1982

Dum. Dum. Da-da. Dum. Dum. Da-da. Doo-di-doo. Doo-di-doo. "Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to search out and report on members of the Dartmouth class of 1982. Many are locked into top-secret, low-profile occupations. You must search them out and report your findings as thoroughly as possible. This is a dangerous mission with little chance of success. Good luck . . . this column will self destruct in five seconds." Dum. Dum. Da-da. Dum. Dum. Da-da. Doo-di-doo. BOOOOOMMM!!!

Being a young, naive secretary I accepted the mission no questions asked. Little did I know the twists and turns that lay before me in "The Case of the Missing Classmates."

I was sure this was going to be one of my easier cases when I located Eric Cline. Eric had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in April and should be in Athens, Greece, at this time doing research for his dissertation. Eric is studying "the international trade and contacts between Greece and the Near East during the Bronze Age (i.e. ca. 1500-1100 BC)." His research has already taken him to Egypt, Israel, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey as well as Greece. When I located him he was in Philadelphia—but not for long.

Having located such a world traveler, I figured the rest of the case would be a piece of cake. But word must have leaked out as it seems the rest of the '82s went into hiding.

Only my keen eye and detective instincts (along with the Dartmouth clip service) allowed me to locate Andrea Borden. She is working in an ad agency in Baltimore and recently married John Gillespie, a graduate of Bates. I'm sure this match will work as do all marriages pairing Dartmouth '82s with alumni of small Maine colleges.

After I found Andrea, the rest of my trails went cold. I crisscrossed the country but came up with only credit-card slips and broken promises. I was frustrated and disappointed. Even a trip to Acapulco with my new wife as a cover came up empty. I was ready to turn in my gumshoes and hang up my hat at a house in the 'burbs.

But I couldn't quit yet.

42 Kings Road, Canton, MA 02021