Class Notes: July/August 2020
By John M. PinneyThe world is still pretty much turned upside down, although there are some hopeful signs. Here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore the COVID-19 case count is quite low and people are generally following the order to stay home and wear face covering in public. One bright spot is Zoom and the remarkable ability of people our age to master the incredibly simple instructions, enabling meetings for all kinds of purposes, including happy hour. I wish I’d been smart enough to buy Zoom stock in 2018.
In the last notes I said you’d have your 55th class book and the 65/70 survey results in early May. My prediction was only a few weeks off, and you should all have received the book and hopefully enjoyed reading it and the very interesting survey results. Thanks again to Ralph Protsik and John Schenck for their excellent work on the class book, and to David Roscoe and Bob Hammond for managing ’65’s end of the joint committee that produced the survey. My reading of the survey suggests that at our 50th when we spoke in terms of our class being on the cusp of the great upheavals of the ’60s, we were right.
These notes are short because you’re not out traveling and doing noteworthy stuff. The best source for how we’re managing the pandemic is the class discussion group (y65-dg@googlegroups.com), and aside from the political topics, there have been more interesting posts including recipes ranging from limoncello using 120 proof Polish grain (Dennis Mack) to modified medieval turnip dishes (Mike O’Connor). One classmate quite visibly still working is David Martin, who reported on 60 Minutes about how the military is handling the pandemic.
It saddens me to report that we’ve lost two more classmates. Kurt Fischer died on March 30 in Belmont, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe published an article about Kurt which is posted on the class website. Mike McCaskey died on May 16 after a long battle with leukemia. A Chicago Tribune article on Mike is also posted on the class website. Please be sure to post remembrances.
I don’t have any more news about rescheduling our 55th, but options are under consideration. We’re also holding October 30 for our annual class dinner. Please stay tuned, and stay safe.