. If you also want a visit from Bob, write him.

That’s it until after reunion. Hope to see many of you there.