Class Note 1980
Issue
January-February 2021
As I take my first stab at Class Notes, it occurs to me that so much has changed since the Covid distancing began. The pandemic has taken a ghastly toll on our lives and livelihoods and has been especially challenging to those on the front lines, including those working in education and healthcare.
Kristin Lord, a healthcare provider from the United States who works in Canada, faces daunting, disruptive restrictions when crossing the border, including 14-day quarantines on either end.
Jim Gifford teaches AP literature at a suburban Maryland public school via Zoom. While students show up at the appointed time and learn the language skills they need, he rues the fact that students never really get to know each other “when we all are in our individual little Brady Bunch or Hollywood Squares rectangles.”
I really miss seeing movies on the big screen. Film critic Ty Burr wrote in The Boston Globe that, despite being an avid Christopher Nolan fan, he wouldn’t be seeing the big-screen premier of Tenet. Fools go where critics fear to tread. I went to see Unhinged just after the local theater opened, but soon decided I’d made an error in judgment and left that ghost town halfway through the film.
Yet the class of 1980 is nothing if not resourceful—remember that we built a second bonfire in 1976 after the first one got torched! We’ve found ways to adapt to this cataclysmic change. Though I miss going to the gym, I’ve been riding my bike a lot, but surely not nearly as much as Merle Adelman. I’ve also been enjoying outdoor classes such as “Zumba by the Sea” at a nearby beach and Merle says she enjoys outdoor barre classes. (“Try standing on your toes on uneven ground!”).
Gretchen Kruysman is pleased to be forced to slow down, with less commuting and going out. “I’m commuting only three days a week instead of five. We’ve enjoyed setting up a home gym, watching the bird feeder, playing occasional Bananagram games, reading more, and lots of biking, running, and walking. Now that we’ve passed the 40th reunion mark we need to make each day last!”
Elizabeth Nestler reports that, due to Zoom and YouTube livestream, she has been able to “attend” churches near and far, including her son’s. She’s been able to see and hear him sing in his choir, which uses the Acapella app.
Todd Herrmann no longer battles traffic in and out of Boston, giving him three extra hours a day for family, films, and the outdoors. He’s got a large TV in front of the fireplace and reports that Hulu and Netflix have become their new hearth.
I also enjoy the increase in al fresco dining, getting to know my neighbors better, and the sight of parents reading to their kids on the front porch.
—Rob Dinsmoor, 14 Rust St., South Hamilton, MA 01982; (978) 269-4069; dinsmo@earthlink.net; Meg Coughlin LePage, 8 Brookside Drive, Cumberland, ME 04021; (207) 791-1382; mlepage@pierceatwood.com; Wade Herring,P.O. Box 9848, Savannah, GA 31412; (912) 944-1639; wherring@huntermaclean.com
Kristin Lord, a healthcare provider from the United States who works in Canada, faces daunting, disruptive restrictions when crossing the border, including 14-day quarantines on either end.
Jim Gifford teaches AP literature at a suburban Maryland public school via Zoom. While students show up at the appointed time and learn the language skills they need, he rues the fact that students never really get to know each other “when we all are in our individual little Brady Bunch or Hollywood Squares rectangles.”
I really miss seeing movies on the big screen. Film critic Ty Burr wrote in The Boston Globe that, despite being an avid Christopher Nolan fan, he wouldn’t be seeing the big-screen premier of Tenet. Fools go where critics fear to tread. I went to see Unhinged just after the local theater opened, but soon decided I’d made an error in judgment and left that ghost town halfway through the film.
Yet the class of 1980 is nothing if not resourceful—remember that we built a second bonfire in 1976 after the first one got torched! We’ve found ways to adapt to this cataclysmic change. Though I miss going to the gym, I’ve been riding my bike a lot, but surely not nearly as much as Merle Adelman. I’ve also been enjoying outdoor classes such as “Zumba by the Sea” at a nearby beach and Merle says she enjoys outdoor barre classes. (“Try standing on your toes on uneven ground!”).
Gretchen Kruysman is pleased to be forced to slow down, with less commuting and going out. “I’m commuting only three days a week instead of five. We’ve enjoyed setting up a home gym, watching the bird feeder, playing occasional Bananagram games, reading more, and lots of biking, running, and walking. Now that we’ve passed the 40th reunion mark we need to make each day last!”
Elizabeth Nestler reports that, due to Zoom and YouTube livestream, she has been able to “attend” churches near and far, including her son’s. She’s been able to see and hear him sing in his choir, which uses the Acapella app.
Todd Herrmann no longer battles traffic in and out of Boston, giving him three extra hours a day for family, films, and the outdoors. He’s got a large TV in front of the fireplace and reports that Hulu and Netflix have become their new hearth.
I also enjoy the increase in al fresco dining, getting to know my neighbors better, and the sight of parents reading to their kids on the front porch.
—Rob Dinsmoor, 14 Rust St., South Hamilton, MA 01982; (978) 269-4069; dinsmo@earthlink.net; Meg Coughlin LePage, 8 Brookside Drive, Cumberland, ME 04021; (207) 791-1382; mlepage@pierceatwood.com; Wade Herring,P.O. Box 9848, Savannah, GA 31412; (912) 944-1639; wherring@huntermaclean.com