1984

We all have our own version of the biggest lies ever told (e.g., "The check is in the mail," or "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."). The lie that I'm most confronted with is something I call the "Secretarial Sidestep": I call to get some information for the column; my subject conjures up an excuse for deferring our conversation (e.g., "I got someone on call waiting"), but promises to call or write soon with lots of great news. Of course, the "call" or "letter" never comes. It happened last month when I called to follow up on the fall wedding between Lisa Allard and JoeDiBrigida. Lisa, who is finishing her final year at Dartmouth Medical School, told me she was "real excited" that I called, but had "a house full of company" she needed to entertain. She and Joe, who live in Hanover, would "definitely compare notes and write a long, fact-filled letter the second the company was out the door." Needless to say, I'm still waiting though I do know from the wedding announcement that Joe is practicing law in Manchester and that Lisa's white satin gown had "delicately beaded tulip sleeves and a dropped basque bodice with beaded motif."

I received a postcard from the U.S. Navy's own Al Chaker, who is serving on the "mighty aircraft carrier" USS Forrestal. Al could not tell me where he was, what he was doing, or how he was because of my low security clearance, though he did tell me he saw presidential aid Jim Schaefer prior to President Bush's visit to the carrier. While it pains me to mention Jim two colunns in a row, the story as he tells it is worth the overexposure: "After leaving P&G in December," Jim explains, "I hooked on with the White House advance staff and went to Europe to set up for the Malta summit. For security reasons, the whole thing is top secret and I can't tell anyone where I'm going. I fly to this aircraft carrier on a navy plane, and there 600 miles off the coast of Sardinia in this secret, undisclosed location, I see Al in his flight suit, head shaved, running over to tackle me." While the above facts are true, I'm still following up the part of the story about Jim messing his boxers after jumping in one of Al's A-6 Intruders.

Closer to home, I continue to see MarkLewis at the high spots and low spots around Hartford where he has been working for the last three years in the investment law department at CIGNA since graduating from George Washington Law. Mark, who focuses on real estate transactions, said the key to success at a large insurance company is "learning how to grovel properly to make strides to the top." Mark told me he had seen Martin Duncan in Chicago where Martin, a recent graduate of UCLA Law School, was waiting for the results of the bar but had no idea why a native of Brooklyn who went to law school in California wanted to practice law in the Windy City. Mark also had a few beers with Krishna Narine in Philadelphia where Krishna, a graduate of Georgetown Law School, is practicing antitrust law. Finally, Mark reports that his former roommate, Peter Fenn, is living in Burlington, Vt., where he sells real estate for Century 21 as the first step to getting his broker's license and forming his own home building company. Mark said Peter is sensitive about the company's required mustard jacket so please respect his privacy. Take care until next we talk.

8 Wild Rose Court, Bloomfield, CT 06002