1980

Tales From the Crypt, Volume XTV, Chapter 6: Flip through the pages of a recent issue of Modern Health care, and tucked in there between articles on "Low Cholesterol Pet Snacks" and "Radial Keratotomy for Fun and Profit" is a familiar face. Tim O'Donnell earned rave reviews as one of the key movers and shakers behind health-care reform. Geez, all along I thought the President and her husband were to blame

... Anyway, Tim is president of The Health- care Initiative Inc. in Denver and is one of the 23 million fans who reportedly attended a Rockies game last season. All this reminds me of something that Lynn Martin, the former labor secretary, said in her first lecture to a class at Northwestern University: "I'm no longer with the government—so I truly am here to help you."

Dateline: Athens, Georgia. Here in the land of peaches and 280-pound defensive ends named Billy Joe Six pack, it's sometimes tough to get noticed. Leave it to Professor RandallJohnson to change all that. Forsaking the rough and tumble life of a big-city lawyer in Chicago, Randall traded in the Lexus and legal briefs for a Ford Ranger with a "How 'Bout Them Dawgs?" bumper sticker and headed across the Macon County Line to teach at the University of Georgia School of Law. Along with other courses on real-estate transactions and housing law, he teaches a yearlong course on property law which has become something of a specialty. Possession is nine tenths of the law. Randall's the other tenth.

Make Way For Ducklings: Let's hear a Bronxville cheer for Karen and Scott Slater, who have hatched another fledgling, Kelly Christine. Scott says number-two has put a hitch in marathon training sessions. He's cutting back to 90 miles per week. I'm lucky to run that far in a year. Life is still good in the Twin Cities and a far cry from Scott's old stomping grounds in New York where the following message appears on subway placards: "You might nt bel eve this, but we realy are working on the public address system."

Moo Shoo Book Review: keep an eye peeled for Blake Kerr's new book, Sky Burial: AnEyewitness Account of China s Brutal Crackdownin Tibet. Blake's story starts with his and John Ackerly's visit to Lhasa, the "forbidden city" capital of Tibet which has long been subject to China's outrageous military rule. They witnessed a series of demonstrations by Tibetan monks that triggered an explosion of pro-independence protests that were swiftly and brutally quashed by Chinese police and army forces. Kerr and Ackerly were arrested for aiding the rebels, endured a harrowing imprisonment, and were forced to leave the country. Kerr's account furnishes unprecedented testimony to the threat of genocide facing the Tibetan people, one of the most peaceful people in the world. This puts a nasty spin on the old expression "Chinese Takeout," hmm?

Hats off to Caroline Coggeshall and her band of merry money minders. As a class we gave $135,399 from 579 classmates to the 1993 Alumni Fund. As the books close on yet another 1980 Alumni Fund record, it's time to say thanks to all of you who make it work. Now, let's do it again this year. Be Good—Santa's still watching.

11 Longmeadow Road, Winnetka, IL 60093