Back in late April, way before our successful, awesome 30th reunion on Zoom in mid-June, 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.” Here is Part II. Ted Carleton: “First time in my life I’ve ever been deemed essential. So, like Carl Spackler, I’ve got that going for me.” Kim Lewis: “I’ve had 42 consecutive nights (and counting) of family dinner with all four of us (husband, son aged 21, daughter aged 18) in attendance, leisurely one- to two-hour dinners followed by all-family clean ups and movie or game nights. No one wanted this drastic change of pace, but Brent and I are cherishing it.” Mark Sternman: “I’ve gotten to grow my first beard since my Edinburgh foreign study program. On a more serious note, I’ve done multiple Zoom calls with Tor Blaisdell, Roth Herrlinger, Jamie Pringle, and Scott Spring. The old banter never fails to cheer me.” Josh Vogel: “Renewed family time has been an unexpected treat. I never expected to once again have us all together, with time to really connect. I find that my children have become mature, thoughtful, caring individuals whose company I really enjoy. Having a taste of retirement has been a nice treat as well. My wife and I haven’t spent this much time together since before we were married.” Quincy Vale: “The ability of humans to adapt to change is truly remarkable. I look at the wrenching change in lifestyles wrought by the global pandemic in a few short months and it makes me hopeful that the collective, global ‘we’ will be able to address climate change in a meaningful manner. The money can be found and invested. The laws and policies can be enacted. The technologies can be repurposed, developed, and deployed at scale. And we can do it quickly and efficiently in a way to minimize loss of life and our natural world. In short, one positive of all this is that it is a good dress rehearsal for what we all need to do during the coming 20 years to manage and mitigate the unintended impact we are having on our home planet. We can do it, and we will.” Jane Blum DeMarchi: “I have to admit I am enjoying spending so much time with my college-aged children. I thought they were gone for good and now I get to eat lunch with them!” Sue Domchek: “At the risk of sounding flippant, given that I work in a hospital and things have been stressful (and I fully realize that the following is a First World problem), I learned how to color my own hair. However, I have no intention of continuing this newfound skill on the other side.” Brad Drazen: “The five of us have really enjoyed reconnecting as a family unit. It’s been a decade since we sat down at the dinner table consistently, and we’ve found a great sense of comfort in being together. I believe one of the positive, long-lasting results of the pandemic will be that nuclear families will remain stronger and more cohesive for years to come.” Gary Katz: “The one positive thing that has come out of the Covid-19 shelter-in-place orders are the Wednesday night ‘virtual house meetings’ we have been having on Zoom with the Sigma Nu ’90s, including Bruce Sacerdote, Quincy Vale, Todd Eagle, Brian Mittman, Rob Fasciano, Bob Galindo, Chris Farrens, Jon Ezrow, Mike Kanarick, and Matt Hemry. I’m embarrassed to admit, though, that given our age we have adjusted the start time from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m.”

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