1976

76 Dave Shribman reports that his career as a political reporter has now taken him I to 49 of 50 states. And wherever Dave goes, he hits the local takeout counters and brings home a taste for his family. Among the long list of munchables he has brought home are fresh bratwurst from Iowa; smoked salmon from Vancouver, 8.C.; blueberry pie from Maine; garlic pizza from Chicago; and a mysterious "barbeque combo" from Smokey joe's in Spartanburg, S.C. For these determined efforts, our scribe was recently named the "Tocqueville of Takeout" by The Wall Street Journal. (No word yet on whether he is in contention for NPR;s coveted Daniel Pinkwater Award.) Between snacks, Dave is the Washington bureau chief for the Boston Globe.

Out on the other ocean, David Graulich reports that his dog has become a media star in Asia. Buddy barks along, on key, to David's piano renditions of famous show tunes. This has been a great hit with children's TV in Japan. Unfortunately Buddy does not like to travel, and thus has not yet been featured on Letterman's show. Buddy's sudden fame and fortune has coincided with (but not quite eclipsed) David's launching of a nationally syndicated newspaper column. The column is called "Dial 9 To Get Out," and is about some of the more humorous aspects of office culture. Look for it in your local paper; if they don't carry it, given them a buzz and tell them to get it.

At press time, it appears that the long and bitter baseball strike has finally been settled. Our class was involved through Jim Beattie, director of the Seattle Mariners' farm system. According to a report in the Seattle Weekly, Jim was in charge of fielding the Mariners' minor-league replacement squad. Until the strike settled, there was hope for the season Jim predicted his replacements would play "at the quality of AA ball." Speaking as someone who has warmed many a seat in the Kingdome, "AA quality" is not bad for the Mariners! Despite jim's dedication and years of hard work for the club, the Mariners are chronically underfunded and have to struggle to keep up with the big guys. With the strike over, we'll get to see if the regular team can reach the level of Jim's minor-leaguers.

I am sorry to report that there is no winner yet in the class scholarship fund vacation sweepstakes. There has not exactly been a flood of contributions. So far, the highest bid is $ 10.75 (Canadian) from someone who wants to visit Sandro Orlando in North Bay, Ontario. Sorry, Gordie, that's not enough. We'll keep the sweepstakes open for another month. Maybe you'd like to spend Christmas in Scottsdale with Julia Miner? Or view the fall foliage from Scott McGovern's front porch in Peterborough, N.H.? Or have ribs and hot links at Frances Welch's in Natchitoches? Send a check and let your class officers know!

That's it for this month. I didn't get much in die way of actual mail from classmates, aside from what's reported above. Just the usual stack of press releases about messy divorces, federal indictments, and abrupt firings of classmates from positions of power and influence. Nothing you'd be greatly interested in reading. So take a minute and drop me a line with some real news!

857 Gold Belt Ave., Juneau, AK 99801; (907) 586-4000; fax: (907) 586-3777

Dave Graulich reports that his dog has become a media star in Asia. DICK Monkman '76