1979

It took me a while but I finally figured out why Hootie of Hootie and the Blowfish always wears some sort of Dartmouth garb when he gives a concert. You see, Hootie is really our classmate and actor extraordinaire, Tim Prager, in disguise. Think about it. Tim has been out of sight and hasn't surfaced in years, he's a talented and versatile character actor, and he loves Dartmouth. I dare anyone to challenge me on this.

I heard that the Homecoming weekend in Hanover and the mini-reunion down at Harvard were a big splash! A big splash because it rained like a monsoon both Saturdays. Phil Odence reported that his Homecoming pre-game party was well attended by our class (or did he say our class officers). After kicking the "refreshmenths at Phil's house, a delegation of '79s dropped by an 'Bo's party after the football game. I think it was Joe Henley who remarked, "It was kind of like going into the basement of Sig Ep on the night of an away track meet. There was plenty of beer there for the taking."

I never really realized what a powerful weapon the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine Class Notes column could be until I got a little letter from Michael Boldt's wife, Lisa. Think about it. She could have written anything about her husband and I, desperate for dirt, would likely publish it in this column. Then again, I guess it doesn't even have to be someone's spouse that drops me a line. At any rate, Lisa gave birth to a child named Alden (your guess is as good as mine as to the sex of this child) last May and classmate Evans Huber is Alden's godfather. To get out of changing diapers, Michael practices law in Summit, N.J. (When are all these lawyers going to finish practicing and start performing?) And working down the hall from him is fellow '79er, Bill White, who counts sheckles at a brokerage firm.

The talent in our class never ceases to amaze me. I got a call from my brother, George "Stoney" Stone, who is contemplating giving up ownership of the largest insurance agency in Illinois, board of directorship on some big British insurance company, and the au pair for his three kids in Wilmette, to play the harmonica in a blues band. Really, he's that good (his stage name is Rusty). Stoney told me he honed his harmonica talent around the campfire during an annual "City Slickers" trip out west with fellow '79ers Charlie Hatten, Chris"Sponge" Whitney, and DaveThompson. Stoney also shared some interesting information about our classmate John Hoeven, who "is" the Dartmouth Club in North Dakota. John spends most of his time tipping over sleeping cattle and ice fishing. During his free time John is president of the largest bank in North Dakota and has contributed an enormous amount of energy to bettering his community and state with maybe a run at the governorship in the not too distant future.

Lastly, a serious plea from Father Wazoo for you '79 parents. Make sure that your kids wear helmets when they ride their bikes! My eight-year-old got hit by a car, broke his leg in four places, and cracked his bike helmet in five places. Fortunately, it wasn't his skull. He's fine and the helmet probably helped him escape real serious injury. (Pudley, did you ever get into a bike accident when you were a kid?) Adios.

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George Stone is contemplating giving up ownership of the largest insurance agency in Illinois to play harmonica in a blues band. JIM WASZ'79