1961

1961

Covid-19 simply will not go away! Some areas have performed much better than others; some areas have performed more poorly than others. Some areas performed poorly early on but have improved dramatically; some areas that performed well early on have deteriorated dramatically. The bottom line at this time is that Covid-19 is not yet under control. Also, the virus’ direct and indirect effects on our class and our classmates are becoming more apparent. As of June, at least three classmates, unfortunately, had succumbed to this virus. Our anticipated mini-reunion scheduled for this past April in San Diego had to be canceled at the last minute. Our anticipated mini-reunion scheduled for this October is ready to go but is awaiting final clearance from the College.

Though the aforementioned observations do not present a particularly cheerful outlook for the current situation, at least one event occurred recently that was indicative of a thoughtful and positive gesture indicating clearly that we are all in this together and that we are all here within the Dartmouth community to look out for each other. One day in mid-June, a research scientist at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice was walking past the Robert Frost statue near the Bema and noticed a cloth facial mask with “D” lettering lying on the ground. Realizing that Robert Frost was sitting without a face mask on, she picked up the face mask and gently placed it on the face of the statue to make sure Frost was practicing medically approved and socially acceptable anti-coronavirus precautions. She then took a picture ofthis unusual rendition of the Frost statue. That same day a member of the College administration also walked by the Frost statue and noticed a socially distanced and appropriately face-masked Robert Frost contemplating our world of today. He too photographed the unusual incident. It turns out that the College selected the image as a “Photo of the Week” in June. This small incident illustrates how we are all looking after the Robert Frost statue, which has been looking after all of us in the class of 1961 and at the College for nearly 24 years.

—Victor S. Rich. 94 Dove Hill Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030; (516)446-3977; richwindl3@gmail.com