1984

1 Cindy Court Melville, NY 11747

I make it a rule not to discuss my personal life in this column. I figure that it's too easy to talk about me, with my fabulously interesting life, and forget about all the little people, and their insipid lives. Occasionally, however, I treat you, the reader, with a tidbit about my life. Not the whole story, but just enough to keep you coming back for more.

This month, it's going to be different. I have some good news that I'd like to share with everyone. I've decided to get engaged. All I have to do is find a woman who is also willing to do this, and everything will be set. In fact, I happen to have someone in mind. Debbie Kohl '86 seems to be a good candidate. In fact, we've already discussed it.

Now, I know exactly what is going through your minds. "Boy, that's great news!" and "How can I become a part of that magic?" are probably the first two thoughts that most of you are having. Luckily, I've come up with a way for all of you to share in this joyous occasion. Soon after becoming engaged, I found out that most couples go to a store, and pick out the gifts that they would like to receive, hoping that some future guest will buy them. This seemed very risky to me. I mean, how do I know someone will be perceptive enough to buy the executive model Whoopie Cushion? What if I get stuck with crystal glasses, or worse yet, Service for Twelve?

To eliminate this risk, I decided to take this registering bit one step farther; I'm going to assign gifts. In the next few months, whenever I put someone's name in the column, I will include, in parentheses next to the name, the gift I expect from them. They do not, of course, have to buy that particular gift, they are free to spend more if they so desire. I think that this is the fairest way to get everyone involved in this happy occasion. OK here, goes:

Chris Bird was married to Susan Reeves in Tuxedo Park, N.Y. According to the wedding announcement Chris is a corporate acquisition consultant in New York. Well, Chris, this is your lucky day. I would love to acquire a corporation in New York. Since you're in the business, this shouldn't be any problem. Thanks in advance.

Al Chaker is flying A-6 attack jets off the USS Forrestal. Al reports that occasionally he flies those same jets back onto the USSForrestal. The Forrestal is an aircraft carrier, and Al can't tell us where it is. He mentioned something about it being secret. I don't know how the Navy manages to hidsomething that large, but they do it. Anyway, Al, I have always been fascinated by those A-6s, and I can't tell you what it would mean to me to have one of my own. So next time you fly one off the ship, would you mind dropping it off at my place? Thanks a lot.

Regina Figge is now at Stanford, where she is getting a master's in civil engineering. As many of you recall, Regina went around the world, or at least I said she did, over the past year. Now, I don't have much use for an engineer, civil or otherwise, so Regina, I'm gonna have to put you on hold for a while, until I come up with a gift that fits your particular expertise.

Allen Waxman and his wife, Sharon '83, have recently moved to Washington. Big Al is clerking for a judge, and Sharon runs some multinational corporation that owns hotels, or something like that. Now, I was invited to Allen's wedding, so I have to be a little careful about asking for a gift from him. Al, I've given it a lot of thought, and I think I'd like to have one of those federal judges. You know, just in case I get into some trouble with the law.

Well, that should be a pretty good start. And for the rest of you, start thinking about what you want to get us. I'll be in touch.