NEWS FROM THE CLASS .
Its not often that my newsletter reviews are themselves reviewed, but Jay Wakefield wrote
that both he and his wife approved of my mention of his book "How the SunGod Reached America c.2500 BC" subtitled "A Guide
to Megalithic Sites". Jay and his co-author appeared on the national "Dreamland" radio show on September 7, discussing the
book with noted author Whitley Strieber. In our last newsletter, I described the books fascinating information on old religions,
monuments and petroglyphs (including New Hampshire), ancient seafaring and voyages of discovery. Jay tells me that the book
is available at amazon.com, or by writing to MCS Inc., Box 3392, Kirkland, WA 98983-3392
Another state of Washington resident, George Brannen, writes to say that he is "returning
to academics as a Professor of Urology at the University of Washington. Also, Im a student at the London School of Tropical
Medicine - external programme. The transitional goal is to initiate Global Health Programs in developing countries for the
U.W. Enjoyed a week with Karen and Steve Fuller, and Margie and Dave Pearsall, about a year ago. It could not be coincidental
that all were activating major career transitions." Like so many of us at that watershed age approaching 60, I suspect - it
seems that there are even more 65 micro-reunions going on around the country than I have been reporting! George can be reached
at brannen@u.washington.edu
Heres another report on those major transitions. Jim Kingsdale, my next-door neighbor in
Middle Mass way back in 1961, brought me up to date on his activities. "Long time! I wound up my cable television business
a few years ago and am loving retirement, which we spend partly in Crested Butte, CO (population 1500), a place the locals
refer to modestly as Paradise (and I would concur), and partly in Manhattan. Nina and I celebrated 30 years of married life
together this summer. Our daughter Luisa (26) is a potter in Oregon, and our son Andrew (Dartmouth 96) works in China but
plans to return to the US next year, after five years there, to attend law school. Retirement? No problem. Not enough hours
in the day." Reach Jim at jkingsdale@aol.com
Speaking of happy transitions, Frank Bellizia sends the happy news that "On September 14,
2002 Kim Elisa Prario and I were married in an intimate ceremony on the island of Southport, Maine where I have spent many
summers as a youth and as an adult. The setting was an Episcopal chapel, Church of All Saints by-the-Sea, which is perched
gracefully at oceans edge, and as seagulls wailed and waves lapped the rocks, Kim and I exchanged vows in front of close friends
and family. A delightful party followed at the Rocktide Inn in Boothbay Harbor, and for the next week we indulged in lobster
and other treasures from the sea farther Down East in Castine, Southwest Harbor, and Tenants Harbor. Kim is currently laboring
in the world of marketing and advertising, and I continue to toil in higher education, but we intend in the very near future
to go into business together and to live, eventually, on the Maine coast following a brief stint in Suffield, Connecticut.
Let me assure all classmates that there is indeed life, love and joy after 50!"
Hal Litoff has written previously about his search along the shamanic path. He describes
his latest experience: "In August, I answered the call and did a vision quest on Chief Mountain at the northern end of the
Blackfeet Reservation in northwest Montana. In a word, it was awesome. While in the area, I also had the opportunity to strengthen
and deepen my relationship with a number of my Blackfeet - and other Native American - friends and associates." Those interested
in learning more about Hals quest can find him at 84 Ship Street, Providence, RI 02903.
Shades of the last Newsletter's
retirement news from Bob Blumenshine, Dan Southard reports that "In November I reach the mandatory age sixty
retirement date for pilots. I have spent 37 years with TWA (the last one under the American Airlines umbrella), flying out
of New York to Europe as much as possible. The high water mark of my career came in the mid-80's when we lived in Paris. I
was flying 727 and L-1011's around Europe, the Middle East and India. We all enjoyed the travel and excitement of living in
another country. We look forward to traveling in Europe after retirement. Going back to Dartmouth days, I give thanks to the
late Ken Jukes '65 who gave me much dual instruction in instrument flying via the Dartmouth Flying Club. Ken joined American
Airlines in 1965, but had passed away by the time TWA joined the AMR fold. Over the years, I enjoyed speaking to Bob Blumenshine
who announced his own pending retirement from TWA/AA in this very medium. I will talk to Bob about his "titanium knee" as
I am a candidate for knee replacement after I retire (football injury Fall '61).
On the family front, my wife of 33+ years, Peggy, who is from Hong Kong, is a professor of Cultural Anthropology
and Japanese Culture at Western CT State U.. As soon as I retire, we will spend 2-3 months in Kong Kong. Several years ago,
we spent a delightful evening with classmate Chiu Sin Sing at his home there. Eldest daughter, Stephanie, is married, working
and the mother of two children, living in nearby Kent, CT. Youngest, Mimi, is just starting her first teaching job as an art
teacher at the Redding Middle School and is staying at home for the time being.
We look forward to the retirement years as we will be able to structure our life, our travels and interests,
unfettered from the demands of work schedules. We will be paying more attention to the vicissitudes of the stock market than
before. All in all, I had a job which was exciting to perform, flew most of the jets from old to new, and I never missed a
paycheck except for an occasional strike. I experienced the Golden Age years of TWA as it competed with Pan Am for around-the-world
supremacy. It did not end the way one would have preferred or imagined. I have my basic health, except for a few aches and
pains, orthopedically speaking. It's time to end it, and I look forward to the first day of the rest of my life." Youll find
Dan at dbs1369@juno.com.</P>
Also on the move is my Chicago-based frat brother John Drake. "Life is good here. Ann works
80 hrs/wk running logistics biz with 2700 employees coast to coast. I do heavy pillow consulting, and run the rest of our
lives. I see 27-month old granddaughter Nicole once a week (a charming terror). This grandparenting is a fine program! We
play fair amount of bad golf, I mentor an inner-city kid, and we travel. I was in London, Paris and Tokyo this spring, and
in September we visited China for 16 days with a Dartmouth Alumni group. Our 9/11 experience: we took the Orient Express from
Istanbul to Venice, arriving 9/11. It was surreal watching TV at the Cipriani. We were much moved that Saturday in the Netherlands
by a US. solidarity day. I couldn't believe how many American flags the Dutch have!" Duck is reachable at Jdrakeii@aol.com.
Seems were traveling a lot these days. This from Ted Atkinson : "Just an update for all of
you, since I won't be in Hanover for Class officers weekend -- but I hope I'll see many of you at Pierces in early November.
I will miss the weekend because, believe it or not, I will be hiking in the Swiss Alps. It's a Butterfield Robinson trip,
so my expectations are that I will hike hard during the day, stay at wonderful hotels at night, and eat great food and drink
wonderful wines. It is THE FIRST trip I've ever taken just for me!! It looks like 10 on the trip -- 3 couples, 3 single women
(ages unknown) and me. I leave on 9/5 for two days in Geneva before the hike and return 9/15. My other news is that many of
you won't recognize me. I decided 3 months ago to take charge of my life. I've lost 43 pounds (to 191), gotten cholesterol
down to 160 with a great ratio, and have my blood pressure down to 130/80. I work out once or twice a day, running 4 miles
everyday and working with a professional trainer twice a week. My current weight is lower than it was in 1965 when we graduated
and I've had to buy all new clothes. I now plan on defying the Atkinson male genetic proclivity to die early and attend at
least our 60th reunion!" You can view the new Ted (at least whats left of him after his trip), at the mini-reunion. In the
meantime, hes on Tacons@aol.com.</P>
Even more of "Round the girdled earth" from Bill Beal. "I thought after more than 35 years
it's time for a letter! Candy and I have been married 34 years now and we have 3 children: Seth (27), Amy (22) and Elizabeth
(19). Candy has been working in education in some capacity or other since college and got her doctorate in education several
years ago at NC State University. She's on the faculty there now, teaching students who are going to be middle school language
arts and social studies teachers. Seth graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro 5 years ago and is now
a network engineer with a company called ForeFront Systems. He and Rebecca have been married nearly 4 years. She's a doctor
and is in the Navy so they have moved twice in a year, to Seattle and now back to North Carolina. It's nice to have them close
by, although we would have like a couple of more visits to Seattle. Amy is a junior education major at NC State University
-- interesting being in the same department as her Mom! She's engaged and will get married in a year or so. Elizabeth is a
sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She's majoring in vocal performance and minoring in creative
writing. They're all terrific and we're very proud. They keep surprising us with all that they do
I'm still with the Environmental Protection Agency, right now working with regional planning organizations
which have been established across the country to find regional solutions to air quality problems that have been difficult
to solve state by state. It's been an intriguing project to work on so far. I'm eligible to retire any time but, with two
in college, it will probably wait for a graduation or two. In 1995 I got involved at EPA in an air quality project with the
Russian government. I eventually became the project manager and we've been immersed in Russia ever since. The project itself
was often frustrating, usually rewarding, never boring, and generally successful. We were able to try some American methods
and techniques there and, when we were done, some of this had become part of their system, too. Unfortunately, the economy
deteriorated dramatically during this time, making it difficult for our partners there to devote a lot of resources afterwards.
Our final report, if anyone would like to look, is on the web at http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/ramp/
We made a lot of friends there and, through them, we were able to organize a trip by Elizabeth's middle school
orchestra to perform and visit in St. Petersburg, found funding from McDonald's to pay for a visit to the U.S. by the children's
choir which hosted us there, have arranged for 4 young ladies from St. Petersburg to come to college in North Carolina, and
taken a group of American college students to Russia. We've found funding for the college girls just by talking with friends
who have been interested in helping these kids and getting to know them. It's been very gratifying to see how generous people
can be in situations like this
Candy has been working with Project Harmony in Vermont and has taken students and colleagues with her to Russia
the last 4 years to visit schools and stay with families. It's a great way to see Russia up close and I went with her group
last February. I got to celebrate my birthday at a restaurant near Saint Petersburg that had once been a hospital sponsored
by Anastasia and her sisters during World War I!" I went back and forth with Bill a couple of times, some fascinating activities
he and his family are into. Find out more directly from him at Beal.Bill@epamail.epa.gov.
