1988

In honor of The Who's 25th anniversary tour, which was the highlight of the summer for many of us, I'm sure, this month's column will be cleverly tied together by Who song titles and loosely related notes about classmates.

"Magic Bus": In the rearview mirror of my very own magic bus, as I pulled out of Hanover recently, were numerous '88s who are staying on (in fact, more than one person has referred us as "The Class That Wouldn't Leave"). A lot of student teachers, who by now may well have secured other jobs, were in Hanover: Townley Slack,Meredith Larson, and Janine Lambert head the list. Pat Walsh, Richard Howe,Dave Carter, and Kate Haffner were proud Thayer School denizens, while Heather Rogers, Tom DeMerit, and Tiffany Cunningham, among numerous others, collected their A.B. degrees in June.

"My Wife" or "Join Together": Lots of weddings ... a dangerous trend is slowly consuming the class. On '89 Class Day, Karen Redding did what countless defensive backs could never do: she caught alleverything wide receiver Craig Morton '89, in a wedding at the new Christian church out on Route 10. Caitlin Hadtke is now Caitlin Gagnon, after her marriage to Chris Gagnon '86. Sources report that the following '88s are also preparing to walk the aisle: Lynda Jones, Tyler Hoffman, MargieWallace (with Pete Gibson '86), and SteffSolms and Dave McCusker were to tie the knot in August, completing one of the few dual-'88 marriages to date. I'm a little late with this, but Stephanie Pontrelli's (nee Andrews) wedding a while back, to a navy ensign, drew the following '88s, none of whom are planning to wed, at least as far as I know: Betsey Cuervo, Leanne Atencio (bridesmaids, wearing Dartmouth Green dresses), Jim Keohane, Jena Roy, AlecFrisch, and Chip Telerico. If anyone else is planning a wedding soon, or has already had one, send me an announcement and one lucky couple per month will receive a toaster, compliments of Alumni Affairs.

"The Real Me": Brian Corcoran sent along an extremely informative missive, revealing his inevitable return to his roots. He's finished his first year at Virginia Law, and he's "trying desperately to avoid turning into a southern lawyer" (no mint juleps or seersucker jackets). Brian, true to form, writes a column for the law school paper, "wrote on" the Virginia Journal of International Law, and spent the summer assisting a professor with a book about Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

"Pinball Wizard": Bouncing around like pinballs are Chris Kilburn, who spent the summer in Sun Valley, Idaho, then headed to Brownsville, Tex., to work for a Catholic relief group that assists illegal aliens; BillBunker, who left his job at Strategic Planning Associates in D.C. for a new job in NYC at Booz Allen; John Donovan, who was working in New York in advertising but spent the summer in D.C. as a lobbyist for the National Organization for Women; and Erik Kloninger, who's left the mainland and returned to his Hawaii home, where he works in advertising and plays the '90s answer to pinball Nintendo.

"I Can See For Miles": Tom Chiller is in South America, working in a hospital and going on visits to remote parts of the contment with medical assistance. GonzaloGonzo" Escajadillo is working for IBM in Peru after doing time at a much less interesting branch in White Plains, N.Y. And Chris Kilburn is in Mexico, working with underprivileged children as an elementary educator.

On a more serious note, we will miss classmate Omondi Obura, who died unexpectedly in the spring. His obituary, if not in this issue, will appear shortly.