1980

It’s hard to believe but exactly 40 years have passed since each of us received the fat envelope from Hanover. In April of 1976 a rejection was delivered on a single sheet of college letterhead stuffed inside an envelope so thin it might as well have been empty. An acceptance envelope was fat with scripted congratulations, forms and instructions on how to seal the deal. You knew your fate simply by looking at the thickness of the envelope! If we wanted to telegraph our admissions decisions the same way today, we could send each applicant a login username to use on decision day that included the word “Yes” or the word “No.”

The fat envelope brought me and five others from my high school to Dartmouth: Earl Grossman, Keith Pickholz, Lauri Livesey Sanduski, Bob Berlinger and Robert Roselli. We have a connection that will always tie us together. See if you can figure out the thread that ties the following eight classmates together: Chris Sawch, Crystal Morgan Phillips, Hayden Kepner, Jay Harter, Laura Giuliano, Susan Sawyer LeBlanc, Susan Ball and Corbey Low Hyman. What do they have in common? Here’s a hint: it’s something they have always shared and can’t change. The first two readers to guess correctly will win gift certificates—so don’t be shy!

Is anyone else getting tired of the rat race? Maja Wessels recently shared some news that may inspire some soul searching. Next month Maja will be retiring from her executive role at Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar, an energy technology company. She and husband Charles will celebrate with a cross-country cycling trip from Washington State to Maine that will double as a fundraiser for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, where Maja acts as a board member. After that it’s a month in Italy, time with friends, enjoying the outdoors and increasing their contributions to various nongovernmental boards they serve. They will do the things they love in the beautiful Valley of the Sun.

Now let’s play “Two Truths and a Lie!” Many of us have experienced a brush with greatness. See if you can determine which of the following three stories is the fake one. First, John Riggins and Joe Gibbs did not do it alone. When the Washington Redskins won their first-ever Super Bowl in 1983, Mark Alperin had just completed his first year as a business manager with the ’Skins.

Second, Lamar Hunt did not do it alone. When current Major League Soccer team FC Dallas won its first (and only) championship in 1997 as the Dallas Burn, Paul Mott had just completed his first year as head of operations for the Burn.

Third, “Wild as the Wind” did not do it alone. When the Freeman family won its first Best in Show Award at the Westminster Kennel Club in 1989 for its champion Doberman pinscher, Greg Dunn had just completed a year as the family’s obedience trainer.

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