Regional family get-togethers are a lot of fun and from a generational point of view there is a nice sense of continuity watching cousins relate to each other. Pete Foster’s annual gathering—45 people this year–is held in July at the Charter Hotel near Vail, Colorado. He and I remonstrated that when our children start to retire it’s a clear sign we are aging. His oldest son, Michael, is retiring after a career working with psychologically disturbed students in the Middletown, Connecticut, school system. His other two children, Susan and David, are continuing interesting careers. Dr. Sue Foster has been the pastor of the East Woodstock (Connecticut) Congregational Church for the last 30 years. She completed her doctor of ministry degree at the Hartford Seminary in 2014. She comments, “I am a writer, preacher, retreat leader, counselor, wife, mother, volunteer chaplain, daughter, sister, friend.” Her new book, Retreats to Go: Twelve Creative Programs that Renew and Refresh, is available on Amazon. David Foster, who got his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Minnesota, is a faculty member at Harvard, where he teaches ecology and is director of the Harvard Forest, the university’s 4,000-acre ecological laboratory and classroom in central Massachusetts. He is the principal investigator for its long-term ecological program. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, its more than 100 scientists and students investigate the dynamics of New England’s landscapes and the effects of climate change, human activity, and natural disturbances. His latest book, Meeting of Land and Sea, published in 2017, reviews the ecology and future of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

—Dave Kurr, 4281 Indian Field Road, Clinton, NY 13323; (781) 801-6716; djkurr@verizon.net