For so many of us, 80th birthday milestones have been the theme of the year. Dick Aberle advised of the gala organized by his children, “Around the World in 80 Years,” which featured posters and memorabilia from the dozens of countries he had visited in his extensive travel career with Lufthansa. 


We had some recent delightful catching up chats with roommate Gere Coffey. He began flight training a few months after graduation and served as a pilot. His interest in aviation and a career in the print media led to his position as publisher of Aviation Week until his retirement. Gere is now involved in nonprofit work. He and his wife, Marge, an Episcopal priest, established a homeless shelter in Red Bank, New Jersey, plus four more in area communities that provide board and care sites and independent living for 120 individuals. Gere serves as a trustee of the HABcore Foundation they helped found in 1988.


Nick Kotz’s latest book, The Harness Maker’s Dream, encompasses not only the family history of his grandfather who escaped the anti-Semitism of czarist Russia in 1890 to settle in San Antonio, Texas, raise a family, establish a thriving business and successful ranch and become a community leader, but weaves in nearly a century of social and political history of the United States. Bob Scheiffer of CBS News calls it, “Dramatic, inspiring.” Trust me, it’s better than that.


We have also a new novel from Lyn Brock, The Inn of Ten, about the interplay of the characters who follow the Ten Commandments and those who don’t. A reviewer states, “The greatest strength of the story is the interplay of each character’s sinful (or saintly) proclivities. It is a well-plotted and well-intentioned read.”


Joe Kagle continues to garner special recognition awards for his highly creative art from the 14th and 15th annual juried online exhibitions of the Upstream People Gallery. His work has been termed “a kind of visual genius,” and “his understanding of the human condition is readily apparent.”


Sadly we report the passing Skip Mackey, “The voice of NASA,” and also Dan Anzel and Frank Tepper.


—Ken Lundstrom, 1101 Exchange Place, #1106, Durham, NC 27713; (919) 206-4639; kenlundstrom@yahoo.com