1981

I'd been casting about for info for this column and the deadline was approaching. Then I checked my e-mail and my heart sank to see "1981" on the list of Dartmouth obituary notices. I'm sorry to report that Stan Smith died suddenly in March. The need to report a classmate's death in two consecutive columns this year is pretty sobering. However, as class president and Webmaster Greg Clow points out, the end of Stan's 25 th reunion book essay contains some words of wisdom worth sharing. Stan wrote, "What will the next 25 years bring? I don't know. I've learned to be grateful for each day and to make the best of it. I know I'll be able to look back with a good measure of satisfaction from having helped raise two kids and created a tangible body of work. (And now I've seen the Red Sox win it all!) I can look back at my Dartmouth days with nostalgic delight. I'll always be grateful to you, my classmates, who were a vital part of it all.Apartingword of advice, free and worth every penny: It's never too late to take up your dreams and your passion. There is still time, so go after it! And—I know this can sound trite, but it really isn't— remember to enjoy the journey." Great advice for us all to "seize the day" while we can. Our condolences go out to Stan's wife, Julie, and children Jennifer and Benjamin.

Following her dreams to the far corners of the earth is Pam Hedstrom. For the past eight months she's been in Kampala, Uganda (following similar positions in Romania and Armenia), as the resident advisor on a mortgage project. Pam writes, "It has been a very challenging experience. Ugandans are very nice and friendly people but getting things done can be really difficult. I have a little house in the UN village and two black labs, Max and Jackie, who are good company but they are a little spoiled." Pam goes on to tell about business trips to Johannesburg and Tbilisi, Georgia, to teach a securitization workshop. Must be interesting teaching about mortgage markets these days. Pam was hoping to catch up with old friends in the United States during an extended trip here in April.

Chris Meledandri can watch the fulfillment of his creative dreams on the big screen. He served as executive producer of Norton Hears a Who, the recent movie adaptation of the book by Dr. Seuss, a.k.a. Theodor Geisel '25. After spending 13 years at 20th Century Fox, including a stint as president of 20th Century Fox Animation, Chris is currently president and CEO of Illumination Entertainment. While at Fox Chris also produced the two Ice Age movies and Robots and supervised production of The Simpsons Movie.

Loren Weeks Langan is clearly "enjoying the journey" in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. I caught up with her soon after she'd successfully created the costumes for the middle school play, The Secret Garden, in which two of her children, Jeffrey (eighth grade) and Lily (sixth grade) performed. Oldest son Frank is at Pomona College, while youngest Glennon is in second grade. When not chauffeuring kids to music, Scouts and sporting events, Loren has actually found time to take up piano! Loren claims to miss her role as professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas (where husband Terry is associate dean of the college of arts and sciences) and the professional identity it confers, but it's evident that she's got her priorities in order.

Let's remember the words of Swiss writer Henri Frederic Amiel: "Life is short...be swift to love. Make haste to be kind."

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