1994

Well, it's finally happened. I was so desperate for news I had to make my own. Andrew and I are pleased to announce the birth of our second son, Peter Alexander Hyman, on December 9. Everyone is doing well but life has gotten quite a bit more hectic so please excuse a column that is short on editorializing.

I heard from Lexie (Riley) Bonitatibus, who, along with husband Peter, welcomed daughter Lira Atalanta on September23. "We named her Lira, which means 'ltalian money,' which is fitting because my husband is Italian and I work in finance. There is also a Dartmouth connection to her middle name. Atalanta was my favorite character from our sophomore summer Greek mythology class."

And speaking of all things Italian...l am very happy to deliver the long-advertised Rebecca Obstler news! As I'm exhausted and I've been promising this update for two columns now, I'll let her do the talking from here. Ciao, tutti!

"I'm sitting home today waiting for delivery of everything from Rome. My clothes have come first. I guess the easiest way to report is to confine my news to the past five years. I've just moved to Washington, D.C., for work reasons after having lived in Rome for almost five years for wanderlust reasons, but eventually for work reasons. So I'm a tourist in my own country—and in a new city, no less. Italy taught me, at the very least, patience—and fatalism.

"I got to see some '94s over the years in Europe; visitors to Rome included Kathy Starzyk, Jess Andre, Mary Hayes, Shannon Sullivan and Ed Macri. Kathy and Ed both live and work in or near Boston, Jess is in the Bay Area (she visited while sailing around the world doing curriculum development for a New York City school) and Mary's teaching down at Ole Miss. Mary, who stopped in after a conference in Scotland, was in town when Italy won the World Cup—that was a moment. On that subject, Greg Johnson was in Cologne for some of the action. Greg lives with his wife and kids in Texas, where he is a hospitalist.

"It was great being a few hours' flight from some of my pals in Europe. A few years ago I visited Becca Eldredge in Cambridge, England. Last year I flew up to Shannon Sullivan's wedding in York, England—amazing to be able to celebrate with her and to see her warm parents and aunts, who laughed about us as undergrads. Shannon and husband Jo, who live in London, had baby Toby this year. Photo evidence shows he is a wee rock star.

"I obviously jumped (at the chance) on a plane to see Sandra Lee and her burgeoning family, including beautiful baby Valentino, in St. Gallen, Switzerland, last fall. They live in Hong Kong.

"Of course, though it wasn't always so easy to work out visits around the United States, I was thrilled to see Jess Andre and also Brad Hise in San Francisco last summer.They're both doing great. And in March of this year I had some q.t.with Kate Novack in New York during a fantastic blizzard. We were roommates through a lot of college, so that always feels like home.

"Finally, I can report a little news I've gotten through correspondence. Erica (Pantages) Frost and her husband are happily settled in North Carolina, where Erica edits science textbooks. Josh Heikkila, who spent some time volunteering in Africa, has settled in the Twin Cities after having spent lots of years in Chicago. And so, I think I'm tapped."

Me too. Grazie mille, Rebecca!

26 Irving Ave., Tarrytown, NY10591; suzanne.Jromer@alum.dartmouth.org