1985
Upon reading this, the majority of our classmates has already turned 50 and likely chose different ways to commemorate the special milestone. Jim Sapienza celebrated his 50th in Alaska to complete visits to all 50 states. Interestingly, it also marked the 50th straight time he has beaten me in Words with Friends. My wife, Cindy Bergman, danced for 50 straight songs at her surprise 50th party, not as part of any formal dance-a-thon, but more as her common social practice when we’re out with friends. I was down in the British Virgin Islands enjoying a great family vacation on my 50th and probably should have been using Coppertone SPF 50 instead of consuming 50 rum punches. Oh well!
Several groups have taken trips celebrating the half-century mark. I know Susannah (Gaylord) Budington, Beth (Gilman) Hobbs, Amy (Durno) Harned, Gayle Gilman, Jill Morgan, Lauren (Sonstrom) Rosen, Sue Finegan, JoAnn (Shannon) Davey, Jenny Page, Kathy “Babs” Jeavons, carole (Crelin) Frasseneli and Cindy Bergman are headed to N’awlins. If the amount of fun approximates the number of e-mails exchanged planning this boondoggle, it should be fantastic. Russ Mitchell, Mikey Lehman, Dave Story, Jim Newman, Chris Mulligan, Tom McDonald, Phil Yazbak, Peter Harned, Frank Cerveny and John Kulseth went Cat skiing in February. The trip was noteworthy despite the fact this group skis together every year. This same group plus Barry Bass, Jack Sylvia and yours truly—along with spouses Pam Lower Bass, Eileen (Lynch) Sylvia ’83, Kathy (Bowler) Mitchell ’83, Sarah (Sherwood) Mulligan ’86 and, you guessed it, Cindy Bergman—are planning a warm weather outing in November. I promise there will be no video or audio postings of this trip. Boating, check; dancing, check; beverages, check; Facebook/Instagram, no.
Some of us also found time to work. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts announced that Sue Finegan was one of their recipients of the 2013 Leila J. Robinson Award, an award designed to recognize women who have captured the spirit of pioneering in the legal profession and have made a difference in their community. The writeup for Sue detailing her accomplishments was longer than all my columns combined, so let me be succinct and say, “Congrats, Sue.”
This summer also featured several reconnections. Derek Chow ’84 and Jan Gordon ’84 (note example of class secretary fellowship) visited Philly with son Miles (their daughters were at camp) for soccer camp and college visits. Living in Boulder, Colorado, Derek is senior vice president and head of business development at ING Investments (based in N.Y.C.), while Jan does editorial film consulting and sits on the selection committee for the Boulder International Film Festival. Derek also shared news about his sister and our classmate Cheryl Chow, who lives with husband John and daughter Madelyn in Scotts dale, Arizona, where she is involved in teaching and community activities. I also saw Joe Kilroy ’86, who shared some great stories of his Dartmouth basketball career, including the time when the Big Green beat No. 1 UNC and Joe poured in 26 points on Michael Jordan (also 50 this year). Okay, maybe some of Joe’s recall was a bit cloudy, but Joe does have a picture in his basement of him guarding His Airness.
If you’ve read this far, two things may have struck you. Trips with friends are more fun than work and Cindy Bergman had a lot of fun traveling this year.
Happy belated 50th to my co-secretary, Leslie Davis Dahl!
118 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; slampong@aol.com; 83 Pecksland Road, Greenwich, CT 06831; (203) 552-0070; dahlleslie@yahoo.com
