Class Notes May/June 2003

Class Notes May/June 2003

Last month, I reported the passing of Peter Char. Subsequently, I had some nice chats with Peter’s wife, Lynette, by email and telephone. Lynette hopes that Peter’s classmates will call her when they are in Honolulu (808-373-1904). Maxine and Bob Dunlop’s daughter, Lisa, is a member of the Class of 2006 and their son James ’94 has presented them with a grandson, William. Larry Houghteling has sent us a thought-provoking reflection on his four years of teaching in Westchester County ” at a place called Children’s Village, which started its history as an orphanage but is now a place for kids who’ve been abused and neglected, kids who’ve gotten into a little trouble (but not so much that the court wants to jail them), and just plain kids who don’t fit in.” While there are some hard cases, “the great majority are kids who’ve been kicked around by life…(and) it’s hard not to feel sympathy and a great desire to somehow make things better for them, open doors for them, help them open doors for themselves.” However, the world “is not very kind to poor people, even the ones who keep their noses clean and do what they’re supposed to do…Maybe one in ten in this…bunch will ‘get ahead.’ Most will fall back at one of the roadblocks society throws up for these kids. And the great majority, knowing this all too well, doesn’t even try…” Larry contrasts this with the prosperity and power that are reflected in the class notes of our contemporary classes at Yale, concluding that our priorities and values are tragically wrong. Thanks to Larry for his extraordinary dedication and for sharing his experiences from the front line. John Miller is vice president for advancement at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s, MD. In addition to raising money, he’s teaching courses on Homer, Shakespeare and Melville at the Museum’s Academy for Lifelong Learning. John recently communicated with anthropology professor Sidney Mintz, 80 and retired from Johns Hopkins, whom John remembers as “(o)ne of the best teachers I had at Yale.” Congratulations to Marne Obernauer on the recognition received by his son Matt ’00 as a primary researcher on the bestseller, The Bureau and the Mole, an account of the apprehension of Robert Hanssen, the most damaging traitor in FBI history. Zick Rubin has opened his own law firm, appropriately known as The Law Office of Zick Rubin, 288 Walnut St., Suite 230, Newton, MA 02460, (617)-965-9425 (965-ZICK), zrubin@zickrubin.com. Zick will continue to practice publishing, media, copyright, trademark and Internet law, and to serve authors and other creators, publishing companies and other businesses and educational, scientific, and cultural organizations. Congratulations and good luck, Zick! Dave Williams has moved from the New York area to East Haddam, CT, to work at the Essex, CT office of U.S. Trust. He finds the area “a spectacular place to live and work, remaining relatively undeveloped since our days at Yale,” reminding him of our freshman week outing in Hammonasset State Park in September, 1961. Dave and Ken O’Sullivan completed a week of motorcycling in southern Italy earlier this year, a reprise of a bicycle trip they took around Europe the summer of 1963: “Yes, we had as much fun doing the same kind of things we did 39 years ago; and, no, we haven’t lost our aesthetic appreciation of Italian women, although we now fit into the dirty old man category. Some things just don’t change.” Dave reports that Ken is a real estate mogul in southern Florida with two Yale grad daughters and a son nearing completion of Naval Aviation OCS in Pensacola (of which Dave is also a graduate, as I recall.) Sadly, I report the death of John Kneubuhl on December 16. John served in the Army in Panama and later worked as a computer systems architect. He was a classical guitar composer and instructor and was active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, serving as a teacher, Sunday school president and choral director. John is survived by his wife, Adrienne, his son and daughter, a stepdaughter, two stepsons, his mother, brother and sister. Memorial contributions may be made to VA Hospice Care Center 100-2C, 3801 Miranda Dr., Palo Alto, CA 94304. I’ll take what remains of my word allotment to mention a few housekeeping details. First, there is at least a two-month lag between my submission of notes to the YAM and their publication in this magazine. There can be further delay if I exceed my allocation and some notes are deferred an additional month. Second, if you send news and it hasn’t appeared in, say, three months, I didn’t get it. (Believe me, I use everything I get.) So, please try again. Third, please keep sending news, or I’ll have to make stuff up.