1963

At Dartmouth, a couple of us had a standing joke about a title on our independent reading list. The book title, I think, was What is Life and Other Essays. Maybe you remember the book. "What is life?" we would ask during deep discussion. After a pause, we would add with a laugh, "and other essays."

I remembered die joke when I started to contemplate my 60th birthday and the life-searching questions it would open up. I wondered would I simply avoid this momentous time in my life and settle for the "other essays," or would I meet the reality head-on with the enthusiasm and celebration it undoubtedly merits. Well, Marty Bowne, Bob Bysshe and our class 60th birthday committee have helped to solve that problem by designing a spectacular Mississippi River birthday cruise with the classmates and friends we've known for decades.

We all should have received information about the birthday party, which will take place between August 28 and August 31 on the AmericanQueen paddlewheeler. While March 15 was posted as deadline to qualify our class for heavy group discounts, there may still be time to register for this beautiful trip along one of Americas great rivers. Contact our agent Al Jackson at Park Travel Agency, 2119 Park Ave., South Plainfield, NJ 07080; (908) 756-3800; or Marty Bowne, 240 Lurgan Road, New Hope, PA 18948; (215) 448- 5499 (w); (215) 598-2943 (h); martin.bowne @ey.com. The American Queen resembles the boat depicted in Ken Burns's Jazz, on which Louis Armstrong perfected his style.

While on the subject of reunions, mark off October 19-21 to be in Hanover for more class festivities during the Columbia Homecoming. A week later, Dave Schaefer will park his van in the lot behind Harvard Business School on October 27 for '63's patented Harvard game mini.

Delicious restaurant meals, a performance by '6os pop singer Smoky Robinson, a golf tournament and an nth-hour back treatment by a former Russian Olympic trainer highlighted a weekend mini in Palm Beach, Florida. The trainer, a friend of Steve and Diana Lewinstein, fixed the ailing backs of John and Tatiana Kubacki, enabling them to enjoy cocktails at the Lewinsteins, along with Bob and Beth Bysshe, Bob and Joyce Humboldt, Langdon and Carol Scott, Norris and Willie Siert, Art and Sandra Williams, Ed and Mary Worth, Bill Wellstead and Ken Kvistad.

Dick Friedman, Boston-based developer whose credits include the Charles Hotel complex in Cambridge, the Logan Airport Hilton, Hyatt Regency hotels in Cambridge and Princeton and the St. Regis Hotel and Condominium Tower in San Francisco, was appointed by then-President Clinton to chair the National Capital Planning Commission.

I regret to report the deaths of Carl Maves, who as a freshman led Dartmouth to victory in the Sunday TV quiz show GE College Bowl; and Tom Wells, an inner-city architect. Details will follow in the obituary section.

60 Madison Ave., Suite 910, NewYork, NY 10010; harry@zlokowerpr.com