1979

Ah yes, spring is springing, and the birds are on the sing. The air is filled with whistlingwings, and this is one of the many reasons for which I live...

Life is beautiful, don't you know??? Succumbed to the gravity of The New YorkTimes recently and it's been grand. Comes to my doorstop 'bout 2 a.m., giving me a great jump on the day. Whatever I was doing with the business section I do not know. Couldn't help but notice Dawn Hudson Beach dominating the lower right corner back in January, on a Sunday no less! I said to myself, "Is that really you, Dawn?" And yes, it was. Memories of freshman year came flooding back. Rooming with Thayer. Feeling glad all over. Fourth floor New Hamp. Those were the days...Dawn is the new chief of marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America. Market share is dwindling. Need a new slogan. "Be young, well hung, drink Pepsi!!!" Congratulations, Dawn!!!

Best thing I've come across in a long time was a glossy black and white, handsome, mustachioed man smiling back from within. Pete "Abdul Jabbar" Roby is assuming responsibility for consumer marketing for Reebok North America. Sounds rather responsible. But I'm still waiting for my cross trainers, 101/2 EEE. Forgot about all of Robe's coaching exploits. What a guy, our Pete. But still, Harvard for six seasons??? Guess I can get over it. Specially with your picture keeping me company now. Great to hear from you, Pete! North America will never be the same.

Rick "Cowboy" Swanson also blessed me with his handsome visage. Quite handsome. Cowboy looks to have almost as much hair as me still. Which, by the way, is more than I can say for Pete. Cowboy was the feature of an article regarding the Arizona state legislature election back in October. Trust he is well ensconced by now. Only Cowboy. Rick has managed to keep his colorful handle. Cracked me up that he could run with it. I loved his thoughts on the Arizona Teacher's Corps. Where can I sign up??? I'd rather peruse your children's bookstore though, Cowboy. Sounds cool. Where the wild things are...You are the man, Cowboy. Say hey to the great Scantini for us.

Michael "Belly" Kelley checked in from his Formosan shangri-la: "Just a quick note to let you know I have changed jobs. Now work for a firm called United Resources leading a new recruitment, training, and HR management consulting practice. The firm's roots are in emigration consulting, as well as several other businesses, but I was brought in to leverage their existing businesses in conjunction with the headhunting. Should be fun. The owner is an old friend I've known for ten years here in Taiwan. Lastly, I also run our unofficial Dartmouth Club of Taiwan, such as it is. It does include another '79, however, Peter Kurz, who heads research for Merrill Lynch Taiwan and is considered THE market guru here. Just for fun, I run two Softball teams, the ICRT Megahurts and the Taiwan Headhunters. ICRT stands for International Community Radio Taiwan and is our main sponsor, along with Miller Beer, local bar the Pig & Whisde, and sports equipment distributor Pro Star Sports. We just swept both the league (best record) and post-season tournament tides in the local Taipei Men's Softball League (TMSL) for the fall '9B season, our third sweep in the last four seasons and our eighth tournament title in the last 18 seasons, since 1990 (two seasons per year). We also set records for most tequila consumed (some things never change). The Headhunters travel to international tournaments around Asia and have had a couple of second-place and several third-place finishes, but no championships yet. We head off to Manila on the 26th of February for the sixth annual Pangaea Tournament. Should be fun. There will 24 teams from as far away as Saudi Arabia, though most are from Asia (Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as the Philippines, of course). We were the runners-up last year, so we're hoping for our first title this year, but it won't be easy. Anyway, things are going well, am excited about the new job and looking forward to 1999. I have plenty of room for visitors, if any are so brave as to venture to the Far East. I have to warn you, though, they might never want to go back! Substantially coed yours...Belly."

Man, I gotta go. WAY over the limit. Keep up the good fight, everybody. Should be fun.

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