Class Note 1967

We asked classmates for personal stories about pandemic self-isolation and quarantine. John Isaacs reports his “children are lecturing us vigorously (even swearing at us) on taking proper precautions in the age of coronavirus.” Bill Bronner has moved out of his Brooklyn home “for the duration to work on their old house in northern Westchester County.” Andy Longacre in rural Vermont says his biggest concern is the safety of his daughter, Anna, a doctor in Atlanta. Jock Gill is also in Vermont, concerned for his “son-in-law doctor who delivers palliative care to Covid-19 victims in Boston.” Peter Thomas lives outside Exeter, New Hampshire, and continues his dentistry at a Community Action Center in rural New Hampshire. “When I think about all the docs and staff who are dealing directly with infected patients, I am humbled but feel a sense of brotherhood and purpose for my small contribution.” Dick Clapp is in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and “stands in awe of the healthcare professionals and support workers who put themselves in harm’s way each day they go to work.” John Meck in Denver hopes “in the end there will be significant changes that will result in a society kinder and more concerned with the whole rather than just the individual.” Pat Horgan is in Gainesville, Georgia, finding it frustrating that “inadequate, unreliable, conflicting, and politically motivated data abounds.” Ken McConnochie, an epidemiologist and researcher, says that while a serious threat to some, “for most this virus will make you feel like crap for several days, but you will not require hospitalization and you will recover fully.” Gary Atkins lives in rural New Hampshire and “misses, more than many, the community support that a religious congregation gives to its members.” Bill Yaggy is “coping well with self-quarantining, trying to get out for a short walk every day. We had enjoyed taking our nearly 3-year-old grandson, Cyrus, on Tuesday and Friday mornings and miss our times with him!” Bill Bogardus is in South Chatham, Massachusetts. “As are many of us from the class of 1967, I am medically compromised, confined to the house and yard except for a daily walk around the block. We even hold the newspaper and mail for 48 hours before opening.”For Lew Hitchner there’s no Covid in his White Pine Canyon “office” near Park City, Utah, but recently his “work” was cut short because the top half of one of his ski bindings broke off, “which meant skiing down (2 1/2 miles, 1,600 feet) with the toe of one ski boot latched to my ski.” From Pennsylvania, Jeff Zimmerman says “Gettysburg is a wasteland. It looks like a neutron bomb went off.” Bill Judd is in Damariscotta, Maine, stargazing: “The early spring is a wonderful time to get outside and see the heavens.” Steve Danford was quarantined on a cruise ship in Egypt watching the Nile flow by for three days before leaving the country. Jon Dana says, “We’re all hoarding something. In my case it’s jalapeño peppers!”Read all their complete, unedited stories on 1967.dartmouth.org.

—Larry Langford, P.O. Box 71, Buckland, MA 01339; 1967damnotes@gmail.com