1985

Sometimes dreams really do come true. Since I was a teenager, I have planned my gourmet kitchen. Some two decades later, that dream is about to become reality as we finish building our new (and, I hope, final!) house. For those of you who have gone through the building process, I accept your sympathy. Please note my new address below.

We have some wonderful contributions from classmates this month. First comes Sue SpencerReckford, my incredibly talented AXO sorority sister. Sue reports that she divides her busy schedule as a mother-cook-chauffeur-costume seamstress for her talented children—Molly (10), Samantha (12) and Spencer (13)—and helping out hubby Sam with his volunteer activities. Sue's family has been traveling to lots of interesting places, including the Olympics in Salt Lake City and Switzerland to hike in the Alps with Spencer's Boy Scout troop (and I thought my daughter's Brownie trip to the local theatre was exciting!). An incredible talent in her own right, Sue uses her "free time" producing beautiful handmade coats and jackets for display in galleries and wearable art shows. I wish I could include pictures—her designs are truly exquisite.

Lisa Eisenberg Merrill and hubby John Locke Merrill (Princeton B.S.S. Johns Hopkins M.B.A.) are living an adventure that most of us could only imagine. John and Lisa Merrill are world travelers and photographers—the photos displayed on their Web site are full of vibrant color, activity and humanity. Of their work, the Merrills write: "Meeting and photographing people are our passions. In a world that's become increasingly homogenized through commerce, travel and cyberspace, we search for the unique in a place and culture. Markets, festivals and villages where traditional lifestyles thrive are favorite stomping grounds." Once again, I wish I could include pictures in this column, but you'll just have to visit their Web site (www.johnandlisamerrill.com) to get an idea of their talent and vision.

Finally, I received a very welcome and courageous e-mail from James Laughlin, who definitely has chosen the road less taken since graduation. James is a Catholic priest with the archdiocese in Boston—not exactly the easiest place to be given the current controversy. He obtained his master of divinity degree in 1991 and spent seven years in parish ministry in the Boston area. He then interned in Bostons tribunal, the church's internal court, and in 1999 earned his licentiate degree in canon (ecclesiastical) law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Priest canonists like James will be forming the panels of judges who will judge other priests accused of "unspeakable" (James' words) crimes against children. James writes: "Certainly becoming a priest for me, and for the overwhelming majority of others, had nothing to do with a desire to have a ready pool of victims for deviant sexual behavior. However, the great scrutiny that the Catholic church in general and the priesthood in particular, are under has forced me to reexamine my beliefs and convictions. Why, among all other options, did I choose to pursue priesthood in the first place? And more importantly, what compels me to remain a priest despite my own anger, sadness and disappointment?" He has written an article that should be available on our class Web site—I encourage everyone to read it.

As I write this, the United States is on the verge of war with Iraq. I hope by the time you read my musings, the fighting will have been avoided or completed. If any of you are members of the military or have family members who are, my prayers are with you.

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