The weather has been mild being almost the warmest on record and almost the record snowless until today, when we got an inch or two, enough to be official.

It is always such a pleasure to touch base with ’42s as I get ready to write the column. Jon Mendes is a true living example. He is 102 and reports that there is “nothing wrong” and “it can’t get any better!” He takes eight pills a day the doctor gave him; he doesn’t know what they are for but says the doctor says, “They are good for me.” He says if you do the right thing, “you can do it too.” If you go online under his name you will see a booklet that he created, Why I Enjoy Good Health at 96—and You Can Too! and a piece titled “A Marine’s Journey.” He asked if I was 95 yet. I said no, I am 89. He said he was looking for a “mature woman” and 89 is too young. We, and now I, live on 76th and First Avenue—the New York Marathon route. When Jon “ran” the marathon at age 96, he was the oldest person to complete it. We came out to greet him as he passed by and provided refreshments. You also can find his WW II story in Dartmouth at War.

I was informed that Irenee Du Pont died on January 16. After attending Dartmouth he earned a B.S. at MIT. His wife was Barbara Batchelder, a native of Hanover.

I need your news, classmates and widows. This column depends on it.

—Joanna Caproni, 370 East 76 St., Apt. A 406, New York, NY 10021; caproni@aol.com