This month I asked ’90s, “What thoughts have been roused by this milestone year in which we all turn 50?” Andy Affleck: “Fifty? I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m turning 23. Again.” Sarah Stearns: “Running into Cheryl Sheppard at the dedication of the new Moosilauke Ravine Lodge had me thinking about improving my fitness so that I might feel like hiking Moosilauke at age 50!” Eric Wellons: “After 15 years of vascular surgery I have decided to go back to school for an eM.B.A. My wife also went back to school and my kids are studying for high school so I had to have something to do at night.” Catherine Kassenoff: “Hey—50? Not quite! 2019! I’m still holding on!” Dan Fuchs: “After a 15-year layoff I’m playing ice hockey this fall and hope to make it until March so I can say I played in my 40s and 50s. After that I’ll probably hang up the skates again, as I doubt I’ll be able to walk or stand up straight.” Kim Lewis: “Fifty is just a number. Older is wiser. I have aches and pains in places I didn’t expect. Now I understand why my mother couldn’t stand up straight first thing in the morning.” Theo Gray: “Goal: Do something crazy. Attempt: Get my master’s in cybersecurity at Brown University. Result: Mission accomplished! It is crazy!” Nate Emerson:“Now that I have probably lived 25 percent of my lifespan, I think it’s time to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. I don’t want to be on my deathbed when I’m 200 years old saying, ‘I need another few years to finish up.’ So after having my most recent startup in Hong Kong crash and burn in spectacular fashion, I have pursued a year of reflection, mostly while running long distances, lifting weights and doing yoga. Got to bounce a few ideas off of Brooks Preston and Curt Fish while sailing on Curt’s boat in Maine last summer.” Daniel Sheldon: “I just returned from Homecoming with my wife and youngest daughter. As I have only been able to return to campus three times in the past 27 years, my mind still recalls the people and the campus as they were at graduation. I find myself jealous over the experiences yet to come for the current students, as I feel like I should still be on campus, worried about midterm exams.” Christine Smith: “The only ones giving serious thought to my turning 50 are my doctors, who say ‘colonoscopy.’ Still trying to get out of that one, but I guess age doesn’t lie. Otherwise, I’m choosing to ignore the big date, although you may find me at a spa in early April given that I have the perfect reason to go.” Jonathan Sullivan: “One commitment I recently made is to get in better physical shape—feel stronger, less worried about injuring myself—and make it part of my lifestyle. (Having kids who are athletes is a helpful motivator.)” Bill Rexford: “For my 50th I’m hosting some lacrosse medicine games. I have not missed a lacrosse season as a player (minus one when I was hurt in 1989) and this is my 26th season as a high school coach. So I figured if I were going to throw a party for myself it had to involve lacrosse. Nothing better than a huddle with hands in and saying ‘Team!’ on three!” Quincy Vale’sautomatic email reply: “I am out of the office and off the grid, trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro. As they say, hakuna matata.”

—Rob Crawford, 22 Black Oak Road, Weston, MA 02493; crawdaddy37@gmail.com