1988

When I first began writing the Notes, a couple of years ago, the hardest part of the job was deciding what information to cull out of the submissions of our classmates. I would receive long e-mails almost daily with news of weddings, children, promotions and the less common endeavors we've undertaken such as vision quests and Web-based art. But, alas, that deluge is no more. And so I've resorted to the desperate tactics of telemarketers, calling on old Friends and acquaintances to hit them up for news that's fit to print, as it were.

My victim this month was RichLombard, who suffered with me through a rainy freshman trip across the peaks of Franconia Notch and who remained a good friend for years thereafter; as is too often the case, though, Rich and I had fallen out of touch. Ah, the joys of owning a copy of the Blunt master class address list!

Upon leaving Dartmouth, Rich went to New York City, and began work as a writer for the Metropolitan Museum, where he met his soon-to-be-wife, Nathalie. He left the museum to attend business school at Columbia, and then joined the American Foundation for AIDS Research.

Early in 1999, Rich went to work for Sothebys.com, the on-line side of the famed 255-year-old auction house. Sothebys.com is one of the few ".com" startups with more than two centuries of history behind it. The range of items Rich works with is immense—Sothebys recently sold a pair of Ty Cobb's dentures in a live auction, and the Web site is now auctioning one of the 25 known copies of the Declaration of Independence. If you go to the Web site to check it out (assuming it is still listed when these Notes go to press), you will admire not only Thomas Jefferson's text in the Declaration itself, but also the handiwork of a certain Mr. Lombard, who edited the Web site's text describing the sale.

Rich and Nathalie live in Brooklyn in a 19th-century townhouse with their son Tristan, who is almost 3, and 6-week-old daughter Charlotte. That wraps up my spotlight coverage of the Lombard family—watch this space for more news, or, better yet, send me something about yourself or our classmates!

250 Andover St., Andover MA 01810; (978) 749-3117 (h); freidberg@mediaone.net