1951

In last month's Smith Survey, I missed two. One was our only John Smith (John W.). Fearing a potential dissatisfied reader, I tried again. Jack is a recently retired regional vice president of New York Life and lives in Columbus, Ohio. He, like many others, is doing some teaching (in the insurance field), traveling, and lots of golf.

The tenth and last Smith remains uncontacted, despite two messages on his machine. My wife becomes a scold when she finds me making random calls around the country, knowing the class scribe has no expense account.

We will be attending Dartmouth football games the next two weeks, including Fall Weekend in Hanover. Mercifully, they will provide fodder for a winter of columns. Meantime, we resort to a guest contributor. A Madison neighbor tells of first seeing Dartmouth's loin-clothed Indian cheerleader while attending a Harvard game with his dad in the late '30s. The Harvard band marched down the field with a huge bass drum on a cart. The cheerleader eyed the drum but did nothing. The band marched backup the field; the cheerleader looked longingly. Dartmouth fans knew what was lurking behind his eyes. On the third pass of the Crimson band he took aim, and, like an arrow, dove through the great drum, exited the far side and fled to the locker room to dress in street clothes, a great disguise. The story ends with an administrative apology and reimbursement by high Dartmouth officials. Can you tell me: truth or folklore?

Our little shoreline town of Madison was remembered twice recently in my mail. StuJohnson wrote that he had been invited the summer after his freshman year to ArtWorden's family place here. And last month, amidst the Smith thing, Dr. Don W. Smith mentioned that he almost set up practice here before heading for California.

One of the class secretary's duties is the preparation (or commissioning) of obituaries. Ironically, my very first one was my roommate and good friend, Bill Renner. If you learn of a classmate's death through your personal channels, please initiate advice to me or to any class officer. And, if you feel you may be the best person to write the obituary, or if you know who else might be the best person, I would welcome your help in that difficult area. For example, Russ Dilks helped me in JakeLivingston's, Bill Lamade onjohn Burnett's.

Russ also reported a successful recovery from laser surgery to an eye that had been operated on a year ago. Seems like there's an awful lot of that going around. At our age, we're lucky if most things work a lot of the time.

Received a nice piece from the N.Y. Times describing the work that Dr. Aaron R. Rausen does with young children who are patients at the Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases at N.Y.U. Medical Center. "Not so long ago you accepted everybody dying and basically prepared families to grieve. Now more that 79 percent live." Some children invite friends to accompany them to chemotherapy sessions because the place is so much fun. It must be wonderful to give a child more time.

Stay in touch with each other and with me. Thanks.

48 Webster Point road, Madison, CT 06443