1935

6680 Williamson Drive NE Atlanta, GA 30328

This is my first column based on the approach I am using to obtain some kind of response from my normally shy classmates.

The technique is simple enough - I will be sending out about 20 letters every month to a different group of '35s selected at random from the directory. The letters not only ask for any personal information that might be of interest, but also for comment on a particular subject, which will change from month to month.

This month's subject was put this way, "What, in your present life-style, gives you the most satisfaction or pleasure, and what would you most like to be relieved of?" The response score was a somewhat disappointing 30 percent, but what came in was interesting and in sufficient detail to flesh out a column which would otherwise have required a lot of creative reporting a la some of my past columns.

Ed Ramsey touts the temperate and healthy climate of the Newport Beach area, where he keeps in shape with situps and daily runs through the surf, along with a lot of golf and golf club activity. He has found great satisfaction in a new interest in painting and drawing, and is active in senior citizen counseling. Having just made a trip though the Panama Canal, he and wife Sara expect to do a lot more travelling. His only complaint is that the golf courses get longer every year!

Bob Lowell's life-style, what with gardening, travel, and restaurant-exploring, is "just about perfect," with no special problems. He suggests a good topic for a future question might be "the state of affairs at Dartmouth" - he gets the impression that most '3ss "are quite docile on the subject."

A surprisingly legible handwritten note from Hal Stanton (because he is legally blind, he writes "by touch and memory") tells of retirement from 40 years in the industrial film business, loss of his wife in 1984, and living with a "wonderful daughter and darling two-year-old granddaughter." A real movie fan, he has his own projection room, watching the screen from two feet away and, as head of a Connecticut Valley Laurel and Hardy group, has attended conventions in L.A., Chicago, Detroit, and Valley Forge. He is active in the Masons and Shriners, as well as the Dartmouth Club of Springfield. Claims a dull life doesn't sound dull to me! He would be happy to do without shanties on campus, Ed McMahon on commercials, and the "everlasting messes in Washington."

John Howe gets his kicks from tennis, the affection of his wife, building and paddling a kyak about north Florida waters, and "groping my way toward my own concepts of God, Spirit, and Such." He would like to be relieved of the beginning of cataracts (Ed. note: have you checked on the permanent implant operation, John?) and "a great variety of selflimiting habits and attitudes." Wouldn't we all?

Bob Short, faced with retirement after 40 years with Lockheed, has had help from his wife, Tia, in making the necessary adjustments - "She is wonderful!" They plan and enjoy their daily events together, and he feels himself very fortunate, having been able to "relieve himself systematically of unacceptable burdens."

I have saved for the last a quote from Fred Kayser: "Ernest Martin Hopkins stated that Dartmouth's purpose was to educate an individual who could meet a changing environment. I didn't know it then, but a chip of that New Hampshire granite became a part of me - sufficient to sustain me over the years of stress in civilian life and military life throughout World War II and the Korean War. I had to adjust many, many times to my changing environment. I did it - and that's what satisfies me most here and now. I thank Dr. Hopkins."

Some other things that have given Fred satisfaction and pleasure include his wife's cooking, remembering the good old days, 50th reunion, sex, and the happy hour. He'd be happy to be relieved of the Ayatollah, Jesse Jackson, death, and taxes.

The question for next month's letter will be "If you were chairman of the Presidential Search Committee, what are the qualities you would think the most important in evaluating a candidate?" If any of you would care to join in the response - or write for any other reason - I'd be happy to hear from you.

Meanwhile, peace and love to you all.