1988

Ahh, what a wonderful thing the Internet can be! My random e-mailing for news" scored responses from a couple of our classmates traveling or living abroad. In a two-part note Dana Beard took a few moments to catch us up on her travels: "Writing this e-mail (expertly using French keyboard now) from Ajaccio, Corsica. This is where Napoleon Bonaparte was born. I have just finished cycling nearly 1,000 kilometers through Rhone, Vaucluse, Luberon, Provence and Corsica. Corsica is unbelievably beautiful and ask my buns and legs how mountainous! I do these trips with my brother from time to time, a way to keep us close."

Catherine Rainey then joined Dana for 10 days: "Catherine and I went to remote island of Ml jet in Croatia. We went to Sunday mass at a 12th-century Benedictine monastery on its own island and noticed a great to-do being made about an elderly man in front row. Most of the mass was in German, so we thought it was interesting that we were in Croatia hearing a priest speaking German. After the mass our Croatian hosts told us that we had been among royalty, with none other than Otto von Hapsburg, heir to the Austrian-Hungary throne. Best part was Catherine's high school history factoid—that the Hapsburgs had small chins. We spent the entire lunch and afternoon (seated next to the Hapsburgs) reducing the major historical event of the assassination of this man's grandfather in Sarajevo (that marked the onset of WWI) to the evaluation of his chin size. Tsk tsk!

Career-wise, I got out of the rat race and am working at a French-Chinese K-8 immersion school in Palo Alto. I teach and run the middle school, speaking French and Mandarin daily.The pay's not good, but I am very happy with my new vocation. I feel good about my contributions on a daily basis and it does feel good to have so many kids (and parents) love me! (Smile.)"

A quick note from Venus (Christiansen) Borden gives us an idea of what she has been up to: "I can't decide whether time has flown or has slowly walked minute by minute through out lives. After almost eight wonderful years in London in leafy Hampstead, we are moving to Tribeca (N.Y.C.) with our three boys, Brooks (11), Mason (9) and Sebastian (5). The boys are finally excited about the move, given that London has been their life so far." She also mentions having attended one of Barbara Rita Jennys art exhibits and having seen Cynthia Marshall.

Like Dana (and many other '88s), F.H. Ogden Morse III has recently joined the teaching ranks: "I've just completed my first year of full-time teaching English at Falmouth High School here in Maine. The teaching thing is actually in addition to, not replacing, what I've been doing for the past 10 years: developing educational software. Way Interactive, my second such company, launched its first product last September. Literary Companion (www.literarycompanion.com) won the 2005 CODIE Award in the "education newcomer" category in May, so we are off to a good start. Last August, though, the chair of the English department at FHS called me to say that one of his teachers was taking a leave of absence, so he wanted me to apply for the position. After some cajoling I agreed, and eventually got the position. In March said teacher decided not to come back, and I decided to pursue teaching full-time.

"So my perspective on teaching and education in general is somewhat unique, and I find myself incredibly intrigued by the process of exploring the ways that schools, whether through embracing technology or other practices, can improve learning and teaching."

18920 Viking Way NW, Poulsbo,WA 98370; (360) 598-5308; tcslack@earthlink.net