Class Note 1988
Did you realize that we are now old enough to write memoirs? Matthew Biberman led the way this year with Big Sid’s Vincati. Matthew and his father together built a Vincati (combining the power of a Vincent with the handling of a Ducati) and in the process rebuilt their own relationship. It sounds like a great read and even features a Dartmouth scene linking a Sanborn poetry reading with motorcycles.
Inspired by Matthew’s book, I reached out to other ’88s who straddled motorcycles in Hanover. My first reply was from Bill Bunker: “I am living in Mercer Island, Washington (essentially Seattle), working in the software business (Vertafore), married (Joanne), with two daughters Sarah and Allison. Have been out here for about 10 years and despite the rain find it a great place to live. No longer riding a motorcycle, though.”
Next came this from Bob Victor: “Well, it’s been a long time coming and I’m confessing here, 20-plus years later. When I was growing up my mother always said, ‘The one thing you are forbidden to do is ride a motorcycle.’ There have been some close calls and allegations since then, but no definitive incriminating evidence has been produced. Well, it’s true, Mom, I did have a motorcycle or two (or maybe even three) at college, and I hope my two kids Tommy (8) and Lydia (4) never take up such a dangerous diversion. I met my wife, Lexa Edsall (Harvard ’89), at Harvard Law School, where we were section mates and moot court partners. We lived in Washington, D.C., together for 12 years. Last year we moved to Philadelphia near where I grew up and I head strategic and financial planning at Comcast. Although my motorcycling days are behind me, I did just buy a new mountain bike and I always wear my helmet while riding!”
Brad Auer answered with, “I for one miss riding around the Upper Valley, especially in the autumn. Some of my best Dartmouth memories involved escaping Hanover and tearing around the countryside with biker friends, including Peter Rutledge and Tom Sterling (both still living up there). I’m still an avid motorcycle rider, though my bike has tragically been in storage for the past 18 months as I’ve moved overseas. I am living with my wife, Amy, in the Seychelles, a beautiful island country in the western Indian Ocean best known for lovely beaches, rainforest-clad mountains and, most recently, pirates. We had about 30 pirate attacks here in 2009, of which about eight or 10 succeeded in seizing a ship and taking hostages. Apart from the occasional piratical visit life here is fairly blissful. I work for the United Nations running its environmental conservation programs here, which would be the perfect job if it didn’t involve so much time behind a desk. But in a country with two movie theaters, two nightclubs and a handful of bars, one depends on the great outdoors for entertainment, so I get my fill of diving, sailing and hiking on the weekends. Unfortunately, my time here is up in mid-2010 but we expect to move back to San Francisco so the landing shouldn’t be too rough.”
And great news from another sort of biker: Julia Mairs married Rich Weisbecker in November. They are both avid cyclists and Julia started a women’s racing team last year. Congratulations!
News from Hanover: John Replogle received one of two nominations for openings on the board of trustees. Watching John accept the nomination in Hanover were Regina Glocker, Sarah Jackson Han and John Osborne—all members of the Alumni Council. Don’t forget to vote by April 7!
Cheers.
—Jane (Grussing) Lonnquist, 4510 Drexel Ave., Edina, MN 55424; jjlonnquist@earthlink.net
