In our last bimonthly column we told you about our class’ effort to fund aid for Ukrainian refugees who go to Romania. As we are all aware, the savage brutality of this war continues. Daily some 9,000 Ukrainians enter Romania, with most traveling onward to other countries. The work of our classmate Larry Laster and his wife, Maria, and their son, Andi, continues by purchasing and distributing food, supplies, medicines, and related life-support equipment for a daily average census of 180 souls. Recall that Larry is living there with his family in Piatra Neamt (west of Odessa across neighboring Moldova); they are working closely with local leaders to determine the most effective way to meet the needs of the refugee families. Larry reminds us that other agencies, however well-intentioned, have administrative costs that are excessively high relative to the needs of these people. As of this writing there is a streamlined method for funds transfer with almost zero overhead. Considering that the need is so great we urge all classmates to contribute via this link: www.paypal.com/paypalme/RCCAMENA. It is as simple as that. Funds go securely via PayPal directly to the Rotary Club in Piatra Neamt. Larry, Maria, and Andi disperse the funds by buying only those foods, medicines, etc., that are in immediate need according to local officials. The decision to contribute is solely up to you. To date more than $25,000 has been transferred to Romania from our class’s efforts; much, much more is needed. In other news, we note the passing of classmate Spencer D. Hirshberg and send condolences to his widow, Christine. An obituary notice for Spencer will appear as usual online on the DAM website. My colleague Rob Goodman and I have had a chance to reflect on the April 21 virtual meeting of our fellow classmates we hosted via Zoom. We were both struck by the breadth of backgrounds of those on the call. Even with the “granite in our veins” and other hallmarks of our shared experiences at Dartmouth this chance to catch up with each other was eye-opening—our experiences during the past 58 years were striking in their diversity. We expect to host another virtual class get-together in the coming months.

—Ray Neff, 3685 Fairway Dr., Norton Shores, MI 49441-7016; (616) 551-8595; rkneff@gmail.com; Robert C. Goodman Jr., Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., 2101 Parks Ave., Suite 700, Virginia Beach, VA 23451; (757) 624-3238; rcgoodman@kaufcan.com