Class Note 1984
Issue
May-June 2021
As I write this column, it’s almost a year since the initial mid-March lockdown. It’s been a difficult year for sure. At the risk of toxic positivity, I’ve been wondering if there are any silver linings of the pandemic. I reached out to classmates for their input.
Fran O’Donoghue writes: “I think people are actually communicating more and, in many cases, more effectively with each other because we’ve had to take a few steps back from our unsustainable paces of life. Many people have started to recognize that much of what we’ve been doing has probably not been all that healthy. I’m a high school teacher and I have seen that the students have had to cut back on things simply because they aren’t going on. The result is that the students seem to be a bit better at keeping up with what they are doing and they are not just moving from one thing to the next like zombies.”
Leigh Garry writes: “My son, J.P. ’13, and his extraordinary bride, Maggie ’14, were married in N.Y.C. on February 6. Instead of focusing on logistics and food for many, seven people gathered to witness them start their life together. We still managed to dance and laugh and love! I drove across the country with my daughter and we all lived in a cabin in Maine together—six people and one dog, lost the internet once.”
Elizabeth Brody Gluck writes: “Though it’s hard to see silver linings these days when so many have lost so much, we have been tremendously lucky to stay safe and well. Our nest in Boston was empty for a minute when our youngest child (Matt ’23) headed off to Hanover for his freshman year, only to return home when the pandemic hit. Our other children (Alison and her husband Jonah, 29; and Lauren, 26) left their N.Y.C. digs and came home as well. We were all working from home, which felt like a combination of a B&B and an office building. The silver lining has been recognizing that being together as a family is in fact a silver lining.”
Lucy Patti writes: “Despite my longing to get on a plane to anywhere, this year has had its silver linings in East Montpelier, Vermont. I have been grateful for the ability to be outside year-round with my spouse, my kids, and our critters. Whether gardening, walking, or skiing, I have had the opportunity to appreciate the seasons, the passage of time in our woods. The world goes on.”
Mark Montgomery writes: “I’m learning to make jam in the French way (hat tip to my language study abroad experience in Blois): black currant from bushes in my yard, peach lavender with Colorado peaches, blood orange, rhubarb, quince! I think I’ve tried about two dozen flavors so far: pink grapefruit (not marmalade) and yes, strawberry too (which is dead easy, as it turns out). I even made one with carrots, which was pretty darned good.”
Hope you’re all doing well.
—Juliet Aires Giglio, 4915 Bentbrook Drive, Manlius, NY 13104; julietgiglio@gmail.com; Eric Grubman, 2 Fox Den Way, Woodbridge, CT 06525; (203) 710-7933; grubman@sbcglobal.net
Fran O’Donoghue writes: “I think people are actually communicating more and, in many cases, more effectively with each other because we’ve had to take a few steps back from our unsustainable paces of life. Many people have started to recognize that much of what we’ve been doing has probably not been all that healthy. I’m a high school teacher and I have seen that the students have had to cut back on things simply because they aren’t going on. The result is that the students seem to be a bit better at keeping up with what they are doing and they are not just moving from one thing to the next like zombies.”
Leigh Garry writes: “My son, J.P. ’13, and his extraordinary bride, Maggie ’14, were married in N.Y.C. on February 6. Instead of focusing on logistics and food for many, seven people gathered to witness them start their life together. We still managed to dance and laugh and love! I drove across the country with my daughter and we all lived in a cabin in Maine together—six people and one dog, lost the internet once.”
Elizabeth Brody Gluck writes: “Though it’s hard to see silver linings these days when so many have lost so much, we have been tremendously lucky to stay safe and well. Our nest in Boston was empty for a minute when our youngest child (Matt ’23) headed off to Hanover for his freshman year, only to return home when the pandemic hit. Our other children (Alison and her husband Jonah, 29; and Lauren, 26) left their N.Y.C. digs and came home as well. We were all working from home, which felt like a combination of a B&B and an office building. The silver lining has been recognizing that being together as a family is in fact a silver lining.”
Lucy Patti writes: “Despite my longing to get on a plane to anywhere, this year has had its silver linings in East Montpelier, Vermont. I have been grateful for the ability to be outside year-round with my spouse, my kids, and our critters. Whether gardening, walking, or skiing, I have had the opportunity to appreciate the seasons, the passage of time in our woods. The world goes on.”
Mark Montgomery writes: “I’m learning to make jam in the French way (hat tip to my language study abroad experience in Blois): black currant from bushes in my yard, peach lavender with Colorado peaches, blood orange, rhubarb, quince! I think I’ve tried about two dozen flavors so far: pink grapefruit (not marmalade) and yes, strawberry too (which is dead easy, as it turns out). I even made one with carrots, which was pretty darned good.”
Hope you’re all doing well.
—Juliet Aires Giglio, 4915 Bentbrook Drive, Manlius, NY 13104; julietgiglio@gmail.com; Eric Grubman, 2 Fox Den Way, Woodbridge, CT 06525; (203) 710-7933; grubman@sbcglobal.net