I just got off the phone with Lee Carson, as his car made the trek from his office in Larkspur, California, to the airport. Seems he doesn’t need to touch the steering wheel on that route, the wheels following a well-worn path, and I could hear Lee making himself an espresso in the front seat, with his free hands, to steel himself for his flight. Lee told me that he had a Dartmouth start to the week: e-mail exchange with Chris Halloran on Monday and then coffee with Scott Von Eschen that morning. I kept that streak going.


Since 1999 Lee has worked for the D.C.-based Carlyle Group; the company shut down its San Francisco office a few years ago, but he remains, raising money for Carlyle from state pension funds, high-net-worth people and other big rollers. Lee tells me that his kids are doing great—oldest daughter Lauren has been on two of Scott’s company’s trips—and Lee keeps busy playing golf and tennis and running marathons, of which he’s done seven. “I just had back surgery,” he told me. “My second.” And so some of Lee’s athletic accomplishments have taken a back seat to a successful recovery. He and I plan to have coffee when he’s next in D.C.


Freshman trip pal Lydia Lazar is now the associate dean for recruitment and career development at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies, responsible for the admission and career development offices. She had been the assistant dean for international law and policy development at Chicago-Kent College of Law.


“My older daughter Rachel graduated in June from Lincoln Park High School,” wrote Lydia, “where she earned both French baccalaureate and international baccalaureate degrees. Completely coincidentally, she decided to attend the University of Chicago.” Sister Naomi is a sophomore at Walter Payton College Prep, and Lydia finished by saying that she and her girls “enjoyed our annual August visit to Block Island, Rhode Island, where we always visit with Deanie Pearce and her family. This summer we were really excited to get a visit from Steve Quatrano and his wife, Doreen.”


A mouse told me about Peter Sullivan and Elizabeth Viscott Sullivan, who live in Brooklyn, New York. Google Peter and you will find his website, filled with his paintings, works on paper and videos; I was struck by the rich colors and shapes of these abstract compositions, all of which grow out of photographs of everyday scenes. And Liz is an executive editor at HarperCollins, where she develops four-color books on fashion and pop culture.


A few quick notes: Annette Gordon-Reed is not only a 2010 MacArthur Fellow but also our class’ first trustee—what great news! Doug Harrison was in town for a conference and came to our place for dinner, proffering a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from his cellar. And Debbie Wesselmann wrote this when I asked about her life these days: “I’m just plugging away on a new novel manuscript, as always.” Be sure to read Debbie’s latest book, Captivity.


And lastly: We are a great class! Check this out: We were presented with the 2010 Class of the Year “With Distinction” Award and will receive the Dartmouth College Fund’s Class of 1926 Award for greatest single-year increase in participation. Big thanks to class agents Halladie Haid and David Edelson for their efforts. And our own Greg Clow will be president of the Dartmouth Webmasters Association and was named Class President of the Year by the Class Presidents Association. So, great class of 1981: See you all at our 30th, June 16-19.


—Abner Oakes, 4807 Dover Road, Bethesda, MD 20816-1772; aoakes4@gmail.com; Julie Koeninger, 2 Wilson St., Wellesley, MA 02482; jkoeninger@comcast.net