1989

As soon as I moved to New York, Time magazine ran a cover story indicating that 80 percent of the city's residents would up and leave if they could. I didn't take it personally at least the roaches were friendly. So was MonicaCoen, who stopped me on the street to say hello before catching a train to New York Law School where she works in the Student Affairs Office. Karla Olivier and I have been communicating via postcards since N.Y. Telephone forgot me, despite their We're all connected" advertising promise. Karla and Ashley Chadowitz started Columbia Law in September. Dave Gluck is back from San Francisco, seeking work in the Big Apple's public sector. Ana speaking of public, was that Michele Kelly I spied on a Friday night in Greenwich Village, chatting with friends across from the Pink Pussycat Boutique?

Perhaps Hanover nostalgia has me hallucinating. I thought I glimpsed GretchenShufelt at the Lufthansa terminal at JFK. As if in the aftermath of a Big Green Bang, '89s are shooting off in all directions. After training in Togo for the summer, JulieRaggio embarked on a two-year forestry program in Benin, West Africa. Betsy Heafitz wrote all the way from Novosibirsk (U.S.S.R.) that she wants to see her name in print other than Cyrillic. As a guide with the USIA's traveling "Design U.S.A." exhibit, which features American architecture, graphics, and product design, Betsy introduces thousands of Soviet visitors daily to American life." Among the discussion topics which have cropped up in Kishiner, Moldavia, Alma Ata, and Kazakistan are kitchens, muppets, Harley-Davidsons, Levis, and Dartmouth. After fielding questions (in Russian) for a month, it's on to the next city. Betsy isn't sure when she'll be home; "But then again," she writes, "no one sent to Siberia ever is."

I've bumped into '89s in the strangest places, among them the New York Times Susan Kendrick and Ben Kaufman stared up at me, as much as headlines can stare, from the marriage announcement section! Married at the end of the summer in Susan's hometown of Columbus, Ind., the couple resides in Boston, where Ben is an information systems consultant at Andersen Consulting and Susan is a direct-marketing coordinator at Trans National Financial Services. Congratulations!

They haven't tied the knot, but they split the rent: Liz Bleich, Dave Nerrow, and Rani Sellers share an apartment in Maiden, Mass. Liz buys for Jordan Marsh and does some acting on the side; Dave finds funds as a venture capitalist; and first-year vet student Rani bows over textbooks but hopefully has time to bow on the viola as well.

A different kind of player put her instrument to a new test in the Ride Around Wyoming. 250 riders from 29 states joined hoopster-turned-cyclist Liz Walter on the 386-mile, five-day tour. After motoring through such towns as Ten Sleep, Thermopolis, and Powder River Pass, Liz hung up her Lycra and moved back east for a job with the EPA. Moving in the opposite direction, Roberto Gallo crossed the Atlantic presto after he lost his American papers in Italy and almost found himself serving in the Italian army.

Serving time in the role of Hippocrates is Kenji Cunnion, now in his second year at Duke Medical School. When he's not healing people, he's out hurting them with the Duke Tae Kwon Do Team. MinKocher was elected president of the second-year class at Duke Med, and he and Kenji welcomed first-year med student JaySwett into the Dukedom this fall. Contrary to rumors in a past '89 newsletter, Jay and K.K. Lam are not engaged, but are 'working on it,' as K.K. has relocated to Virginia for graduate study in Psychology. Also drawn to Durham was Karla Cohen, who started at Duke Law in September.

Earning kudos before cracking a single book, Dave "The Rave" Kramer heard himself honored in the Georgetown Law convocation speech. Evidently the Dean praised the incoming class for its incredible diversity of experience, citing Ph.Ds, professional athletes, artists, "...and even one deejay."

There you have it. We're everywhere, anywhere, doing anything, nothing, and everything. Let me hear from you and your particular corner of the earth.

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