1950
Spring comes in many ways. Some note the first robin; others, the earthy smell of a warm, sun-teased day; still others, a soft April rain devoid of chill. My sign is the forsythia's bloom. The yellow glow this year tinged our secluded, wind-protected forecasting bush on the last day of March. WaTmth did not evoke the early bloom, just the endless succession of sun-bright days, days without a touch of rain. The land remains parched; but spring is come.
Time has run its course. Only yesterday, so it seems, the message here was to plan ahead for reunion days in June. The first plea was a year ago. Then came September and the logical time to focus on the ultimate end of the academic year. You now have no more time, so pack your bags and come anyhow, ready or not. Come and enjoy a touch of class.
Flic 30th Reunion for the Class of 1950
Dave Taylor has planned some things for all of us and all things for some of us. A few events, like the reunion run, require preparation and dedication as well as spirit. Tennis or golf may be more appealing. Or one of the panels, including "Perspective on the Opening of China" Great Issues revisited. Both the Glee Club and the Players will perform. There is no time for resting. Three days are just not enough.
George Carpenter, who spends his working time as vice president and general manager of the WHO Broadcasting Company in Des Moines, sent in a wonderful photograph taken on a terrace behind the Old Stone Inn on the Connecticut. The picture includes four Dartmouth grads three George Carpenters, '18, '50, and 'BO (somehow the '18 ruins the symmetry) and young George's bride, Jill Frommer '81. Godfather Dan Schausten beams with pride all the way from Portland, Ore. However, you must simply visualize the scene, for policy rules: no wedding pictures.
More notes on Fred Rogers, whose "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" phased out, except for reruns, several years ago. At that time Fred was seeking new ways to communicate with children in order to help them cope with the realities of life. One result is a series of programs, which are available in cassettes, conceived to enable children ages three to 12 " . . . to feel less apprehensive about being hospitalized." In a quiet, reassuring way, Fred, or Mr. Rogers to the kids, discusses "Going to the Hospital," "Having an Operation," and "Wearing a Cast." In this series reality dispels the fantasies of an uninformed imagination.
The second of Fred's new programs deals with divorce. We see adults as the protagonists and children as the victims. Mr. Rogers seeks to change the perception, for "... the important thing is that children understand that divorces are a 'grown-up' problem and that they [the children] are not the cause."
About a year ago the Journal-American printed an interesting analytic article by TomO'Connell. The subject was a tale of two nations, contrasting England and Taiwan. Tom's impressions were formed first-hand, as he had visited both countries (see the November 1980 column for comments on his trip to Taiwan). In Tom's view, "Countries like Taiwan are experiencing freedom and industrial growth for the first time. They are not hampered by myriad producer-interest groups with veto power over how things may change." His view of the world's first industrial nation, on the other hand, is sad. "England seems to have slipped backwards in efficiency, in production, in ambiance, to the status of an underdeveloped nation. There is an aura of lassitude, indifference, and resignation." The slump may reverse, Tom concludes, but the chances at present are slim.
Tidbits here and there: with little room for maneuver, Bob Jones still managed to move south to Mobile. A study in contrasts: PatBrewster is general counsel for the Central Maine Power Company; his wife Carol edits Maine Environment for the natural resources council of Maine. Charlie and Dodie Abbe, their nest virtually depleted, had their colonial home on the market; they "... can't wait to see the gang at reunion." John Carleton migrated north to Asheville, N.C., amid the Smokies. For the second year in a row, Bob andClaire McConaughy will venture from Wyoming to the East, this time for the dual events of Carin's '81 graduation and our reunion: By June, Jack Greeley will have been retired after 31 years with Continental Can; the future is an earth house on Big Sur with a view of the Pacific in the distance. Ray Peppard (M.D. and Lt. Col., U.S.A.F.) is stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base in West Germany, where he is enjoying his second career. Court and MidgeCross will commute to reunion from their new home in New London, N.H.
No longer is the comment idle: We will see you next month at various places in Hanover. Planning is no longer the operative term. It is time to act. You will enjoy Hanover in its most delightful season. And if we do not see you, only in the unlikely event that you have failed to come, then we shall miss you. And we shall quaff a silent toast: to you.
So long. Another master beckons. Even though it is spring, the master is not the tennis courts. The I.R.S. expects its due. It is time again to heed its call. So long.
510 Hillcrest Road Ridgewood, N.J. 07450
a touch of class
