News flash: Eliza and I have left Texas in the rear-view mirror. We will remember our time there fondly. It is a great state with an incredible amount of variety in landscape, cities, opportunity, and people. We have relocated to Ocala, Florida, where our eldest daughter resides with her family and horses. If you don’t know that much about Ocala, check it out. It is serious horse country. All you Florida classmates: I am coming for you. Enough about us.

I received a very nice update from Al Austin this month with news of several classmates. He writes, “Buzz Cmaylo and Cathy, Dale Edmunds and Barb, Rob Rees-Jones and Trish, and Maureen and I got together for a cookout in the small town of Cotuit, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod (Nantucket Sound side). Buzz, Dale, and I frequent Cotuit and Rob was visiting from the Philly area. There was a lot of catching up, which was great fun. There were lots of ‘remember when’ and tall tales, all of which seemed to have slightly different versions. A little foreshadowing of our 50th reunion I suspect. Buzz, Dale, and Rob are all fairly new grandparents.”

I still remember when Buzz showed up at our wedding in 1975 on his bicycle with shaved head. Now those were the days. Speaking of weddings, Eliza and I have just attended the wedding of Ashley Castle and Mike Maker in Waltham, Massachusetts. Ashley is the second daughter to Pete Castle and Deb. It was a lovely affair attended by longtime friends Jim Addis ’72 and Nancy as well as Ruthie Pratt, widow of Tom Pratt ’72.

In a final note, I received a New Year’s card, or was it Christmas (?), from Bob Hittle in July. It was a great gesture, even if it was not the most timely. Nice picture of family doings and solid message about homecoming this year. As they say in Austin, Bob, “Keep it weird”!

Vox clamantis in Ocala.

—Stephen D. Gray, P.O. Box 771918, Ocala, FL 34477; (650) 302-873; fratergray@gmail.com