As most of you know I like to start each column by discussing one of our most interesting classmates, me. Now I do get all those interesting little notes from the rest of you, but when compared to my life, they just don’t make the cut. It makes it difficult to write the column.


Let’s use the Rev. Leah Daughtry as an example. Now I haven’t seen Leah since we performed the wedding ceremony of Mara Rudman and Jeff Moscow at our 30th reunion. Technically, Leah performed the ceremony, but I had the vital ring-carrying job. It was truly a team effort. Anyway, Leah has been named CEO of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Philadelphia. A pretty big deal. However, as we all know, I used to live in Philadelphia. Moved out in 1998. Been there, done that.


Need more proof? Well, Peter B. Ellis lives in L.A., where he and his wife, Nanci, restored a home. The home has been named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. This means that my suggestion for the addition of a Grubman wing will likely go unheeded. Anyway, Peter, who is editing the third season of Ray Donovan, gets to eat lunch with director Tucker Gates ’83 often. Very impressive. Did I mention that I was in the same fraternity as Tucker? Who do you think he likes better? 


Lisa Liberati lives in California and has a vineyard. Her pinot noir (Sweetzer Cellars) is reportedly excellent. Okay, I have no vineyard and I make no wine. Initially it seemed like Lisa had me on this one. However I did once use fermentation and an open bottle of ketchup to make some penicillin-like substance in the trunk of my car, which is much more impressive if you ask me.


Perhaps an academic superstar can best me? Let’s try Mark Russi, who is a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Yale and director of the occupational health service at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Sounds very impressive. I see him walking around Yale with a virtual coterie of students and residents in tow. Did I mention that I work in the same place? So who is more impressive? Well let’s ask the important question: Who has indoor parking and who parks outside? I think we all know that answer. 


Did you know that Mike Budwig ran the Boston Marathon in 3:28:53? This seems pretty impressive, considering that it was pouring rain the entire race. It seems impressive until you realize that I run 3:28:53, and it takes me only five miles to do it. I can do that time in less than half the distance and I’m totally out of shape!


Well, that’s all the time and space we have this month. I return you, the gentle reader, to Juliet, who will write our next column. She will probably tell you how impressive all of our classmates are. It’s the good cop-bad cop routine. That’s how we roll.


—Eric Grubman, 2 Fox Den Way, Woodbridge, CT 06525; (203) 710-7933; grubman@sbcglobal.net; Juliet Aires Giglio, 4915 Bentbrook Drive, Manlius, NY 13104; (315) 682-5501; julietgiglio@gmail.com