Summer has ended, but it is still wicked hot in Galveston, Texas. On top of that, student loans are forgiven, Russia pounds away in the Donbas, abortion has the country tied in knots, inflation is ravaging the middle class, and the border is leaking like a sieve. As President George W. Bush quipped in his final years, “I think I am growing old at just the right time.” So, too, is the class of 1975. Perhaps it is just that the world is a different place, not better, not worse; just not the one we remember so fondly from our days on the Hanover Plain. I suspect this is how our grandparents looked at the world in which we grew up.

Dartmouth has also changed. The buildings cast bigger shadows and the grounds occupy a larger footprint; soon to be expanded further at the north end. It is difficult to tell how much has changed in the classroom as I am not there, but I would like to think that the College is still preparing students for the world into which they will emerge. Judging from some of the younger alumni with whom I have spoken in the last few years, I would have to say it is. But, as stated above, I am not altogether sure I like this world as much as the other one.

The good news is that we have the shared memories from that world that continue to bind us and draw us back to the old familiarity of Hanover, even if the facade is changing. Although I have little individual news this time around, I do feel the connection with my classmates, even if it is in the form of a donation request from Ron Cima,who, with the rest of the fundraisers, did a great job this year. We exceeded our dollar goal and may have just squeezed past the participation goal, which reflects that bond of familiarity.

This year is a big year for your vote, but no vote is bigger than the one that follows. Drew Remignanti needs your help, or at least he did back in August. Perhaps he has been successful in landing a contract to publish his book and he will definitely tell me if so when he reads this. He discovered a new twist on crowdfunding—a publisher that will base their contract with him on the number of votes he gets on their website. Don’t be bashful, go there now and vote for his book. The website is soopllc.com, otherwise known as Something or Other Publishing. I voted, it is very easy, and when I did he was getting close to the magic contract award number. Maybe your vote will put him over the top.

Write to me, I like hearing from you.

Vox clamantis in Tejas.

—Stephen D. Gray, 3627 Avenue M, Galveston, TX 77550; (650) 302-8739; fratergray@gmail.com