Class Note 1991
Issue
January-February 2024
Hey, ’91s!
I’m writing this just days after missing the 45th anniversary celebration of Dartmouth women’s rugby. I heard from former teammate Robin Reynolds Wilt that “connecting with decades-long friends and teammates Jill Kimmel, Linnea Alvord, and Rebecca Hall and so many others that share our love for the sport and one another made this weekend a priceless experience that we will cherish.”
Also in Hanover for “Dartoberfest” were Heather and Bill Vrattos, Molly and Rich Aube, Sara Burbine Potter, Amy Arlin, Kristy and Geoff Bronner, Dave Cogar, Patty Davidson, Kimberly DeVore Eades, Kim Goodman Genzer, Tom Hong, Brook Seeley, Megan Vaules, and John Sun (who carried our class banner). While some braved the rain to watch the football team win, Steve Fried admits to skipping the game to stay dry. I hope you can look at yourself in the mirror, Steve.
In other new news (shoutout to the Kelce brothers), Sue Shankman made senior rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation, the first female senior rabbi in its more than 170 years. What an incredible achievement, Sue. I’m wondering if your time as “chaplain” for the TriDelt house was good training for your impressive new role.
Steven Andrews shared that he recently published his first book, Light and Waves: A Conceptual Exploration of Physics. It offers a unique perspective on physics by exploring all types of waves, including water waves, sound waves, light waves, matter waves of quantum mechanics, and gravitational waves of general relativity. Don’t be intimidated by the title, I hear it’s “quite unusual in its presentation of complex topics at a correct but conceptual level, without obscuring the understanding behind a lot of complicated math.” You can get your user-friendly copy on Amazon.
Finally, David Martosko sent in an update. “Until a few years ago I was the chief U.S. political editor for the Daily Mail. I founded its Washington, D.C., bureau and along the way I somehow collected an Edward R. Murrow Award for writing and an Emmy for my TV work. (Fun fact: They make you pay $400 for the statuette!) Covering the White House every day was the Wild West during the Trump years. I publicly declined the president’s offer to be his press secretary when Sean Spicer wore out his welcome in 2017. (Bullet, dodged.) Then in 2019 I asked him the question whose unguarded answer got him impeached. It was my voice shouting over the sound of chopper blades in that clip the Democrats played ad nauseam during the hearings. Ultimately, I had to step away from Air Force One travel and the rest of it in 2020 because my body couldn’t handle the strain. I needed spinal surgery; I’ve had three now. I reinvented myself last year while I re-learned to walk. Now I’m writing a book and I’m one of the on-air voices at WETA in Washington, the NPR affiliate that plays classical music. (So that master’s in orchestra conducting is finally a “useful”waste of money.) My wife is a working opera singer (she debuted last year in concert with the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York), so it fits. I love reading about the diversity of life experiences we’ve all had. It makes me feel less odd somehow. We were all such children back then, weren’t we?” We were children, David, and we had backs and knees that didn’t hurt. Thank you for the note.
—Tracey Cushing Gilliam, P.O. Box 131, Manchester, VT 05254; (917) 951-1472; tragilliam1@gmail.com
I’m writing this just days after missing the 45th anniversary celebration of Dartmouth women’s rugby. I heard from former teammate Robin Reynolds Wilt that “connecting with decades-long friends and teammates Jill Kimmel, Linnea Alvord, and Rebecca Hall and so many others that share our love for the sport and one another made this weekend a priceless experience that we will cherish.”
Also in Hanover for “Dartoberfest” were Heather and Bill Vrattos, Molly and Rich Aube, Sara Burbine Potter, Amy Arlin, Kristy and Geoff Bronner, Dave Cogar, Patty Davidson, Kimberly DeVore Eades, Kim Goodman Genzer, Tom Hong, Brook Seeley, Megan Vaules, and John Sun (who carried our class banner). While some braved the rain to watch the football team win, Steve Fried admits to skipping the game to stay dry. I hope you can look at yourself in the mirror, Steve.
In other new news (shoutout to the Kelce brothers), Sue Shankman made senior rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation, the first female senior rabbi in its more than 170 years. What an incredible achievement, Sue. I’m wondering if your time as “chaplain” for the TriDelt house was good training for your impressive new role.
Steven Andrews shared that he recently published his first book, Light and Waves: A Conceptual Exploration of Physics. It offers a unique perspective on physics by exploring all types of waves, including water waves, sound waves, light waves, matter waves of quantum mechanics, and gravitational waves of general relativity. Don’t be intimidated by the title, I hear it’s “quite unusual in its presentation of complex topics at a correct but conceptual level, without obscuring the understanding behind a lot of complicated math.” You can get your user-friendly copy on Amazon.
Finally, David Martosko sent in an update. “Until a few years ago I was the chief U.S. political editor for the Daily Mail. I founded its Washington, D.C., bureau and along the way I somehow collected an Edward R. Murrow Award for writing and an Emmy for my TV work. (Fun fact: They make you pay $400 for the statuette!) Covering the White House every day was the Wild West during the Trump years. I publicly declined the president’s offer to be his press secretary when Sean Spicer wore out his welcome in 2017. (Bullet, dodged.) Then in 2019 I asked him the question whose unguarded answer got him impeached. It was my voice shouting over the sound of chopper blades in that clip the Democrats played ad nauseam during the hearings. Ultimately, I had to step away from Air Force One travel and the rest of it in 2020 because my body couldn’t handle the strain. I needed spinal surgery; I’ve had three now. I reinvented myself last year while I re-learned to walk. Now I’m writing a book and I’m one of the on-air voices at WETA in Washington, the NPR affiliate that plays classical music. (So that master’s in orchestra conducting is finally a “useful”waste of money.) My wife is a working opera singer (she debuted last year in concert with the Metropolitan Opera Guild in New York), so it fits. I love reading about the diversity of life experiences we’ve all had. It makes me feel less odd somehow. We were all such children back then, weren’t we?” We were children, David, and we had backs and knees that didn’t hurt. Thank you for the note.
—Tracey Cushing Gilliam, P.O. Box 131, Manchester, VT 05254; (917) 951-1472; tragilliam1@gmail.com