Class Notes, March/April 2022
By John M. PinneyMy record for lousy predictions has exceeded all expectations, having sounded a positive note for 2022 in November only to have Omicron appear in the US a few weeks later. Now writing these notes in January, I will keep my mouth shut.
Happily, Omicron hasn’t dampened our enthusiasm for the monthly ’65 Zoom sessions. On December 15, our 14th consecutive Zoom program (since October 2020) featured David Hawkins, who provided an update on his prior Zoom presentation from February of 2021. In this session, David spoke about the implications of the recent COP 26 conference and the potential for progress stemming from climate-related aspects of the infrastructure and Build Back Better legislation. The session was ably moderated by Denny Gallaudet, who recently worked on a campaign to get his town in Maine to become carbon neutral by 2030, and John Spitzer, who was involved in the municipalization of a privately owned electric utility in Boulder, Colorado. Another excellent turnout followed by small group discussions—the basic format seems to endure.
Within a few weeks of David’s session, he announced that he had a) contracted mild COVID and b) been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in recognition of his “scientifically and socially distinguished achievements in the scientific enterprise.” There are 12 new fellows in the Section on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science, and David appears to be the only nonacademic/nonscientist in the group—appropriate recognition for David’s enormous contributions to protecting our environment.
The ’65 Zoom Team kicked off 2022 with a terrific joint program featuring former Senator Joe Lieberman and over 100 members of the Class of ’64 joined by an equal number from ’65. Tony Lavely and Sam Francis from ’64 worked with David Roscoe, Dennis Mack, and Bob Hammond to drive attendance and organize the event. Joe spoke from the perspective of his involvement as cochair of No Labels, a national citizen’s group committed to promoting bipartisanship in Congress. Referring often to his recent book, The Centrist Solution: How We Made Our Government Work, and How We can Make it Work Again, Joe sounded a hopeful note that Congress can regain some of the cooperative, constructive spirit he experienced. Marne Obernauer and Perry Teillon did an excellent job of moderating the many questions received in advance and during the session. Marne, now residing in Colorado, has supported No Labels since its founding. Both sessions were recorded and available on our class website. The February program is scheduled for the 16th and will feature Fred Roberts and his remarkable photography program. The next session will be on March 17. Be sure to tune in.
Looking ahead to continuing the series, the Zoom Team convened a planning session in mid-January, bringing all the prior session facilitators together to discuss ideas for content, format changes, and additional joint programs. The output of that process will be forthcoming soon.
Brief notes and anecdotes: Jim Danly and Chris Cooke reminisced about the Yale Glee Club 1965 tour that included stops in Japan and Russia. Jim provided key statistics: “That summer we logged 29,342 air miles and sang to 53,813 people, including 24,729 in Japan. Equally impressive statistics pertain to our farewell dinner in Leningrad. The 60 of us consumed 125 bottles of State beer and 25 bottles of State vodka. After the rigors of the trip, I think we deserved that.” Dennis Mack posted an interesting look-back at our early days at Yale; “A classmate wondered about the reception during our first week at Yale. I looked through our CD of the Yale Daily News. We were indeed lucky to have applied in 1960–61. That year, there were 4,100 applicants and 1,475 admitted, a number augmented by 40 who were admitted from the waiting list. Our odds of admission were great compared to the odds today, almost 37 percent. The YDN article on the reception at the Griswold home ended with an observation of Rev. Coffin: “Yale is still a rather stodgy place, especially the students.” No comment. Finally, Kent Reinker posted an ominous comment on the volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami in Tonga: “My book, Fire at the Bottom of the Sea, expresses the fear that an undersea volcano (Loihi) off the coast of the Big Island might explosively erupt, causing a tsunami that would devastate Honolulu. So, once again, reality mirrors fiction.”
Several classmates, including Ralph Protsik, Irwin Nash, and Roger Davis alerted me to the passing of Charles (Chuck) Jackson, MD on November 20, 2021, in Northampton, Massachusetts. Ralph wrote that he and Chuck’s other roommates were unable to attend the memorial service “but all four of us—Alan Jacobson, Gerry Doyle, Dave Strong, and myself—joined the service via Zoom. Chuck’s obituary is posted on our website yale1965.org. Please visit and post remembrances.
Please stay healthy and look for more Zoom programming every month.