1980

Momma always said, "Life is like Class Notes. You I never know what you're gonna get." Course, I don't know why Momma said that, 'cause she never read Class Notes a day in her life. The College is now run by lawyers, Freedman & Bollinger. Dean Bollinger spoke at the class of '80 dinner at Reunion. He wanted to talk about free speech, but we jeered him down. He managed to say that he likes to teach, and he treats his students at Dartmouth like they was first-year law students. What a terrible way to act toward your fellow human beings!

Lots of folks worry about right and wrong, and especially how to teach such to our kids. Melinda Fine up and wrote a book about it called Habits of Mind. The book explores the politics and practice of programs that foster moral thinking and civic responsibility, highlighting the acclaimed and controversial "Facing History and Ourselves" curriculum, which uses study of the Holocaust to help students reflect on contemporary issues of racism, violence, intolerance, and prejudice. (Whew! That last part was a mouthful.) Melinda earned an Ed.D. somewhere or other and is an educational-research and program-development consultant.

The class is chock full of book authors. Victoria Redel (some folks call her Vicki) is another one. She has written a collection of short stories, Where the Road Bottoms Out, published by Alfred Knopf. According to the Scarsdale Inquirer, Victoria's writing is lyrical, evolving from poetry, and is best approached through intuition, emotion, and the senses. Why Shazam! That sounds a whole lot like my writing. Anyhow, Victoria got a master's of fine arts in writing from Columbia and is an instructor in Goddard College's graduate writing program. Victoria lives in Manhattan and stays busy with her two boys, ages six and three, when she isn't writing and teaching.

Everyone knows that the class of '80 is fall of attorneys at law. Matt Cairone is one among more than a hundred. He is assistant general counsel for Aristech Chemical Corp. in Pittsburgh. Matt is married to Susan, and they have two children. Shazam again! I am a lawyer married to Susan, and we have two children. The world sure is full of coincidences. Near as I can tell, however, the name "Susan" was very popular for girls born about 1957-60. Wonder why that was. The President's wife wasn't named Susan then. Course, I'd lots rather be married to Susan than to Mamie.

Dana Cetlin is another lawyer. Not content to be a member of one honorable profession, he is also a politician, recently winning re-election as a town meeting member for Brookline, Mass. Dana is married to attorney Amanda Darwin. They have two heirs, Emily and Madeline.

Query: How come Hootie wears a faded Dartmouth sweatshirt when he sings with them Blowfish boys? Bye for now. P.S.: I done sealed that 01' crypt back up again.

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