1989

You glimpse something familiar out of the corner of your eye. Someone familiar. You make eye contact, avoid eye contact . . . words fail you. A name fails you. Jim? Jenny? Hairball? You can't be senile this early. Neurons and knees knocking together, you extend a friendly hand as the bland smile flushes up to your eyebrows. Suddenly the face across from you coalesces into an identity and you realize that you are in the midst of a Random Dartmouth Encounter (RDE).

RDE #47: Peter Zinman. I literally bumped into Peter as we both tried to fit through the doors to an NYU-area drugstore. Riding high in his second year at NYU Law, Peter tickles the synthesized ivories and even composes in his free time. The french horn, he laments, is getting a bit dusty.

RDE #15: Jessie Weinstein. Fordham Law-student Jessie and I crossed paths in front of the Lincoln Center Fountain. She was in a legalistic hurry but sent her greetings.

RDE #39: Justine Kline man. As I scanned the theater from beneath globs of stage makeup, I was surprised to spot Justine, who had been equally surprised to find me on stage in an NYU production. Flip as ever, Justine describes herself as "doing the New York thing."

I'd expect that Sharon Geary handles RDEs exceptionally well. Undoubtedly a budding expert on facial recognition, Sharon expects to receive her master's degree in developmental psychology from Columbia's Teachers College this summer. She reports that Stacy Higgins is presendy sifting through offers to medical school for this fall.

Strangely enough, First Boston employee Gesine Albrecht remains relatively unencountered by fellow First Bostonian NedWard. Is there really such professional distance between their respective realms of Public Finance and Equity Markets? Corporate confusion mounts when I consider the status of Mars Bishop at Smith Barney, BrianRoberts at Kidder Peabody, Chris Slattery at Price Waterhouse, and Jim Sullivan at Simpson Thatcher. Or are they the other way around?

You'd probably be more likely to run into, or over, Alike Sowa. Mike works as a civil engineer for the City of New York, and judging by the perpetual street construction, he's got his hands full of more than just "SLOW" signs and donuts. Least likely for an RDE is Gretchen Shufelt, who seeks life after Exxon Valdez as an environmental consultant in Anchorage, Alaska. "I work a lot with oil spills big and bigger," she writes. "I understand if you wish for my unemployment."

Important to distinguish from an RDE is the PDE, or Planned Dartmouth Encounter. And where better than Hanover to stage such an event? Chris Arras, upon return from missionary work in the Middle East, convened in January with friends Jeff Green, GlennLucke, and Hal Sandstedt. Chris's new knowledge of Middle Eastern culture and language will certainly complement his studies at Berkeley Law this fall, where he'll specialize in constitutional and international law.

"PDE" doesn't quite cut it for ChrisGoulard, who undertook an NDE, or Nuptial Dartmouth Encounter, earlier this year with Jen Spaulding '90. Fred Walters toasted up a storm as best man, Chris Drew ushered, and Russell Wolff, Mike Herzog, JennyTyler, Suzanne Morrison, SuzanneMurphy, John Van Hooser, Liz Tauck, BillDean, and Todd Timmerman braved the blizzards to attend. After a splendid honeymoon in Disneyworld and Ocho Rios Jamaica, Chris and Jen have settled in Boston with housemate Fred.

Others who have NDEs coming up include Nikki Smith, who is engaged to David Clark '90; and Cortney Worrell, engaged to Robert Gordan '86. Congratulations!

Now I'm positive that the number of actual RDEs is far greater than those which reach me as anecdotes. Admit it: last week you bumped into somebody from your freshman seminar. Or Dick's House measles stay. Or maybe you're engaged to him or her. Either way, write and let me know.

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