Class Note 1990

This month I asked ’90s, “Please tell us one positive thing that’s come out of the Covid-19 pandemic for you or a member of your family or one life-adjustment or habit change you have made that you expect will continue as we all ease into the new normal.” Many of you responded; here is Part I. Michelle Brownlee: “The big plus for me has been connecting with old friends via Zoom or FaceTime. I’ve had get-togethers with friends from college, high school, and the town I grew up in. Also, I’ve been leading an effort for several years to get our school district to move to a later start time for the high school, which starts classes at 7:20 a.m. When online learning started up, they scheduled high school classes to start at noon. My two high school students are loving their new schedule!” John Banks: “Since our son and daughter have had their senior spring on campus in Hanover canceled, it’s been wonderful for my wife and me to have them home with us before they start their next chapters in other cities after graduation.” Ute Bowman Utley: “The best thing to come out of this pandemic is that we have had an unexpected seven weeks of having all three of my college-aged children under the same roof again. We’ve become puzzle masters, played a ton of cribbage, and watched all kinds of shows on Netflix and Prime. Added bonus: I’ve upped my tech game by 1,000 percent with this shift to online learning. Teaching high school government over a computer is a challenge, but I’ll be better for it once we get back into the classroom.” John Kornet: “Our daughter, Rachel, is home from college. I’ve wished for this since the day she left two Septembers ago, but not like this. Her brother graduates tomorrow from University of Michigan and, alas, we will not be there. No hugs of congratulation, no senior art exhibition, no ceremony, no dinner out. They will find another time to do it but I keep thinking about our own 1990 graduation and what it would have been like to be ripped from the campus two months before. I had enough trouble leaving when we were supposed to leave! Highway robbery.” Amit Malholtra: “I’m here in Washington, D.C. with Jane Varner Malhotra, where I can report that in a world that has been so up-ended that a negative (test result) is a positive, we’re doing well. After steadily sending one child after another off to college for the last few years, we suddenly find our house full again with almost all of them. Everyone is either working or learning at home, but fortunately all are holding up. We’re also cooking a great deal more together, and I’ve already run through my repertoire a few times during the past few weeks.” John Sucke: “My partner, Peggy, and I have had a chance to try out new recipes during the pandemic. For example, polenta with chicken broth and cheddar cheese or rice porridge with black rice, dates, and bananas. Perhaps Covid-19 will unleash a new generation of chefs for the 2020s!” David Clark: “A habit that I will hold onto will be doing and appreciating the little things that you do with your family. Now that my kids are older, they are busy with work, college, and their social lives, but we have managed to do more family puzzles, workouts, walks, bike rides, games, cooking, do-it-yourself projects, movie nights, etc. I pray that all of our classmates, their families, and friends are safe and have a successful opening of their cities. I’m hoping we will be able to return to the Big D in 2021 to celebrate our 30th reunion. Stay blessed!”

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