YAM Class Notes: November/December 2017
I’m writing while watching the latest on Hurricane Irma. Bill Nelson has made several appearances from Tampa on the Weather Channel. My thoughts go out to classmates living in Florida and those who escape the winters there, as well as to our Houston-area and Corpus Christie classmates dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. It’s hard to imagine two successive, massive natural disasters.
On a happier note, the gathering of classmates in Maine reported by Stanley Trotman in the last notes has yielded a plan for a mini-reunion as described by Lance Fletcher, who has volunteered to take the lead: “Save the dates October 2–5, 2018, for a Class of ’65 mini-reunion in Portland and the coast of Maine. We will explore the roles the sea, the land, and the city play in the life of coastal Maine. Look for more details on itinerary, accommodations, and registration after the first of the year. And, yes, we will eat lobster.”
In the meantime, classmates continue to intersect in smaller groups. Chris Cooke reported: “Several members of the class were in Toronto in early August. John Todd and Chris Cooke sang with the Yale Alumni Chorus and Carl Farrington was there with his singing spouse, Christine. Carl, Christine, and Chris also spent a wonderful evening with Fred Roberts who was in Toronto for one of his photography workshops with immigrant and refugee children. Learn more about Fred’s inspiring photography programs at his website.” David Hawkins posted the following about another musical encounter: “A bunch of former Whiffenpoofs gave some concerts on Nantucket this weekend (September 8–9). Four singers from our class: Dennis Cross, Dan Bergfeld, Jon Ingham, and me. Ralph Protsik and Chris Cooke often show up but they were AWOL this year.” To be fair, maybe Chris Cooke was worn out after his Toronto adventure. In one more gathering, our outstanding class book editors, Bob Woodward, John Schenck, and Ralph Protsik, with Ralph’s wife Susan, were dining in Washington on September 11. The class book continues to be a wonderful resource as well as great reading.
Classmates also occasionally surface after years: Michael Little contacted the AYA with a brief note: “Hi! You found me. Been in Hawaii the last 37 years. Kinda love it, a lot. Previous lives in San Francisco and Seattle. Oh yes, University of Delaware for grad school, PhD in English. Need any words spelled or sentences punctuated? Aloha.” Michael apparently writes fiction, which makes two classmate-writers in Hawaii (along with Kent Reinker). Michael’s e-mail address is mlittlehi@gmail.com. Welcome back, Michael.
While on the subject of Hawaiian writers, Kent posted an interesting note on the class listserv: “Some of you may know that my novel If Pigs Could Cry (published 2014) is about pigs who are being cloned after human DNA is substituted for some of their own DNA in an attempt to make their organs more compatible for transplantation into humans. The New York Times just reported on an article in Science [that says] this is being done successfully, with the expectation of having organs ready for transplantation within two years. Nice when science follows science fiction.” Kent didn’t comment on the possible complications of this development, such as transplant recipients having an aversion to bacon. (I couldn’t resist.)
Bob Hammond discovered that Sam Goodyear is a part-time classical music disc jockey: “In the small world department, on a recent Saturday afternoon while driving south on I-81 in the Binghamton area, we were enjoying classical music on public radio station WSKG. The announcer came on to say that the name of the show was Play It Again Sam hosted by Sam Goodyear. I subsequently exchanged e-mails with Sam who confirmed that he is indeed our classmate. Sam puts together four hours of airtime on Saturday afternoons, playing his personal favorites while the Metropolitan Opera broadcasts are on summer vacation. The program is live streamed.” Bob also has graciously agreed to serve as our class AYA delegate. Bob and I will be attending the 2017 AYA assembly in November, hoping that Yale will repeat last year’s victory over Harvard.
I’m sorry to report that Stephen Morris died on July 19 after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. Steve retired in 2009 after 18 years as CEO of Arbitron. His obituary is posted on the class website. Please visit and post remembrances.
Jeff Miller sent the following notice: “The next class hockey dinner is scheduled for February 24, 2018. As per usual, drinks and dinner at Mory’s first, then the Harvard game at Ingalls. We’re reserving 30 tickets, which is the maximum we can seat in one room at Mory’s. A formal invitation will be sent in a few months.” Longer-range reminder: Mark your calendars for the Portland/Coast of Maine mini-reunion October 2–5, 2018.
By John Pinney, ’65