1952

Pressed for time, I have been on the phone for news while preparing dinner. The tomatoes have been good this summer. The generosity of my secretary has kept me in supply. I am commuting between the telephone and the stove, and a tomato dish is in the oven.

While fooling around in the kitchen, I phoned Fred Barstow (who was down on the Cape with his family, not expected back until tomorrow - too late for this column); Charlie Blakemore (no answer); Joe Baute (no answer); and Jose Barroso and Jack Boyle, both of whom were home.

Joe Barroso, with Owens Illinois for 30 years, is responsible for export world sales of the Libbey Glass Division. This explains why I have had such difficulty reaching him. Travel is the rule rather than the exception; Joe and Lore can be found on the go even when on vacation. Joe had recently returned from Australia and the Far East and was in the process of packing for Europe when I called. During his travels he has caught up with Tom Fen ton twice in London.

The Barrosos' daughter, Lisa, 28, was married in August. A son, Carlos, works with Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati as a chemical engineer. He has recently returned from working for two years in Rome on coffee (probably brewed with holy water). Carlos and his wife are expecting to make Joe and Lore grandparents in October. Jeff, a senior at Georgia Tech in mechanical engineering, rounds out the clan.

Dodie Boyle answered the phone. When solicited for news, she said that Jack was in great shape, riding his bike to work each day (16 miles round-trip). I suggested that he must be Right Guard's biggest customer. Jack got on the phone and said he showered regularly. Jack has reached that stage of life that we all get to, sooner or later he has indulged himself with a few toys. One is a 20-foot Mako motorboat with a 155-horsepower engine, which he keeps on Cape Cod. Jack asked if I could recommend anyone to teach him how to fish; he has $600 worth of gear, but doesn't know how to use it. I suggested he talk to Jack Foster, a.k.a. Isaac Walton.

The other toy is a Corvette. He eschews the term "sportscar," but rather refers to it as "a personal vehicle." On a "buy American" bent, he turned in his Porsche for the Corvette. (The way things are going these days, we'll probably lift the hood of the Corvette and find 75 percent of the parts labeled in Japanese.)

Jack asked me to apologize to Ed Hibben for not stopping to say "hello" on his way to work this morning. On his bike, Jack blew by Ed, who was waiting by the side of the road.

Jack had plenty of news: Chet Wiley bought some property in Barnstable (on Cape Cod) some years ago on which he planned to build a retirement home. He and Judy changed their minds and sold the property. The profit was sufficient for Chet to order a 48-foot sailboat that was built in England and which is being sailed to the U.S. Jack thought that Chet might be looking for a crew. Anyone who is interested can dial 203/227-7817.

The Binswangers visited the Boyles recently. Bins is headmaster of Boston Latin Academy. It appears that after considerable effort to find a secluded summer home in Maine, they wound up finding that the McSpaddens were their neighbors. Please keep the noise down, Bins.

The Boyle boys are into rigorous conditioning. The basement looks like Stillman's Gym with Olympic weight sets in place. John III, a tailback, is captain of the Bates football team this coming season. Edward is at Dartmouth, finishing his sophomore year. He passes as "Fast Eddie," the disc jockey at various fraternity parties, an enterprise which Jack said is more lucrative than peddling sandwiches through the dorms at night. Jimmy is captain of the football team at Noble and Greenough, where he is fullback, and David, who is 16, is a sophomore at Wayland High and starting tailback at 192 pounds. Not bad progeny for an Irishman and an Italian!

Jack reported that he and Dodie had celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in February. Jack said that this seemed to be a rare occurrence in this day and age. I agreed and told him that some of us were celebrating 25 years of divorce!

See you at reunion!

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