1998

Blitzes from journalists and teachers dominate my in-box. Teacher Brent Laffoon writes from Africa where he's "having a blast and loving the wild life" or is that wildlife? Anyhow, Brent is in Mozambique instructing English in the Peace Corps for the next two years. All those who want to send him mail can write him at Corpo da Paz, C.P. 783, Maputo, Mozambique. I'm guessing you can also blitz him at , since that's how he got in touch with me. Also sending along her address and an update is the indomitable Meg Blakey, who currently lives in the French industrial port town of St. Nazaire. She writes that her year "certainly hasn't been for me a Year in Provence with constant sunshine, bike rides in lavender fields, and two-hour siestas after gourmet lunches of never-ending vin at fromage. Instead, I am finding that teaching English to 246 elementary- and middle-school French students is not all fun and games, although those are two of the words I used to describe to them how I was going to teach them our language! I have consequently developed an amazing appreciation of all teachers; I never imagined it to be so exhausting!" Meg adds that Mona Gupta is flying over to visit her in April and the two women will head to Florence, Italy, to visit Diana Bullen, TA to the art history FSP this spring. Meg can be reached at , or visitors can surprise her at 31 Rue des Caboteurs, 44600 St. Nazaire, France.

Also in the teaching ranks is UnaiMontes-Irueste, who teaches second-graders at the Washington Accelerated School through Teach for America in Pasadena, Calif. In his spare time Unai leads a weekly tutoring group for at-risk teenagers in the seventh to 12th grades. Our man in Boston, Josh Freeman, who always has an update on someone, passed along that Dan Goren is working at ABC News in New York City. Sure enough, Dan's name is listed in our global company directory, and an e-mail from me elicited that he is "currently working for the John Stossel unit at ABC News. We produce hour-long news specials and also generate 20/20 pieces." Dan started working there three days after graduation and has had his name appear in the credits several times. Jeff Beyer, starting his second semester at Cornell Law with classmate Adam Siegel, informed me that Charles Davant just started working at a state news service here in Washington, D.C. Charles covers Congress for the States News Service and has had a number of stories published in the Denver Post as well as a piece in the Boston Globe business section. He lives close to the D.C. bar scene in Adams-Morgan with Mark Shahinian. Class of '98s down South might have recognized ChrisSwift's name on the editorial page of the December 15, 1998, issue of the AtlantaConstitution. His editorial on the Jonathan Pollard case, "Spy's Release Would Add Insult to Injury," argued that Clinton's pardoning Pollard would damage American power and foreign policy. And finally, Micheal Posey reminded me to congratulate Blanca N. Vera, who married her long-time boyfriend, James Wheeler, on November 28, 1998. They now reside in Gibsonburg, Ohio, and both are self-employed!

Send me your news, your rumors, your wedding announcements, and details on your latest exploits. Also, register for alumni Blitz Mail. Instructions can be found at

8016 Tyson Oaks Circle, Vienna, VA 22182; (703) 556-0290; or