June 24 dawned dark and overcast with a brisk breeze, cold. It was Saturday—my 103rd birthday! I never believed I would make this date. People would later tell me that very few persons reach this age. I am cautiously living on borrowed time. I moved to Milpitas, California, on March 4, 2020. Living with children Carol and Tommy gives me a nice sense of security and well-being. And I received more than 150 “Happy Birthday” greetings. I appreciate all those cards, with comments such as “Amazing,” “Inspiring,” “You’re the first 103-year-old I know,” and “Thank you for your service.” I stopped driving at 99 and have played no golf since 2019. I know I’m slowing down. In the past three months I’ve felt weaker and weaker. I rarely leave the house nowadays and lead a very quiet and lethargic life. It takes me all morning to read the daily newspaper (San Jose Mercury News), then the afternoon mail arrives, and lo and behold it is time for dinner before you know it. After chow, it’s time for the Giants, 49ers, Warriors, and lights out. My favorite TV show is Blue Bloods on Friday night. A VIP in my life wrote: “We are looking forward to celebrating your 104th next year!” Well, thank you and we’ll see. Life is good.

Many thanks for all those wonderful 103rd birthday cards. About a dozen of them were from alumni relations and the Ripley ’29 Society. The class of ’79 chipped in with about 20 greetings. I thank everyone for their kind, heart-warming words. And receiving coveted congratulations from the White House was a pleasant surprise.

It appears there will be zero attendees for our 80th class reunion in September. My travel days are over. I was lucky enough to make our 55th, 60th, and 70th reunions. I remember Ed Bock and Bob Lappin arriving in Hanover for our 75th. They set a record for class with the lowest attendance. I recently received a roster of living ’43s. There are 15 of us left out of the original 651 frosh, who, for the first time, trod on the Big Green and had all meals in Freshman Commons in 1939. Nobu Mitsui and I were in 109 Middle Mass. Do you recall your room number?

—George Shimizu, 2140 Sepulveda Ave., Milpitas, CA 95035; (408) 930-2488; marymariko@comcast.net