Letters

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "Parks wrote so engagingly of his seven-day experience that a great many readers will regret they never made the rrip—even five years after graduating. Do it next year, guys." DAVID TYSEN NUTT '44

Strip to the Sea

THE ARTICLE By Brad Parks '96 ["Different Strokes," May/June] was a hoot. In our days in Hanover (or in Boston for Harvard Weekend) we risked getting arrested for some really dumb things, never for anything as harmless and exciting as paddling naked through Hartford! Parks wrote so engagingly of his seven-day experience that a great many readers will regret they never made the trip—even five years after graduating. Do it next year, guys.

In the summer of 1942 some of us made a canoe trip to an island downstream on the Connecticut, cooked hot dogs and camped out. Memorable, but pretty tame, cause I don't think that island is more than a mile from Ledyard dock.

Most of our class first heard of the Trip to the Sea from a rugged outdoorsman, Fritz Hier, the legendary long-time secretary of the class of 1944. Fritz made the trip more than once, but I don't remember his telling anything about paddling a quarter mile through Hartford in the buff.

Monroe Township, New Jersey dtn99@aol.com

IN MY DENIORYEAR, 1985,I WENT ON Trip to the Sea, and it was definitely a highlight of my Dartmouth experience. I wondered if the tradition of "Strip to the Sea" might have begun with our group. When several of our canoes were passing below either the Middletown or Hartford, Connecticut, bridges (I can't remember which), we realized that we were an all-female group—the male paddlers were out of sight. We spontaneously decided to paddle topless below the city bridges. After a while, some of the males in the group came back into view, and we all put our tops back on.

We enjoyed the experience so much that we had a topless paddling reunion during Senior Week. Of course, by then the male Trip to the Sea-ers had heard about our escapades and were keeping a sharp lookout for any suspicious gatherings. We were able to outsmart them, but several of us were caught by a professor rowing on the river. I'd be interested in hearing if anyprior Trip to the Sea groups flashed the Connecticut drivers.

Brattleboro, Vermont

THE OLD FARTS OF THE PRE-1972 classes often wonder what it must be like to go to college with beautiful women. After reading Brad Parks 's account of Trip to the Sea, now we know. We had more fun making that same trip in 1936 as womenless, virgin men. Todays equal opportunity for nakedness seems to trivialize the enchantment of sex.

Vero Beach, Floridaharoldputnam@cs.com

DAM Bogeys

THANK YOU FOR THE ARTICLE ON GOLF coach Bill Johnson ["The Tao of Cha," May/June]. Out of respect for two of the individuals named, I believe some statements should be corrected. Mark Trauner '83, who died of brain cancer, was not a "jayvee player" as the piece stated. He was the No. 1 player on the varsity team all four years, a two-time All-America and was undoubtedly Dartmouths best post-College golfer. Jeff Julian, who was taught by Bill Johnson, was not "close to qualifying for the PGA Tour when he was diagnosed not long ago with Lou Gehrig's disease." Jeff was a card-carrying member of the PGA Tour at that time lastyear, as he had been in 1996.

Thank you for setting the record straight.

Longmeadow, Massachusettsjmhenley@attbi.com

The Article By Robert sullivan '75 on Bill Johnson was great, but what really struck home for me were the comments about Coach K.

All of us who had the great fortune of playing for John Kenfield feel the same way about him. No finer gentleman exists. He genuinely cared about his charges. He cared both about your game and, more importantly he cared about your character. And he broached both subjects in an easily digestible, non-preachy manner. Not an easy thing to do. I think Sullivan captured his essence perfectly when he said that Coach K would "bench a player for only one thing: calling em wrong."

Nicely done! It was wonderful to see Coach treated so graciously.

Chicago, Illinois

Hey, Dude

IN HIS SEARCH FOR THE BEST home-style breakfasts, how can Diner Dude ["Dining with the Dude," May/June] ignore the two legendary greasy spoons that have sustained generations of Dartmouth students on mornings after? The Four Aces in West Leb and the Polka Dot in White River Junction belong on the National Register of Historic Places.

New York, New York zuck316@aol.com

Vive le Difference

THE SECOND HALF OF THE LETTER by Daniel Rodgers '83 ["Letters," May/June] goes beyond criticism of ideas, which is healthy, to a personal attack on Regina Barreca '79. I hope the DAM will continue to publish Regina Barreca from time to time. I find her a talented and amusing writer who looks at Dartmouth on the basis of a different experience than I or Mr. Rodgers had, but who is worth listening to.

Lakeville, Connecticut nicolino@discovernet.net

Offensive Defense

PROFESSOR STAM IS CORRECT ["False Sense of Security," May/June]. Bush's missile defense plan, a.k.a. Star Wars 2, will not work. We need to ponder how such an intelligent nation can create such stupid, irrational policy. The reason for this bad ideas perpetual resurrection is big bucks, of course. The military-industrial complex and the current administrations warhorses see this as the golden honey pot for their defense industry buddies. Every congressional district is salted with defense contracts (read "jobs"), and highly paid lobbyists grease the rails for this gravy train. Systematic corruption (money in politics, revolvingdoor industry regulators) and systemic inertia (seniority system and traditional politics) have created this monster.

We have already blown a half trillion dollars on this boondoggle and will surely blow another trillion or so unless a true disaster derails this line of thinking. September 11 was apparently insufficient to provoke a seizure of rationality for policy planners. How about using the money instead to buy up nuclear weapons and materials and neutralize them? Should we wait until the Russian mafia starts offering suitcase nukes on e-Bay?

Panton, Vermontmhermann@wcvt.com

Justice for All

I WAS PLEASED TO SEE THAT THE College has named the winners of the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Awards for 2002 ["Give a Rouse," May/June]. I was disappointed, however, that the announcement occupied only a small box. Surely these social justice awards merit more serious treatment by the DAM. What's the point, really, of recognizing acheivements like these if you don't describe them in some detail so that readers can have some understanding of why the awards were made and why these alumni chose career paths so different from those of most of their classmates?

East Calais, Vermontwroberts@sover.net

Please see the July/August 2001 issue of DAM for our story on social justice award-winner BethRobinson '86. The Editors

Big Skates to Fill

MY HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS to Jim Shea, grandson of Jack Shea '34 ["Newsmakers," Mar/Apr], for his goldmedal accomplishment at the Winter Olympics. Here is an anecdote to add to the Shea legend: Jack Shea and I were in the same class of 1934 and were both on the championship intercollegiate winter sports team of that era. Jack was the star with his two Oympic golds in long-distance skating. I was a snowshoer on the 12-man team. Shortly after Jack's Olympic triumphs at Lake Placid, the intercollegiates were also held there. Jack lent me his skates so I could get a vicarious thrill from skating around the Olympic rink at Lake Placid in his very own skates! In spite of his spectacular success, Shea remained a modest good guy.

Westport, Massachusetts

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