There are a few more news items being sent this way as we approach the winter malaise, having recently left a fairly brutal summer malaise. I knew things were happening out there but I just wasn’t able to tap into the right sources to reveal the stories. I now have a couple of them to report.


Peter Schaeffer, after threatening to leave Long Island for warmer climates in Arizona, is still comfortably ensconced in New York and is providing encouragement and direction to his baseball team, the Mets, and to anyone who will listen that they need to take our president into their organization. Peter has shared a letter he sent to Sandy Alderson cheering him on in the interview process and has urged Mets management to make Sandy their general manager or head of baseball operations. By the time you read this the decision will have been made and perhaps we can all join Peter in looking forward to the repeat of the ’69 season under Sandy’s leadership.


Late in September I was advised that Brooke Jackson was tapped by President Obama for a position on the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. Brooke is currently the chief judge of the 1st Judicial District in Colorado, covering Jefferson and Gilpin counties in the Denver area. Brooke was appointed to the bench in 1998 and named chief judge in 2003. Prior to that he spent 26 years practicing as a specialist in environmental, tort, and insurance litigation with the law firm of Holland and Hart LLP. Brooke was an associate with that firm from 1972 to 1978 and a partner from 1978 until his appointment to the bench. After graduation he attended Harvard Law School and worked with Holland and Hart in Denver except for a two-year stint from 1979, when he moved to Washington, D.C., to open the firm’s office in that city. Brooke reported he is excited by the opportunity and feels very fortunate to have been nominated but is aware of the difficult confirmation process he faces in the U.S. Senate. We can only hope that cool heads prevail in moving his nomination through that process.


I know many of you saw this in your email in-basket a few months ago but it is worth repeating. From our ever-ready newsletter editor Allen Denison comes this plea: “I know that news is out there, and this is your chance to share it. I’m feeling a surge of ambition and figured that it was time for a newsletter, but news is in short supply. Please e-mail me your news.” I complied and told him about my recent activities. Why don’t you try?


—Steve Larson, 9101 W 146th St., Overland Park, KS 66221; (360) 770-4388; wheat69@earthlink.net