1969

In the past 12 months I believe several of you have turned 60. I know how it felt to me and I would like to hear from those of you who also experienced this milestone what it meant to you. Drop me a line about the joy or reticence with which you celebrated your day. I'll share your thoughts in a future column or, if enough of you respond, I will dump it on our newsletter editor Allen Denison for a more extensive review.

Despite our continued aging, some of us are still accomplishing things. The Cook County board of commissioners recently appointed Bill Coulson to the Regional Transportation Authority board of directors.The RTA is the planning and financial oversight body for the public transit operations in the Chicago area. After graduation Bill attended the University of Illinois College of Law and has been practicing in Chicago since. As he said in The Book," after all the road-tripping while in Hanover he finally "met the Wellesley girl of my dreams in Chicago." Beth is not only his wife, but a state representative from the 17th district. Bill is the past president of the local Federal Bar Association, a former assistant U.S. attorney and currently practices commercial and entertainment law at Gold and Coulson.

Helpful new sfinder Bruce Hamilton forwarded some photos of John Briganti and his wife, Bobbi at a recent Moody Blues concert and suggested I contact John to hear his interesting story. My conversation with John revealed a fascinating journey since his days in Hanover. He was in the Peace Corps following graduation but continued to feel the lack of direction and discontent he had experienced as an undergraduate. John traveled to India, where he encountered Westerners who attributed their happiness and life satisfaction to transcendental meditation, a concept he found interesting and which he pursued upon his return to the States. After embracing what he calls "not a religion, but a mental technique," John attended Maharishi International University where he received his M.B.A. The years since have been spent teaching and administration at the university level in India as well as this country, all within the transcendental meditation organization. His wife, Bobbi, worked in the administration of Maharishi University and both now live in California, where John is involved with a program to implement transcendental meditation in public schools to enhance young students' performance by reducing stress. John attended our 25th reunion at the encouragement of Jay Glaser and enjoyed the experience of reconnecting with classmates. We hope he will join us for the 40th and share more of his life's discoveries with everyone there.

Again from the sharp eye of Paul Tuhus comes a noteworthy article about the imminent sale of the Polka Dot Restaurant.The Dot's owner, Mary, who cooked breakfast for us and many others the past 53 years, is standing down at the age of 70. Who knew she was that close to our age in '67?

Please write Allen Denison and me and keep in touch with each other.

P.O. Box 1447, Anacortes, WA 98221;(360) 588-8852; wheat69@earthlink.net