1969

It's a slow news month, as they say. In fact, I'm reduced to reporting updates on several classmates who have endured exposure here within the past couple of years. It seems unfair to punish them again so soon while others are blissfully ignored, but what the hey. Not to worry—even though a few of you possess publicists fixed in overdrive, I promise to be (somewhat) nice this time around. We'll just say it's deja vu all over again.

I have five (!) separate articles on T.J.Rodgers, of Silicon Valley Cypress Semiconductor fame. But after plowing through piles of stuff from Business Week, Forbes, and Fortune, my personal favorite is from the Oshkosh Northwestern (that's T.J.'s hometown weekly throwaway). The paper reports that the seeds of success for the city's favorite son were sown right there in Oshkosh before he went off to "Dartmouth University." TJ. himself says "I think one of the advantages I bring is a Midwest common sense approach to things." The article the explains that this includes "... frugality. Last year Rodger's annual income was ..." (Sorry, I can't bring myself to do it—let's just say frugality has taken on a new meaning in the Midwest.)

A bit more seriously, TJ. has been in the forefront of information exchange with the Soviets/Russians at al. He says "they have fantastic ideas for chips. They are very up-todate." Betteryet, "they are so starving for hard currency, I firmly believe that $100,000 could buy me the cornerstone off Lenin's Tomb." We suppose that recent lack of plans to move dear old Lenin mean that T.J. could end up with one incredibly unique coffee-table. And for considerably less than his annual salary.

Tom Tiemann is enjoying more tasty luncheons as honors have been heaped upon him again down at Elon College in North Carolina. This time he's been named the JeffersonPilot Professor of Economics. Other than the good eats and libations, this means Tom got a medallion of the college seal to wear at all formal college occasions. You may recall that Tom was named dean of the Love School of Business in early 1988. The new professorship will enable him to move back into the classroom full-time. Elon College is quite proud of the work Tom did to strengthen the school's curriculum and faculty, and we send our congratulations as well.

Joe Avellone ran for the Wellesley, Mass., Board of Selectmen over a year ago, but the registrar of voters neglected to send along certified election results. Nevertheless, Joe gave a good account of himself in a letter to the editor of his local throwaway. His postDartmouth bio is as follows:

"I obtained an M.D. from the Harvard Medical School and a master's in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government. I completed a general-survey residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and was in private practice for four years. I then served full time in senior management positions at MultiGroup Health Plan, now part of Harvard Community Health Plan, and was the executive vice president of Private Healthcare Systems Ltd., a national operator of managed care health plans. Currently I am a partner in the Cambridge Management Group Inc., a management consulting firm advising the healthcare industry. My wife, Sandy, and I have three children, Joey, Peter, and Whitney, and have been residents of Wellesley for six years."

Those of you who can't wait any longer for the election results should contact the Wellesley Townsman, which may have even printed the outcome by now.

With news so short, a deadline so near, and all the news I've used above, maybe some of you can appreciate my love affair with the press of small-town America. There's really more to it than the Police Log (where, incidentally none of your names are known to have appeared). Nevertheless, since I've mined that frontier of last resource, the larder is now truly bare. If I don't hear from a few of you very soon, there will be no column next month. If another month goes by, I'll simply make stuff up, or, even worse, give you 600 words on Modesto. Think about it, and take care.

P.O. Box 3934, Modesto, CA, 95352-3934