Class Note 1982
Issue
September-October 2020
By the time you read this column, I imagine we will still be dealing with the coronavirus and its impacts. In the last column Jenny shared thoughts from several class leaders on how being a member of the Dartmouth community has helped them cope with this pandemic. For Part II of “Vox Clamantis in Pandemus,” I reached out to classmates living abroad. According to my very unofficial count, there are at least 28 members of our class who live outside of the United States.
Sean Burke writes from Paris: “France went into a strict lockdown on March 17. Only grocery stores, pharmacies, and some takeout restaurants were open. To be outside of our homes, we needed to carry a signed self-declaration explaining why we were out. There were only a few valid reasons: work (in some circumstances), food shopping, medical appointments. We could exercise outdoors, but only alone and no more than half a mile from home. In my spare time indoors, during April, I wrote rhymes about life in lockdown.” Sean wrote a total of 30 poems. Email me if you would like a copy of his “Quarantine Chronicles.”
Bob Faber shared the following from Bulgaria: “Camaraderie and creativity are two important aspects of life at Dartmouth that I remember fondly and always try to recreate, wherever my travels take me. When Bulgaria entered its lockdown, every aspect of life here turned upside down. Our work with children through the PINK Foundation came to a screeching halt. Within a few days I realized morale would quickly sink if we didn’t do something proactive to raise spirits among the team, so I organized weekly Zoom meetings just to give us a way to share news and encourage each other. These times together gave rise to activities such as distributing food parcels to hungry families, preparing home use materials for children out of school, and developing an online story hour to teach and entertain local preschoolers. We even held an impromptu Facebook live fundraiser to support summer programs for children at risk.”
And John Henderson writes from Asia: “Here in Myanmar things aren’t too far from normal. People know what’s going on in the rest of the world, but mostly they don’t have a personal connection to Covid-19. Official numbers here in mid-June are just around 250 infected and just under 10 died in a country of more than 50 million. I am lucky enough to be able to keep consulting from my Yangon apartment and to keep taking long bike rides nearly every day. Since the start of the pandemic some Dartmouth pals organized a twice-monthly happy hour on Zoom. It’s now morphed into an online book club—nice!”
I am saddened to report the deaths of classmates Anchie Kuo and Kerek Frierson. Please visit 1982.dartmouth.org and click on “In Memoriam” at the top for more information about them and all the members of our class who have died. You can share a memory or a photo on the page of a deceased classmate by sending an email to Matt Hoffman at dartmouth82@gmail.com.
Stay healthy and safe!
—David Eichman, 9004 Wonderland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; dme4law@sbcglobal.net; Jenny Chandler, 3506 Idaho Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20016; jchandlerhauge@gmail.com
Sean Burke writes from Paris: “France went into a strict lockdown on March 17. Only grocery stores, pharmacies, and some takeout restaurants were open. To be outside of our homes, we needed to carry a signed self-declaration explaining why we were out. There were only a few valid reasons: work (in some circumstances), food shopping, medical appointments. We could exercise outdoors, but only alone and no more than half a mile from home. In my spare time indoors, during April, I wrote rhymes about life in lockdown.” Sean wrote a total of 30 poems. Email me if you would like a copy of his “Quarantine Chronicles.”
Bob Faber shared the following from Bulgaria: “Camaraderie and creativity are two important aspects of life at Dartmouth that I remember fondly and always try to recreate, wherever my travels take me. When Bulgaria entered its lockdown, every aspect of life here turned upside down. Our work with children through the PINK Foundation came to a screeching halt. Within a few days I realized morale would quickly sink if we didn’t do something proactive to raise spirits among the team, so I organized weekly Zoom meetings just to give us a way to share news and encourage each other. These times together gave rise to activities such as distributing food parcels to hungry families, preparing home use materials for children out of school, and developing an online story hour to teach and entertain local preschoolers. We even held an impromptu Facebook live fundraiser to support summer programs for children at risk.”
And John Henderson writes from Asia: “Here in Myanmar things aren’t too far from normal. People know what’s going on in the rest of the world, but mostly they don’t have a personal connection to Covid-19. Official numbers here in mid-June are just around 250 infected and just under 10 died in a country of more than 50 million. I am lucky enough to be able to keep consulting from my Yangon apartment and to keep taking long bike rides nearly every day. Since the start of the pandemic some Dartmouth pals organized a twice-monthly happy hour on Zoom. It’s now morphed into an online book club—nice!”
I am saddened to report the deaths of classmates Anchie Kuo and Kerek Frierson. Please visit 1982.dartmouth.org and click on “In Memoriam” at the top for more information about them and all the members of our class who have died. You can share a memory or a photo on the page of a deceased classmate by sending an email to Matt Hoffman at dartmouth82@gmail.com.
Stay healthy and safe!
—David Eichman, 9004 Wonderland Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90046; dme4law@sbcglobal.net; Jenny Chandler, 3506 Idaho Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20016; jchandlerhauge@gmail.com