1984

After three months of patiently waiting, I am proud to report that your secretary has finally received his first postcard from a fellow classmate reporting news. And what a card it was! The cover featured a full-color action sports photo. Inside was the message: "Thanks for sending me your new address. Please take a second to check on the enclosed form to be sure our computer has it right." It was signed, "Shaun Gurl for Sports Illustrated. " Frankly, I am pretty impressed that Shaun, who obviously has a high-powered job at Sports Illustrated, took the time to drop me a line. Shaun even added a personal note: "Take advantage of our lowest rate to extend now and pay later!" While it was great to see the Old Boy network paying financial dividends, I declined Shaun's kind offer since I'm sure he would be in serious trouble if his boss ever found out he was cutting special deals for his friends.

While I am on the subject of classmates trying to sell me something, I am reminded of a recent call from Chuck Goss, who is working as a "brokerage whore" (his words not mine) for Capital Investment Properties in Boston. While Chuck was not able to convince me to buy the shopping center he was hawking, his pitch must have worked on Katharine Cushing, who consented to marry Chuck later this month. When not doing deals, Chuck is still actively rowing and last year joined Peter Gish in a Union Boat Club boat that won the Club Eight event at the Head of the Charles. Peter, who also lives in Boston, spent two years studying law at Oxford, and now practices government and environmental law for Legis Resources. He also continues to paint and has had a painting accepted at the National Academy of Design.

Others who are also soon to take "the long walk" include Brad Farris, who announced his engagement to Shantha Gona '86. Brad, who you may remember as the enterprising (read: financially successful) advertising manager of The Dartmouth, has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures since graduation, including a sod farm in central Florida, a New Yorkbased mutual fund which invested Australian capital in U.S. real estate, and a startup orange grove. His latest project involves a multimillion-dollar miniature golf course on a resort island off the coast of Singapore. (I really don't make this stuff up.) Also taking the plunge is John Sedgewick, who converted his two-month courtship with Helen Dea to a spring/summer wedding. Some may remember Sedge as the flamboyant left winger on the hockey team who, after scoring a goal, was quick to jump up, raise his fist in the air, ana release a primal scream of joy. Since he is no longer scoring goals, I wonder when John now employs this celebratory routine, though decorum prevents me from asking.

All of these new couples can take a lesson from the symbiotic marriage of Curt Ol-layos and Christine Hellauer '86. Curt is finishing his residency in pathology at the Bethesda Naval Hospital and Christine works as an underwriter for Principal Health Care, an HMO.

As always, I've enjoyed our monthly chat. Feel free to join Shaun Gurl in dropping me a card, though be aware that the editors of the Alumni Magazine will not allow me to accept cut-rate subscriptions and other "bargain offers." Of course, there are always exceptions ...

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