Class Note 1988

I am in a rut, musically speaking. The last concert my husband and I attended was Levon Helm with John Hiatt opening. Backed by 10 fantastic musicians, the 70-year-old throat-cancer survivor gave an amazing performance. Still, as I sang along to Grateful Dead songs and other roots classics they covered, it occurred to me that perhaps I should update my playlist. So I wrote to 10 classmates and asked them to name the last concert they attended. The first response came from Tim Downes who wrote, “I’m not much of a concertgoer (my last one was the Wiggles in 2003!) but since my wife has a thing for John Mayer, we took our 9-year-old daughter to see the first of his Battle Studies Tour on July 16 in Charlotte. I never thought our family would represent the oldest and the youngest at a concert and I never thought a beer would cost $13!” I felt better about my love of aging musicians when Melise Gramm answered that her recent concerts included Tom Petty with Joe Cocker as an opener as well as Bob Dylan. She also wrote that the night before she had heard the New York Philharmonic. “It was fantastic and kicked off by a Dartmouth alumni party at the Fitz in Vail, Colorado. Great to see fellow alum!” Mike Bongiorno replied, “My answer to this question will change pretty frequently, but since you asked today, the answer is Aerosmith and the J. Geils Band at Fenway Park in Boston last Saturday. I went with my wife and my daughter Juliana (11) and son Michael (8), who were familiar with all the Aerosmith songs from Guitar Hero.” Brent Frei said, “No time for concerts with four kids 3 and under (identical twin girls in the second and third spots). I do have time to catch up with a number of ’88s however. Recently through Seattle were Tom Kollmorgen from his urology practice in Eugene, Oregon, and John Rajala from his lumber business in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Bill Faubion and I were in Cleveland to help celebrate Steve Dettelbach’s presidential appointment as U.S. attorney for Ohio. I get together with Bill Bunker and Eben Frankeberg (when he is not up on his private island sanctuary in the San Juans) for lunch regularly. Everyone is doing well.” Lastly, great news from Geoffrey Hyatt. “Here is some class of 1988 news, the very best kind: We have a healthy, happy, amazing baby. Jasper Hyatt was born on July 22. His big brother Lincoln is very sweet and gentle with him. Viva and I are very fortunate. I had almost forgotten how small and fragile and wonderful new babies are.” 


Cheers.


—Jane (Grussing) Lonnquist, 4510 Drexel Ave., Edina, MN 55424, jjlonnquist@earthlink.net