One key to happiness is having something to look forward to. Anticipation is the first stage of enjoying a happy event. I dare say this first stage is often more satisfying than the event itself. For two of the past three years my beloved New York Mets made summers more joyful. Of course, this Mets team hasn’t lived up to expectations. For two straight years fellow fan Rob Ruocco and I sat in dazed silence as our championship dreams died in playoff games we watched live at Citi Field. But at least it was fun getting there. This year GM Sandy Alderson ’69 and the Mets came up short. There was nothing for Mets fans to anticipate. No fun. Less joy!

Reading this column to catch up on old friends is weak sauce when compared with spending real time with them. There’s a happy event to anticipate: the upcoming celebration scheduled for April in Scottsdale, Arizona. I just spent four days playing golf with class co-president Mark Alperin. Alpo and the other members of the organizing committee—Lisa Shanahan, Tom Cammann, Maja Wessels and Marty Peterson—have picked a perfect location and planned an unforgettable weekend. Every major city offers daily nonstop flights into Phoenix. Scottsdale is heaven for golfing, hiking, shopping, mountain biking and nursing hangovers. Sure, it’s hot but hey, it’s a dry heat. As chairman of the board of trustees for the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, Maja has arranged a Saturday night event at Wright’s architectural masterpiece, Taliesin West.

So here’s the deal: Don’t speculate on who’s going to be there. Take control. Contact your friends right now and make plans to meet them in Scottsdale. Google “class of 1980 dartmouth scottsdale” for details. If we simplify by calling Wright’s wonder “Tally,” we get a call for action: Tally rally!

I woke up earlier this week to the familiar-but-unfamiliar voice of Peter Kenyon. For the past six years Peter has been based in Istanbul as an NPR international correspondent. Peter has won awards at NPR for his outstanding coverage of the Middle East and specifically, post-war Iraq. You are a braver man than me, “Jersey Pete,” and a great reporter!

When we were in the Greek islands this summer, my daughter said, “You can almost picture Poseidon beneath the surface and Odysseus sailing these seas.” Those might not be words you’d say but you probably didn’t study as much Greek and Latin as she did. Dartmouth classics major and Sarah Lawrence classics professor Emily Katz Anhalt just published a book, Enraged: Why Violent Times Need Ancient Greek Myths. It’s on the reading list at our house.

We will close with another tribute to the Dartmouth we knew, presented in limerick form. The verses come easier when I wear my Nantucket reds.

During our years we all liked the sound

Of a place to unite: Common Ground

An open forum for all

Built behind College Hall.

Are there young people like us still around?

—Frank Fesnak, 242 River Road, Gladwyne, PA 19035; (408) 859-9652; ffesnak@gmail.com; Wade Herring, P.O. Box 9848, Savannah, GA 31412, (912) 944-1639; wherring@huntermaclean.com; Rob Daisley, 3201 W. Knights Ave., Tampa, FL 33611; (813) 300-7954; robdaisley@me.com