1976

Just when I was about to give up hope (to say nothing of my editor taking a long walk off a short pier), I was rewarded. No, not with "agricultural commodities" as we call controlled (uncontrolled?) substances here in Miami, but with some serious news, classwise, via chief class buckaroo Stephanie Valar.

Caroline Ballard, who, I seem to recall, crossed these paltry paragraphs not long ago, has moved with her husband to new old digs in Fair Lawn, N.J. They have renovated an old building, the top floor of which they use for living quarters, while the ground floor houses his "all-cat" (or is that "all-rat"?) veterinary practice.

Also hailing from New Jersey, but much more terrifying than an all-rat practice for those of us who knew him, Rob"Mondo Boborino" Riebow writes that he is still in the Air Force, presumably protecting the Garden State's chemical and swamp resources. Rob would like Bryan Mattimore's address. Funny, I thought Rob, given that he flies fighters in and above the ozone layer, would be one of the few to know Matti's whereabouts.

Moving right along and in line with my reputation as the "Prince of Blends," I am happy to report that Dr. Doug "Stump"Cohen, a.k.a. the "one-minute dentist," has completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the National Institute of Mental Health which surprisingly is not located at Sigma Nu but at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in D.C. Dr. Cohen is now a staff psychologist at Gallaudet College in D.C., the only liberal arts college for deaf students in the world. On the homefront, Doug and wife Ellen are expecting (or by now have had) their first child. Stump, like me, you will soon realize that with a baby in the house, deafness might not be all that bad. Sincere congratulations on both counts.

Last but not least, David Plane informs us that he is in his fifth year as an assistant professor of geography and regional development at the University of Arizona. His wife, Kathy Jacobs (Middlebury '77), is in charge of municipal water conservation with the Arizona Department of Water Resources. They try to get "Back East" to Boothbay Harbor, Maine, each summer and, while they love Tucson's desert climate, they miss the fall foliage in New England.

Given that the temperature has finally fallen below 90 degrees here in Miami, it must be near Christmas time (another sign is the proliferation of insulated bikinis at Hobe Beach). So I'll close by wishing you and your families the happiest of holidays and the best of New Years. Bye.

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