1982

Since the recent change in my marital status, my mailbox has been overflowing with catalogs, special offers, and the like. So when another odd looking envelope arrived, it did not seem out of the ordinary.

Enclosed was an advertisement for clothing featuring a reasonably attractive, moony-eyed, nattily attired couple posing in front of a Las Vegas wedding center. Since I was already married I wasn't interested in following the male model's lead and proposing, even if my wife could afford a $2,029 silk-satin jacket and $1,413 silk crepe skirt. Why had someone sent this ad to me?

I finally noticed that the envelope was not empty. Perhaps here was the answer to the mystery. I pulled out a single sheet of bond paper and attempted to decipher the handwritten note. Here's what I came up with:

"Dear Pete. Ever since my freshmen year I ve been admiring Charlie Winslow from afar and I continue to do so. I remember in the fall of '78 noticing him at a football game and asking my friend 'who is that?' Luckily it's still possible to admire Charlie from afar because every year or so he pops up in a magazine. This time he's a groom in SF Focus magazine. He hasn't changed a bit. I hope all of his admirers continue to see him in their favorite catalogs and magazines. [Signed] An '82."

Being a graduate of one of the top academic institutions in this or any country, I immediately realized the author of the note was talking about the well-dressed man-about-town in the ad. Now it all made sense. I checked the envelope for a return address to pass on to Charlie but all I got was a San Francisco postmark. Sorry Charlie.

But this gives me another idea. Perhaps I could serve as a clearinghouse for secret admirers and admirees nationwide ... for a small fee, of course. Keep those cards and letters—and especially photos coming.

Speaking of San Francisco, Thomas Letsou was sworn into the California Bar in December and is living in the city by the bay where he is associated with the law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe. Thomas has been busy since leaving the Hanover plain, studying at Taipei University in Taiwan and earning an M.A. in Chinese language and Far East history from Columbia before picking up his law degree from Columbia Law.

Bill Ragan and his wife Betsy '86 were commissioned in November as Habitat international partners by Habitat for Humanity headquarters in Americus, Ga. Habitat for Humanity is a Christian housing ministry committed to eliminating poverty in the world by building low-cost housing and making decent housing a matter of public conscience. The Ragans are beginning three years of service in Gemena, Zaire.

42 Kings Road, Canton, MA 02021