1970

Well, the 30th reunion has passed into history by the time you read this column, but you can relive it in small part by going to the URL www.zing.com/album/7id= 4294185439&code=158799&mode=invite. But who are all those old guys?

I have received an update on the continuing mission of our own Dr. John Chittick, who has completed 16 months of his one-man Global Walk for AIDS education. He is on his way to attend the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa, after walking the urban streets and rural byways of more than 25 countries to train teens to help save their friends from HIV. Here's a further report from his colleagues:

"To date, a record-setting 39,000 youth have been trained by Dr. Chittick and he is aiming for 50,000 volunteer teachers before his walk ends in November 2000. He states: 'This is a new model for AIDS prevention that is highly effective with teens. It's easy to replicate at the local level, its persuasive in affecting behavioral changes—and best of all, it's a fraction of the cost of traditional, top-down programs that have not worked well.' "

Dr. John (as he is known to teens) calls his grassroots outreach, AIDS Attacks, and his teen assistants, Peer Corps. Youth volunteers are first given the medical facts, then empowered to tell their best friends—"lf you love them," he says. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, commenting on Dr. Chittick's humanitarian work, said, "Your commitment to AIDS education and teen counseling seems unsurpassed. Those young men and women you educate will then be able to spread the word further—a multiplicative effect with enormous potential. I look forward to your arrival at the World AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa."

Dr. Chittick is bringing his research findings to the AIDS Conference in hope of being given a time to orally present his information to delegates, especially those from communities with limited resources. Quite an odyssey.

I'm sorry to have to pass on the word of the death of Robert Scheff in St. Louis. Bob spent his career as a doctor of internal medicine and gastroenterology and is survived by his wife, Candy, and his children Robert Jr. and Amy. Our best wishes to them.

209 Ridgeway Road, Weston,MA 02493; davidgraves@mediaone.net