Class Note 1985
Issue
Having been provided with virtually nothing to use for material I will have to channel the spirit of Seinfeld episodes gone by. In that classic series there were shows about nothing, as in, “George got up this morning—now there’s a show.” Analogous to that would be, “John has no material—now there’s a column.” See the connection? I could also reference a reunion theme for both Seinfeld, a la Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the class of 1985, a la Hanover June 2010. Now there’s a column (I hope).
I’m sure everyone has received a notice or 40 about our reunion coming up June 17-20 in Hanover. As reunions approach a lot of thoughts cross my mind. Here is a sampling. When do I start the crash diet and exercise program to be ready for June? When should I get my hair cut? Who do I really want to see? Who really wants to see me? (I’m sure there is an imbalance there.) Will the current AXA brothers exhibit the same respectful disdain that I’m sure I showed alums who returned to resurrect the glory nights of pong? In the interest of efficiency wouldn’t it be nice if there were some sort of flashcard or buzzer system you could use to end a conversation you didn’t want to have? Or some color-coded badges? For example, green for “People I really would enjoy seeing,” yellow for “A quick recap would be fine” and red for “Mayday, change directional path, do not make eye contact.” How many new Dartmouth T-shirts can I cram in my luggage for the trip home? Will I spend as much time memorizing our reunion book as I did the freshmen book? Will I feel older or younger, more successful or less successful when I return home? As you can see I’ve probably spent too much time already thinking about these things, though perhaps you’ve thought some of the same. Or perhaps your set of questions is somewhat briefer, as in “Who cares what he thinks?” In any case it should be a great weekend and I hope everyone attends.
Actually, I do have some classmate news. I got an e-mail from Kevin Randall, whom I knew from our South Fayerweather days. I now know Kevin lives/works in Chicago, has an e-mail address with the suffix moveo.com and has attended some local Dartmouth functions in the Windy City with Scott McDonald. By the time you read this Eric Wilinski will be a first-time father (congrats to E. and wife Allyson). I also got a note from Ken Johnson ’83 (thanks, K.J.), who was either confused by two years or gracious enough to share news about John Kulseth (a land surveyor living on an island—doesn’t that job necessarily have a finite aspect to it?) and endorse 25th reunions. For those also interested (and by my count that is about five of you), Cold Beer 13 Fantasy Hoops is approaching mid-season and the annual Russ Mitchell ski trip was held in Telluride, Colorado, this year. Heck, I may even activate my dormant Facebook account to share news of these events.
I have one vow and one hope for reunion. I vow not to be walking around with my face buried in a Blackberry and I hope that my ramblings above did not change me from a green badge to a red badge for anyone! See you in June!
—John MacManus, 118 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com
Mar - Apr 2010
Having been provided with virtually nothing to use for material I will have to channel the spirit of Seinfeld episodes gone by. In that classic series there were shows about nothing, as in, “George got up this morning—now there’s a show.” Analogous to that would be, “John has no material—now there’s a column.” See the connection? I could also reference a reunion theme for both Seinfeld, a la Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the class of 1985, a la Hanover June 2010. Now there’s a column (I hope).
I’m sure everyone has received a notice or 40 about our reunion coming up June 17-20 in Hanover. As reunions approach a lot of thoughts cross my mind. Here is a sampling. When do I start the crash diet and exercise program to be ready for June? When should I get my hair cut? Who do I really want to see? Who really wants to see me? (I’m sure there is an imbalance there.) Will the current AXA brothers exhibit the same respectful disdain that I’m sure I showed alums who returned to resurrect the glory nights of pong? In the interest of efficiency wouldn’t it be nice if there were some sort of flashcard or buzzer system you could use to end a conversation you didn’t want to have? Or some color-coded badges? For example, green for “People I really would enjoy seeing,” yellow for “A quick recap would be fine” and red for “Mayday, change directional path, do not make eye contact.” How many new Dartmouth T-shirts can I cram in my luggage for the trip home? Will I spend as much time memorizing our reunion book as I did the freshmen book? Will I feel older or younger, more successful or less successful when I return home? As you can see I’ve probably spent too much time already thinking about these things, though perhaps you’ve thought some of the same. Or perhaps your set of questions is somewhat briefer, as in “Who cares what he thinks?” In any case it should be a great weekend and I hope everyone attends.
Actually, I do have some classmate news. I got an e-mail from Kevin Randall, whom I knew from our South Fayerweather days. I now know Kevin lives/works in Chicago, has an e-mail address with the suffix moveo.com and has attended some local Dartmouth functions in the Windy City with Scott McDonald. By the time you read this Eric Wilinski will be a first-time father (congrats to E. and wife Allyson). I also got a note from Ken Johnson ’83 (thanks, K.J.), who was either confused by two years or gracious enough to share news about John Kulseth (a land surveyor living on an island—doesn’t that job necessarily have a finite aspect to it?) and endorse 25th reunions. For those also interested (and by my count that is about five of you), Cold Beer 13 Fantasy Hoops is approaching mid-season and the annual Russ Mitchell ski trip was held in Telluride, Colorado, this year. Heck, I may even activate my dormant Facebook account to share news of these events.
I have one vow and one hope for reunion. I vow not to be walking around with my face buried in a Blackberry and I hope that my ramblings above did not change me from a green badge to a red badge for anyone! See you in June!
—John MacManus, 118 Ringwood Road, Rosemont, PA 19010; (610) 525-4541; slampong@aol.com