Happy holidays! I hope December is treating you well. Are you waxing nostalgic for the days when we would arrive back from Hanover in early December, to have a nice leisurely lead-up to holiday festivities—only to be thrust back up to Dartmouth to begin right after New Year’s? Twenty years ago we would have been starting sophomore winter—how many of you were studying abroad? Taking leave? Or were you, like me, racing through customs and through a variety of planes, trains and automobiles to just get back from South America in time for classes?


Josh Bers knows something of what I speak, at least when it comes to traveling down south: “This summer our family took a ski trip to the southern hemisphere. We planned this trip last January when skiing in August sounded appealing. By the time it arrived, however, we were questioning our sanity, giving up warm summer days for more snow and cold (which we see plenty of living in Boston!). When we got to Las Lenas, Argentina, however, we didn’t feel so sorry for ourselves. The weather was amazing: 50 to 60 degrees and bright sun. The kids took ski school all day and improved their turns as well as their Spanish. The adults meanwhile got a primer on rock skiing—kind of like slalom but the rocks aren’t as well marked! If they could guarantee more snow next time, it would be a great place to return to. Hope all you ’93ers are well. Give me a buzz if you’re in town: bersj@media.mit.edu.”


Josh isn’t the only one with fantastic trips on the brain. Peter Lind sent me a message just as I was putting this to press: “Just got back from our annual fly-fishing trip to Pennsylvania. Got to catch up with classmates Mike Scodro and Matt Royer. Mike is the solicitor general in Chicago and Matt has started teaching environmental law at Penn State. Had a great time catching up and drinking cold Yeungling lagers. P.S.: Matt just came out with his latest children’s book, which you can buy at nightbearandlambie.com. Go, Matt. Also spoke recently to Sam Cook, who just left Tecnica to get back to his tennis roots at Prince.”


As it turns out Sam had sent me this information himself! Sam joined Prince Sports as general manager of its business in the United States and Canada. It’s a sweet homecoming of sorts for Sam: Back in our day he captained the Big Green tennis team to its first Ivy League championship using a Prince Graphite racquet!


The extended ’93 family also grows with Rick Owen’s announcement that his wife gave birth to a son, Peter Henry, on October 12. Congratulations!


In this time of giving, la presidenta Beth Kakower wanted to let everyone know a little more about our class project, funding Dartmouth Global Leadership Project, a new student group that funds leadership projects focused on engaging the adolescents in communities (currently in Honduras and Vermont) through collaborative work in the mornings and by facilitating leadership workshops in the afternoons. The dues letter will offer more information and ask you to make a voluntary contribution (suggested $5).


May you be safe and warm this season—and may Santa Claus bring me the Paper Grading Robot 6000 that I have always wanted and so desperately need.


—Jeffrey Middents, 505 Ethan Allen Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912; dartmouth93@gmail.com