Class Note 1969
Issue
May-June 2022
This Class Note is dedicated specifically to readers who are not part of our mailing list, Zoom events, many interest groups, or online news on our website. You do read Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Your classmates invite you to our June 75th birthday gathering, and we guarantee that you’ll be glad you came. We plan a mix of optional organized events, indoor and outdoor settings, casual conversations, and much more. Your suggestions are also welcome!
A classmate writes: “After a few years in retirement I discovered that I was not alone in feeling awkward as a senior citizen. I have gradually moved forward on the golf course tees, from the black to the white to the red to the gold. Back at Dartmouth, when our (now defunct) course was lush and highly popular, my drives approached 300 yards. Today I hit the ball about 180. I play with other ‘super seniors,’ and most of us still walk the course with pull carts. Almost without exception we golfing geezers say that we enjoy the game far more than we did coming up. We still bet, compete, and watch ballgames in the bar. Sinking a 10-footer brings affectionate cries of derision and trash talk. Lately I’ve wondered what has changed.
“Why is this game such fun when I no longer kill it on the course? At our 50th reunion several of us grabbed beer at the alumni tent, and we reminisced about how competitive we had been in those undergrad days. To a person, we admitted that for many years we compared ourselves to others. Even the fraternity brother who was All Ivy in football, and a Phi Beta Kappa to boot, allowed as how he never really felt that he measured up. Past age 60, however, he noticed that something changed. Conversations with old friends no longer focused on money, power, and status. Everyone in the group reported similar experiences.
“In our circle that night were academic scholars, two poets, a corporate scion, three schoolteachers, an accountant, and a jazz musician. To paraphrase Robert Frost, we sat at leisure till the day broke, and we said some of the best things we ever said.”
Psychologists say that people attending reunions savor the good times, renew old friendships, and share experiences of growth and change. “At the reunion I met people I never knew when we were undergraduates,” our correspondent writes, “and since 2019 I’ve formed friendships that are profoundly important to me. Imagine making so many friends after turning 70.” Dartmouth is part of our character, our narrative, our path to meaning. Join us to celebrate your 75th birthday with friends old and new. An extraordinary number of classmates plan to attend. For more information contact me or consult the class website.
—John “Tex” Talmadge, 3519 Brookline Lane, Farmers Branch, TX 75234; (214) 673-9250; johntalmadgemd@gmail.com
A classmate writes: “After a few years in retirement I discovered that I was not alone in feeling awkward as a senior citizen. I have gradually moved forward on the golf course tees, from the black to the white to the red to the gold. Back at Dartmouth, when our (now defunct) course was lush and highly popular, my drives approached 300 yards. Today I hit the ball about 180. I play with other ‘super seniors,’ and most of us still walk the course with pull carts. Almost without exception we golfing geezers say that we enjoy the game far more than we did coming up. We still bet, compete, and watch ballgames in the bar. Sinking a 10-footer brings affectionate cries of derision and trash talk. Lately I’ve wondered what has changed.
“Why is this game such fun when I no longer kill it on the course? At our 50th reunion several of us grabbed beer at the alumni tent, and we reminisced about how competitive we had been in those undergrad days. To a person, we admitted that for many years we compared ourselves to others. Even the fraternity brother who was All Ivy in football, and a Phi Beta Kappa to boot, allowed as how he never really felt that he measured up. Past age 60, however, he noticed that something changed. Conversations with old friends no longer focused on money, power, and status. Everyone in the group reported similar experiences.
“In our circle that night were academic scholars, two poets, a corporate scion, three schoolteachers, an accountant, and a jazz musician. To paraphrase Robert Frost, we sat at leisure till the day broke, and we said some of the best things we ever said.”
Psychologists say that people attending reunions savor the good times, renew old friendships, and share experiences of growth and change. “At the reunion I met people I never knew when we were undergraduates,” our correspondent writes, “and since 2019 I’ve formed friendships that are profoundly important to me. Imagine making so many friends after turning 70.” Dartmouth is part of our character, our narrative, our path to meaning. Join us to celebrate your 75th birthday with friends old and new. An extraordinary number of classmates plan to attend. For more information contact me or consult the class website.
—John “Tex” Talmadge, 3519 Brookline Lane, Farmers Branch, TX 75234; (214) 673-9250; johntalmadgemd@gmail.com