1985

I love getting long interesting letters. I think you'll all get a kick out of this one.

"Hi. Umm . . . see, I met this woman who thought slam pong at her wedding reception would be fun, so I married her. And, her name is Sue Smith. I've always wanted to marry someone named Smith or maybe Jones. Okay, back to pong. Yes, Ingemar, god of the pong table, smiled on me on my wedding day as my partner, Patrick Darby '87, and I repeatedly trashed opposing teams made up of Michael Young, Chris Maccarone, Mark Byrne, and Ken Gladstone, amongst others. Oh yeah, the date was August 19, 1989.

"So, I guess I should provide the obligatory funny comments about the '85s in attendance. Let's see, Mike Young is living in N.Y. as a big-time, and I mean BIG-time, executive manipulating the world's oil markets to his advantage. No, he's not married, he doesn't have time for such foolishness, but if he did he would have a pong table at his reception (I know, because he told me so!) Chris Maccarone is in Chicago getting his M.B.A. Chris spent more time playing ring-around-the-rosie with my three nieces (all under the age of 5) than he did on the pong table. Is he a really nice guy or has he given up on attracting women his own age? I don't know. He did not tell me. But he's not married either.

"Mark Byrne lives on the beach in Santa Monica. No, he's not homeless. He, too, is a big-time wheeler dealer in financial markets. Of course, this has not come without some cost. His chugging skills have dete- riorated such that I am now, solidly, firmly, convincingly the better chugger. Ken Gladstone brought a date to my wedding and it was a good thing he did. Yes, after an extended round of thumper, Ken's girlfriend, Patti (Hi Patty) was required to "assist" Ken back to his hotel room. When Ken isn't stumbling around the corridors of hotels, he lives in L.A. He is a co-founder of a computer software start-up company. Ken has been telling for the last two years that his company would be putting out its first product 'any day now.'

"Pat Darby '87 is a lawyer, i.e., one step above child molester. Pat has a prodigious memory, helping me recall —and sing —a repertoire of over 50 rugby songs until the end of the evening. Fortunately my mother-in-law had already left. My wife thought my Dartmouth friends were "nice but a little strange." A fair characterization, I think.

"What am I doing? Well, I've been waiting for my dissertation to write itself for the past year and a half. I'm determined to wait it out for as long as it takes. Okay, now for my plug. I co-wrote a book recently. The title is How Children Discover New Strategies, by Robert S. Siegler and Eric Jenkins and published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. If everyone in the class buys a copy, it sure would help support me while I wait on my dissertation.

"Yes, married life is bliss, but I guess I don't have to tell you that. Cheers, Eric Jenkins.

"P.S. Please excuse the 'stationery' and the quality of the handwriting. I'm in my office, it's either very late or very early, depending on your perspective (yes, Virginia, all-nighters do exist after Dartmouth), and it seemed like an excellent idea to write this instead of my dissertation. I could have been mistaken, though."

Eric, I enjoyed it. Thank you. And I hope you don't mind me sharing it with the rest of the class. After all, I thought it might inspire a few people ionging to return to their College days to make a last minute decision in favor of coming to our sth Reunion. June 15-17 is just around the corner!

3708 N. Sheffield #408, Chicago, IL 60613

JUNE 15 - 17, 1990REUNION