1936

The news of the moment comes from Old Green- wich (Conn.) where R.Jackson "Smedley"Smith reports that he is hospital-bound for a repair job on a prosthetic right hip. I remember calling him just after the initial replacement operation a few years back only to find he was up and about just a couple of weeks after the event. But now it seems that after an auto accident in 1987 the hip developed a mind of its own and dislocated itself four or five times.

Smedley also sent along a news special from the August 27 Greenwich Time about a local singing troupe, "Connecticut Play- makers on Wheels," organized and directed by Robert and Decima Button. C.W.P. evolved from the thought that the group should go to the audiences instead of having the audiences come to them and they were welcomed into many nursing homes, retirement residences, Rotary, Lion Clubs, and even the D '36 Reunion. The music features the classics from the thirties and forties. (Decima says it's important to play melodies that most of their audiences can remember.)

Smedley concludes by saying that on occasion he may get called to play the trap drum and cymbal (for crash endings to wake up the house!). And he might contribute two choruses of a honky-tonk tune called "Tuscaloosa" if the demand is sufficient, such as an octogenarian in the audience whose grandfather was from Alabama, "Never send your laundry out in Tuscaloosa 'til the manager sees your act."

To you, Smedley jackson Smith, a speedy and successful recovery, and to the Buttons and the C.P.W., hang on until '36 + '55 = 1991 Reunion, June 10-12 when the class of '36 can swell the chorus.

With the seasonal demise of daylight saving time, the arrival of longer nights and curtailed outdoor activities, here is a little bridge problem that can drive you up a wall as you sit by the fire:

South wins the contract at seven hearts and West leads the club jack.

It can be made —write me your answer and maybe, early in 1990, I'll give you the Play

ft is now official, Frank and Gerry Kappler have deserted the banks of the Hudson River and have moved to a "house, on Beechmast Road, in Fearrington Village, an overachieving family farm that nestles in the rolling southwestern reaches of Chapel Hill, home of the University of North Carolina." The exact address is 455 Fearrington Post, Pittsboro, NC 27312, 919/542-5095. Whether to NC or Mashpee, MA, or Stuart, FL, keep those cards ana letters coming.

,31 Godfrey Road, Mashpee, MA 02649

NORTH AQ 2 AKQJ QJ10 9 8 7 + - WE.ST EAST KJ 10 98 7 6 5 4 3 5 4 3 2 6 5 4 3 2 * KQJ * 5 4 3 2 SOUTH 10 9 8 7 6 A K * A 10 9 8 7 6