from Norman’s 50th Reunion Essay:

“…. Beyond these headstrong episodes, I’ve realized what a lucky life has been granted me. After our parental generation’s 16 years of economic depression and world war (my mother’s family escaped Germany in 1939), I was born in the right place at the right time. It was a given our generation would advance and prosper beyond our parents. (Not a given now.)

I had the luck to apply to Yale just when the Ivy League broadly opened up to boys of my background; to enter the law firm world just when top tier firms likewise opened up; and to begin practice when there was a fair shot to grab the prized partner ring. Timing does matter and, for me, has made a strong difference. …”

Simon’s Yale years were interrupted twice (once for the 67-68 school year, once later), for reasons he explained in his reunion essays in both 1994 and 2019 (see below):

From his website: “Simon Whitney, MD, JD is a family physician and ethicist. He taught at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, for twenty-two years. He is retired from the practice of medicine but continues to publish and teach about medical ethics.

… Dr. Whitney has studied the Institutional Review Board system, including its origins, its triumphs, and its failures, since 2007. … In 2023, he published From Oversight to Overkill: Inside the Broken System That Blocks Medical Breakthroughs—And How We Can Fix It (Rivertowns Books). This book brings to life how scientists struggle …”

My best friend at Yale, Bill Sacco, passed away on February 10th, 2024.  Bill was one of the most talented photographers of our generation.

Our friendship began in sophomore year on the day we moved into Silliman College.  While everyone else was upstairs trying to make their new rooms livable, Bill and I converged downstairs in Silliman’s photographic darkroom.  We both looked at the enlarger.  “Schneider lenses,” I observed.  “Yes, but no Tiffin filters,” Bill commented.  Professional colleagues whom you also like!  This is one of the gifts that Yale can give.