02/24/26
Adventures in AI: Trust But Verify!
By Lee Bolman, Y62 Communications Team member
Do you remember the China Tax Guy from our class notes in the Yale Alumni Magazine? Probably not because he didn’t exist, but Google Gemini remembered him vividly.
In searching for information about one of our classmates, an AI app said that he had once served as our class secretary. I didn’t remember that, so I pursued the issue with Google Gemini Pro 3, supposedly one of the best AI apps out there.
It turns out that even the latest and greatest AI can hallucinate with confidence and enthusiasm. For anonymity, I’ve changed the names and some of the biographical facts, but here’s the conversation… READ LEE’S FULL ESSAY HERE
02/24/26
Ether
By Gary Richardson, Y62 Communications Team member
[Editor’s Note: Gary’s taking a Creative Writing class in Boise, and this essay was his response to the essay prompt you’ll find at the bottom.]
Most of my early memories are like brief, dreamlike scenes from silent films. They seldom have a sound track. One vivid exception was my experience with ether.
I’m not talking about the ethereal kind that often begins with a: a-e-t-h-e-r, quintessence, the classical fifth element, the pure, celestial air breathed by the gods. Even Isaac Newton believed… READ GARY’S FULL ESSAY HERE
02/09/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, February 5, 2026
On February 5th, we spoke with Dr. Doris Iarovici about the ongoing challenge of student mental health in the collegiate setting. Please enjoy the recording of this highly important topic.
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01/19/26
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, January 14, 2026
On January 14th, we continued our discussion of domestic and world politics, aided by five classmates: veteran newsman Al Chambers, Venezuelan-born Rody Salas, Washington beltway insider Kent Hughes, former politician and police commissioner Charlie Valier, and moderator Lee Bolman. Please enjoy this fascinating recording.
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12/16/25
The Legal Intelligence of the Friday Pilots
By Bob Breault and The Friday Pilots
Bob prefaces the following email exchange with: “Dear Yale Friends, In this year I have sent you several Emails regarding ‘Military think.’ About positions that we take and how we’re trained and the loss we have suffered by their “retirement,” we’re losing our generals, etc, etc.
“This is a recent Friday pilot chitchat regarding the loss Specialist Sarah Beckstrom in Washington DC. [Nov. 28, 2025] We feel for every single person, military or civilian. I think the attachment emphasizes my previous point that the loss of our Lieutenant- and Major-Generals experience this year is a major loss of in-depth experience in BROAD areas, not just warfare. They are first class lawyers; they have to be to play within the law when you are killing people. It in a lesser sense taught to every recruit. It sounds cruel to say… READ THE EMAIL EXCHANGES HERE
12/16/25
Helping Others: My Food Pantry Story
By John Stewart
We all are aware of the increasing existence of food support organizations around the country, and the increasing need for them. From the outside, I suppose it seems so simple – find a room, entice some volunteers, get food donations and pass ‘em out. But it’s not simple, and never is. Every food supplier center requires an enormous amount of energy, time and money.
For more than fifteen years, our church, St Thomas Amenia in Union NY, located on a country road a few feet from CT and designed by the architect of Trinity Wall Street, Richard Upjohn, has organized and run what we call The Food of Life/Comida de Vida Food Pantry. A couple of Fridays ago we served 982 people. Every Friday afternoon we open from 2 to 5, although some people turn up right at closing time, having just gotten off work. Our neighbors vary widely in ethnicity, age and financial situation. It’s amazing how many people with full-time jobs just don’t have enough cash to buy food. We do not ask for a financial report, but we… READ JOHN’S FULL ESSAY HERE
12/08/25
Yale ’62 Coffee Hour, December 4, 2025: Life Worth Living
On the first Thursday of December, we welcomed Matt Croasmun and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, who are the co-authors, along with Miroslav Volf, of the New York Times bestselling book, Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most. This project all started with a Yale class, which has grown to several enormously popular Yale classes. Please enjoy this wonderful session.
In addition, members of our audience expressed interest in seeing the syllabus for one of the Life Worth Living classes. A representative syllabus may be found here.
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12/01/25
Miracle in Youngstown: Yale 43, Youngstown State 42
photo: Christina Lee, senior photographer, Yale Daily News
By Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman
A week after crushing Harvard in THE GAME to win a share of the Ivy title, Yale became the first and, so far, only Ivy League team to win a game in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. In the Ivy League’s post-season debut, the Bulldogs salvaged the League’s reputation with a magical comeback win, edging Youngstown State 43-42. Skeptics outside the northeast doubted that any Ivy team was ready for FCS prime time, and doubters reveled as Yale and Ivy co-champion Harvard both fell into deep holes in the first… READ LEE’S FULL REPORT HERE
12/01/25
YAA Fall Assembly Report, 2025
By John Stewart, Class Secretary
After checking in at the Omni at 9:00AM Thursday, November 20, and rushing over to the Rose House to don my name badge, I hoofed back to the Museum of British Art for a tour. At these YAA meetings there are three types of events; tours, special interest sessions and giant gatherings with everyone there. The museum had reopened with new skylights and a floor plan which opened up smaller rooms to longer, more elegant spaces. The third floor holds the permanent collection and we had a great guide who invited comments about Constable and Turner. There were two exhibits, one on Blake, very large, showing how his drawings and paintings related to his poetry, and the other… READ JOHN’S FULL ESSAY HERE
12/01/25
Reflections on 2025 Yale Alumni Assembly
By Lee Bolman
Last year, my first attending the YAA Assembly & Convocation, I was particularly struck by new buildings (notably on science hill) and renovations of old buildings (like the Peabody Museum and the Schwarzman Center). This year I was most impressed by the energy and optimism of Yale leaders and faculty in the face of the many challenges facing higher education.
One building was new to me—the Loria Center, named for classmate… READ LEE’S FULL ACCOUNT HERE
11/21/25
COP 30: Where Are We Now?
On Friday, November 14, Bill Reilly, former head of the EPA under George H.W. Bush, sat down via Zoom with Y62 Communications Team member Gary Richardson to talk about what the absence of the US president at this annual global event means to the world, and what’s happening there in Brazil. What’s in our future… where do we go from here?
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11/21/25
Our Voices Matter: Reflections on Politics, Power and Polarization
On Tuesday, November 18, we convened a special Coffee Hour to talk about what’s happening politically in the country and in the world. Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman was joined by Al Chambers, Kent Hughes and Ken Merkey to start the discussion, and the audience classmates offered a wide variety of perspectives to keep the conversation rolling. We intend to continue our discussion at the second “Our Voices Matter” special Coffee Hour after the holidays, in January. Please enjoy this recording.
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11/14/25
A Veterans’ Week Note
AI image generated by Copilot
By Bob Breault
[Ed. Note: We were unable to post this earlier this week, but it’s timely and perhaps even critically important, nonetheless. Please read on. Thank you.]
Sorry, I am not known for my brevity.
Yes, my Friday pilots have recently had a lot of comments regarding the meeting with the generals** and as I’ve been saying all along and predicted before, it’s happened now. We just lost something like 16 KEY Commanding generals: three- and four-star generals. I knew it would happen. We have lost a tremendous knowledge base that will… CLICK TO READ BOB’S COMPLETE MESSAGE
11/10/25
Yale ’62 November ’25 Coffee Hour with Dr. Jennifer Frederick
On Thursday, November 6, we welcomed Dr. Jennifer Frederick, Executive Director of the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning at Yale. We specifically focused on the use of AI, and how teachers and students are adjusting, benefiting and working with it toward their advantage, as it becomes more ubiquitous in our lives.
Any comments? Please make them here.
11/10/25
A Two-Part Trip
By Y62 Class Secretary & Communications Team member John Stewart
On September 28, Jolly and I drove to New London, boarded the ferry to Long Island and thence drove to Amagansett, where the ‘62 Whiffs re-uned in a massive wonderful old house with a zillion bedrooms. We’d held the first of four reunions there in 1977. That time the house was full to bursting with 13 Whiffs and many wives and children, a week before… CLICK TO READ JOHN’S COMPLETE REPORT
10/17/25
Yale, Harvard and Trump: An Update
By Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman
After Harvard put him on its admissions wait-list, Steve Schwarzman (Y’69) called a Harvard dean with a simple plea. “I think I’m going to be very successful and that would be good for Harvard.” The plea failed and Schwarzman settled for New Haven. That bore fruit for Yale when he donated $150 million in 2015 (one of the largest gifts in university history) to found the Schwarzman Center. But he held no grudge against Harvard… CLICK TO READ LEE’S COMPLETE ARTICLE
10/14/25
Yale ’62 October ’25 Coffee Hour with Finkle & Weeden: “These are the Good Old Days”
“Dare to be Mediocre” and another favorite line was Bill’s “Nothing falls in your lap if you don’t sit down!” What a wonderful peek into the wacky, creative minds of classmates David Finkle and Bill Weeden! We got a heads-up on an upcoming movie starring Bill (“Our Man Funk”) and a bit farther out, time-wise: “Gonzo Geezer Gore Fest!” In addition, “Special Needs Revolt” is now streaming (and here is a link to a YouTube interview about the movie). Any comments? Please make them here.
09/30/25
Debating the Legacy of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Debaters: Dr. Tom Frieden, Dr. Mike Varshavski, Dr. Jerome Adams, Dr. Dara Kass
Classmate Bob Rosenkranz’s Open To Debate provides forum to respectfully debate myriad topics. The latest topic was this, about COVID 19 and its aftermath. To quote directly from Bob’s Open To Debate site, “It’s been five years since the start of COVID-19, and the world is still grappling with its consequences—millions of lives lost, shaken trust in institutions, and deep political divisions. Public health agencies like the CDC and WHO faced immense uncertainty while delivering science-based guidance. But did public health systems fail society, or did society fail public health?
“Critics argue that public health leaders were unprepared, mismanaged the crisis, and provided inconsistent guidance. Slow responses, inadequate medical supplies, and delayed vaccines intensified suffering. Others claim the failures were societal, citing widespread mistrust, misinformation, and resistance to masks, vaccines, and distancing, which undermined compliance and effectiveness.
“In this episode of ‘The Hopkins Forum,’ two teams of renowned health practitioners, government officials, and health journalists will debate both sides of the following question: Was COVID a Public Health Failure or Did Society Fail Public Health?
“This debate was recorded live on September 17, 2025, at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland.”
COMMENTS? Please make them here
09/30/25
My Personal Encounters with Famous Men in My Lifetime
By Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber
Like many of my classmates, I’ve done some happy wandering over the course of my life, including living in Corning, New York, New Haven, Connecticut, parts of California, and Oxford, England, with travels all over Europe and much of the United States. During my sojourns here and there, I was fortunate enough to meet famous individuals who broadened my outlook. What follows… CLICK TO READ BILL’S ESSAY IN ITS ENTIRETY
09/24/25
Go Wild(er)!
Our classmate Tappy Wilder sent us the following:
Greetings!
Thornton Wilder wrote of New York City — “The sense of the multitude of human souls affects every man in a different way. It renders some cynical; it frightens many; it made Wordsworth sad; me it exhilarates. I must go back and submerge myself in it from time to time or I go spiritually sluggish.”
This Fall, Wilder is back submerging himself in New York City and we’re thrilled to share PLEASE CLICK TO READ THE REST. YOU’LL ALSO FIND A SPECIAL LINK TO GET SPECIAL RATE FOR TICKETS!
09/22/25
Yale ’62 Special Event Coffee Hour on Ukraine: Marci Shore & Tetiana Kotelnykova
* Please Note: At the request of the speakers, this talk is behind password protection. If you wish to see this talk, please email our webmaster for the password and the link to the talk. Thank you. On Wednesday, September 17, 2025, we hosted Prof. Marci Shore and Master’s degree candidate and teaching fellow at the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale Tetiana “Tanya” Kotelnykova, who spoke to us about what’s happening in Ukraine at present and what resources the Ukrainian youth and population in general can pursue, in their long battle toward a peaceful, free future for themselves and their country.
Links relevant to the presentation:
- The Ukrainian Youth Global Initiative
- Brave Generation
- The ENGin Program – English Speaking Practice & Cultural Exchange for Ukrainians. Flexible Online Volunteering for English Speakers
- The Reckoning Project
- Truth Hounds
- Looking at Women Looking at War
- Tanya’s latest article in The Atlantic
- Tom Friedman on Ukraine (NYT)
Comments? Please make them here.
09/09/25
Yale ’62 Sept ’25 Coffee Hour: Yale’s Planetary Solutions
On Thursday, September 4, 2025, we hosted Prof. Julie Zimmerman and Sara Smiley-Smith, PhD, who spoke to us about Yale’s Planetary Solutions project. Please enjoy this important discussion about how Yale is doing its part for an energy sustainable future.
Links relevant to the presentation:
- Yale Science Strategy (2018)
- Yale Planetary Solutions website
- Climate Haven
- Science Hill Geothermal
- Bekenstein Climate Leaders Internships (undergraduate)
- Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture
- Fossil Fuel Investment Principles
- YPS Steering Committee Report
- Planetary Solutions Prize
- Impact! Awards
- YPS 2025 Grant Awards
- Planetary Solutions Impact Accelerator
- Yale Engineering researchers have been awarded a $9 million Multi-University Research Initiative (MURI) grant from the Office of Naval Research to explore how complex, high-dimensional interventions can control or design coherent physical systems
- School of Environment’s E360
- Climate Week
- Sci x SciFi
- Contribute your YPS Strategic Vision 2050 Ideas here
- Nordhaus on the Social Cost of Carbon (2017)
- Yale Carbon Charge
- Yale Urban
- Course on Mars
- Kramer Soft Robotics Lab
- Blue Carbon
- Mary Louise Timmermans
- Climate Haven & Planetary Solutions event with focus on water tech
- New Haven Environmental History Teaching Tools
- P2 Science
- Climate Haven Water Innovation Hub
- Stockholm Declaration Article
- Yale Center for Green Chemistry & Engineering
- Cornell Deep Geothermal website
Comments? Please make them here.
08/25/25
How I Spent My Summer “Vacation”
By Y62 Communications Team member Tim Hall
One of the great paradoxes of retirement life is that so much of your life is unstructured, you feel that you never have any free time. Thus, when asked to contribute a note to the class musings about how I spent my summer vacation, I am left to ponder what the subject means.
Much of retirement life has a disjointed structure to it, with demands and desires coming from all directions – family, medical, home maintenance, travel, recreation, social, leisure, and more. But in the summer that load and complexity is amplified, as so many activities during the other three seasons, which have more of a scheduled rhythm (regular meetings of boards, church, classes, grandkids’… READ TIM’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
08/11/25
Yale ’62 August ’25 Coffee Hour: Lab Dog, with Brad Bolman
On Thursday, August 7, 2025, we hosted Brad Bolman, PhD, author of Lab Dog, and son of our Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman. Please enjoy this fascinating talk about the role the American Beagle has played in science and research.
Comments? Please make them here.
08/04/25
Pathways to Resilience and Renewal
A Strategic Reflection on Civilization’s Future
By Anthony Giamei
Executive Summary
Civilization faces converging challenges — ecological strain, resource scarcity, technological disruption, and demographic shifts — but within these pressures lie opportunities for thoughtful adaptation. This paper offers both a wake-up call and a framework for investing in resilience, sustainability, and renewal.
It maps out structural vulnerabilities and identifies guideposts for individuals, investors, and policymakers to foster strategic transformation. From clean technology to ethical AI and education, the ideas herein amplify potential impact where it matters most.
“Civilization doesn’t endure because it predicts the future. It endures because it… READ TONY’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
08/04/25
Classmate Dick Riseling’s Journey Chronicled in New York Times
Introduction by Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman
Dick Riseling was last featured on the class website two years ago, after a “whopper of a tornado” devastated buildings, equipment and trees at Apple Tree Farm in Callicoon Center, New York. The farm has been a labor of love for Dick and partner Sonja Hedlund since they bought “13 acres of neglected fields and abandoned buildings” in 1973. (See our article at Yale Class of 1962 « Apple Pond Farm Devastated by Tornado.)
The latest chapter in the Apple Tree Farm saga was chronicled in an article, “Leaving the City for the Farm Is a Hard Row to Hoe. But They Did It,” which appeared in the New York Times… READ THE FULL FEATURE HERE
07/22/25
Trump v. Harvard: What Should Yale Do?
By Lee G. Bolman
Harvard and the Trump administration went to court in Boston this week in the latest round of a battle that the president seems determined to win and Harvard cannot afford to lose. At issue is more than $2.5 billion in federal grants (much of it for biomedical research) that the administration unilaterally… READ LEE’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
07/14/25
Yale ’62 July ’25 Coffee Hour. Somewhere Toward Freedom, with Bennett Parten
On Thursday, July 10, 2025, we hosted Bennett Parten, PhD, author of Somewhere Toward Freedom, a nonfiction account of Sherman’s March to the Sea. Please enjoy this in-depth, enlightening talk.
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06/23/25
Celebrating Volunteerism: Dixie Carroll
Dixie Carroll has been volunteering with Jubilee Housing for 33 years, getting kids into the water as swimmers, and onto the water as canoeists. Jubilee created a lovely “Thank You” video about his work with the organization over more than three decades. Click the “play” button and enjoy this sweet tribute!
Comments? Please make them here.
06/23/25
Celebrating Friendship: Charles Valier’s Remembrance of Former Missouri Governor and Former US Senator Kit Bond
32 year-old Missouri governor Kit Bond, 1973.
Of note in Memorial Service Bulletin: John Danforth hails from Yale Law and Divinity in 1962 or ’63. John Ashcroft is of Branford College, ’63.
By Charles Valier
Charlie Valier sent us the following: “In 1971, while in my third term in the State legislature, I was retained by Missouri’s 31 year-old State Auditor Kit Bond to help prepare him to run an audacious campaign for governor. Both of us were progressive Republicans who broke new ground in solidly Democratic and conservative Missouri. It was an exhilarating and halcyon time in my life and his. We were so young our enemies referred to us as the ‘kiddie korps.’ Bond’s recent death from pneumonia brought a half-century of our collaboration to an end. I hope the following piece will capture the spirit of that time.” READ CHARLIE’S REMEMBRANCE OF KIT BOND, AND OF THEIR WORK TOGETHER.
06/23/25
Remembrance of a Classmate
John Stewart reports: “Our classmate Burgert Roberts left us in April and I’m trying to write about him, for his classmate obituary here on our website. He had a complicated and mysterious life, in the sense that information is hard to come by.
If you knew him at Yale or stayed in touch with him to any degree would you please let me know? My email is johnhargerstewart@gmail.com. Many thanks.
06/09/25
Y62 June Coffee Hour. The Future of Banking
On June 5, we learned a tremendous amount about public banking from Earl Staelin, and then Whit Knapp topped off our Coffee Hour with a generous serving of information about the history of trusted third parties in the financial process. Whit also spoke on the futuristic topic of cryptocurrency, which, amazingly, is here already. Enjoy this enlightening talk!
Earl’s slides are here. Whit’s remarks are here.
Earl mentions that if anyone has questions about or suggestions about his part of the presentation, they’re invited to email him at his address: estaelin@comcast.net.
Whit invites questions, too. Classmates are encouraged to email him at wknapp@gtbinsights.com.
Comments? Please make them here.
06/09/25
Tornado! A Close Call
By Charlie Valier
We got hit by a tornado last month (May 16). I was sitting in our sun room with my sweet dog, Taffy and my wife, when it hit quite suddenly. The sky had been overcast, but suddenly it became dark. There was violent thunder and lightning followed by the sound of large hail falling. Rain came down and then a violent windstorm. One minute our back terrace was clear except for the outdoor furniture, and then it was filled with tree branches. My wife escaped to the interior, but hobbled by… Read the rest of Charlie’s sobering account here
05/22/25
Special Event: Jason Stanley
On Tuesday, May 20, 2025, Professor Jason Stanley spoke to us, along with the classes of ’60 and ’61, as well, about the dangers of fascism. Our recording is below.
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05/19/25
Vintage Love: Reunited by Loss, Rescued by Love
Christiana and Jonathan
By Jonathan Ater
Classmate John Carr, and I met as freshmen when we lived on the same floor in Vanderbilt Hall. We roomed together in Saybrook during sophomore and junior years. Then in the summer of 1961, I married Deanne, and we were one of the few married undergraduate couples. That fall, John met a stunning, redheaded Vassar freshman, Christiana Creekpaum, and they quickly became a number.
John and I were both privileged to join the Yale Law School class of 1965. Christiana visited often in New Haven, and we shared time together as couples. John and Christiana were married in Dwight Chapel the day… Read the rest of Jonathan’s essay here
05/19/25
L.A. Fires and Their Environmental Effects
This spring, as part of a cooperative project with the Yale classes of ’60 and ’61, Kai Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences at Yale School of Health, described to us many of the health risks associated with wildfires, heat, cold and smoke. His talk is the first in a planned series of discussions about the challenges Los Angeles faces as it rebuilds from this winter’s disaster.
Comments? Please make them here.
05/05/25
Y62 May Coffee Hour. Jeffrey Loria: A Life with Art and Baseball
On May 1, we spent a terrific 90 minutes with classmate Jeff Loria, as he spoke with us about his dual careers in modern art dealership and in major league baseball franchise ownership. Enjoy this wonderful talk!
Comments? Please make them here.
04/28/25
A Wife’s Meditation on Her Husband’s Death
At Friends of Children awards gala, May 26, 2022
By Carolyn Newberger, widow of classmate Eli Newberger
Eli died last autumn, on October 24, 2024. I was lying by his side, stroking his tummy and his chest as his breathing became more and more gurgly and louder and louder, as though he were breathing through a barrel of water, which perhaps in a way he was. I had queued up Spotify to Louis Armstrong, his favorite and his inspiration. Louis and Ella Fitzgerald were singing Gershwin… Click to read Carolyn’s heartfelt tribute to Eli
04/25/25
Sam Waterston Awarded 2025 Lincoln Leadership Prize
Sam Waterston wrote to us this week: “I’m sending you a speech I gave on Monday night [4/21/25] in Chicago. I was honored to be given the Lincoln Leadership Prize by the Lincoln Presidential Foundation, a prize that’s been given to an astonishing list of extraordinary people: a Supreme Court Justice, an Archbishop, an astronaut, a journalist, a Polish President, two American Presidents, a great film director, the Little Rock Nine, two historians, a renowned scientist, a U.K. Prime Minister, a great philanthropist… . I think they chose me because of my having played Lincoln, but still, it was something to be associated with this illustrious company for any reason. Talking about the connection between Lincoln and current events was inevitable, and I did. It felt as if there was a real appetite in the room to have these obvious things said. I’m hoping other people will read it and feel the same way.”
Sam sent us the full-text of his speech for classmates to read, and it’s available here. The video of Sam making his remarks is above.
Comments? Please make them here.
04/21/25
Jeff Loria, a Life with Art and Baseball
By John Stewart
Tip: Click images above for larger view. Navigate via arrows on the left and right of each photo. Upper right-hand corner X closes large view.
I’ve just had another look at our classmate Jeffrey Loria’s fascinating memoir, From the Front Row, Reflections of a Major League Baseball Owner and Modern Art Dealer, and am even more excited about his time with us at our Thursday, May 1st Coffee Hour. Aside from his twin (not identical) brilliant careers, he’s a fine writer. The book is full of fascinating details about his friendly and sometimes intimate relationships with some of the greatest 20th century artists, as well as his successful, pennant-winning ownership of the Miami Marlins. It’s extremely readable, very well organized, and full of behind-the-scene details as well as great photos. He writes fondly of his friendship of Vincent Scully, and I hope many of your reading this will have experienced his charismatic teaching. Very interesting indeed is his strategy of what we were all taught at Yale in writing courses — comparing and contrasting the two great passions of his life. And passion is clearly his watch-word. The book is available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble but hey – order it from your local independent bookstore, read it and join us on May 1st. Our first invitation to this Coffee Hour will be sent later this week!
04/18/25
Yale ’62 Interview: Louis Mackall
Last week (April 11, 2025), longtime friends and classmates Louis Mackall and John Stewart sat down to chat about the path Louis’s career has taken since graduation in ’62, and how he came to become such a creative architect and builder. Please enjoy this vibrant conversation, filled with happy conviviality.
Comments? Please make them here.
04/18/25
Yale Class of 2029: More Students From a Smaller Pool
By Lee Bolman
Yale admitted 2,308 students from a pool of 50,228 applicants to the class of 2029. The 4.6% admit rate was up from last year’s record low of 3.7%, when Yale accepted 2,146 students from 57,465 applicants. Yale admitted more applicants this year with the intention of expanding the first-year class to 1,650 students. Yale’s admit rate first dipped below 5% with the class of 2025 and has stayed there every year since. This is the second year in which Admissions… CLICK TO READ LEE’S COMPLETE POST
04/04/25
Our April Coffee Hour: 2×4 Leadership
On April 3, we took a close look at the personalities and leadership styles of President Donald Trump and DOGE leader Elon Musk, led by leadership and organizational studies expert Lee Bolman. Enjoy this fascinating recording.
Comments? Please make them here.
04/04/25
The Tugboat of Humanity?
By Bill Weber, with the comments of Art Mann
In 1967, I encountered Nickolas Katzenbach in Oxford, while he was there visiting, perhaps officially, as the Attorney General of the USA, during the Johnson administration. It was about that time he coined the concept or phrase: “The USA is the tugboat of humanity.”
This year, our new administration has begun movement toward America First, also known as MAGA. We are seeing government actions and statements which are totally… CLICK TO READ BILL’S COMPLETE POST
03/12/25
McInnis Questions Legality of Trump Higher Education Initiatives
By Lee G. Bolman
In an interview with the Yale Daily News, President Maurie McInnis said that some Trump administration initiatives threatening university funding and programs overstep the limits of presidential power and may well be blocked by courts. She added that Yale is working actively in Washington, anticipating that judges may rule that some orders from the administration are matters for Congress.
McInnis commented on a “Dear Colleague” letter from the U.S. Department of Education to universities which instructed them to suspend race-conscious programs or lose federal funding. McInnis said Yale did not… CLICK HERE TO READ LEE’S COMPLETE ARTICLE
03/12/25
Yale Basketball on a Roll
By Lee G. Bolman
Yale’s Men’s Varsity Basketball finished a historic season with a win against Brown last Thursday (3/6). The Bulldogs won the Ivy title with a 13-1 league record. The only loss to an Ivy opponent was a heartbreak at Harvard that snapped Yale’s 13-game winning streak, the longest in NCAA Division I this season. Under James Jones, the longest-serving basketball coach in Yale history, Yale won or shared the Ivy title for the 6th time in the last 10 years. Jones’ 25 years as head coach eclipsed the 19 year tenure of Joe Vancisin, who coached from 1956 to 1975. Jones and Vancisin are the only Yale coaches who have taken teams to NCAA March Madness—three appearances for Vancisin and four for Jones. Jones may get another chance if Yale wins the Ivy tournament coming up this weekend. [Yale Daily News coverage here]
COMMENTS? CLICK HERE TO MAKE THEM
03/07/25
Our March Coffee Hour: Ukraine
On March 6, we sat down with Jim Brooke’77, an experienced journalist (New York Times, Bloomberg, Voice of America, 8 years in Russia, 6 years in Ukraine), our own Bob Breault, a military and international relations expert, with deep roots and current relatives in Ukraine, and members of The Friday Pilots, retired senior military officers, some of whom who still have their high level security clearances and are actively engaged with the issue. Please enjoy this riveting recording.
Classmate and frequent attendee to Coffee Hours Peter Torreggiani sent in the following: “The summary, which is linked here, is from a longer draft for a possible inviolable and inalienable United Nations declaration on the Right of Nations.”
Comments? Please make them here.
02/28/25
Y62 CAR SERIES
The Great Turtle Express
By Gary E. Richardson
From the start, the Great Turtle Express was a low-budget, high-energy machine. We bought the 1958 International-Harvester/Carpenter school-bus for $400 in June, 1970. We had no idea who or how many of us would eventually be living on board. We knew there would be lots of us and that the bus would be home for months — until we found land for a permanent settlement.
We drove the bus home, removed the seats, and parked it in our front yard at 6810 Emlen St. in Philadelphia. Except for a couple of brief outings, it sat there for two months as we studied its every inch… READ GARY’S COMPLETE STORY HERE
02/28/25
Y62 CAR SERIES
My Favorite Cars
By John Stewart
1. My father made a habit of buying limos and hearses from funeral homes and had acquired a gorgeous 1948 Cadillac hearse in which he’d installed rear seats. For the Spizzwinks(?) 1961 spring trip, complete with giant question mark painted on the back, I drove it to Florida — great — but on the way back we had a gig… READ JOHN’S COMPLETE STORY HERE
02/21/25
Climate Disaster Lessons
By Rutherford H. Platt
Feb. 11, 2025. Posted here: Feb. 21, 2025.
Background: At the suggestion of our classmate Gary Richardson, the following is a slightly revised version of a letter that I submitted to The New York Times (unpublished so far) in response to an essay by Michael Kimmelman, the NYT architectural critic: “What Kind of Los Angeles Will Rise from the Fires?”… READ RUD’S COMPLETE ESSAY AND LETTER TO THE EDITOR HERE
Special Note: we are partnering with Yale Classes ’60 and ’61 on a Zoom series which will look at the rebuilding of Los Angeles from several perspectives. Please check your email for your invitation to join in! The first session was held on Tuesday, February 25, at 2:30 PM ET.
02/21/25
Y62 CAR SERIES
A Third-Generation Gear Head
By Ken Merkey
I am a third-generation gear head. My grandfather owned a Chrysler/Plymouth agency, and my father grew up in that store. Unfortunately, it was lost in the Depression.
I learned to drive in a 1941 Chevrolet with the slush-o-matic transmission. My first car was a 1951 Dodge Coronet coupe that I had for the last 2 years at Yale. Upon entering Submarine… READ KEN’S COMPLETE STORY HERE
02/21/25
Y62 CAR SERIES
Betsy, My First Car at Yale
By D. Burr Robinson
Near the end of my freshman year at YALE in 1959, I knew I would need a car for my summer job when I returned to my home in Winona, Minnesota. Coincidentally, I happened to spot a note on the student message board from a professor from Sweden who was seeking to sell a 1953 Plymouth sedan for $170 to help fund his trip back home. The deal was closed and I became the owner of a car affectionately known… READ BURR’S COMPLETE STORY HERE
02/10/25
Our February Coffee Hour: Dwight Hall
On February 6, we invited Dwight Hall folks to tell us about what sorts of community involvement and action are going on these days in their outreach programs. We were joined by two administrators, two students and two supervisors who let us know about the good Dwight Hall is accomplishing. Please enjoy the recording!
Comments? Please make them here.
02/10/25
Commentary on our Special Edition Coffee Hour
By Charles E. Valier
Following our Special Edition Coffee Hour on Trump II and politics (recording available below), Charlie sent in the following thoughts. The two Coffee Hour speakers to whom his remarks were addressed, Al Chambers and Tony Carbone, each replied to Charlie privately and separately, and declined to post their responses here in our forum.:
To Al Chambers
cc: Tony Carbone
While yours and Tony Carbone’s presentations, January 22, 2025, were comprehensive, I think the response from our classmates was generally a reflexive response of liberals who despise Trump, without any probing by our classmates of the past events that are driving today’s policies nor exploring current… Click to read Charles’ remarks in full
01/27/25
Our Special Edition Coffee Hour on “Trump II: What’s Happening? What’s Next?”
On January 22 at 4PM ET, we offered up a second Coffee Hour for the month. Featuring veteran newsman Al Chambers and retired business men Tony Carbone and Roscoe Sandlin, we discussed what may happen during President Trump’s second term, as well as what’s already happened in his whirlwind first days in office. Please enjoy this recording.
Comments? Please make them here.
01/13/25
Our January Coffee Hour – “From Dinosaur Toes to Your Knees: Joints Across the Vertebrate Tree of Life”
On Thursday, January 9, Dr. Armita Manafzadeh walked us through her research in paleontology to its ramifications in the world of modern orthopedic science and medicine. Enjoy this great recording!
Comments? Please make them here.
12/09/24
Our December Coffee Hour: Getting Older and Good Sleep…
On Thursday, December 5, Dr. Meir Kryger, world-renowned expert on sleep, joined us to discuss the intersection of aging and good sleep. He provided a masterful presentation, and then answered all of our questions in a good-humored, thoughtful, professional and caring way. Enjoy this highly informative and useful recording!
Comments? Please make them here.
12/09/24
Fred Starr: Don’t Rush to a Deal with Russia—Putin is More Vulnerable Than You Think
(Ed. note: Classmate Fred Starr recently published two provocative articles in The National Interest that offer his take on Russia’s increasing domestic economic problems and international diplomatic challenges. We talked to Fred about the Syrian Surprise, and he agreed it appears to be a major setback for Russia and also Iran. Fred noted that the Russian ruble has dropped in recent days to less than one penny to a U.S. dollar and also mentioned Moscow’s plummeting stock market.)
The first article, Ukraine and Russia’s Collapsing Home Front, argues that, “Judging by what is being said on Russia’s home front, Putin has already lost the war and the only question is what face-saving measures can be extracted through a settlement.” Starr adds that domestic critics “represent a significant and growing chorus of officials and ordinary Russians who are fearful about their country’s future and do not look to Putin to remove the dark cloud he himself has brought over the land. Their very existence suggests that Putin is operating from weakness, not strength, and that on the home front, his luck is fast running out.” (Note: The following link will take you to Fred’s article on The Nation Interest’s website.) Ukraine and Russia’s Collapsing Home Front | The National Interest
Starr’s second article, Why A “Deal” With Putin Makes No Sense, strongly opposes efforts by western diplomats and political leaders to push Ukraine into a deal that sacrifices large chunks of its territory. As Starr sees it, Putin faces increasing political opposition, a flailing economy, evaporating financial reserves, and the growing prospect of a demographic collapse. So this is no time to give him a victory which would embolden him and his allies. (Note: The following link will take you to Fred’s article on The Nation Interest’s website.) Why A “Deal” With Putin Makes No Sense | The National Interest
Comments? Please make them here.
11/22/24
McInnis vs. Salovey: To Speak or Not to Speak
By Lee Bolman
Speaking at the 2024 Alumni Assembly and Convocation, President Maurie McInnis noted with pride that she had accepted in full the report of the “Committee on Institutional Voice” that she had appointed in September. The report argued that University leaders — everyone from the President down to Deans and Department Chairs — should use their personal judgment in deciding when to speak, but should generally avoid issuing public statements unless they directly relate to Yale’s mission. The report added that, in rare cases, leaders may believe… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF LEE’S REPORT
11/20/24
A Snapshot Summary – Yale Assembly and Convocation, November 2024
By Ken Merkey
As always, the event was well planned and very informative. We got to meet some new faces (and some old).
Friday morning was significant as we gathered in Sprague Hall to meet the new President, Maurie McInnis. She was well prepared for the lecture. The main point that she made was: this is a steep… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF KEN’S REPORT
11/20/24
Alumni Assembly and Convocation: Personal Reflections
By Lee Bolman
I’ll add a few reflections to Ken Merkey’s excellent overview of this year’s Alumni Convocation and Assembly. While we were there, Ken, Ellis Wisner and I put the mini in mini-reunion with a delightful lunch at the New Haven Lawn Club.
Ken is right about the remarkable transformation of the Yale campus, including the dramatic upgrades to Yale’s facilities in science and engineering. One marker of the change was a remark by trustee… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF LEE’S REFLECTIONS
11/15/24
Our Special Event Post-Election Discussion
On Wednesday afternoon (November 13th), veteran newsman (and our classmate) Al Chambers led us in a discussion of this year’s election, pointing out some of the lessons we’ve learned over these past two weeks. Please enjoy our recording.
Comments? Please make them here.
11/12/24
Our November Coffee Hour: Protective Media with Francesco Casetti
On Thursday, November 7, our conversation with Professor Francesco Casetti offered us a fascinating look into what he terms “Protective Media” – modern screen-based media which are in fact apparatuses that shelter and protect us from exposure to the world. Please enjoy the recording of this eye-opening chat!
A book chapter, written by Professor Casetti and supportive of his premise, is here.
Comments? Please make them here.
10/30/24
Will California Run Out of Water?
By Bill Weber
AI generated image
Thousands of years ago, the Sahara was humid, lush and green. Thanks to gravity, earth wobbles periodically increased the area’s exposure to the sun, making it the desert we know today.
In the 1500s, native populations of Arizona and Nevada abandoned 36 of their 47 villages because they ran out of water. Even with their skillful use of canals and drawing water from the Colorado River, they had to move on because they were unable to tap below-ground sources.
The dust bowl of the 1930s, caused by a drought… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF BILL’S ESSAY
10/30/24
The Presidential Election, 2024
By Lee V. Bakunin
“And it won’t make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong. When you’re rich, they think you really know.”
— TEVYE, From “If I were a Rich Man” – FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
WHO WILL BE THE NEXT COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE UNITED STATES?
Political Pundits, Celebrities from the Arts and Sports to the Professions, Science and Technology along with TikTokers and Social Influencers from every nook and cranny… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF LEE’S ESSAY
10/22/24
ELECTIONS: The Inner Workings
By Anthony Giamei
50 years of Personal History
I have been working at the elections for over 50 years. I have seen many changes in that time. I started as a runner, taking precinct results to Town Hall, where they were posted by hand on a board for all to see. I moved up the ladder to checker, assistant registrar, deputy registrar, registrar, moderator and head… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF TONY’S REPORT
10/22/24
OPEN to DEBATE. Election 2024: Are Identity Politics Holding Us Back?
Click the image above to hear a debate on whether identity politics are holding us back. Brought to us by the Open to Debate initiative, led by classmate Bob Rosenkranz.
From their website: Open to Debate’s Mission:
Open to Debate is a call to action: All of us should keep an open mind to solve the complex problems we face as individuals and as a nation.
Open to Debate is a reminder: To solve our greatest problems, we must operate in a contempt-free zone. We need to be able to sit in the same room and exchange ideas with people we disagree with. Being open to debate is a gesture of respect for the good faith arguments of those we disagree with, for the intelligence and integrity of those who watch or listen, and for the value of debate done right.
Open to Debate is a duty: The future of American Democracy depends on the strength of communities to work together and overcome our differences. “Us vs. Them” thinking is destructive to our social fabric, and we need a national model to guide debates to a healthy and free exchange of ideas.
At Open to Debate, our mission is to restore critical thinking, facts, reason, and civility to America’s public square. Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues.
10/14/24
Our October Coffee Hour: Forever Chemicals and Green Chemicals
On Thursday, October 10, we were joined by Sten Vermund, Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health at Yale School of Public Health, and Paul Anastas, of the Yale School of Public Health and also Yale School of the Environment. They spoke to us about PFAS (“Forever Chemicals”) and the great promise of Green Chemistry. (Professor Anastas is known as the Father of Green Chemistry.) Please enjoy the recording of this fascinating event!
Here are Sten’s slides.
Here are Paul’s slides.
Here is a video describing Paul as the Volvo Environment Prize laureate 2021.
Comments? Please make them here.
9/25/24
The Colorado River: Lifeblood of the Southwest Faces Crisis
By Jim Wechsler and Gary Richardson
The Colorado River, a vital artery for the Southwest, sustains vast irrigated farmlands and burgeoning urban populations in an often spectacular desert region. Flowing through seven U.S. states, two Mexican states, and 11 tribal territories, it provides essential water for agriculture, power production, and human consumption.
In 1922, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation established a water rights regulation when the region’s population was just 500,000. However, Western water rights have been claimed since the California Gold Rush, following the principle of “first in time, first in right.” This structure complicates water distribution to a population now at 40 million, alongside 5.5 million acres of farmland in the U.S. and Mexico. The 1922 regulation was based on an unusually wet period, leading to over-allocation of water between the Upper and Lower Colorado Basins.
The river hosts 15 dams, including Hoover Dam, which creates… READ THE FULL ESSAY HERE.
9/25/24
Report of Yale Presidential Quarterly Webinar, Sept. 17, 2024
By Ellis Wisner
September 20, 2024. These notes reflect some but not all the topics covered in the Yale Quarterly Webinar of 09/17/24. Because my notes and memory have gaps, the subjects are not addressed in the order they were presented, nor have I covered all topics. If any of you listened to the webinar, please add your comments below, in the comments area of this page.
In the first 45 minutes of the hour-long session, Joan O’Neill, Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development, posed questions to which President McInnis responded. The last quarter hour was given to answering… READ ELLIS’S FULL REPORT HERE.
9/09/24
Our September Coffee Hour: “Turning the Universe into a Gravitational Wave Detector”
On Thursday, September 5, our minds were blown multiple times by the brilliantly fascinating Professor Chiara Mingarelli (CV) of the Yale Departments of Astronomy and Physics. She was ably joined in this discussion by our own Bob Breault, with serious credentials of his own. Please enjoy our recording of this truly amazing, eye-opening Coffee Hour.
Comments? Please make them here.
9/06/24
Like Father, Like Son?
Former Yale President Rick Levin, beside his son, incoming Stanford President Jonathan Levin
By Bill Weber
Having been a student in Aeronautics at Stanford in 1963-1965, I harbor a great affection for the university we so admire these days.
I was a co-op student from United Aircraft, studying aeronautics under Prof. Dan Bershader, who I later learned had been a student of Einstein at Princeton. He was kind enough to visit me while I was doing similar research at Oxford.
My work at Stanford was done in a WWII… CLICK TO READ THE REST OF BILL’S ESSAY
9/06/24
SCOTUS and Race in Admissions: Did the Dog Bark?
co-pilot image
By Lee Bolman
Early returns are trickling in after the first year of college admissions since the Supreme Court ruled last year that racial preferences in admissions decisions are unconstitutional. Plaintiffs in that lawsuit maintained that racial preferences discriminated against Asian-Americans and whites, while the defendants (Harvard and the University of North Carolina) argued that eliminating race in admissions would produce a dramatic drop in the presence of Black and Latino students. Then after the decision was announced, Yale and other universities said they would redouble their efforts to recruit… READ THE REST OF LEE’S REPORT
8/23/24
A Dog’s Life
By Charles E. Valier
Harry Truman is reputed to have said, “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog!” I spent four years as counsel to Missouri Governor, Christopher S. “Kit” Bond, four more years advising him daily on his quest for re-election after his narrow defeat in 1976, an additional four years as a police commissioner in St. Louis City, an appointment by Bond in 1981, and finally, served as a political consultant to Bond during his election campaign for the United States Senate in 1986, the first of four terms in Washington. I chose not go to Washington, but I did marry a dog, or, rather I married a woman with a dog in 1986. Her name (the dog’s) was Katy and she was a… READ CHARLIE’S ESSAY IN FULL HERE
8/16/24
Thinking about Covid
By Tim Hall
Just when we thought we didn’t have to occupy many of our rapidly diminishing brain cells with Covid information, the topic has crept back into the news. New cases, hospitalizations, and wastewater counts are surging again. Many folks report minimal symptoms, but a few describe their latest case as the most severe ever.
Speaking personally, just in the last few weeks numerous of our friends and family members have tested positive, often during or after travel. Marcy and I decided to cancel a trip… READ TIM’S FULL MESSAGE HERE
8/12/24
F. Carl “Skip” Schumacher, Jr. and the USS Pueblo (AGER 2)
By Charles E. Valier
[Ed. Note: The recent multi-national prisoner exchange orchestrated by President Biden stimulated classmate Charlie Valier’s recollection of a 1968 incident involving the crew of the USS Pueblo, including one of Charlie’s best friends.]
The Belvedere beach, Charlevoix, Michigan was rather somber in the summer of 1968, as Althea Schumacher, perched on her Adirondack chair near the Hickey family cabana, commanded center stage in her circle of friends, lamenting her apprehension about the fate of her son, Skip, a prisoner of war in North Korea. His ship, the Pueblo, had been captured off the east coast of the hermit kingdom that had closed itself off to the rest of the world. I was absent from the beach most of that summer, as I was trudging door-to-door in the St. Louis heat campaigning for re-election to the Missouri House of Representatives. Meanwhile, Skip was still stuck in a prison, starving… Click to read the rest of Charlie’s essay
8/05/24
Our August Coffee Hour
On Thursday, August 1, we were joined by lifelong journalist and newsman, our classmate Al Chambers, and by fellow Yalie and former governor of Ohio, Bob Taft ’63, in a discussion covering many of the fast-moving, surprising events of the past month of American political news as we march (or run) ever closer to election day in November. Please enjoy our recording of this lively Coffee Hour.
Comments? Please make them here.
7/25/24
How Will AI Change Your Life?
In response to your webmaster’s request to ‘draw a picture of AI’ Co-pilot provided this image.
By Tony Giamei
Part 1. Background
About the Author(s)
Anthony (Tony) Giamei, Yale ‘62E and Microsoft Co-pilot
This is not a book or even a comprehensive article, but rather a compilation of definitions and ideas intended to form the basis for transmitting some basic information and to serve as a starting point for discussion. I am NOT an expert in AI, but I do have some 60 years of experience in engineering, including significant efforts in computing. I first became interested in digital computing in 1962… READ THE REST, AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK…
7/25/24
Happy 100th Anniversary, Craters of the Moon!
Wild onion in Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
By Y62 Communications Team member Gary Richardson
Gary shares with us images he’s taken at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in his adopted home state of Idaho, and invites us to celebrate its 100th anniversary. SEE THE IMAGES and VIDEO HERE
7/15/24
Our July ’24 Coffee Hour
Maytal’s slides are here.
Comments? Please make them here.
7/05/24
To Run, or Not to Run…
By Lee Bolman
… That is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind (and better for the country) for Joe Biden to stay the course and continue his run for re-election, or withdraw now in hopes the Democrats can find a stronger candidate to take on… READ THE REST, AND GIVE YOUR OPINION…
7/05/24
Dixie Carroll’s Show
By John Stewart
Last Friday (6/28/24) after a delicious lunch with Rives and Dixie Carroll, Dixie gave us a really informative tour of his beautifully mounted retrospective exhibit. It has selections from 1973 up to now and you can trace the evolution. Most of the exhibit was borrowed back from the owners, and Dixie allowed that it gave him a chance to repair pieces damaged in various ways. The accompanying book is a fascinating and authoritative look at Dixie’s oeuvre. He told us great stories about most of the pieces and we were charmed to be asked what WE saw. As he said, no one knows what’s going on in his head! He’s sold over 400 and has thirty more. Of course all the pieces are beautifully designed and finished, and seen in this total, the range of sizes and ideas is very great. Brilliant and original. One smiles, but is also moved. The four pictures are one of Dixie at work, a model for a Paris Metro stop, a book rack for a Yale student (note the Latin), and one of my favorites.
We are very grateful to have seen this exhibit and we’re very, very proud of our tenor sculptor! CLICK TO SEE PHOTOS FROM DIXIE’S SHOW
6/25/24
Banned for Life from the Russian Federation
By S. Frederick Starr
Dear Volodya (if I may),
Thank you for including me among the latest list of twenty-five Americans sanctioned by your government. I have been on many lists but I was gobsmacked when they told me that I had made a list that included five members of the U.S. Senate, the heads of federal agencies, and (gasp)… READ FRED’S COMPLETE LETTER HERE
6/25/24
1 Vanderbilt
Class Secretary John Stewart reports: On Wednesday, June 19th, I played hooky from the semi-monthly Y62 Communications Team meeting for Larry Prince’s Yale Club lunch. Delightfully, Steve Lash turned up. Joe Schwartz and Bill Nye completed the group, and after the repast we repaired to the nearby newish skyscraper, 1 Vanderbilt, on the corner of 42nd Street, and ascended to the 91st floor, grateful to Bill for arranging the tickets. The line was reminiscent of airports, although it moved quickly, and I’ve never experienced a more thorough bag check. Then our pictures were taken (pardon me – I forgot to pick one up on our way out). The enormous viewing space is a little intimidating and frightening – the walls, floors (we had to wear shoe covers) and ceilings were all mirrors, but when we carefully moved towards the windows (360 degrees) the views were simply astounding! From no more than a couple hundred feet away we looked down on the Chrysler building, and on another side not much further away, the Empire State building. The ape on the top was clearly visible. Looking north past an incomplete still taller building we could see Central Park, and we realized how very tall those newish finger-like apartment buildings are.
The vista is unique and magnificent. There are three floors and on the top you can go to an area open to the air, and another room full of large silver floating balls, and of course before you descend there’s plenty of opportunities for souvenirs and snacks. Almost as remarkable were the wonderful guides and helpful attendants, enthusiastic and very friendly.
Take your children and grandkids, or just go yourself.
6/06/24
Dixie’s Show This Summer!
RETROSPECTIVE, 1973-2023
June 15 – August 11, 2024
American University Museum, Katzen Arts Center
4400 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington D.C.
Museum Hours: Wed – Sun 11am-4pm
Opening Reception: June 15th 6-9pm
The artist will be at the museum in the Alper space from 2 -4 pm on:
Sunday June 16
Saturday, June 29
Saturday July 6
Illustrated gallery talk on “The Interaction of Architecture and Sculpture”: July 6, 2-3pm.
5/29/24
Maurie McInnis is Yale’s New President
credit: Stony Brook University
By Lee G. Bolman
The search is over and Yale has a new president — Maurie McInnis ‘96Ph.D. A cultural historian, McInnis previous served as Provost at the University of Texas and four years as president of Stony Brook University. She will begin her tenure on July 1. … READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
5/29/24
Gaza War Invades the Ivy League
A coalition of students demanding Yale divest from the weapons manufacturers and end their complicity with the genocide in Gaza. (Photo/Instagram/@yalejewsforceasefire)
By Lee G. Bolman
Since war broke out between Israel and Hamas, universities across America, including every Ivy campus, have been convulsed by pro-Palestinian protests. Appalled by the violence in Gaza, students rallied in hope of convincing their universities to do something to stop it. Their most common demand, that the institutions disinvest from businesses that in any way support Israel’s war, may have been fueled more by passion than nuance, since the universities’ investment strategies are unlikely… READ LEE’S FULL REPORT HERE
5/17/24
HomeHaven Update
Members of HomeHaven mingle a few summers back in the Pardee Rose Garden in North Haven, Connecticut
By Gary Audette
[Ed. Note: Louis Audette (known as Gary) was in Saybrook. He served a three-year term as President of HomeHaven and oversaw the transition from a traditional central structure to the hub-and-spoke format he describes here.]
Many of you may remember a brief offering from me 12 years ago about the establishment of an organization to assist its members to “age in place” in their own homes. At that time we called it East Rock Village, in New Haven, CT, based on the pioneering Beacon Hill… CLICK TO READ GARY’S COMPLETE UPDATE
5/17/24
Jolene Ammons: Odyssey from Homerville
By Lee Bakunin
5:30 A.M., January 31, 1942, Homerville, Georgia. Small Southern crossroads town tucked into the Southeast corner of the State.
First a few facts: 3.5 square miles. Population 1,522 according to the 1940 census that would grow to 1,787 in 1950. Clinch County seat. Coordinates: 31°2′13″N82°45′5″W. Waycross 27 miles to the east, Valdosta 35 miles to the west, 35 miles north to Douglas and 67 miles south to Lake City Florida.
Known as a “honey of a place to live” as the starting point… CLICK TO READ LEE’S FULL ACCOUNT
5/08/24
Thoughts on Our May ’24 Coffee Hour
By Bob Breault
During our Coffee Hour on May 2, 2024, I had a few thoughts that I chose not to voice at the meeting that was going so well. I now submit them to our class website. I have carefully chosen my words. There is serious meaning behind some.
1. Comparing the cost of shooting down one incoming missile is not a million-dollar missile for a $100,000 difference comparison. It is elementary thinking pushed on us by the multimedia folks who want to be… CLICK TO READ BOB’S THOUGHTS
5/08/24
Mass Psychology
By David Scharff, MD
[Ed. Note: Pondering the psychology of how protests are functioning in the US and elsewhere led our Y62 Communications Team to the topic of mass psychology, of which we knew little. So we sent out a question to our classmate, psychiatrist David Scharff, and here’s what he had to say.]
Mass groups are something else, with a qualitatively different set of dynamics than the smaller groups and organizations that clinical psychology and psychoanalysis mainly study. But people are indeed subject to mass identifications in which personal differences are swept aside. The nearly universal urge to belong to a cause ignores almost all that we know of individual psychology in favor of the way that the individuals, like… READ DAVID’S COMPLETE COMMENTS HERE
5/06/24
Our May ’24 Coffee Hour: Ukraine
On May 2, Professor Marci Shore paid us a return visit. She had just returned to New Haven from a trip to war-torn Ukraine, and was able to share with us her up-to-the-minute impressions of where things now stand. We also heard a few words about what’s happening on campus, regarding student protest of the war in Israel and Gaza.
During her talk, Marci referenced an article by Nataliya Gumenyuk: “Brave New Ukraine: How the World’s Most Besieged Democracy is Adjusting to Permanent War.” and The Torture Camp on Paradise Street by Stanislav Aseyev. She also mentioned Vladimir Putin’s essay, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.”
Comments? Please make them here.
4/23/24
Remember Campus Protests of the ’60s? They’re Back!
By the Y62 Communications Team
From Lee Bolman: Dean of Yale College Pericles Lewis spent a lot of time on Saturday (4/20/24) trying without success to persuade encamped protestors to decamp, and the university chose to have the police move in yesterday. President Salovey issued a letter to the campus defending the move, and students aligned with the protest say his letter is misleading and disingenuous.
From Tim Hall: I was on the faculty in 1970. [What’s happening now is a] big contrast to Kingman Brewster’s decision to welcome protesters in to the campus. He kept the gates open.
From Gary Richardson: It’s not often that Boise’s NBC affiliate relies on a Fox affiliate for their reporting. At Least 45 Yale Students Arrested During Pro-Palestinian Protest. I get it when people are arrested for blocking a major intersection but wonder why the university moved them off campus.
Comments? Please make them here.
4/23/24
War Protests
Various sources (NYTimes, Groundview, Al Jazeera, APNews, The Times of Israel, etc.)
By Philip Stewart
I greatly fear that we are on an avoidable collision course, much as in the ’60s and ’70s, when, no thanks then as now to the news media, the protest against the war in Vietnam was widely perceived and denounced as anti-patriotic, an enemy within. The president of Columbia last week brilliantly failed to enunciate in Congress the difference between antiwar protests and antisemitism – a stupid conflation that can have terrible consequences. An educator should have been in a position to clarify that issue but instead, alas, she simply conceded that antisemitism is a big problem and that harsh discipline is the answer. (Thank god for Michelle Goldberg’s fine refutation in the NYT.) But it is true, I am afraid, that Israeli policies are tending over time to fuel a broader collapse of support for the Jewish state and even thereby, at one extreme, foment antisemitism. Yale is, alas, looking like going down that path.
Comments? Please make them here.
4/19/24
“Sigá-sigá”
By Lee V. Bakunin
[Ed. Note: Lee, who’s living in Cyprus, is on the Y62 Communication Team which meets twice monthly via Zoom to plan what offerings we may provide to you, our audience, through our three vehicles – our Yale Alumni Magazine column, our ‘First Thursday’ Zoom Coffee Hours, and here on our Yale62.org website. When the October events occurred in Israel and Gaza, we asked him what effects he had witnessed in Cyprus. What follows is his reasoned answer to us, and to you.]
Cyprus is an EU country with an inviting climate and a laid-back lifestyle with tourism — R&R being a major economic force which draws… CLICK TO READ LEE’S FULL NOTE
4/05/24
Thoughts on a Possible Second Trump Administration
By Kent Hughes
It is still months away from the presidential election and the latest poll numbers point to a close race. Clearly it is time to think about what policies a second term for former President Trump might bring.
Two questions about the election demand our attention: what our allies are thinking about the support they will receive in a future Trump America First presidency; and what an America First presidency could mean for America’s international trade… READ KENT’S FULL ESSAY HERE
4/02/24
Yale Admissions Sets New Records: Getting In Is Harder Than Ever
AI-generated image by Copilot, powered by DALL-E 3
by Lee G. Bolman, Y62 Communications Team member
This year’s Yale admissions story is more applicants and a lower acceptance rate than ever. For the first time in memory, Yale had more applicants than Harvard, and the two were in a statistical tie for acceptance rate. In short, it’s harder than ever to become a Yalie, and Yale has never been more competitive with its neighbor in Cambridge.
By the numbers, Yale accepted 2,146 students from 57,465 applicants… READ LEE’S FULL ARTICLE HERE
3/27/24
Yale Basketball’s High-Drama Ivy Title March Madness Run
Bulldogs v. Auburn. Courtesy Yale Daily News, Ben Raab, Contributing Photographer
by Lee G. Bolman, Sportswriter Emeritus, Yale Daily News
Yale’s men’s basketball team had a magical end-of-season run, winning two hard-fought, come-from-behind games to scoop up both the Ivy League title and a stunning first-round March Madness victory. In the Ivy title game, the Elis trailed Brown by 6 points with less than half a minute to play, but outscored the Bruins by 8-1 the rest of the way. Down by 2 points with seconds to go, junior guard Bez Mbeng dribbled toward the basket to draw Brown defenders, then dropped a perfect bounce pass to wide-open senior forward Matt Knowling, who calmly sank a jump shot at the buzzer to win the game, 62-61.
The Ivy Title win earned the Elis a trip to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time… READ LEE’S FULL REPORT HERE
3/27/24
NOSTALGIA
Budding Basketball Entrepreneur
imagined by Copilot (AI)
by Lee V. Bakunin
At the Jewish Community Center in Bridgeport, I played basketball around age 11-12 on a team called the “Cilco Slivers” sponsored by a local lumber company. Several years later, I formed a team, “Stratoes,” in the teenage 15- and 16-year-old league. Got to name the team, find a sponsor, design the jersey, recruit the players and even had a high school basketball coach. Mr. Carpenter. At 5’8”, I was the starting center. A forerunner of things to come.
Still have both jerseys and fond memories.
When the Stratoes won our JCC League Championship in 1955, Harry Gallatin, Star forward for the New York Knicks, spoke at our league banquet where we received… READ LEE’S FULL ESSAY HERE
3/14/24
A Short History of Lifelong Learning in Boise
By Gary Richardson and Diane Ronayne
In the late-1990s, a Boise physician and his wife, adjunct faculty at Boise State University, wanted to establish “something between community education classes and a rigorous college curriculum for people over 50.” The idea found fertile ground at the university’s continuing education office where others also were nursing ideas about a program for adults eager to learn simply for the joy of learning. … CLICK TO READ GARY AND DIANE’S FULL REPORT
3/14/24
Alumni Fellow Elections and Legacy Admissions: Hartford Weighs In
by Lee Bolman
Alumni fellow elections and legacy admissions both made news in Hartford during the last week of February. A district court judge ruled that the Yale Corporation has full authority… CLICK TO READ LEE’S REPORT
3/14/24
Ivy Requiem 2024
a “tongue-in-cheek” poem by Lee V. Bakunin
O tempora! O mores!
O Eli Yale!
The fates have descended
Telling you to bail. … CLICK TO READ LEE’S POEM
3/11/24
Our March ’24 Coffee Hour on Artificial Intelligence
On March 7, Professor Brian Scassellati joined us to let us know what’s happening with AI on campus. Enjoy this wonderful recording!
Comments? Please make them here.
2/21/24
Israel, Palestine and Free Speech at Yale
By Lee Bolman
If you were head (the title previously known as master) of Grace Hopper (the College previously known as Calhoun), how would you have responded recently when you learned that a firestorm was brewing after a message, “Death to Palestine,” had appeared on a whiteboard outside… READ LEE’S FULL ESSAY HERE
2/21/24
“Our Dream”
By Lee V. Bakunin
If you want it, you might get it
And now you’ve got it…
But what do you have?
It’s yours and no one else’s
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL POEM, AND LEE’S NOTE ON ITS AUTHORSHIP
2/21/24
Open to Debate
Classmate Bob Rosenkranz has rebranded his debate series from “Intelligence Squared U.S.” to “Open to Debate,” and it still features difficult topics debated in intelligent ways. From the Open to Debate website: “The nonpartisan debate series Open to Debate in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations is taking a closer look at Iran in a post-October 7th world.”
Please here or on the image above to view this recent debate.
2/09/24
My Health Hegira, or A Never-Ending Story
By John Harger Stewart
I suppose it began late last summer when an oncoming car on MY side of the road did not as I might have hoped give way, and I turned to the left too late to avoid a collision. Aside from a cracked rib and a few scratches I was fine; my car was totaled.
Next, just as I finished putting away the very large clay flowerpots I tripped over my hand truck and fell straight on to my nose, broken two places on… READ JOHN’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
2/05/24
Our February ’24 Coffee Hour: Jimmy Hatch
On February 1, a day before Punxatawney Phil issued his decree for the year, we sat down with an undergraduate who will become an alumnus with the Class of ’24, James “Jimmy” Hatch. We listened as he told us about his life, and how he rose from challenging beginnings to joining the Navy, where he earned the right to become a SEAL, then finally, through a series of remarkable events, landing in New Haven as an Eli Whitney scholar at Yale. Retired SEAL, wounded veteran, author and scholar; his is an amazing story; please enjoy the recording above.
Comments? Please make them here.
1/30/24
Yale ’62 Interview: Bob Breault
In late January, classmate Bob Breault, a most accomplished man of many hats, sat down with Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber to warm up the season with some frank discussion about China and the U.S. The interview is chock-full of useful, interesting and possibly new understanding of our relationship with one another. Please enjoy!
Comments? Please make them here.
1/25/24
Russia’s Future: What Experts Expect
Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman writes: Classmate Fred Starr edited a just-published collection of papers titled, “Experts’ Scenarios on Russia’s Future.” In the introduction, he writes, “Acknowledging that the future is indeed unknowable, it is nonetheless of great value to find out how a range of leading analysts perceive it.” The collection includes contributions from 25 experts in 16 countries. Some are optimistic; others are dark. All deal in some way with the war in Ukraine. The entire collection is accessible at Silk Road Studies. The front matter, Fred’s introduction, and his own contribution are here on our website at this link: SEE THIS MATERIAL
1/15/24
Our January ’24 Coffee Hour: Israel and Hamas
On January 11, we welcomed several speakers to help us discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza. Classmate Howard Kaufman spoke to us, and he was followed by members of our late classmate Steve Buck’s family: Steve’s widow, Hala Buck, their daughter Leila Buck, and their son-in-law Adam Abel. Please view this earnest, information-packed recording to see what we learned from our presenters, and please comment here.
Leila also provided us with links to sites with additional information on the topic:
• Breaking the Silence
• Jewish Voice for Peace
• Standing Together
1/05/24
Will the Yale Class of ’62 Live to See the End of Democracy in the USA?
A candid opinion from an astute classmate closely watching the political scene
By Bill Weber
Will our class live to see the end of democracy in the USA? If the answer is yes, it will be because Donald Trump will have been reelected and his administration will have been structured in the fashion of dictators past and present around the world, ensuring a continuation of the policies and personalities of his first term in office, with some notable exceptions as evidenced by events of the recent… READ BILL’S FULL ESSAY HERE
1/05/24
Pre-Yale Sports Experiences
Sports Memories of the ’40s and ’50s
Boys playing marbles in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 1947. Ed Westcott/United States DOE
By Lee V. Bakunin
As a kid of the 1940s, sports were ingrained in my psyche.
I looked up to local high school, college, semi-pro and pro star athletes who were more skilled and coordinated than we young’uns. A natural segue from playing marbles, bouncing a ball, playing pick-up sticks, flipping sports cards, skipping rope and learning yo-yo tricks from the Duncan Yo-Yo Schoolyard Rep, I soon grew to follow football, baseball and basketball.
Mom’s family grew up in Brooklyn, so we were Dodgers Fans and followed every player on the team, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, and others.
My father was a Yale grad (’28S), so I knew all about Dink Stover… READ LEE’S FULL ESSAY HERE
The “Story Loft” – where Y62 front page features move into long-term safekeeping. Most recent at top.
12/11/23
Our December Coffee Hour: Finding Faith in a Perilous World
On December 7, our Coffee Hour focused on the spiritual aspect of our lives, and featured three classmate speakers with different takes on the topic: Rod Quainton, Bill McGlashan and Paul Wortman. We experienced some minor technical difficulty, so we didn’t show Paul’s slides, but they are available for everyone to see here. Moderated by our well-spoken, always thoughtful Lee Bolman, this Coffee Hour is well worth viewing and worthy of our contemplation. Please enjoy the recording of this meaningful, profound event.
Comments? Please make them here.
12/07/23
Why Russians Think the Way They Do
By S. Frederick Starr
Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
American Foreign Policy Council
509 C Street NE Washington, D.C.
Why have the overwhelming majority of Russians not only accepted but supported their country’s war on Ukraine? The common answer is that they have no choice: the authorities, with the dedicated backing of the FSB, have systematically identified, sought out, and punished those who engage in public acts of… READ FRED’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
12/07/23
Art: the “harmonious free-play of imagination and understanding” in search of “beauty, truth, and insight” and finding a ponderable, tangible result.
By Paul Bursiek
Paul dropped us a line last summer: “Putting the inherent boredom of old age to good use, I have completed and hung at my back fence and/or house loft, multiple pieces of ‘artwork.’ For the most part, they are built of duct tape and range in size from small to quite large — several feet by several feet. Ozo, a coffee shop in Boulder, Co. displayed…. VIEW A SELECTION OF PAUL’S ART PIECES HERE
11/30/23
To Nuke or Not: What part could/should nuclear power play in slowing global warming?
By Gary Richardson, Y62 Communication Team member
It’s a technological innovation the U.S. nuclear industry hopes will spur a renaissance of atomic power. They’ve been called “pocket nukes,” “pint-sized nuclear reactors,” and “small modular reactors” (SMRs). The idea is that with modular design, these small-scale reactors (10 to 300 megawatts electricity generating capacity) can be mass-produced in factories off-site, making them easier to license and deploy than larger… READ GARY’S FULL ESSAY AND ADD YOUR OWN COMMENTS HERE
11/28/23
YAA Fall Assembly and Convocation Report
By John Stewart and Larry Prince
Our delegate Larry Prince and I, along with faithful visitor Ellis Wisner, spent the better part of two days in New Haven being wooed, challenged, informed, and entertained by the YAA. The name change from the Association of Yale Alumni to the Yale Alumni Association was deemed more inclusive. There was a large menu of guided tours, lectures, and presentations by faculty as well as breakout groups covering aspects of volunteer development, all designed to increase and strengthen alumni loyalty and commitment. Larry and I found somewhat divergent… READ THE REPORTS HERE
11/28/23
Yale’s Influence on Sports
By Lee V. Bakunin
[Ed. Note: This is the first in a series of installments that will tell us all, in later pieces, about Lee’s involvement with attempting to start the first women’s professional basketball league.]
All study and no play makes for a dull Yalie.
Yale’s contribution to sports and athletics has been in being an early participant, innovator and leader. Adding refinement, depth and rules enhancing competitive rivalry, sportsmanship and camaraderie.
Popular in Yale’s Colonial Era were: horseback riding, stoolball, ninepins, pitching the bar, foot races and slide groat as well as marbles, pitching quoits… READ LEE’S ESSAY HERE
11/14/23
Our November Coffee Hour: China
On November 9, we were treated to an insightful Coffee Hour centered on China and its contours of current internal power. Our own inestimable Kent Hughes once again lent his vast knowledge of China to the talk, as did Dan Mattingly, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Yale, our expert guest who studies authoritarian politics and historical political economy with a focus on China. We were joined in the hour by classmate Sherm Cochran, retired Professor of Chinese History at Cornell, who added his own well-considered comments and questions to our time. Please enjoy the recording of the most remarkable event.
Comments? Please make them here.
11/02/23
Settling into Late Autumn
Gary Richardson’s photo: The Great Pumpkin, or Hunter’s Moon setting behind Eagle Rock, Fort Boise Military Reserve, 6:55 a.m. MDT, Oct. 28, 2023
11/02/23
Salovey: Ending Legacy Admissions “Up for Discussion”
By Lee Bolman
The Yale Daily News reported late last week that President Peter Salovey responded to a question about the future of legacy admissions at Yale during a Fall Parents’ Weekend panel discussion. “It’s up for discussion”, he said, in the first statement… Click to read Lee’s full report.
11/02/23
Lessons from Russia’s First Crimean War, 1853-1856
By S. Frederick Starr
Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, Washington and Stockholm
American Foreign Policy Council
As the Russian army struggles to hold on to the Crimean peninsula, we all ask where it is all leading. Most answers are mere speculation, for there are simply too many of what Donald Rumsfeld called “unknown unknowns.” But history may offer some insights. After all, this is not the first time Russia sought to hold onto those lands and the West mounted a military response. We’ve been there before. During the Crimean War of 1853-1856 Britain, France, and Ottoman Turkey confronted tsarist Russia over these same lands. Even though that war is scarcely remembered today, there are striking parallels… Click to read Fred’s full essay.
10/16/23 SPECIAL EDITION
War in the Middle East
We, the Y62 Communication Team, are trying to make sense of what’s happening between Israel and Hamas, which feels too important to ignore. Like many of you, we’re struggling to make sense out of events that are both complex and dreadful.
We’ve created a space for conversation and reflection here on the class website. We’d welcome brief (or even not so brief) comments that you’d like to contribute. Think about questions like: What was your reaction when you learned about the Hamas attack on Israel? How do you understand what’s happening now? What reactions or feelings is it evoking for you? What’s the personal impact for you? What hopes or fears do you have about what comes next? Are you concerned about the nexus between the conflicts in Israel and in Ukraine? PLEASE CLICK TO ADD YOUR OWN COMMENTS ON OUR CONVERSATION PAGE devoted to this war.
10/12/23
Salovey in Detroit, with The Yale Club of Michigan
By Al Chambers
October 10, 2023. President Peter Salovey’s first visit to Detroit and the rejuvenated Yale Club of Michigan provided a well-planned and stimulating evening for the more than 100 people who attended his talk at the Detroit Historical Museum.
It was Salovey’s first meeting with an Alumni group outside of New Haven since his August 31 announcement that he would retire from the University Presidency and… Click to read Al’s full report.
10/12/23
Eisendrath and Valier: Same Place, Same Time. Different Result.
By Charles Valier
Charlevoix, Michigan is really two towns, north and south divided by a narrow body of water. Charles Eisendrath and I both claim the town as our spiritual home, a summer paradise. But we each live in two different worlds, separated and distinct, yet geographically close. How can this be?
In our youth we, both St. Louisans living a few blocks apart and attending two similar private preparatory schools, spent our summers in Charlevoix, culturally and physically separated. Charles in the north half and I in the south half. The town is sited on three lakes, Michigan, Round and Charlevoix, all connected by the Pine River, really a channel. It was dredged in the final quarter… Click to read Charles’ full essay.
10/10/23
Our October Coffee Hour
Additionally, Professor Shore shared with us several resources which can be helpful in understanding the current state of events in Ukraine. Please visit the Coffee Hour comments page for her list, and to leave your comments, as well.
9/28/23
Yale ’62 Interview
This brand new Yale ’62 Interview features a chat between classmate Jack McCredie and Y62 Communications Team member Tim Hall and concerns the history of the famed Chautauqua program in Chautauqua, NY. Jack has attended, well, forever, and has served on its board. For more about Chautauqua, visit CHQ.org and for more about its full-year, online access to programs, visit CHQ Assembly. Please make any comments here
9/28/23
The Artist’s Sketchbook
We asked classmate Fred Appell to show us some of his recent artwork, and he sent us a dozen paintings and sketches from his sketchbook, along with his commentary. Please click through to see THE ARTIST’S SKETCHBOOK
9/28/23
The Middle Kingdom at Center Stage: China’s Past and Future Growth Strategy
The monograph named in the title above was written by classmate Kent Hughes for the Wilson Center. We thought that many of you might wish to read it, especially in advance of our November Coffee Hour, which will be devoted to a discussion of China. Please click here to access Kent’s monograph.
9/19/23
Do You Remember? Tom Jones, A New Musical!
David Honneus sent in the following: “I found this in a trunk (literally) and sent a copy to John Stewart, as he was a cast member. This was the undergraduate-written Spring Musical of The Dramat in 1960 – before the famous Albert… READ THE REST, AND SEE THE PROGRAM, HERE
9/19/23
Economic Disparity at Yale
A Sept. 7, 2023, New York Times story about a case study of economic diversity at elite colleges sparked a series of exchanges among Y62 Communications Team members that other classmates may wish to join… READ THE DISCUSSION
9/11/23
Our Sept. 7, 2023 Coffee Hour: Politics
Comments? Please make them here.
9/11/23
Class Action Suit Leads to Changes in Mental Health Policies at Yale
By Lee G. Bolman
In 2015, a Yale sophomore math major died by suicide after posting a desperate message on social media that she “couldn’t bear the thought of having to leave for a full year, or of leaving and never being readmitted.” In 2021, a first-year student feared that if Yale found out about her mental health struggles, she might be forced… CLICK TO READ FULL ESSAY.
9/11/23
The ’62 Whiffs in Summer: August Reunion
By John “Dirty Bas” Stewart
Long-planned, on the evening of Tuesday, August 2, we assembled in Gates Mills, Ohio, at the home of Bonnie Humphrey and Charlie “Sonuva” Michener. Peter “Pop” and Margaret Sipple, Louis “Boiler” and Patricia Klindienst, John… READ JOHN’S FULL REPORT HERE
8/28/23
Security at Yale
Introduction by Tim Hall. Reminiscence #1 by Lee V. Bakunin. Reminiscence #2 by Gary Richardson.
Click on link to our article below to view larger, complete image
In a major story covered in the New York Times on August 26, there was a report of a flyer issued by the Yale Campus Police union, warning incoming freshmen in dire terms of the risks of being on the streets of New Haven… READ FULL ARTICLE
8/24/23
Did You Know?
Two of the issues that have caught our attention, recently:
From Our Y62 Outpost in Idaho, Gary Richardson
When I first moved here as the Idaho Conservation League’s first organizer/educator in the late ’70s, a favorite slogan was “Idaho Is What America Was.” Now, Idaho has become a bellwether for the far-right nonsense that is sweeping the country under the aegis of a Republican party that has lost its bearings along with its marbles. I’ve updated the slogan: “Idaho Is What America Is Becoming.”
The following Idaho Statesman editorial offers a summary of just how crazy things are getting:
While extremists chase away Idaho teacher of the year, state’s leaders stay silent
Idaho’s 2023 teacher of the year Karen Lauritzen, previously a fourth-grade teacher in Post Falls in North Idaho, has left the state, chased away by far-right… CLICK TO READ FULL EDITORIAL.
and…
Yale Welcomes Largest First-Year Class Ever
By Lee Bolman
The class of 2027 set multiple records when it arrived on campus last weekend. Yale welcomed 1647 new first-year students, the largest in university history. In 2017, class size at Yale jumped by about 20% with the opening of Pauli Murray and Benjamin Franklin Colleges, but this year’s class ballooned more than expected because of a historic high in the yield rate, with seventy-two percent of admitted students choosing Yale.
The class has also set several new records for diversity. More than 360 first-year students (22%) are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant for lower-income students, compared to 12% 10 years ago. Twenty-one percent are first generation college students, up from 12% ten years ago, and minority enrollment has increased in the same 10 years from 36% to 59%. The number of students of color in the first-year class has almost doubled in the last decade.
The class of 2027 began with the largest applicant pool in college history. Yale admitted 2275 applicants from a pool of 52,250, for an admit rate of 4%.
Comments? Please make them here.
8/7/23
Our August 3, 2023 Coffee Hour: Climate Change
Comments? Please make them here.
7/20/23
Vacationing in Chile’s Upper Patagonia
A Photo Essay from Bill Stott
For a few days this past spring, Bill and his wife Irene ventured into Upper Patagonia for a pleasant break from their city life in Santiago. Click here to see the photos.
7/20/23
A Sense of Place
By Charles Eisendrath
Charles left a dream job as foreign correspondent, packed up his family and reinvented himself as a cherry farmer in Northern Michigan. Here, he reflects on the life-changing powers of a 160-year-old farmstead. Click here to read the essay.
7/11/23
Our July 6, 2023 Coffee Hour: “Singing at Yale”
Comments? Please make them here.
7/05/23
SPECIAL REPORT
Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action in College Admissions
By Lee Bolman
Last Thursday, a 6-3 majority in the Supreme Court struck down the use of race in admissions decisions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, arguing that they “unavoidably employ race in a negative manner” and “involve racial stereotyping”. The headlines blared that the ruling killed affirmative action, but Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion seemed to open a side door when he wrote that “Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as that discussion… CLICK TO READ LEE’S FULL REPORT
6/23/23
Focus on the Basics of Crypto – Not the Cryptocurrency Casino
By Whit Knapp
2023 has been marked by turmoil in the financial world. A string of social media and internet triggered bank runs and then bank collapses started the year. These collapses were associated with a series of blowups in the cryptocurrency world starting a year ago. Now the SEC and other regulators have decided to weigh in, causing additional uncertainty in the financial world. These events have opened up pandora’s box around cryptocurrencies, a significantly misunderstood topic. My musings in the following essay try to put the topic of “crypto” in perspective and give a glimpse of the emerging new infrastructure for the financial services world. CLICK TO READ WHIT’S FULL ESSAY
6/23/23
Singing at Yale
By John Stewart
Yale has a singing tradition in length and variety unsurpassed anywhere as far as I know. The center of this tradition is of course the Yale Glee Club, founded in1863 and still going strong.
In our senior year the YGC was accompanied by two freshman groups and an intermediary glee club, the Apollo, which I had the honor of directing. In our sophomore year director Fenno Heath was called away for a family emergency in the fall and I was invited to conduct a concert. By then the music had been learned and memorized, a friend loaned me a pair of more formal… CLICK TO READ JOHN’S ARTICLE
6/23/23
“Snowmageddon” or Winter 2022-23 in California’s Sierra Nevada
By Fred Ilfeld
My reaction on leaving my mountain home in Olympic Valley in late March was altogether new to me. I felt a strong sense of relief, which I had never experienced before when leaving home. My body just relaxed physically. Until then I had no idea I was so continuously tense. Normally, I rejoice in winter up here with its small, cohesive and caring communities and the unending beauty and opportunities for skiing at multiple resorts around Tahoe. But this year has been different. On heading to my other home on the northern California coast I felt free from strain, realizing I wouldn’t have to constantly fear slipping on black ice, with the least consequence being a bad bruise, and a worse consequence a concussion or broken ribs, each of which I’ve experienced. I wouldn’t be worried about an unpredictable dropping… CLICK TO READ FRED’S COMPLETE ACCOUNT
6/15/23
Our Class Council Meeting
Read Class Secretary John Stewart’s Report here.
6/06/23
Our June Coffee Hour: Yale Admissions, with Jeremiah Quinlan
Dean Quinlan’s slides are here. Comments? Please make them here.
6/06/23
Can the Nuggets Finally Win a Title? Neal Freeman Hopes So.
Y62 Communications Team member Lee Bolman reports that classmate Neal Freeman has just published a charming and highly-readable article about his passion for the Denver Nuggets (in, oddly enough, the National Review). In an account filled with dark humor and genial self-deprecation, Neal tells how he became part of the ownership group of a team that was among the most hapless ensembles in the history of professional sports–in his first ownership year, the Nuggets stumbled to 11 wins in 82… Click here to read Neal’s own words about the Nuggets.
5/23/23
A PLAN OF ACTION TO SAVE OUR OCEANS AND CLIMATE
For five decades, our own Y62 award-winning actor Sam Waterston has thrilled audiences of theater, film, and television. But he’s also a passionate activist and serves as Chair of Oceana, the preeminent ocean conservation NGO, advocating to save the oceans and the climate through science-based policies for responsible commercial fishing, reducing single-use plastics, and halting the expansion of off-shore oil drilling.
Sam will be speaking at a free event on June 2, at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, 246 Warren Turnpike Road, Falls Village, CT, at 7:30-8:30PM. We called the high school to inquire, and there will not be a Zoom for tuning in, although there will be a recording of the event produced after the event. We will keep you posted on that, and will provide the link when available.
For more information, or to see how to attend in person, here’s the link.
5/23/23
CONJURING DRAGONS WITH AI
By Gary E. Richardson, Y62 Communications Team member
The explosion of interest in artificial intelligence (AI) over the past few months has been phenomenal, especially since the release last November of Open AI’s ChatGPT, which has already been superseded by GPT-4. These pioneering AI neural networks are fraught with inaccuracies—confident responses that don’t seem to be justified by the chatbot’s training data. Like many, I’ve had mixed results with Chat GPT: I’ve learned a few things I did not know or had forgotten. The bot appeared to carry on “intelligent” conversations on several topics of interest. However, chatbot can’t tell me where it gets its information and ducks some areas of discussion with a… CLICK TO READ GARY’S COMPLETE ESSAY
5/23/23
OPEN TO DEBATE
Y62 classmate Bob Rosenkranz has changed the name of his debate series from Intelligence Squared US to Open To Debate, still continuing the time-honored practice of civil discourse in the discussion of ideas. The debate we’ve linked here, recorded a couple of months ago, concerns the question “Will ChatGPT Do More Harm Than Good?” Click on the graphic below to enjoy the debate.
Comments about this topic? Make them here.
5/16/23
Apple Pond Farm Devastated by Tornado
Dick Riseling, classmate and Communications Team member emeritus, sent us the following news: “A whopper of a tornado hit here on April 22. Apple Pond Farm and Renewable Energy Education Center was hit by a tornado that compromised our home, main equipment, and storage buildings. It wiped out our huge barn and smashed most of our farm equipment. The twister knocked down or broke off at 40′ our wonderful stand of spruce trees, felled over a hundred trees on our hay fields, and blew our fences down. It eliminated nine out-buildings where we held various workshops, and destroyed our wind turbine, and solar systems.
“Settled in 1739, there is no record of such a weather event in this area… Read the rest of Dick’s account here.
5/09/23
Our May Coffee Hour: Venezuela to Yale and Beyond
On Thursday, May 9, we learned about a remarkable Venezuelan family which sent not one, not two, but four brothers to Yale in the late ’50s and early ’60s. Two brothers, Rodolpho “Rody” Salas and Jacobo “Jack” Salas, were our classmates. In the first half of the Coffee Hour (shown above), Rody and Jack, joined by brothers Henrique “Henry” ’61 and Gustavo ’64, spoke to us about life in their home country, about coming to Yale, and where their lives have taken them since those days.
Related to this Coffee Hour, we offer a link to a recording of Gustavo Salas being interviewed by an international journalist in Stockholm after receiving the Right Livelihood award.
In the second part of the Coffee Hour, Rody and Jack spoke about how life has changed in Venezuela since their boyhoods.
Comments? Please make them here.
5/02/23
“The Legacy of Alexander Garvin”
On October 6-7, 2022, the Yale School of Architecture held a symposium to honor the work of our late classmate, Alex Garvin. While this material is not yet available anywhere else online, classmate Steve Rose has sent in screenshots of the printed article describing the event, so that we may read it here. PLEASE CLICK TO ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE.
5/02/23
On Turning 83
By Lee V. Bakunin
Thank you for your wishes, emails, cards and other forms of encouragement on my 83rd birthday.
83 is an opportunity to be thankful for every person I’ve met and the experiences of being above ground. A stopping point on another that will occur on May 16, 2023.
30,000 days since I emerged on April 6, 1940 at 4:11 am. Before most of you were… PLEASE READ LEE’S FULL ESSAY HERE
4/17/23
Our April Coffee Hour: “The Pursuit of Happiness in Later Life”
On Thursday, April 13, we held a rousing Coffee Hour with guest expert Dr. Leo Cooney, Prof. Emeritus, Yale Medical School and developer and first head of its Geriatric Section, along with classmate speakers who gave reports of choices they’ve made in their current lifestyles. Dr. Cooney also gave us his slides he presented during his talk. Please view them and/or download them, as you prefer.
Comments? Please make them here.
4/17/23
Our Climate Conversation
What began two weeks ago as an email thread has come out into the light as a page here at Yale62.org. The participants thought other classmates might like to add their own points of view. Any of us may do so by… READ THE CONVERSATION, AND ADD YOUR OWN COMMENTS
4/17/23
Yale Winter Sports: ’22-’23 Season
By Michael Kane
Last month, the 2022-23 season ended for three Yale winter sports teams- men’s hockey, women’s hockey, and men’s’ basketball. Your correspondent enjoyed watching the final games on ESPN, from the comfort of warm and sunny Florida. The women’s hockey team repeated a dominant 2021-22 season, beating most opponents, including Harvard and Princeton, on the way to a 28-4-1 record before losing to Clarkson and Northeastern in postseason tournament play. The men’s basketball team (21-8) shared the regular season Ivy title with Princeton, then beat… READ MIKE’S COMPLETE ACCOUNT HERE
3/31/23
Antarctic Sea Ice: Going, Going…
By Rutherford H. Platt
Amid the deluge of political, war, and economic news, a new report from Antarctica caught my attention: Floating pack ice surrounding the frozen continent has shrunk to the smallest extent since monitoring by satellite began in 1979.
As reported in The Guardian online on March 4, the ice pack reached a record low of 1.79 million square kilometers on Feb. 25 — about 9% lower than previous February levels. According to Australian scientists Rob Massom and Phil Reid, “two-thirds of the continent’s coastline was exposed to… READ RUD’S FULL ESSAY HERE
3/31/23
“Red Moon Rising” — a poem by Burgert Roberts
with an introduction by Y62 Communications Team member Gary E. Richardson
Astronomically, a red or blood moon is the phase of a total lunar eclipse before and after totality, when the moonlight is dimmed and reddened by sunlight passing through the earth’s atmosphere.
From time immemorial on all continents, a blood moon has been an ominous sign foreshadowing disruption and destruction. Perhaps most famously, the New Testament book of “Revelations” imagines that… READ GARY’S COMPLETE INTRODUCTION and BURGERT’S POEM HERE
3/24/23
A New Y62 Couples Interview: Jill and David Scharff
Our tireless Class Secretary and Communications Team member John Stewart recently sat down with Jill and David Scharff to chat about their lives as psychotherapists and life partners. Enjoy this light-hearted, chatty exchange!
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3/24/23
Yale: Choice or Destiny?
By Lee V. Bakunin
Heritage is a combination of seemingly unrelated events and circumstances. Pursuing dreams amidst challenges, adversity and successes left by others. A gift and a puzzlement.
Why Yale? Here’s my story: You decide.
I was the hope from my parents and grandparents that my life would thrive and leave a legacy for future generations.
The catalyst was my Grandmother Stella, an outspoken independent 17-year-old… READ THE COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
3/24/23
Yale Historian Snyder Deconstructs “Russophobia”
By Lee Bolman
When journalists or television news anchors want an informed source who can provide depth and historical context around the war in Ukraine, they’re likely to call on Yale’s Professor Timothy Snyder, an expert on Eastern Europe. His course on the history of Ukraine this semester is so popular that he’s made it available online. A central theme is that “Ukraine must have existed as a society and polity… READ THE COMPLETE SUMMARY HERE
3/16/23
Neal Freeman Examines Bill Buckley’s Legacy
National Review Founder, William F. Buckley, Jr.
By Lee Bolman
Classmate Neal Freeman, author and chairman of the Foundation Management Institute, recently published an article in the National Review under the title, “The Enduring Legacy of William F. Buckley, Jr.” Describing Buckley as both friend and mentor, he argues that “Bill Buckley did not resuscitate American conservatism. He did not rejigger it. He created it.”
Neal opens his article with a vignette about the FBI file that was created when he was nominated for a presidential appointment. Among the Bureau’s interviewees was Bill Buckley, who described Neal… READ THE COMPLETE SUMMARY
3/16/23
The Ides of March, read by Tappan Wilder
We’re one day late with this, but it ran via Thornton Wilder newsletters yesterday, and since Tappan speaks of using these very same words to eulogize Thornton in Battell at Yale, we thought you might like to hear them, as well.
3/10/23
Fox Hole Even Deeper Than It Looks? Yale Professor Weighs In
By Lee Bolman
If you’ve been following the news even casually, you’re aware that Dominion Systems is suing Fox News for $1.6 billion, alleging that Fox repeatedly and knowingly defamed Dominion by airing false claims that Dominion’s voting machines were hacked… CLICK TO READ LEE’S FULL COMMENTARY
3/08/23
Our March Coffee Hour
On March 2, our Coffee Hour participants convened to talk about what it was like for several of us to have had “multi-vocational experiences” over the course of our working lifetimes. Several classmates started us off on the topic by sharing their own experiences, and then we moved into a full-group discussion of it. We hope you enjoy the recording!
Please be sure to share your own thoughts on the topic here.
1/09/23 UPDATED 3/09/23
An Inconspicuous Subset, in France
Now with more of the story!
By Philip Stewart
An inconspicuous subset of the Yale class of 1962 were the eleven juniors who spent the year 1960–1961 in France under the auspices of the Sweet Briar Junior Year in France, a venerable program about 90-strong that had begun at the University of Delaware in period between the two World Wars. These men were, if my archives are correct, David Arkush, Jeff Barnouw, Roger Craig, Edward Freeman, Joe Graham, Steve Hazlett, Bill Reilly, Tom Sherman, Robert A. Smith, Philip Stewart, and Sam Waterston.
One interesting feature of this group was its diversity. Far from being characterized, as one might imagine, by French majors, they were remarkably diverse both in their fields of study (one, for example, majored in Southeast Asian Studies) and eventual profession: several were to become… Read Philip’s complete essay here
2/27/23
“Write Your Own Obituary”
Summary by Tim Hall
On the evening of February 16, a group of Yale ’62s sat down with Diane Ronayne, wife of classmate and Communication Team member Gary Richardson, to learn in an online seminar format the fine points of how to write our own obituaries. The video of this workshop is now available above for the benefit of everyone in the class. It comes highly recommended by the original participants! READ MORE ABOUT THE SEMINAR
2/06/23
Our February 2 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
Let’s keep the discussion going! Add your comments here.
1/31/23
Charles Valier and the St. Louis Police Commission
A couple of weeks back, Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber sat down once again with classmate Charlie Valier — this time to talk about his work with the St. Louis Police Commission and the career gangsters against whom they struggled to clean up law enforcement in the late ’70s and early to mid-’80s. Please take a look at the interview, and remember to comment here.
1/31/23
“Refound” Family Photos from 50 and 100 years ago
By Bill Stott
Thanks to NYC’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and cousin Alex Tucker, family archivist, here are pictures precious to me.
From the Met, two Walker Evans Polaroid portraits taken at Jane and my Westlake home in April 1974. Before he took the pictures Walker commanded each of us, “Look sad!”
Jane
Bill
[Ed. Note: Old photos found again spur memories for us all.] Please read Bill’s essay here.
1/31/23
My Life, in Brief
By Tom Triplett
Bill Weber asked that I consider penning a brief memo on my post-Yale career. I do so with a degree of reluctance, as Yale has faded from my priorities.
To set the stage, I can share that I was raised in Portland, Oregon and attended public school, where I did well, both academically and in sports. I know that I got into Yale on diversity (i.e., having been raised in Oregon with arrows chasing the buckboard). I arrived at Yale by train with a steamer trunk, where the only folks I knew were alums of American Field Service. I was a bit… Click to read Tom’s complete essay
1/09/23
Our New Year ’23 Y62 Coffee Hour!
Our first ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour of 2023 featured a quick review of the midterm elections, to see how we mgith have done on our predictions made in last September, and to discuss where the country may roll on from here. It was an energetic talk filled with agreements and disagreements, but unfailingly cordial ones. Enjoy the recording!
Comments? Please make them here. Please make them here. Thanks.
1/09/23
Adventures with Psychologists: Discussing Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future
By Tim Hall
For anyone interested in a mind-changing walk through a near-future world coping – ultimately fairly successfully – with environmental disaster, Kim Stanley Robinson’s sci-fi novel, The Ministry for the Future, is worth your serious consideration. I read it last summer, at my wife’s urging (her friend Carolyn said, “You have to read this book!”), and I hung in there to the end, in spite of the prodigious length – 563 pages. I like short books, short attention span!
The book centers on the life and work of Mary Murphy, who has been appointed Director of a new United Nations ministry whose constituency is the people of the future. It deals with near-future events, starting with a catastrophic heat wave in India that killed… Read Tim’s complete essay here
12/21/22
Y62 Interview: Steve Lash
On December 13th, we had the great fortune to connect Class Secretary and Y62 Communications Team member John Stewart with Steve Lash for a discussion of Steve’s still ongoing time at Christie’s Auction House. He retired as Chairman, but still goes to work every day, and shares with us the reason. Enjoy this delightful conversation!
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12/21/22
Crypto in Crisis: Can Order Emerge from the Chaos?
By Whitman Knapp
The “crypto” world has been rocked by disaster after disaster in 2022. The trouble started in May with the collapse of the algorithm based “Stablecoin” Terra. That was followed by the collapse/bankruptcy of cryptocurrency exchanges and hedge funds, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Celsius Network, and Voyager Digital, with a cumulative loss of approximately $20billion. Finally, the implosion and bankruptcy of the Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, and his trading vehicle, Alameda Research, has thrown… Read Whit’s complete essay here
11/29/22
Y62 Interview: “My Legislative Years”
Earlier this month, Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber sat down with former Missouri legislator and classmate Charlie Valier to discuss some of the more memorable events during Charlie’s time in state government. This interview runs a bit longer than most of the ones we’ve offered, but the time goes quickly, and it’s filled with unique, entertaining moments. Enjoy!
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11/29/22
Republicans Abandon The Planet
By Rutherford H. Platt
On Labor Day, 80 million people along the East Coast were under flash flood watches or warnings, while another 50 million in six western states were under excessive heat warnings. As parts of Georgia received a “once in 1000 year rainfall,” Salt Lake City hit a record 103 degrees F. and Long Beach, CA reached 108 F. Puerto Rico this week suffered intense flooding and power failures from Hurricane Flora––a replay of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Meanwhile, 33 million Pakistanis have fled… Read Rud’s full Op-Ed here.
11/29/22
Thinking about Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock
By John Stewart
While re-reading for Neal Stephenson’s brilliant and entertaining eco-thriller Termination Shock, I was reminded of Isaiah Berlin’s hedgehog and fox categorizations: the fox knows many things and the hedgehog one big thing. In this case Kim Stanley Robinson’s very important novel about climate change, The Ministry for the Future, is … Read John’s full comments here.
11/16/22
William “Bill” Stork
By Lee Bolman, of the Yale ’62 Communications Team
Prominent and beloved classmate William “Bill” Stork died peacefully in Hong Kong on November 6. Bill was many things — teacher, school administrator, innovator, author, Fulbright Scholar, world traveler and more. Classmate Al Chambers captured the quality that stood out most to many of his classmates: “His love and commitment to Yale were extraordinary.”
Ask Bill to do something for Yale or the class, and he never said no. He served terms as president of two Yale Clubs: Southern California and Hong Kong. He was a delegate to the Assembly of the Yale Alumni Association (YAA) and was elected to YAA’s Board of Governors, where he served two terms as secretary. In 1991 Yale asked him to chair the Yale Assembly on internationalization of the university, a task he carried out with great success. Ten years later, Yale asked Bill to co-chair Yale’s 300th anniversary celebration for alumni in Asia, a four-day event that drew 450 attendees. He was involved in the NUS initiative from its early stages. He and Al Chambers co-chaired a class mini-reunion in Hong Kong in 2005.
Bill was the all-time leader in articles submitted to our website here at Yale62.org, and was prolific until shortly before his death. His last submission to the class website was a timely three-part series in July and August that asked “How Secure is China’s Leadership?” Bill’s genial optimism and fascination with the world around him were reflected in an August note to a classmate: “Here I am hearty, happy, and healthy and busily watching the comings and goings of typhoons and other ramifications of climate change in Hong Kong and elsewhere.” He’ll be missed.
11/07/22
Our November ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
Our November 3rd Coffee Hour focused on Yale Admissions and how a well-designed class might be selected. Communications Team member Lee Bolman created a powerful presentation that classmates then used as a springboard for their own discussions in small “breakout” rooms (not recorded). Then we all reconvened the one large group at the end to share our discussion outcomes. Lee’s slides are available here.
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10/24/22
Our Second Couples Interview! Cindy & Dave Hummel
Classmate Dave Hummel and his lovely, talented wife Cindy have visited almost all of the countries in the world! In the interview above with Y62 Communications Team member Gary Richardson, they talk about their experiences. And at this link, we see some of Cindy’s magnificent photos from her latest trip to South Africa.
10/24/22
What’s Old is New Again!
Classmate and former Y62 Corresponding Secretary Mike Kane wrote to us a few few weeks back to remind everyone that the archives here on this website are vast! Don’t forget that we feature articles which have been written by classmates for over 20 years, as well as Yale Alumni Magazine columns dating from 2002 forward. Visit the links on the left side of this page – or at the bottom of this page, use the Search function if you’re looking for a specific name, and enjoy a trip down “Memory Lane!”
10/13/22
“The Legacy of Thornton Wilder” – Our October Coffee Hour
At our regularly scheduled ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour for October, we sat down with classmate Tappy Wilder, who has worked as his late Uncle Thornton’s Literary Executor since 1995. He tells us the story of how all of that transpired, and, joined by Thornton Wilder Estate Program Manager Rosey Strub, he lets us in on what’s happening with the ongoing interest in Thornton’s many timeless works. (Watch the recording to the end to find out the truth about the “real” Grover’s Corners!)
In addition, we have a link to the new mini-documentary out on Thornton (“Thornton Wilder: It’s Time”), shown in part at our Coffee Hour. Here is the complete documentary at this link. Are you looking for more about the Wilder family in Maine? Rosey supplied this link to us. Finally, how would you like to produce your very own Thornton Wilder three-minute play? You can! Tappy has provided us all with a copy of “Flamingo Red” right here! Enjoy, everyone!
Comments? Please make them here.
10/07/22
“One of Us” – an interview with Ed Rowan
(Ed. Note: Lifelong newsman Al Chambers recently sat down with author and psychiatrist Ed Rowan to discuss what became of fellow Y62 classmate Dirk Greineder, who was convicted in the murder of his wife, Mabel “Mae” Greineder, and who remains in prison in Massachusetts. Part of Dirk’s most unusual life is outlined in a chapter of Ed’s recent memoir, My First Eighty Years. Please watch the interview and read Ed’s additional comments, both of which are provided below.)
Notes Ed sent along to accompany the interview: “After Yale, medical school, and a psychiatric residency, my first “job” was with the Navy assigned to their maximum security prison in Portsmouth, NH. After a brief stint in college mental health (a very different population), I was back in forensic work, ultimately as medical director of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections. In that capacity, we developed the first sex offender treatment in the state. Back in the States, I wanted to do something different and just write.
“My first endeavor was to answer the question as to why the Boy Scouts of America downplayed the role of its first Chief Executive, so I researched and wrote a biography of him. One day, I saw an article in the Boston Globe about a doctor being tried for the murder of his wife. Since he was my age and a Yale graduate, I wondered if he were a classmate. Dirk Greineder was. The trial disclosed that he had been hiding a life of pornography and prostitutes, so I was intrigued. He was found guilty of first degree murder, and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Since I knew about sex and murder, I arranged to meet with him in prison. He was not especially cooperative, and always said that the appeals process was still underway.
“After all his appeals were exhausted, I finally got access to the trial transcript. All my book proposals were rejected.
I’m not a lawyer, but I would have suggested a different defense strategy but one that Dirk would have rejected. He still claims that he is innocent, and his children could not accept the fact that their father would kill their mother.”
Comments? Ed will reply to your questions and comments. Click here.
10/07/22
Intelligence Squared US: Should We Separate the Art From the Artist?
Occasionally, we bring you episodes from classmate Bob Rosenkranz’s Intelligence Squared U.S., where he is Founder and Chairman of the Board. These discussions are “grounded in facts and informed by reasoned analysis.” Please click on the player below to listen to this most recent podcast.
9/30/22
The U.S. Response to the War in Ukraine – an Op-Ed
By Bill Boehmler
I have been concerned that until recently, U.S. support for the Ukrainians has been anemic. Our slow response to Russian aggression has led to horrific consequences for Ukraine and its people. I have written the following note to explain my concerns and pose questions that I haven’t heard addressed in mainstream media.
In 2005, Vladimir Putin revealed his intentions toward countries that had left the Soviet Union.
In an address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian… Read Bill’s full Op-Ed here.
9/30/22
My Work with the ADA
By Jim Lewis
Abraham Lincoln’s Home in Springfield, IL, shown here not compliant with ADA
In 1991, Congress passed and President George H. W. Bush was glad to sign the ADA, the Americans with Disabilities Act. This legislation changed the existing expectations for the many millions of people with physical and mental limitations, and brought them more fully into our communities, to benefit the individuals as well as the communities.
How would this be implemented? Good question. Someone had to do something.
After the passage of the ADA, the United States Department of Justice invited Assistant United States Attorneys – like me – to one-day regional ADA training. Jaci, a paralegal in our office, came with me. We learned about the law and checked out an ADA-compliant… Read Jim’s full account here.
9/30/22
Bits & Pieces for a Good Life
By Lee V. Bakunin
Welcome, Yale Class of 2062!
You are the 358th Class to receive opening remarks as you embark on your journey to shape your world of tomorrow.
The legacy you will leave starts now.
Memories, experiences, successes and failures.
I’ve shied away from pontificating or providing you with a list of do’s and don’ts for success. Because… you will do it your way and far be it from me to tell you to change what you believe works or doesn’t work for you. Still working on my stuff. I’m not there yet. You are probably in a better position to offer a suggestion or two to me than the other way… Read Lee’s full essay here.
9/20/22
One Photographer’s View
Classmate and Communications Team member Gary Richardson recently closed a show of his photos in his longtime hometown of Boise, Idaho, and has sent us a sampling of his keen-eyed, amazing work. Please visit his online gallery he has shared with us here.
9/20/22
Seeking Asphaleia (ἀσφάλεια)
By Charles Valier
Tennis Court Hill
Taffy, my Golden Retriever puppy and I ascend “tennis court hill.” As a young boy, I strained to pedal my bike up that same hill. Now, after traversing the surrounding grounds, my immediate neighborhood and descending the hill created many thousands of years ago by a receding glacier, I have to climb again to return to my home firmly planted at the crest. I struggle under the weight of 82 years. The sound of my shuffling and banter with Taffy is drowned out by the hum… CLICK TO READ THE FULL ESSAY
9/20/22
Yale School of Architecture Plans Celebration of Alex Garvin’s Life, Work
Classmate Steve Rose sent in the following news: “I thought the class would be interested in this multi-event occasion regarding our classmate, Alex. It would be nice if we sent a classmate to some of the events (two in New Haven, three in NYC) to bring back a report.” Full info is available at the link at the bottom labeled “Click here to receive detailed invitations and information.” If anyone is interested in attending, and then sending us a few words about the events – one or more – please let us know at YAM@yale62.org. Thanks!
9/06/22
Our Sept. ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour. “Midterm Elections: Fateful for Democracy?”
On Thursday, September 1, we had a lively discussion about a few of the upcoming midterm political races, starting off with updates by classmate residents of Arizona (Bob Breault), Georgia (Rod Hunter, Roscoe Sandlin) and Pennsylvania (Jack Merrick). Ably moderated by Communications Team member Lee Bolman and brought into sharp focus by our newsman classmate Al Chambers, the 90-minute meeting was enlightening, engaging and fun. Enjoy the recording, and be sure to leave your own comments on the comments page.
8/23/22
Y62 Interview: Bob Stokstad
A few days back, Communications Team member Bill Weber was able to sit down with classmate Bob Stokstad. Because of the joyful, adventurous mix of science and outdoorsmanship in Bob’s life, Bill refers to him as “the Enrico Fermi of ’62.” Enjoy this lively chat!
Additionally, Bob sent us a few links to provide more information on a few of the topics covered in the interview.
- The IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole
- Bob’s South Pole Travel, Photography, Moto-Journalism
- Bob’s Metal Working
Click here to leave comments on the interview.
8/23/22
How Secure is China’s Leadership? Part Three
By Bill Stork
This fall’s 20th National Party Congress will be the most significant in forty years. While I expect that Xi Jinping will again be elected president for a third term, I also expect it will be with drastic and perhaps dramatic limitations.
China is exceedingly history-conscious, and precedents are important. No one since Mao Tse-tung has served for more than two terms… CLICK HERE TO READ BILL’S COMPLETE ESSAY
8/23/22
A Letter from Tanglewood
By John Stewart
Nestled in the verdant rolling Berkshire hills. Tanglewood is the 500-acre park-like summer home of the Boston Symphony. There is a large amphitheater and when it’s not raining, before the concerts there are many hundreds of visitors picnicking on the grass around it, or around the Ozawa theater, with its perfect acoustics. Since we moved east in 2011 we’ve attended at least a half dozen concerts every summer (except 2020) frequently in the company of classmates Lew and Melinda Spratlan, Carl and Liz Kaestle and Peter and Margaret Sipple, with a Lenox dinner… CLICK HERE TO READ JOHN’S LETTER IN ITS ENTIRETY
8/09/22
Y62: Our August ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour on “Surviving Yale”
On August 4, we held our “First Thursday’ Coffee Hour. Small group chat is not shown in the recording (not possible in the software we use), but everything from the large group is here. Enjoy the recording!
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE COFFEE HOUR
8/09/22
How Secure is China’s Leadership? Part Two
By Bill Stork
In the U.S., the political parties and media have their focus on the mid-term elections, and perhaps there is too much to cover and too much coverage. In China, the Chinese Communist Party has its Party Congress every five years, with the next one scheduled for this fall (date not yet revealed). At the last Party Congress, President Xi Jinping had enough power to scrap term limits on his presidency. But has his power slipped? Will the Party Congress vote to restore those term limits? Will they move forward on any other limitations?
Part Two of this three-part article will take a look at Xi’s standing within the Chinese Communist… CLICK HERE TO READ BILL’S COMPLETE ESSAY
8/01/22
Y62 Interview: Breaux Castleman, Jack Merrick
Last week, Communications Team member Bill Weber had the good chance to sit down with classmates Breaux Castleman and Jack Merrick, both of whom have ties to the oil industry, to talk about the fossil fuels pricing we’ve seen over the past few months. Enjoy this enlightening talk!
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE INTERVIEW
8/01/22
You Can Ignore Reality Only by Ignoring the Risk of Unacceptable Outcomes
By Anthony Carbone
Let’s start on the above theme with a capsule summary of the Biden administration’s energy policy. In the short term, the intent is to restrict the supply of fossil fuels, thereby driving up prices relative to renewable energy sources. Longer term, the objective is ultimately to deconstruct the oil and gas industry and limit production to approved, hard-to-decarbonize applications. The “forcing functions” that underpin this… CLICK HERE TO READ ANTHONY’S COMPLETE COMMENTARY
8/01/22
Legacy admits, affirmative action and college rankings: NOT All Quiet on the Admissions Front
By Lee Bolman
With the odds of admission steeper than ever, should legacy applicants still get an edge? Should Yale still consider race in admissions decisions? Will race and legacy status both disappear in the wake of a Supreme Court decision next year? Should Yale continue to participate in the US News annual college rankings when other schools may be gaming the numbers? All these questions have been in the news recently…. CLICK HERE TO READ LEE’S COMPLETE ESSAY
7/22/22
Y62 Interview: Joe Holmes
Last week, John Stewart had the fun opportunity to sit down with the masterful musician Joe Holmes to talk about music in his life, and how it all began. Enjoy!
CLICK HERE TO COMMENT ON THE INTERVIEW
7/22/22
How Secure is China’s Leadership? Part One
By Bill Stork
In the U.S., the political parties and media have their focus on the mid-term elections, and perhaps there is too much to cover and too much coverage. In China, the Chinese Communist Party has its Party Congress every five years, with the next one scheduled for this fall (date not yet revealed!). At the last Party Congress, President Xi Jinping had enough power to have scrapped all… CLICK HERE TO READ BILL’S COMPLETE ESSAY
7/22/22
Calling All Podcasters!
Are you a podcaster? Do you listen to podcasts, and maybe find a few to recommend? We want to hear from you! Please drop a line to YAM@Yale62.org and tell us about your involvement with this new medium. Thanks!
7/12/22
Our Y62 Coffee Hour: July 7, 2022. Taking Apart The News
Comments? Please make them here.
7/12/22
Dark Review of a Wine Book — Rejected by the Journal of Wine Economics
By Roman Weil
Roman Weil
I hope you enjoy this lark, which results from my having time on my hands and a reputation as an oenonomist — an economist who does empirical research about wine. The book review editor of the Journal of Wine Economics (a Harvard guy, but forgive him that) asked me to review the 35th (!) edition of Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: Revised & Updated, Sterling Epicure; 2021; Hardcover: 464 pages, $35. ISBN-10: 1454942177; ISBN-13: 978-1454942177; First published 1985.
I had a ball writing this review for reasons you’ll see in a moment. The editor, after consulting with his co-editors rejected my first version because, they said, my review was more about what the book did not contain than what it did. Get rid of the stuff about its omissions and tell us its inclusions. So, I obeyed and did a boring review, which I’ll not give away anything about here. Instead I’ll show you what I wrote, which the editors rejected. All the following was in the first draft; none of this will appear in the Journal.
I’ll start by disabusing you of the notion this review is about Kevin Zraly’s book alone. You know him, sommelier at Windows on the World until its untimely demise on 9/11, but not me, so I’ll start with … READ ROMAN’S REVIEW HERE
7/07/22
Y62 Interview: David Finkle
Last week, John Stewart sat down via Zoom with David Finkle to chat about what’s kept David busy recently, and it’s a potpourri of endeavors! Please enjoy this charming chat between two longtime friends.
For more about David, you’re invited to go to his website, DavidFinkle.com, where you can hear an interview, read some of his stories and reviews, and even purchase a book or two, if you like.
Further, here’s that link to “Democracy, It’s the Best Thing Yet” – the latest Finkle and Weeden ode to our dear country.
7/07/22
Adventures with Cars
By Bill Weber of the Y62 Communications Team
1989 Jaguar, from my current collection
Back in high school I became fascinated with cars, and my first one, I recall, was a 1949 Packard that eventually ended up with me in New Haven during my Sophomore or Junior year; I sold it to Orin Towner, a fifth-year engineering/Navy fellow who roomed with Giamei, Post and me. Sometime before that, in my high school years, I bought a 1948 Lincoln V-12 Zephyr… CLICK TO READ BILL’S ADVENTURES
7/05/22
How Did You Survive Yale?
Did you have an unusual or especially interesting experiences in your adjustment to Yale, particularly involving money, grades, and financial aid? Did you have a scholarship and a bursary or off-campus job? Were they ever in jeopardy for any reason? Or a specific academic survival experience that you’d like to share? And what impact, if any, did this experience have on the rest of your Yale experience and your later life?
If you’d like to contribute to next month’s Coffee Hour discussion on Yale survival and adaptation experiences, write to the Coffee Hour team c/o Tim Hall at dthall@bu.edu.
6/21/22
Our 60th Reunion Materials – The Whole Package!
We now have the Reunion Report, courtesy of Reunion Chair, Dan Koenigsberg, videos for your viewing pleasure, the ‘Litany of Thanksgiving and Remembrance’ from our Memorial Service, and over 80 photos for you to enjoy. We hope it all brings a smile to your face!
6/06/22
Our Y62 Coffee Hour, June 1, 2022
Comments? Please make them here.
6/06/22
Memorial Day Celebration at the Town of Pulteney, NY
By Bill Weber
[Ed. Note: Former Town Supervisor of Pulteney, NY, Bill has been involved in civic activities there for many years. His Memorial Day speech is his latest service to the town.]
Welcome to the Town of Pulteney’s Memorial Day celebration. We are here today to honor the fallen soldiers of America’s wars and conflicts. On this day in 1868, General John Logan issued a proclamation commemorating the sacrifices of the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War. He called it Decoration Day, later to be termed Memorial Day. Over 600,000 men died in the battles and I am sad to say the United States has lost over 1 million men and women soldiers to date in a variety of wars and conflicts. The Town of Pulteney has contributed brave men and women to virtually all the conflicts and suffered loss… READ BILL’S COMPLETE ADDRESS HERE
6/03/22
Reunion Reflections of a Trailing Spouse
By Tim Hall
This is a report from the firing line, reflecting on yesterday’s experiences of being a nonessential participant in the ancient ritual, the Big Decade Reunion (for ancient alums). My wife, Marcy Crary, is a member of the Radcliffe/Harvard Class of 1972, was on the Reunion Planning Committee and chaired one of their class panels. So, she was a central member of the class gathering – and I was anything but. And this distance provided some useful… READ TIM’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
6/03/22
Y62 Interview: Art Mann & The Hourglass Foundation
Last month, Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber sat down with classmate Art Mann to chat about the remarkable community development initiative in which Art’s been involved for well over two decades. Please enjoy the interview.
Comments? Please make them here.
6/03/22
The Yale Russian Chorus faces a difficult challenge.
By John Stewart
YRC in Russia, 2019
At the height of the cold war in the ’50s, a club began at Yale, to understand and learn more about Russia and the Soviet Union. Denis Mickewicz, studying in the Dept of Slavic Languages and the Yale School of Music, was invited to lead some Russian songs, and in a short time by virtue of his great charisma, musical and compositional gifts, and knowledge of sacred and secular Slavic choral literature, had attracted good enough voices to perform really challenging… READ JOHN’S COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE
5/25/22
Y62 Interview: Phil Proctor’s Many Guises
On Friday, May 20, Y62 Class Secretary and Communications Team member John Stewart sat down with classmate and performer par excellence Phil Proctor for a fun chat covering several topics, including aging with humor and the joys of a performer’s life. We laughed a lot, and commiserated on some parts, too. Phil says, “I forgot to mention my talented classmate friends, Bill Weeden and David Finkle, who should definitely receive mention, as well,” and so we have mentioned Bill and David on Phil’s behalf. Please enjoy the interview.
Comments? Please make them here.
5/17/22
Y62 Interview: Stumbling Stablecoin! The Moving Target of Cryptocurrency
(Ed. Note: Bill and Whit did this interview late last week, but we wanted to post this as quickly as we could because the Crypto situation is changing so dramatically hour by hour and now has become a major part of the concern about the investment economy and the losses of both small and large investors. That is true even though, as Whit said well, Crypto is a tiny part of the investment world valuation.)
Comments? Please make them here.
5/17/22
Intelligence Squared US: Agree to Disagree: Can Small Investors Beat the Street?
While we’re on the topic of investments and speculation, it’s a fortunate coincidence that Intelligence Squared US, classmate Bob Rosenkranz’s civil debate initiative, focused last Friday on the topic of small vs. large investors. Here’s their lead-in: In a modern-day battle of David and Goliath on Wall Street, thousands of amateur retail investors banded together to bid up stocks in a handful of failing companies, most notably the nostalgic video game hub known as GameStop. Within days, the renegade traders sent stocks soaring and dealt heavy blows to hedge funds and other traditional professional investors who had bet against the companies. The “meme stock” phenomenon was born. But where does “revolution” stand a year later? Did the amateurs—trading mostly on the Robinhood platform—change the world of finance? Should more “ordinary” investors get into the game? Or will that benefit Wall Street at the little guy’s expense? Enjoy the replay!
The Intelligence Squared US website is here.
Comments? Please make them here.
5/17/22
Reunion Updates
Gentlemen:
Our 60th Reunion team wanted to update you on our upcoming reunion and encourage you to still attend.
Among many events, we’ll have an exciting panel of classmates (including Sam Waterston) on working in our 80s, in addition to hearing from Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight on the Civil War era.
Due to updates to Yale’s COVID policies for visitors, we will be able to skip the new Central Registration and go directly to our reunion’s residential college, Timothy Dwight, to check in and receive registration materials. Classmates will not be required to check in at Central Registration at the St. Thomas More Golden Center as had been previously noted. If you will be using the reunion shuttle when you arrive, please let its driver know that you’re headed to Timothy Dwight College.
Close to 100 have already signed up, including some of our widows, and there will be a reception at the Yale Art Gallery as well as a performance by the indomitable Joe Holmes band.
We will recognize publicly classmates who have been an asset to the Class over time and will hear from hockey coach Keith Allain.
Some have elected to come for a portion of the Reunion, and for that choice, Friday and Saturday are the prime days, although there will be speakers starting Thursday late afternoon.
Ultimately, the reason to attend is to interact to each other, to catch up with those classmates we see infrequently and, yes, even get to know those we have not yet had the privilege of meeting at all.
Look forward to seeing you there!
Dan Koenigsberg, MD
Reunion Chair
5/11/22
The SCOTUS Leak: a Y62 Perspective
By Lee Bolman
Last week’s leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion on abortion rights was a media bombshell. It reignited the long and intense debate over “choice” vs. “life” while triggering a new debate over how and why the leak happened. Here are takes on the latter question from two members of our class who served as Supreme Court law clerks… READ THIS ESSAY IN FULL
5/09/22
Our May 5th Coffee Hour
For those of you who would like to see what happened at our May 5th Coffee Hour, the event’s recording is posted above. If you have any comments you’d like to make on it, please make them here. Thanks!
5/06/22
Our 60th Reunion… Almost Here!
And the link to register is on the program page, to the left. Still plenty of time to sign on!
5/03/22
Preparing for our upcoming ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
Doug Bingham, one of our Coffee Hour speakers. A brief interview.
Just as we did with classmate Jim Wechsler last week (found farther down on this page), Communications Team member Dick Riseling sat down on Earth Day to get to know geophysicist classmate Doug Bingham, who lives in Edmonton, Alberta. These talks aren’t to introduce the topic we’ll address on Thursday, but to get to know the speakers a little bit, beforehand. We hope you enjoy this conversation between two engaging people.
5/03/22
AAG Climate Emergency Statement
By Rutherford (“Rud”) Platt and Colleagues
We have run this statement previously, but as lead-up to the May 5th Coffee Hour, we wanted to show you this again.
The following statement was adopted by the American Association of Geographers as developed and co-authored by an ad hoc group of senior colleagues around the U.S. that I assembled this past spring. After graduating from Yale and spending a couple of years on a Navy icebreaker, I entered the University of Chicago Law… READ RUD’S BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND THE STATEMENT
5/03/22
Yale Day of Service
By William Stork, Inaugural Director, Yale Day of Service – Asia
This year’s Yale Day of Service is Saturday, May 7th. Bill says, “I would encourage classmates to reach out to their nearest Yale Clubs to see how they can be involved in this wonderful positive venture!”
4/29/22
Eli Newberger, Our Y62 Interview
Recently, Class Secretary and Communications Team member John Stewart sat down with Eli Newberger via Zoom, to engage in a far-reaching, engrossing interview and chat between longtime friends. From graduation to now, we learn what’s kept Eli busy and how he’s helped to make the world a better place. We hope you enjoy the interview. Click here or on the image below to view the interview and for more, including a wonderful invitation and some fabulous music!
4/29/22
Preparing for next week’s ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
UN Secretary General Guterres, on the Environment
We thought it a good idea to provide classmates with some background info prior to our Coffee Hour on worldwide efforts to minimize and adapt to climate change. Today, we feature not a classmate interview, but a recording of the speech given by Secretary General Antònio Guterres in early April, at the WGIII AR6 press conference. If you prefer to read it, the full text of his speech is here. Your comments will be welcome at the Coffee Hour next week. Please plan to attend this rousing, important discussion on Thursday, May 3. The first email invitations went out yesterday, and reminders will be sent next week.
4/25/22
Our 60th Reunion… Closer Every Day!
SEE ALL OF THE INFO WE CURRENTLY HAVE, RIGHT HERE
4/25/22
Meet a ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour Speaker
Our May Coffee Hour will be a deep dive into Climate and Environmental Concerns. We’ve invited speaker classmates who have investigated this issue for some time, and who have impactful information to share with us. In this 11-minute interview, Y62 Communication Team member Dick Riseling speaks with biophysics major Jim Wechsler, whose career in microbiology has helped to shape his point of view on this topic. This interview introduces Jim to classmates who perhaps didn’t know him as an undergraduate. Enjoy this brief chat!
4/11/22
Peace Corps: How We Served, How It Impacted Our Lives
Our April ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour was devoted to the experiences of some of our RPCVs (returned Peace Corps volunteers). It was a fascinating 90 minutes as we heard from 6 classmates who traveled to distant parts of the world, as volunteers in the program. We finished up with a quick update about our 60th reunion, coming right up June 9-12. Please enjoy the recording.
Comments? Please make them here.
4/11/22
Y62 Class Council Annual Meeting: April 7, 2022
Sit in on our annual Class Council meeting and see what your council has been doing!
Comments? Please make them here.
4/07/22
Some Thoughts about Reunion, from Tappy
4/04/22
Selling My Car
By Al Chambers
I just sold my wonderful car because there suddenly were so many reasons to do so. This is one of those rare stories concerning decisions and money, where everyone involved came away satisfied.
This is the first time in more than 40 years, which is when the Chambers family returned from 11 years living abroad, that we now depend on just one vehicle. It was 1978 when we first became suburbanites.
So far, so good, after about ten days. It will be a new opportunity for good planning and communications for Alice and me and also a chance to rent Zipcars when needed.
Let me ‘fess up at the start that we… READ AL’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
4/04/22
Serving the Community by Reporting the NEWS
By Tony Giamei
After working on the Yale Scientific magazine (as advertising manager) and a highly respected monthly news publication (as a reporter), I became involved with putting out local news online, and later in a printed weekly newspaper. I was responsible for a website in a corporate environment and had a strong background in graphics to contribute. I would like to share what is involved with such an endeavor.
First, recognize that traditional reporting is becoming a lost art, and newspapers are struggling due to weak conditions for small businesses. Your community may no longer be adequately served by a reliable local newspaper. Many people no longer start the day by reading a paper along with a cup of coffee. They also do not watch the evening news on a regular basis.
Starting a news entity has several facets:
- Coming up with a business plan
- Raising startup funds
- Convincing business to advertise
- Finding reporters, editors, ad creators, etc. …
3/25/22 with updated info 4/11/22
Yale ’62 Interview: Tom Noonan
On March 24, Communication Team member Bill Weber sat down with classmate Tom Noonan, for a chat about Tom’s change of plans following our graduation, how he came to spend some time announcing NFL games, and much more. Please enjoy this fun interview!
Tom has expanded his explanation of his football announcing experience here. You can leave comments, too. Please read the update, and add your comments.
3/25/22
Crypto Goes to War
By Whitman Knapp
There is no joy to be found in any corner of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. One unintended beneficiary, however, might be crypto. However, this raises the crucial question, will crypto win the battle but lose… READ WHIT’S ESSAY HERE
3/25/22
Latest Reunion Updates
SEE THE LATEST PROPOSED SCHEDULE HERE
3/25/22
Meet Our Newest Team Members
We have recently welcomed three new members to the Y62 Communications Team: Lee Bolman, Tim Hall and John (“Jay”) Hatch. Hailing from the Boston area, Tim says, “I decided to join the Communication Team, after sitting in on a couple of meetings, because I have really been enjoying this way of getting to know more of my classmates, as well as to deepen my connections to those I already know. And the Team made me feel very welcome!” Lee says, “I enjoy working with my classmates in this way.” For John’s part, he says, “I joined because I had become an active reader of our website and participant in our Coffee Hour, had some reduced committee commitments time, and thought it might be a way to contribute where there was a need.”
3/17/22
The 1959 St. Patrick’s Day Riot
St. Patrick’s Day, 1959. Classmates Tony Giamei, Jack Merrick and Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber talk about what they recall from that eventful week.
Do you have your own recollections of that time during your freshman year? Please share them with us here!
3/17/22
About My Arrest
By Bill Stork
I receive a number of e-newsletters, from SCMP, CNN, CNBC, WaPo, NYT, Reuters, BBC, the Guardian and others. As I distract myself from the current ravages of Covid here in Hong Kong, I enjoy the post-breakfast task of reading then ridding what has arrived… READ BILL’S RECOLLECTIONS HERE
3/11/22
Our 60th Reunion: News Update
By John Stewart
Yale ’62 Reunion Team “Yakking” Reunion team members “yakked” about the upcoming reunion, which we’re pretty sure will be live and in person.
All the reunion news we have, to date. Please click here to read it.
3/11/22
A First for Yale
David Youtz, Cynthia Sung, WS, Adam Click, with 115th birthday cake
By Bill Stork
When I was living in Singapore I met and made friends with Frank Yung.
The Yale-China Association (YCA) was celebrating its 115th anniversary. Myself, Cynthia Sung, and Adam Click, leaders of the Yale Society of Singapore, decided upon hearing that David Youtz, YCA president, was coming to Singapore to hold a gala event. Adam had connections with the Grand Hyatt Singapore, and was able to reserve its elegant and luxurious Collections Room for the occasion. Cynthia, spouse of the rector (college master) of residential Cendana College… READ BILL’S FULL ESSAY – PLUS FIND AN INVITATION – HERE
| With great sadness, we announce the names of 10 classmates whose deaths have been very recently reported to us by YAA. Some have been deceased for some time. Our fallen classmates are Ralph David Arkush, Richard Alan Ehrlich, Edward Lee Frey, John Goldthwaite, Francis “Sandy” Sherburne Hill, Jr., Neil David Kornzweig, David Lee Page, Paul F. Rose, Robert Clayton Simmers and Theodore Wattley Volkhausen. Anyone with any remembrances of these men, which may be included in their class obituaries, are urged to email Bob Oliver or John Stewart. The obituaries will be posted on our site in due course. |
3/04/22
Y62 Coffee Hour: Focus on Ukraine
On Thursday, March 3, we met to discuss the current crisis in Ukraine. The recording of our event is above.
Comments? Please make them here.
3/04/22
Apocalyptic Anxiety – the Current Covid Crisis in Hong Kong, Part Two
Elderly waiting on gurneys in the rain and cold for hospital admission
By William Stork
President Xi Jinping was equally alarmed at how his Hong Kong was being presented in the world press, especially as he is trying to consolidate his position before the upcoming October Chinese Party Congress plenum where he is looking to get a historic third term.
He remembers the ineptitude of Carrie Lam… READ BILL’S FULL REPORT HERE
2/25/22
Ukraine, from a Diplomat’s Perspective
By Stephen W. Buck
(Ed. Note: Steve served as a Foreign Service Officer from 1963 to 2002. He served at U.S. diplomatic posts in 8 Arab countries, including Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM), Baghdad, Iraq, 1986-88, (DCM) Muscat Oman, 1979-83, Consul General, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1996-1999, and was the Office Director for North Africa, 1992-1995. He has also served as a Professor at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University.)
(Regarding the ‘First Thursday’ Y62 Coffee Hour we will host next week on March 3rd) When Tim Hall asked me to speak on the Ukraine crisis I immediately deferred, saying my field was the Middle East/Arab world, not Ukraine and eastern Europe. Then I remembered my senior thesis, on the German hyper inflation and its consequences. The German middle class, many on fixed pensions, were wiped out. They wanted revenge, and Hitler was the answer. Now we have Putin recounting that during the siege of Leningrad, his mother was almost put into a mass grave, his father suffered injuries that affected him for his whole life… READ STEVE’S FULL REMARKS HERE
2/25/22
Apocalyptic Anxiety – the Current Covid Crisis in Hong Kong, Part One
By William Stork
When omicron swept into Hong Kong several weeks ago I began to notice something in the daily figures reported nightly by Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection (CHP). Hong Kong’s zero-covid policy was under threat, for after nearly 3months of zero local covid cases followed by a few weeks of single-digit reports… READ BILL’S FULL REPORT HERE
2/11/22
Cryptocurrency Concerns. What’s Going On? Updated!
In our second article on this topic, classmate Whit Knapp continues to inform us on this new development in the world of finance.
The new year has not been kind to the cryptocurrency world. In January 2022, bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies lost 50% of their value from the market high of $2.3 trillion in… READ WHIT’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE with an update 2/14/22!
2/11/22
Leading up to Valentine’s Day…
True Love?
Intelligence Squared US, brainchild of Bob Rosenkranz, has cast its amorous gaze at the heart-focused February celebration of love. We’ve missed the live debate, which took place on Feb. 4, but the podcast recording of the debate is below.
New Y62 Communications Team member John Hatch contacted classmate Rosenkranz for comment regarding the highly unusual choice of a “soft,” even perhaps sentimental topic for an IQ2 debate. Bob responded with the following: “As I suspect we have all learned by now, the course of love is probably unpredictable and certainly debatable.”
Comments? Please make them here.
2/01/22
A Fortunate Life
Jim Stein makes note of many lucky instances in his life in a friendly, brisk-paced chat with Communications Team member Bill Weber.
Comments? Please make them here.
2/01/22
Kung Hei Fat Choi!
By Bill Stork
Longtime Hong Kong resident Bill Stork takes us through the traditions of the joyous Chinese New Year. READ BILL’S FULL ARTICLE HERE
2/01/22
Why Americans (Particularly Californians) Think They Won’t Like Sweet Wines
By Roman Weil
In the three-week lull between football games in December, which I described in my two separate reports to classmates (here and here), I did some basic shopping at my local Costco. Before continuing, I remind you that those games had good outcomes for my Bama team… READ ROMAN’S FULL ESSAY HERE
1/13/22
A Writer’s Journey
By Ed Rowan
The practice of medicine and the art of creative writing don’t usually go together, but there have been exceptions. Burton Rouché’s Eleven Blue Men (1963) and Oliver Sacks’ The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat (1985) were collections of short stories about medical mysteries. I knew that I would never have caseloads like theirs to write about, but I did know that… READ ED’S FULL ESSAY HERE
1/13/22
Roman’s Return, with Surprises
By Roman Weil
What connection can there be between the Class of ’62 Council Meeting, 1988, and the College Football Championship Game, January 10, 2022? Herein you’ll read the answer.
Shortly after our 25th Reunion in 1987, the senior leadership of our class realized that the Class of ’63 had overshadowed us with its US Senator and the Class of ’61 had overshadowed us with its frequent mini-reunions. We needed to do more. So the leadership convened a meeting of the Class Council in the summer of 1988 at Vic Miller’s house in Milford to discuss these matters. I think it was Host Miller who suggested that if we should have… READ ROMAN’S FULL ACCOUNT HERE
12/21/21
A Life of Music
A Y62 Interview with Pulitzer Prize winner, classmate Lewis Spratlan
In mid-December, Lew Spratlan sat down to chat, via Zoom, with Class Secretary and longtime friend John Stewart. Their conversation is below. Please enjoy.
Please enjoy some selections from Lew’s “A Summer’s Day,” which you can play below.
Lew’s discography is here. Comments? Please make them here
12/21/21
The Three Musketeers of Bassick High School, Homeroom 10. Part III
By Lee Bakunin
Here, in his own words, is Tim’s journey.
“At the end of our sophomore year at Yale, I realized that I was more interested in the social sciences than in engineering and I changed my major to sociology, thinking that eventually I would go into law. In fact, after graduation I began studying law at the Columbia… READ THE THIRD INSTALLMENT OF LEE’S ACCOUNT HERE
12/08/21
ENVIRONMENT Yale’s Major Climate Change Projects
By Edward L. Strohbehn, Jr.
President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel
(Editor’s Note: Ed Strohbehn spent his professional career in environmental law as a public interest lawyer, government executive, and private attorney. He, along with three Yale Law School classmates who co-founded the Natural Resources Defense Council in 1970, received the Yale Law School Association Award of Merit – the Law School’s highest honor – in 2010.)
After Glasgow, it’s interesting to consider Yale’s recent climate change actions. President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel announced them on June 24, 2021 in a letter to Members of the Yale Community – actions that had been initiated over the previous nine months:
- Planetary Solutions Project
- Carbon Emissions Reductions
- Fossil Fuel Investment Principles for the Endowment
READ ED’S COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE
12/08/21
Fore Play for Four Play
By Roman L. Weil
“B’hm Brett” and Roman at the game
Bama again — who gives a damn? Cincy and Michigan fans, that’s who.
What a treat that the Class Communication Team asked me to write about my trip to the SEC Football Championship on December 4. Little did they know what stories that trip weaved together. READ ROMAN’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE
12/03/21
ENVIRONMENT Is “The Day” Approaching?
By Peter Sipple
“The Rapture: One at the Mill” from the Bowyer’s Bible, etched by the Dutch artist Jan Luyken in 1795.
(Editor’s Note: During our November Coffee Hour on the environment, Peter spoke up, noting a couple of positive initiatives of which he knew. One is the “Living Well and Wisely on Plant Earth” group, local to him – he and his wife are members – and now in its third year, which explores sustainable ways to live. Encouraged by his refreshing comments, we invited him to write for us. He subsequently sent us this recent sermon he’d written, which focuses on this topic.)
The writer of Hebrews includes a sentence that might serve as a mission statement for us latter-day Christians: “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together… but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” The verb “provoke” is, well, provocative… READ PETER’S ENTIRE SERMON HERE
12/03/21
YAA Webinars on Demand
Catch up on Yale Alumni Association virtual events with their on-demand library of webinars, fireside chats, and digital panels. The listings show a whopping 352 of them, in widely ranging topic areas. FIND THEM ALL HERE
11/22/21
Cryptocurrency: a Primer
Settle in and watch classmate Whit Knapp explain some history and introductory principles of cryptocurrency, one of the fastest moving news targets we’ve ever seen. Y62 Communications Team member Bill Weber asks Whit about the basics. Once you’ve seen the interview, you can read the essay Whit has sent along to explain more. READ WHIT’S FULL ESSAY HERE.
11/22/21
And Now, for Something Completely Different
For some very silly holiday viewing pleasure, we approached classmate Bill Weeden, who chats in our recording above with Y62 Communication Team member Bill Weber about his long and varied career in the entertainment industry. There’s also a surprise ending to the chat, involving his movie, Psycho Ape. Enjoy!
Comments for Bill Weeden? Please make them here.
11/15/21
COP26 Wrap-up: What We Think
COP26 Cop-Out? By Gary Richardson The “agreements” emerging from COP26 are too little, too late, especially for those already in harm’s way. Without quantified, scheduled, and verifiable objectives pledged by nations and industries as part of a funded worldwide strategy it is all, as Greta Thunberg has articulated, “Blah-blah-blah.” About a month ago, I agreed to pull together and… |
Net Zero Carbon By James Wechsler Introduction: As Gary Richardson points out in his COP26 Summary, the much ballyhooed international meeting failed to do many substantive things that people were hoping for and can therefore be thought of as a failure. I have the same view of the concrete actions at COP26 but am of the opinion that, given the world’s turmoil, the meeting was quite successful. This differing conclusion stems from an… |
Read all of the comments regarding the topic of the environment here.
11/09/21
Y62 Coffee Hour: The Environment
Editor’s Note: Part I. We had what many thought was one our stronger Coffee Hour sessions November 4 on Climate Change and the Glasgow COP26. For those of you who attended and stayed with the Zoom, we say thank you. We are truly pleased that we were able to fix the technical glitches and that the first portion, including our moderator and three classmate presentations, as well as our poll, can be seen below in the order that was intended. There now are none of the larger video or audio disruptions encountered during Bill Reilly’s fine pre-recorded interview with Gary Richardson. Running time 49:56.
Comments? Please make them here.
Editor’s Note: Part II. The second recording from the November Coffee Hour runs 38:10 and includes lively opinions and proposals on the Climate Change challenge from classmates and our panel.
Former President Barack Obama gave a carefully crafted and well-delivered speech yesterday in Glasgow, which was praised by many but criticized by others for not demanding more action from the wealthier nations. The meeting winds up on November 12. We expect to post additional material early next week.
Comments? Please make them here.
11/09/21
A Report on the YAA 2021 Assembly
By YAA Delegate Peter Sipple and Class Secretary John Stewart
The 2021 YAA (until recently known as the AYA, but the name change clarifying the fact that all Yale grads are automatically members without needing to sign up) annual meeting was held over three days via Zoom beginning November 4. Yale always puts its very impressive best foot forward, beginning with this year with a conversation between President Salovey and John Kerry, coming on the heels of the Glasgow climate conference, and also on the heels of our most recent class coffee hour on the same topic, brilliantly led by Gary Richardson and featuring impressive, cogent contributions from Ed Strohbein and Bill Reilly. Here is a sampling of the really stimulating webinars… READ THEIR FULL REPORT HERE
10/29/21
Y62 Interviews: Benjamin Zucker
A few weeks back, Communications Team member Bill Weber sat down for a lively, far-ranging chat with classmate Benjamin, Ben or Bernie Zucker, about a variety of events which have helped to shape his life. We hope you enjoy this recording as much as we do!
Would you like to comment on this interview? Please make your comments here.
10/29/21
The Three Musketeers of Bassick High School, Homeroom 10. Part II
By Lee Bakunin
The musketeers began to adjust, make new friends and explore Yale’s resources. A well-stocked library, dozens of organizations and extra-curricular activities, students from all over the United States and some foreign countries, and a variety of courses. Having been used to being somewhat big frogs in a small pond, they were just tadpoles in a large competitive… READ THE SECOND INSTALLMENT OF LEE’S ACCOUNT HERE
10/29/21
Hotel Reservations for Next Spring’s 60th Reunion
We will all receive notice from Yale that hotel reservations for our 60th Reunion will open on November 3. Please watch your mail for notice from YAA. Our Reunion dates are June 9-12, 2022. Check the YAA Reunions page for more info.
10/12/21
Y62 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour
If you’d like to comment on this excerpt, or read the comments of fellow classmates… CLICK THIS LINK
10/12/21
The Three Musketeers of Bassick High School, Homeroom 10
By Lee Bakunin
What are the odds that three people from different backgrounds and interests from the same homeroom in high school would be accepted to Yale and room together for their Freshman Year? One voted most likely to succeed and most dignified, another most reliable and courteous, and the other wittiest and cutest. None of them star athletes. All of them actors in school plays. They were active in other… READ THE REST OF LEE’S ACCOUNT HERE
10/04/21
Y62 Interviews Continue: Ellery McLanahan
Ed. Note: Greetings from Dick Riseling, member of the Yale62 Communications Team. Take a few minutes out of your busy day to watch this video interview with classmate Ellery McLanahan, recorded two weeks ago.
Ellery shares some highlights from his long career in the financial sector, and tells us about a new passion of his. Click here to read one of his new pieces of writing, and to comment on the interview, as well.
10/04/21
Grand Strategy and Yale: Self-Inflicted Wound?
By Lee Bolman
The timing was inauspicious. On the eve of Yale’s October 2 launch of a new “bold, university-wide campaign” where alums could “learn what Yale is for” (O’Neill, 2021), the New York Times published a front-page article suggesting that what Yale is for is money rather than academic… READ LEE’S ESSAY HERE
9/27/21
Returning to a Time-Honored Tradition
By John Stewart
On Thursday, Sept 23, I took the two-hour-plus train ride from Wassaic to Grand Central (train was only a little under-populated), ran errands in a Manhattan which looked very normal (denizens hurrying around, tourists strolling annoyingly slowly, a mix of masked and unmasked pedestrians), to happily rejoin, after an 18-month hiatus, Larry Prince’s monthly… READ JOHN’S FULL ACCOUNT HERE
9/27/21
Vaccines or Vitamins?
By Richard Howard
At the July Coffee Hour, classmate Earl Staelin gave a presentation covering various health subjects. I could not attend this meeting and much of what he said went unchallenged. Most of what he said was not accurate. I have written the following for clarification. READ RICHARD’S REPORT HERE
9/10/21
The Taliban in Texas?
By David B. Bingham, MD
In last week’s thought-provoking Yale Class of ’62 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour by Zoom (Sept 2), the final topic was about the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Questions were raised about what will happen to women in the Taliban culture of religious oppression, and whether their new abilities arising from education, professional training, and social communication will give them some freedom and more political… READ DAVID’S FULL ESSAY HERE
9/10/21
English at Yale: Full Contact, No Holds Barred
A Chapter from My Memoir
By Lee V. Bakunin
Until I majored in English at Yale during my junior year, I never gave much thought to creative writing, much less poetry, script writing or professional speaking. I was shy, lacked self-confidence and sometimes stuttered or groped to find the right words… READ THE FULL EXCERPT FROM LEE’S MEMOIR HERE
9/07/21
Smoke, Fire and Our Brief Vacation
By George Snider
On August 21, my wife and I departed Cleveland for a long-planned week’s vacation in South Lake Tahoe. Three days later, in the face of suffocating smoke and approaching fire, we were on our way home.
For over 30 years, Nora and I have traveled around the end of August to celebrate her birthday and our wedding anniversary, aka “birthaversary.” With Covid and the Delta variant playing havoc with overseas cruises and travel, we opted this year for a week in the West. Lake Tahoe… READ GEORGE’S FULL REPORT HERE
9/07/21
Y62 ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour:
Our Retired MDs Talk About Aging
On Thursday, September 2, half of our Coffee Hour was devoted to three of our classmate retired physicians talking about some of the realities of aging. In order of appearance in this excerpt of the meeting, they are Jim Kelly, neurologist, John Wickenden, orthopedic surgeon, and Bob Lefevre, pioneering hospice and palliative care physician.
Comments on this brief excerpt? Please make them here.
9/07/21
Yale’s Fall Semester Begins
By John Stewart
The Yale College Class of 2025 has a record-setting 1,789 new students, representing a 4.5% admission rate. This number includes 335 who’d delayed a year. All 14 residential colleges will be full, which has not been the case in past years when many students chose to live off-campus.
The extra-large Class of 2025 is also remarkable for its diversity. Students in the first-year class represent 48 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 67 foreign countries. The 1,789 students are graduates of 1,221 different high schools around the world, and 14% attended high school outside the United States.
For a third year, a majority (51%) of incoming first-year students are US citizens or permanent residents who self-identified as a member of a minority racial or ethnic group when applying. More than 44% reported speaking a language other than English as their first language or in their home.
Yale’s undergraduate financial aid policies meet 100% of every family’s financial need without requiring loans. Families with incomes below $75,000 and typical assets will qualify for financial aid awards with a “$0 parent share.” Nearly 300 members of the Class of 2025 qualified for one of these awards, which cover the full cost of tuition, on-campus housing, the meal plan, and health insurance through scholarship grants, and include an extra $2,000 startup grant for a student’s first year.
College graduation continues to be financially worthwhile, and its value in the career marketplace continues to rise. According to a recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary for the college Class of 2020 was $55,260 — 2.5% higher than that of the Class of 2019 ($53,889) and 8.5% higher than the Class of ’18 ($50,944). Graduates who majored in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields tend to earn even more, on average.
Comments on this news? Please make them here.
8/30/21
EDITOR’S NOTE
Website interest and participation were strong in the days following our August 20th Afghanistan and Climate Change posts. Classmates posted a good flow of comments and stayed on the site longer than usual.
We decided to follow up. Retired diplomat Steve Buck, contributed a short but solid confirmation and update of his view about flawed American policy. We asked two classmates to expand on their website comments. For Lee Bakunin, the subject was Yale ’62 as part of the “Silent Generation.” He applies cultural truths not only to our lives but also to Yale’s and the United States’ history using Afghanistan as a prime example. Norm Jackson identifies as an ex-patriate and shares several of his ideas and experiences while drawing damning conclusions about the Afghan misadventure.
It was a dreadful week for our nation and President Biden, even though Americans support his overall exit strategy and recognize the extraordinary logistic success of the Kabul airport evacuation. Wasn’t it a sad picture yesterday at Dover Air Force Base with President and Mrs. Biden and America’s top Government leaders attending the return of the 13 fallen service members and consoling the grieving families? The contrast with Republican leaders, who were calling for the President’s resignation or impeachment, was noteworthy as another signal of the polarization that is fracturing our nation.
Our monthly “First Thursday” Coffee Hour will proceed as scheduled this week, on September 2, with three retired classmate doctors on hand to share their thoughts regarding Senior Health Care, and Steve Howard moderating. This will be followed by a 30-minute open discussion on US Foreign policy and the impacts of the Afghanistan developments. Our policy subject expert, Kent Hughes, will moderate.
If you have comments you wish to make about this Editor’s Note, please make them here. Thanks.
8/30/21
Thoughts on Afghanistan, August 29th
By Stephen W. Buck
Alas, we are in a deep debacle of our own creation. So long as we had forces in Afghanistan with no end date for their departure there was a government and some measure of stability. This was necessary to ensure that the then al-Qaeda, now ISIS, did not have a base in Afghanistan. Now we have the absolute worst situation with chaos in Kabul making for the perfect situation for ISIS. We went from no American casualties to many, American and Afghani. All this to say we are out. Our international reputation is in tatters and drones may not be the answer.
(Please note: Steve’s August 20th essay, Afghanistan: A Major Challenge, is lower down on this page. Scroll down to locate it.)
Comments? Please make them here
8/30/21
Afghanistan: Slippery Slope or Reminder of the Work We Did and Didn’t Do?
By Lee V. Bakunin
How do you define Freedom?
Freedom has a taste, smell, and feel that’s especially difficult to understand when you are repressed, held back or downright discriminated against. It’s also a question of how much and how little or none. Too little and you are wanting more and then just a little more because you want to savor what it’s like to be satiated. Too much and the satiation… READ LEE’S ESSAY HERE.
8/30/21
An Expatriate’s View and Strong Conviction
By Norm Jackson
I was last in Afghanistan in 1977, but it seems like I’ve visited the country every day for the last several weeks. I last lived in the U.S. in 1984, but it seems like I’ve been there too, off and on, since 2016, when I last had any faith in Americans’ sanity and goodness. I’ve been living in Australia since 2010, and during nine years of COALition government, my faith in Australians’ sanity and goodness has taken a similar hit.
At first I thought that Aus would be different… READ NORM’S ESSAY HERE.
8/20/21
Afghanistan: A Major Challenge
By Stephen W. Buck
People having lost their hold on US plane as it left Kabul airport
President Biden called the photos of Afghans hanging on to the wheels of a U.S. military aircraft as it taxied towards take off at Kabul aircraft “gut-wrenching.” … READ STEVE’S COMPLETE ESSAY HERE…
8/20/21
AAG Statement on Climate Emergency
By Rutherford Platt and colleagues
photo credit: BuroHappold.com
The following statement was adopted by the American Association of Geographers as developed and co-authored by an ad hoc group of senior colleagues around the U.S. that I assembled this past… READ THE STATEMENT HERE…
8/17/21
A Brief Eulogy for Professor Donald Kagan
Honorary Y62 Classmate Passes Away
Prof. Kagan, 2010
A friend of the Class of 1962 and a renowned professor has passed away. Donald Kagan, Sterling Professor of History and Classics Emeritus, died August 6, 2021. He was the foremost expert on the Peloponnesian Wars, and ancient Greek and Roman history. He served as Dean of Yale College for several years, and was a devoted sports fan, particularly baseball. Yale President Benno Schmidt appointed him as Acting Athletic Director for one year to bring order to discord.
Prof. Kagan was awarded the National Medal for the Humanities in 2002 and gave the National Endowment for the Humanities Jefferson Lecture in 2005.
Prof. Kagan contributed his Lecture to the incoming Freshman Class of 1993 to the group of essays that our 50th Reunion Class Book featured. He also addressed our class at several reunions and took our designation as an honorary classmate in good spirits with just the sprinkling of good humor it deserved.
We were privileged to see and hear greatness. We will miss him.
— written by Bob Oliver
8/10/21
Our ‘First Thursday’ Coffee Hour: August 5, 2021
On Thursday, August 5th, we held our regular “First Thursday” Coffee Hour. Our topic was a challenging one with many facets to it: “Income Inequality.” We invite you to review the meeting via the video we’ve posted above.
Comments? Please make them here.
8/10/21
YAC Tour to the Baltics, Part II
By Griff Resor
In July 2013 YAC visited the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In Baltic Tour Part I, I described highlights of our pre-tour to Saint Petersburg and our time in Estonia. This article provides highlights of our tour in Latvia and Lithuania.
Each YAC tour includes important educational elements. Experts who know about local issues speak to us, often during breakfast. On the Baltic tour we learned about the singing revolution that led to independence from the Soviet Union without a shot… READ GRIFF’S FULL ESSAY HERE
7/15/21
Some Brief Thoughts About Climate Change UPDATED 7/17/21
By John Livingston
In the search for life as we know it on other planets, the fragility of life becomes a dominant conclusion. Certainly the Goldilocks epithet of “Not too hot, not too cold” on earth applies but, more than that, the constancy of the sun’s energy for billions of years necessary to support the evolution of the atmosphere and conditions for life is near miraculous.
Consider first the sun itself. Every second, nuclear fusion in the sun turns six hundred and fifty-seven million tons of hydrogen into six hundred and fifty-three million tons of helium. The other four tons are hurled… READ JOHN’S FULL ESSAY HERE
7/09/21
Career Interrupted. Times Two.
Second Interruption.
By Chuck Post
Chuck with Amazon kids
[Editor’s note: Chuck lives in Prescott, Arizona with his wife Grace.]
At age 39 I had spent 16 years in the computer field, starting as a programmer with IBM. After some South America adventures, I built on my three years with IBM and found work in computer sales. I found myself in probably the largest computer market in the world… READ CHUCK’S FULL STORY HERE
7/09/21
YAC Tour to the Baltics, Part I
By Griff Resor
Music and travel are my passions. Luckily, I married Pam, an Alto, who shares these passions. After hearing John Gerlach rave about the 1998 China tour, Pam and I decided to join the next Yale Alumni Chorus (YAC) tour in 2001.
The 2001 tour celebrated Yale’s 300th anniversary. We gathered first in London to rehearse, then moved to Russia for concerts in St. Petersburg and Moscow, then back to London for a concert in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and finally to Wrexham in Wales – Eli Yale’s hometown… READ GRIFF’S FULL ACCOUNT HERE
“SOCIAL CONCERNS”
6/24/21
Jane Addams: American Humanitarian, Social Justice Pioneer, and Nobel Laureate
A presentation given by Rud Platt
On Monday, June 21, classmate Rutherford “Rud” Platt gave a talk on Jane Addams and Hull House for the international World Affairs Seminar (“WAS”) group. We were fortunate enough to listen in, and we have the video of his talk below, for your viewing pleasure.
Comments? Please make them here.
6/24/21
Thoughts on Voting and Voter Suppression
By Jim Lewis
“YALE TO JAIL WITHIN 32 MONTHS.” JIM LEWIS PARTICIPATES IN THE COFFEE HOUR ON VOTER SUPPRESSION AND TELLS US “We all have eyes and ears and minds and hearts and hands and bodies — and we all should have the right to express our voice and participate and vote and have our vote counted. Let’s continue to push for this. IF WE STOP, THEY WIN.”… Read Jim’s Full Essay here
6/08/21
Latest Developments on Growing Alumni Election Controversy
By Roman L. Weil
I wish I were paid by the word — Yale keeps providing fodder to this writer in its inciting alums who are reacting to Yale’s own precisely timed, some might say ill-timed, action in changing its procedures for alums’ electing Yale Corporation Board members.
Within an hour of telling the results of the 2021 Board election to the candidates for the alums’ position on the Board, Yale announced it would no longer allow alums to petition their way onto the ballot. This has led to critical, vitriolic even… READ ROMAN’S REPORT IN FULL HERE
6/08/21
A Letter from Neal Freeman
I took a day off from everything else to conference like mad – with students, alums, donors, faculty, and various (mostly agitated) others. Responses to Yale’s “election process” are all over the map, of course, and my scientific method is utterly indefensible, but a few generalizations can be adduced. As Yogi Berra surely must have said, sometimes you can… READ NEAL’S LETTER HERE
6/03/21
Surprise Developments and Protest in Alumni Election Process
By Roman L. Weil
Since I last wrote (article below, on this page), the Petition Process for the election of the Alumni Board seat has exploded. Yale, to the surprise of many, including me, has eliminated the long-standing ability of alums to petition to get onto the ballot to become a Board member.
Yale may hope it has put the matter to rest, but likely it has released, as one alum put it, a “poop storm.” One of the 2021 Petition Candidates, Ambassador Victor Ashe… READ ROMAN’S UPDATE IN FULL HERE
6/03/21
Career Interrupted. Times Two.
First Interruption.
By Chuck Post
Chuck Post in South America
[Editor’s note: Chuck lives not in South America, but in Prescott, Arizona with his wife Grace.]
I was one of the 10% of our class that went right to work. Of the remainder, 80% went to grad school, the other 10% into the military.
IBM picked me up and made me a computer programmer when that was no fun. Punch cards, big “memory dumps” in machine … READ CHUCK’S FULL STORY HERE
6/03/21
Hong Kong Take-Away
Some Personal Reflections on What the Pandemic has Brought and What We Will Keep
By Bill Stork
Having lived and worked through the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, I went into this virus experience a little bit better prepared, knowing that the most critical factor, in addition to the physical heath precautions, was to maintain a good mental outlook. And, rather Pollyanna-like, I continually look daily for positive ways in which this current situation has affected us and how we have… READ BILL’S UPDATE IN FULL HERE
5/21/21
Still Time to Vote in the Yale Alumni Election; Ballot Box Closes May 23
By Roman L. Weil
What Election, you ask? Details here. You have a choice between two candidates for the Yale Corporation Board:
- Yale’s chosen Dr. David A. Thomas, whom it has forbidden to announce a platform, forbidden to be interviewed, forbidden to speak about what any of his positions are about Yale and its future, and
- Ambassador Victor Ashe, who objects to Yale’s secrecy about the Board, the positions of the candidates, the election process, the hidden (for fifty years) minutes, about the general lack of transparency. Ashe explains his candidacy here. (Yale forbids Dr. Thomas from having such.)
Ashe was required to get over 4,000 signatures on a petition by April 1, 2020 (yes, 2020) to run in this election. Part of his complaint about Yale’s procedures is that it requires so many signatures so long before the actual election.
Yale arranged for you to have been sent a ballot earlier. If you need a ballot, you can get one from yalehelp@electionservicescorp.com or call 866.720.4357.
Several groups have decided to challenge Yale’s tip-lipped selection of candidate(s) for the alumni position. Just this month, the William F. Buckley Jr. Program has announced its candidate for the 2022 election and its efforts, to begin May 24, 2021, to gather the thousands of signatures Yale will require to put its candidate on the 2022 ballot.
Yale Forward had gathered sufficient signatures to put Maggie Thomas on the 2021 ballot, but she had to withdraw when President Biden nominated her to work in his White House Office. Yale Forward has told us it will soon announce its candidate for the 2022 cycle. They, too, must gather thousands of signatures for their candidate by fall of this year.
All sides — Yale, the Buckley Program, and Yale Forward — appear to expect a larger turnout than in recent years. Last year’s, about 18% of the 146,000 eligible voters, was typical of recent years. The median of people I’ve surveyed expects 25% to 30%. I’ve taken an under wager at 25% — for a quarter dollar.
5/10/21
The May Coffee Hour Surprise
At the Y62 Coffee Hour on May 6, the conversation about our experiences with the pandemic triggered a debate about health and the Covid vaccines. Earl Staelin argued for a holistic view of health, emphasizing nutrition and lifestyle, and expressed significant doubts about the short- and long-term effects of the Covid vaccines. David Johnson, who led an earlier Coffee Hour focused on Covid, spoke from his experience as an endocrinologist and argued that the evidence for the safety and efficacy of the vaccines is very strong. Part of their dialogue is in the video above. Several Coffee Hour participants expressed interest in continuing this conversation in a future event.
Do you have comments you’d like to make about the clip we’ve shown above? Please make them here.
5/10/21
Pen Pals
By John Hatch
Pen Pals programs have been around for generations. During the NYC World Fair, Parker Pen and Quik Ink joined forces to establish a center for matching pen pals. I took advantage of that and invited my students in Kahama, Tanzania to copy and fill out the form, which I then mailed, all 80+ of them, off to Parker. Within in a year and a half they all had “pals,” some more than… READ JOHN’S FULL ESSAY
5/10/21
Help me save the name of my high school.
By Roman Weil
At least half of you, I’ll bet, have not heard of Sidney Lanier, the Poet of the Confederacy, who spent most of the Civil War in a POW camp as a private. He played the flute and wrote poems. In spite of the fact that he spent only two years in Montgomery, Alabama and most of his adult life on the faculty at Johns Hopkins University, Montgomery educators named… READ ROMAN’S FULL PLEA
4/22/21
An Interview with a Y62 Spouse: Hala Buck
Last week, Communications Team member Dick Riseling sat down with Hala Buck, wife of Communications Team member Steve Buck, via Zoom, to discuss her memoir, Bridge Between Worlds. In this highly entertaining, lovely chat, the two of them discuss a wide range of topics, always returning to the lessons of our lives.
We invite other classmates to nominate their own spouses for this very special new initiative and share a window into their lives with all of our class. We look forward to hearing from you!
4/22/21
Yale Alumni Election in Home Stretch: Ballot Box Closes May 23
By Roman Weil
Since I last wrote, the election for one open position on Yale’s Board of Trustees has begun. Yale’s nominating committee has chosen one candidate, David A. Thomas, President of Morehouse College. Victor Ashe, former Ambassador to Poland, qualified for the ballot by gathering more than seven thousand signatures from alums to nominate him. Despite Yale’s tradition… READ ROMAN’S FULL REPORT
4/16/21
Special Event Zoom: COVID and College Admissions
At 7:30 PM EST on April 15, thirty classmates convened to discuss Yale (and other Ivy) applications, admissions, and Covid. You can view the 60-minute session immediately below. The various exhibits by panelists Bolman, Chambers, and Weil are linked as well.
Lee Bolman’s presentation
Official Yale materials (discussed by Al Chambers)
Roman Weil’s presentation
Do you have comments? You can make them here.
4/07/21
About This Work
By Steve Rose
Text, paintings, a studio tour and an interview.
So painting, no matter the level on which one is working, is first of all a hobby.
We all become draftsmen of a sort as soon as we start learning… READ STEVE’S WORDS, VIEW THE PAINTINGS and STUDIO, and WATCH THE INTERVIEW
4/07/21
What’s Right
By Bill Stork
It may be difficult for one in the Western Hemisphere to fully get a sense of this, but in this part of Asia, which saw horrendous genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, this is a serious issue, as it should be for everyone.
Increasingly China is being questioned and taken to task about its treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, with reports of re-education camps, force sterilization, and more. To this call is being asked whether Beijing still deserves to hold the forthcoming Winter Olympics, a topic that the IOOC has yet… READ BILL’S FULL ARTICLE
3/25/21
“Creating Art” By Fred Appell
Self portrait – Hotel de Bosque garden San Miguel Allende
Most of my life I’ve been interested in creating art, not as a profession but a serious hobby. I also wrote art reviews for the local Minneapolis paper, had a period when I was casting bronze sculptures, had work used to illustrate books. Now in my retirement, it has been a challenge to grow… READ THE REST AND VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF HIS WORK
3/25/21
A REFRESHED DROP-OUT’S TALE By Peter Cassar Torreggiani
Many years after my dropping out of Yale in 1958 and returning to Malta, the renowned economist, Professor Robert Triffin, who would have been my house master at Berkeley had I returned as a sophomore, told me I’d had a good reason for dropping out: questioning the philosophy of economists as it related to politicians.
The next year, when I lost my right arm working in my family’s flour mill, I came face to face with death. In a dramatic encounter… READ ON
3/05/21
COVID: A Y62 Coffee Hour Presentation and Discussion
Classmate Dr. David Johnson provided an expert, fascinating brief on what we know of the novel coronavirus that’s eclipsed our lives for the past year, and patiently answered our many questions with factual, extremely helpful information. Thank you, David! Here’s the full recording:
Comments? You can make them here.
3/02/21
Covid-19, Admissions and Litigation at Yale
By Lee Bolman
There’s a lot happening on multiple fronts these days. There’s a lot of good news for Yale, but the university and higher education also face serious challenges… CLICK FOR LEE’S REPORT
3/02/21
IQ2’s Intelligent Debates
Intelligence Squared US, the brainchild product of classmate Bob Rosenkranz, pivoted nimbly into the wholly virtual sphere when social distancing necessitated a change last year. IQ2 continues to provide thought-provoking dialogue on both sides of major domestic and foreign issues. You may wish to take a look. Viewers that attend virtually using the web site or listening over Public Radio still are able to vote for which debaters made the strongest arguments. This most recent debate, concerning where the GOP may or may not stand at this time, is featured below.
You can cast your vote here:
2/26/21
Keeping Calm while Coping/Cowering with COVID
By William Stork
(Editor’s Note: Bill’s latest update from Hong Kong details the Government’s continuing success at containing COVID19 cases. Bill explains important technology, communications and vaccination initiatives, all designed to open more of Hong Kong and return life to normality. He told us that he thinks what is happening is that the Government’s success, “even with the National Security Act, is now being used to provide encouragement for the populace to be patriots.” At the same time, Bill maintains his own one-year near total self-isolation, but is “hopeful” for the future, despite the increased restrictions from Beijing. You will find the contrasts to the United States fascinating.) CLICK FOR BILL’S REPORT
2/26/21
Lew Spratlan Honored
John Stewart reports: On February 20, The Springfield Valley Symphony broadcast a concert/interview honoring our classmate Lew Spratlan. Warmly hosted by their music director, Tianhui Ng, Lew spoke about his compositional, teaching, and playing careers. Featured were excerpts from the Santa Fe Opera’s production of his Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, “Life is a Dream,” based on the Calderon play. Several classmates and other Yale friends attended the premier — a great success. Here’s the recording of the event.
Also, look on Amazon for a list of his recordings. I speak as a totally objective pal — his music is dramatic, witty, lyrical, brilliantly inventive, and very moving, and I urge you to check it out. He remains busy with a host of commissions.
2/26/21
Art Mann’s ‘Buckets’
An Interview with Art Mann
By John Stewart
(John’s Note: I had written to Art and asked him questions based on his very interesting comments at the last class coffee hour, and this is his response, lightly edited. After two long and fascinating phone calls, I realized that what follows is the top of a whole barrellfull of great stories.
In thinking about the best way to present all of his activities, Art thought that putting them into “buckets” would be a good approach.)
After my Navy stint I came back home intending to… CLICK FOR ART’S ‘BUCKETS’
2/05/21
The COVID Questions
(EDITOR’S NOTE: During the dramatic weeks of January and early February, dozens and perhaps hundreds of Yale62 classmates received COVID19 vaccinations. We thought it an appropriate time, while the experience was fresh in your minds, to invite descriptions, comments and opinions to the following questions. Please respond to one or both in around 100 words each. Classmates who have not been vaccinated may also respond and express opinions. Opinions and questions about what other classmates have described are encouraged, but please be sure to click the reply button below the specific comment you are addressing so that the material will thread together for others to read.
Many more classmates also were having tests and knew family and friends diagnosed with COVID19. Just for the record, national daily cases dropped about 16% in the past week but remain high at about 140,000 new cases and 3,000 deaths per day. Concern and uncertainty about new variants persist, including whether vaccinations will have the same high efficacy in combating the new threats. Thank you for participating.)
2/05/21
Yale Reunions Update
Yale announced this week that all reunions will be entirely online this year. Coincidentally, our reunion committee met the same day Yale made its announcement, and shares the following news with us:
“At 4 PM on Feb 4, Reunion Chair Dan Koenigsberg convened the 60th Reunion Committee. Tappy Wilder and John Stewart were present; Phil Moriarty (lucky guy!) was off getting his second Covid vaccination shot. Although Yale has cancelled 2021 in-person reunions, we are somewhat confident in planning a live reunion for the spring of 2022. What remains to be determined is if there will also be an online component. Very soon, we will send out an email survey asking for your feedback about possible attendance, your thoughts on a Zoom component, and what shape you’d like the reunion to take.
“At this point (although everything really is up for grabs), we feel that there should be fewer class events, leaving still more unstructured time for what Jim Litvack describes as yacking. Also, the events should be held close to our housing. We will find out where that is in the spring. We had a long discussion about whom we’d like to have speak to us, remembering that there are in any case a multitude of reunion-wide events and speakers. Although several faculty names were mentioned, we hope to find classmates who perhaps have either not attended reunions recently or while there, have not been invited to speak. When you read through the class yearbooks you realize that our class is hip deep in interesting men who’ve led fascinating lives, some of whom you may not know about whatsoever. As customary, the reunion will begin Thursday afternoon and extend through Sunday morning.
“Our next committee meeting will be in three months.”
2/05/21
Seeking, Once Again, the Globe’s Best, Brightest and Most Diverse…
… all in the midst of the COVID pandemic
By George Snider, Communications Team member
If you have ever said, “I probably couldn’t get into Yale today,” you were probably right – though not because today’s kids are smarter than ever.
When we entered Yale College, mostly in the Fall of 1958, 100 percent of us were born male, and a very high percentage were white. We came largely from the 48 states (still a year away from being 50), and more of us came from… READ MORE.
2/05/21
Tales from the Distaff Side
John Stewart reports: “These two essays are by friends of mine from a yoga community that continues to have class online. We’ve all known each other for 8 or 9 years, but I had the pleasure of informing them that they’d been at Yale at the same time. Since then they’ve both been back for celebrations of coeducation. I hope you enjoy a close look at two different experiences of Yale in the late 60s. READ THEIR ESSAYS.
1/25/21
Y62 Interviews: A View Toward the Future
(Ed Note: Kent Hughes is one of Yale62’s most experienced hands on U.S. domestic and foreign policy and Beltway politics, as well as a moderator of our Coffee Hour monthly meetings. Kent and Communications Team member Dick Riseling sat down virtually just a few days ago to discuss the early days and challenges President Biden is facing and some of what may be expected.)
Comments on this interview? Make them here.
1/25/21
Inauguration Day? First 100 Days?
(Ed. Note: On Thursday afternoon – January 21 – Yale62.org invited a randomly selected group of classmates … SEE OUR QUESTIONS with CLASSMATE RESPONSES, AND ADD YOUR OWN COMMENT HERE
1/25/21
Biden Action Impacts Yale Alumni Election
By Roman Weil
Since I last wrote that two different, but determined, Yale alums have surprised Yale by qualifying for the ballot in April to oppose the University’s chosen… READ ROMAN’S ARTICLE HERE
1/25/21
Chip Neville and the COVID vaccine
We once more checked in with Chip Neville, whose earlier communications regarding COVID are located on our COVID Corner page (the mask icon in the upper left-hand corner of this page). Here is Chip’s latest news:
Dear Classmates,
Judi and I got our Pfizer COVID-19 shots on January 16, 9 days ago, so we are now about 60% protected. But we still mask up except while eating and home in our lovely apartment. The powers that be here have even opened the dining room for breakfast and dinner.
Judi has started moving furniture in from our house, so we now have rugs and a lovely dining room table with a great view of the spacious window. She has also made good friends and goes upstairs almost every night to play scrabble.
As for our experience getting our first shot, they were supposed to be in the morning. I had to get up early to make it, so I only got 4 or 5 hours of sleep. Then CVS didn’t get here for several hours, and we finally got our shots around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. One of Judi’s lady friends said, “It’s like the Army, ‘Hurry up and wait.'”
Otherwise, it was a breeze. It barely hurt, my arm was only a tiny bit sore like with a flu shot, and I had on other reactions. But I understand the second shot on February 6 can cause much more uncomfortable reactions. I hope not, but even so it will be worth it.
Connecticut, where we live, had a serious epidemic of COVID-19 infections in nursing homes and retirement communities. We had several cases and deaths here. But the Governor announced last week that the vaccination program has reduced COVID-19 infections in nursing homes and retirement communities to nearly zero.
Best Wishes to All and Keep Well, Chip
1/18/21
Impeachment?
(Ed. Note: On Friday afternoon – January 15 – Yale62.org invited the 39 classmates who participated in our January 7 “The Day After” Coffee Hour to respond to a single question in about 100 words. (This Coffee Hour may be viewed in its near entirety below.) Participants responded to our request, and their responses are posted in the order they were received. Just as at the Coffee Hour sessions, classmates offered interesting ideas and opinions. Our long life experience certainly is valuable.) SEE OUR QUESTION with CLASSMATE RESPONSES, AND ADD YOUR OWN COMMENT HERE
1/08/21
DC Under Seige
(Editor’s Note: Because of this week’s extraordinary turn of events, our regularly scheduled Zoom Coffee Hour became a forum for 40 classmates to discuss what took place in Washington, DC this Wednesday. It was a good, solid session – so good, in fact, that we decided to include nearly all of it here for you to view, trimming only its very beginning and very end, for an orderly presentation.)
1/04/21
“Georgia On My Mind”
This Week’s Focus of the United States’ Polarized Politics
Five Georgia Resident Classmates Offer Their Perspectives
By Al Chambers
As the Georgia Senate dual run-offs grew in importance, Yale 62.org sought out classmates living in the Peach State inviting each to submit a short point of view about any subject of their choice having to do with Georgia or living in the state. Civility and brevity were the only requirements.
For the record, there has never in U.S. history been a double run off in one state for national … READ THE COMPLETE FEATURE HERE
1/04/21
COVID and Me
By Carl Kaestle
John Stewart asked me to write a paragraph about my experience with the Covid virus. About ten weeks ago, I developed a set of cold symptoms: mild cough, drippy nose, slightly sore throat, and a bit of fatigue. “Uh-oh,” I thought. “Here it comes.” And it stayed for maybe three or four weeks, but didn’t get worse. So, I decided that I had gotten the “woosie” version of this virus. The lab confirmed that it was indeed the corona virus. By this time, everyone was using a mask and keeping distance, so I did not get near people at the corner store in my rural village of North Egremont. My girlfriend kept her distance; my son-in-law came for Thanksgiving for several days, as a guest in my house. We used masks in the house sometimes. He went back to Virginia, healthy as a racehorse. Then the nurses monitoring me said I should quarantine myself for two weeks. So I did that. By the end of that time my symptoms had weakened and quit. What a nice virus. How lucky I was. Surely some classmates had nastier encounters with the virus. That’s my upbeat story of covid and me.
1/04/21
Update on Chip Neville
A check-in with Chip Neville yielded the following, on Christmas Day: “Thanks. Yes, we are still OK [negative test results]. We are scheduled to get our first vaccinations in the week after New Years, but they may be delayed depending on supply. Steve Buck wants me to post about our vaccination appointments. I hate needles, especially the square, rusty, horse needle kind, but I hope the rest will be a breeze.”
1/04/21
A Follow-up to ‘Greetings from the Epicenter’
By Larry Price
On May 1, 2020, I submitted a short essay describing the travails of Union City, New Jersey, the city where I live, with Covid-19. Union City is a town of 68,000… READ THE ESSAY
12/23/20
Wilder Reads Wilder
Tappy Wilder reads the first few lines of his uncle’s 1935 novel, Heaven’s My Destination and a recently discovered letter from George Marvin Brush to Alexander Wollcott… written in his Uncle Thornton’s handwriting!
12/23/20
Y62 Year-End Review
Despite the undeniably constrained and unusual complexion of this year, we wish you bright and hopeful holidays, filled with happiness, health and good cheer. Our wish for us all is that 2021 is a most wonderful, welcome change!
We’re at a wrap for this most extraordinary year of 2020. Our Communications Team — Steve Buck, Dick Riseling, George Snider and your longstanding webmaster, with John Stewart and Al Chambers in advisory roles — has stood at the ready to function as a communications hub for the class, and this year, January through December, we’ve posted 76 new pages on a wide variety of topics, and these pages have been viewed a whopping 18,320 times during this time. Classmates have offered their thanks and opinions in 235 comments to those posts and previous ones, and 82 classmates have been mentioned in our Secretary’s Column for Yale Alumni Magazine. Our newest offering to the class, brainchild of classmate Chip Neville as a salve to ease our “socially distanced” experiences throughout the lion’s share of the year, is our virtual Coffee Hour via Zoom, now a standard “First Thursday of the Month” event, with special extra Coffee Hours thrown in for good measure, as topics or current events may warrant. 68 classmates have joined in on the Coffee Hours to date; many have attended more than once. A band of about 20 classmates are regulars, there. We warmly invite you to join us there in the New Year.
We’re always seeking classmate news, opinion pieces, events, artwork of any type, and more, to share with the class here on Yale62.org or in our magazine column. Please send your news to the Communications Team by emailing us at YAM@Yale62.org. Thanks.
12/23/20
COVID and Yale ’62
By Al Chambers
We launched our COVID Corner earlier this year but have not used it extensively. In recent weeks, as you all know, the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths have been rising all over the United States. Unfortunately, but not a surprise, this has started to increase its reach within our class. …READ ON
12/15/20
Y62 Interviews: Charles Flinn
Ed. Note: Greetings from Dick Riseling, member of the Yale62 Communications Team. Take a few minutes out of your busy day to watch this video interview with classmate Charles Flinn, recorded on December 14.
Charlie shares some highlights from his long career serving in private law practice, as a District Court Judge and currently as Mediator and Arbitrator. He describes his experience with the US Supreme Court, and offers an opinion on the direction of the Court in 2021. There’s lots more, too, in this surprisingly varied, brisk-paced 12-minute chat. Let us hear from you about this interview, and/or anything else that’s on your mind – whether that’s writing an essay for our class website, news you wish to share, or information you’d like to see.
To comment on this interview, click here.
11/24/20
An Enduring Enjoyment
South Africa, Kruger National Park
[Editor’s Note: Neil originally contacted us last spring, and we asked him to put together a small sampling of his photography as a feature for Yale62.org. Then, however, we got sidetracked by the ongoing health and political concerns of the year. We decided a showing of his wonderful photos could work well now, as a Thanksgiving offering to you, our classmates and audience.]
By Neil Goodwin
I’ve been taking pictures for as long as I can remember and I’ve recently been assembling some of them into an online gallery which I’d like to share it with the class. The link to it is on the next page, along with a few more of my photos. I’ve been an architect, a film maker and a writer, and through all of those enterprises I continued to take pictures. The first photographs that affected me deeply… READ MORE
11/24/20
Our Second “Question of the Quarter”
Our request this time: please share with us how you think your holiday season plans have been or will be affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This question will remain open until mid-January. You’re encouraged to write in more than once, if you have updates to make. Please send responses to YAM@Yale62.org. We will post them here on Yale62.org when we’ve collected them. Thanks.
11/17/20
A Classmate Who Still Works Full-Time Writes In
[Editor’s Note: Class Secretary John Stewart asked psychologist classmate David Scharff for an update of what his professional life might be like, during this most unusual time. What follows is David’s response.]
By David Scharff
I feel in a way that I only just got good at my work a few years ago. You know the joke about whether a doctor or lawyer is “still practicing” – and the answer is “Yes, and someday I hope to finally get it right.”
For the last 40 years, I’ve divided my time between a pretty full-time practice doing psychoanalysis of adults, families, couples and children, teaching, writing and developing and running programs nationally and internationally. I’ve really liked the mix of ways of thinking about the mental health issues. My wife, Jill, and I established the International Psychotherapy Institute 25 years ago, a program for distance training in analytic therapy and psychoanalysis nationally and… READ MORE
11/17/20
Want to Include Some Fall Sports Activities in Your Routine?
[Editor’s Note: The Ivy League was the first Division 1 Conference to cancel all winter varsity sports. The Ivies took the lead for the fall, as well, and then held to its decision when other bigger athletic conferences reversed direction and resumed some sports, particularly football. They thought the COVID situation seemed to be improving, or at least there were hopes that it was. There also were financial and political pressures to resume. Now, games are being postponed or canceled each week because of COVID cases on the teams and/or athletic staff.]
We recently received the following from the YAA Office:
You and your classmates have recently received information regarding “Pep Rally” activities leading up to a showing of the 2019 Yale-Harvard game next Saturday. This information has been shared with your classmates twice but it would be wonderful if you could promote via your social media and class websites if you have them. I hope you all get to join in some of the activities. We have included some suggested text to make it easier.
Join us online for the first-ever Pep Rally, now through Nov 20th! We won’t let the absence of a live game this year stop us from celebrating all things Yale.
What to expect: https://alumni.yale.edu/events/peprally
- Yale Alumni LIVE episodes with Yale Football players, cheerleaders & coach Tony Reno
- Alumni DJ Dance Party
- Yale/ Harvard Scavenger Hunt
- Tailgate Photo gallery: https://bit.ly/YaleTailgates
- Re-airing of games form 1984, 1994, 2006, 2017 & 2019
- Daily Trivia for “The Game” week
You can also head to Instagram to check out our new “Yale Alumni Pep Rally” stickers and try our college and school guessing filters. If this has inspired you to host your own event in the spirit of The Game, let us know when submitting it to the calendar.
11/06/20
Coffee Hour: Our Post-Election Discussion
Ed. Note: On Thursday, November 5, following our national election, Y62 classmates gathered to discuss their thoughts on the results, yet to be finalized as of this writing. Classmate Kent Hughes once more skillfully moderated the discussion. A few of the highlights of the 90-minute session are shown in the video above. We continue to experience a few glitches but we’re gaining some ground in that arena, and are grateful for your patience. Speakers in order of their first appearance: Kent Hughes (moderator), Roman Weil, Bob Breault, Bob Barnes, John Hatch, Tom Noonan, Jerry Griffin, Earl Staelin, Peter Cohen and Bob Oliver.
To comment on this, our second “highlights reel,” click here.
11/02/20
Shakespeare: understanding “the heavens’ plagues”
By Michael Bristol
It was my shrink who told me “you have the greatest job in the world.” You might want to ponder the irony of a man who has the greatest job in the world looking for help from a shrink, but for once he was right. The job was teaching Shakespeare, reading, and writing and talking about his plays with twenty-something men and women. Vita contemplativa. … READ MORE
11/02/20
Vocal Music at Yale Today
By John Stewart
Everywhere around the country choral groups are finding ways to continue and communicate. Here’s some of what’s going on at Yale. … READ MORE
10/24/20
We Weigh In On The Elections
Ed. Note: On Friday, October 23, following the final Presidential debate for this year, Y62 convened a special post-debate, pre-election virtual Coffee Hour online, moderated by our own Kent Hughes. We’ve put together just a few of the highlights of the 90-minute session. You will see that we are using more technology but that it’s learning process. We had a few glitches but hope you will bear with us. Speakers in order of their first appearance: Kent Hughes (moderator), Chris Cory, Fred Appell, John Stewart, Rodger Gabrielson, Bob Breault, Lee Bolman, Tony Carbone. We think we know how to make modifications before our next Coffee Hour November 5, just two days after the election, when we will again produce a highlight video.
To comment on this “highlights reel,” click here.
10/12/20
Personal Experience with Trump Medication
Classmate Neville Offers First-Hand Experience, Perspective
By Chip Neville
This post is an edited and expanded version of an email message I sent to the members of our class who attended the October 1, 2020 Yale 62 Zoom Coffee Hour. Much has changed since my email message, but the basics are the same. I have personal experience with one of the medications Donald Trump was taking for his COVID-19 illness, and I think it explains much of his post-debate behavior.
After President Trump helicoptered to Walter Reed Medical Center with a severe, possibly even life-threatening COVID-19 infection, his staff in the White House started talking about how he was behaving even more erratically than before. And the talking heads on national television started talking about how this might be due to the medications he was taking.
He seems to be much better now, and we can all be grateful for that. Truth in advertising, I am not a fan of our President, but he is the only President we have, and we can all be grateful for his apparent recovery.
To continue, the talking heads started talking about a steroid called dexamethasone which the President was taking, but they didn’t know much about it. In fact, on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 program, Gloria Borger couldn’t even pronounce dexamethasone. Now, after talking to numerous doctors, she speaks authoritatively about it. But her inability to even pronounce the name convinced me that I needed to tell my classmates about the medication, and the mental consequences of being severely ill.
I suffer from multiple myeloma, and for several months at the beginning, I was given doses of dexamethasone, albeit at doses much less than his. I can tell you that DEX, as dexamethasone is known, makes you feel much better. That is, until it wears off. From my personal experience, I can also tell you that DEX might be what made President Trump feel 20 years younger. We’ll see what happens after the effects wear off.
I have not had COVID-19, thank goodness, but CNN host Chris Cuomo has. We can be grateful to him for giving us a blow-by-blow account of his illness each night while he was ill. COVID-19 certainly affected his mind. He told us about the feverish delusions, when he would see his deceased father sitting at the edge of his bed. He told us about the mind fogs, and how he “was not pushing as much IQ as he used to.” He has said he would give up everything he has if only he could get back to the way he was before he got sick.
So now that President Trump’s lead doctor has said that he is cured, has the severity of his COVID-19 illness continued to affect his mind? I do not know, but he held a rally in the Rose Garden on Saturday afternoon, October 10. And sources within the White House say that he wants to hold a rally every day from now until the election. If he regresses later, as some COVID-19 sufferers do, he will expose many people to the disease. That is why the CDC guidance is that those who have had a severe case of COVID-19 should stay away from people for up to 20 days. I believe he should follow that guidance.
If you’d like to comment on this post, please follow this link to do so. Thank you.
9/25/20
YAA Representative Report, Fall 2020
Mackall, Sipple Complete Whiff-to-Whiff Transfer of YAA Rep Responsibilities
By Peter Sipple
[Editor’s Note by John Stewart: Whiffalot. A few weeks ago Louis “Boiler” Mackall passed the YAA representative torch to Peter “Pop” Sipple. I’m very grateful for Louis’ three years of service, which included putting me up in Guilford, as well as reports to the Class Council. On my part, there’s only a slight hesitation as the new responsibility departs from the tenors and descends to the bass-baritones, although in fact Pop is equally adept at tenorino high jinks. Stay tuned!]
Yale’s Alumni Association kicked off its fall convocation virtually on September 15, with the topic “The Arts and Humanities at Yale.” Following lead-off comments by staff members in Development and YAA Director Weili Cheng, President Peter Salovey described the state of the University in the time of Covid. With 40% of students in residence, classes go forward both in situ and remotely. … READ ON
9/25/20
Digital Performance: AMERICAN DREAMS
Communications Team member Steve Buck reports that his daughter, Leila Buck, has written a play which will be performed live online several times throughout the fall season, and it will have runs at sponsoring theaters around the country through November 15. Its opening night performance is free of charge, but it’s also, unsurprisingly, sold out.
The remarkable part of it is that you, as a member of the online audience, can participate in the play!
AMERICAN DREAMS premiered live at the Cleveland Public Theatre in 2018. This fall, the show launches as a live online theater production nationwide in a virtual tour, inviting audiences into playful, timely engagement and dialogue around immigration and what it means to become and be a citizen of this country.
Co-artistic director Mark Plesent notes “AMERICAN DREAMS is a play that needs to happen now as we are approaching an election. I think that the American Experiment is failing on so many levels. AMERICAN DREAMS offers us a safe opportunity, full of humor, to experience our individual complicity in the dangers facing our nation, and also points to ways to change course, beginning with ourselves.”
The play is based on a game show format, where each participant has to fill out a form in order to be able to vote. So if there are two of you, please buy two tickets, contributing as much as you can to help others who may be out of work and not able to buy a ticket.
For exact dates and to reserve tickets, go to the show’s website, AmericanDreamsplay.com
For the Playbill article, click here.
9/21/20 UPDATED 9/22/20
Yale Corporation Board of Trustees Election Should Interest You
Maggie Thomas, Victor Ashe during the Chicago Yale Club Zoom, 9/15/20
By Roman Weil
Two different but determined Yale alums have surprised Yale. They seem certain to be on the ballot in 2021 to oppose the University’s chosen nominees for the one open position annually to serve a six-year term on the Board of Trustees. It could be quite a battle. Have fun following the skirmishes. READ ON
9/21/20
Yale Continues to Perform Well with COVID Numbers
By Yale62.org Editors
The graphic above links to a special page updated by Yale on a frequent basis. It chronicles how the campus is faring, regarding numbers of COVID-19 cases. The link is also here. From the page: “There is a 2-3 day delay between when tests occur and when data become available to include in the tables above. Counts are updated on weekdays to ensure data quality. These counts may change further as they are updated.” We hope this information is useful to you.
| 8/31/20 First Week of Yale Opening Goes Well, But Covid19 Risk Remains on Everyone’s Mind 
By Al Chambers and Lee Bolman Yale College’s carefully planned opening for First Years, Juniors and Seniors, with Sophomores participating only virtually from their homes, went well. The class of 2024 admitted 2,304 versus our 1,005 in 1958. The annual Welcoming Assembly, for what used to be called Freshmen, went well but was produced… READ ON 8/31/20 Ten days back, we sent the following inaugural Question of the Quarter to one quarter of the class email list, requesting a response. The question was: “Please share with us how these recent months in the coronavirus pandemic have affected you. Maybe in bad ways, maybe in neutral or good ways. How has your life been affected?” Those replies we have received are here. 8/24/20
UPDATED 8/18/20
Updated 8/10/20 We have new entries, so even if you’ve viewed this feature earlier this summer, it’s worth another look! How are we celebrating, as we venture into our ninth decade? Please let us know what YOUR plans may be, or if your birthday has already occurred, how did YOU celebrate? Please join in the fun! We will add your account to the mix that have already been received. READ ON to see what classmates have reported… 7/28/20 “White as Hell”
A letter from Jonathan and Deanne Ater (with new Editor’s Note as of 07-29-20) Dear Family and Friends, What is going on in Portland – and on your TV screen – needs some context. Below [on the full letter page] is a link to a long article from The Guardian which offers considerable insight into what has gone before and where we are today. … READ MORE 7/28/20 Transitions: Hitting 80, the Coronavirus and Some Practical Suggestions
By Stephen W. Buck Steve Susman’s death from the coronavirus after he heroically survived a very serious bike accident reinforced what I wrote about my 80th birthday – it was a great celebration and it made me feel old and vulnerable … READ MORE 7/23/20 Y62 INTERVIEWS This Y62 Interview, featuring classmate Kent Hughes interviewed by Y62 Communications Team member and classmate Steve Buck, was recorded on July 21, and sheds light on the discussion that will take place at the Y62 Virtual Coffee Hour on Thursday, August 6 at 1pm Eastern. Following some smaller group “test runs,” we’re opening up the August Coffee Hour to the whole class, based on first-come, first served response. To ensure everyone gets a chance to speak, we think we can manage about 50 classmates on the Zoom video call, so that will be the cap. To reserve your place, see the info in the email we sent you today or email us at YAM@yale62.org. After you’ve watched the interview, you’re most welcome to post comments here. 7/23/20 Pandemic Reading, Anyone?
Class Secretary John Stewart examines a list of literary contributions. READ ON to see his recommendations. 7/17/20 Y62 INTERVIEWS In this Y62 Interview recorded earlier this month, Y62 Communications Team members Dick Riseling and Chris Snow chat about Dick’s agricultural life on his Catskills mountains farm. He sees magical possibilities for the future of farming, if we can only envision, embrace and support it. After you’ve watched the interview, you’re most welcome to post comments here. 7/17/20 COVID and Confusion By William Stork Bill brings us another installment concerning the flood of events in Hong Kong. READ ON BREAKING NEWS 7/02/20 On Wednesday, July 1, President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel announced the fall semester news in a message to the Yale community. We asked classmate Lee Bolman for his reaction. “On a quick look: moving classes online is the right thing. Bringing back ~60% of students is risky. The extensive testing regime may help, though CDC says there’s not evidence that such a program reduces infection beyond what you can achieve with social distancing. How will the quarantine requirements for students from high-risk areas be enforced? Almost inevitably, there will be mini-spikes of Covid-19 in the undergraduate population, and the hope is that they can be identified and controlled quickly. As the university acknowledges, the program is intrusive in many ways, and how well undergraduates will comply with the social distancing and travel restrictions is an open question. Interesting times, for sure.” For Lee’s recent essay on “Yale, COVID and What About Fall 2020?” please READ ON BREAKING NEWS 7/02/20 There is a chill in the air this summer in Hong Kong. “Whether” Hong Kong can or will proceed and function as once it had is the subject of some intense debate, scrutiny, pressure and concern… READ MORE 6/22/20  A. Whitney Griswold, Yale Art Gallery Collections By Lee Bolman A. Whitney Griswold, Yale’s president from 1950 to 1963, held opinions that were fairly conventional at the time, but seem retrograde today. He said that immigrants to the US did not understand liberal education… READ ON… 6/01/20 Y62 INTERVIEWS In this Y62 Interview from Sunday, May 31, classmate Sam Waterston invited us all to a star-studded, no-cost, online gala scheduled for Monday, June 1, at The Public Theater. However, in response to the deaths of George Lloyd and others, the WE ARE ONE PUBLIC gala was postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date. Here, Sam speaks with Y62 Communications Team member Dick Riseling about his history with The Public Theater, as well as his longtime ongoing activism on behalf of the environment. It will be online and ‘live’ sometime in the near future, we hope, once its reschedule is possible. We will do our best to keep you informed on its rescheduling. After you’ve watched the interview, you’re most welcome to post comments here. 5/31/20 Despite much in the media right on 26 May calling for world leaders to confront China on what has happened with respect to Hong Kong this – IMHO – is perhaps ill-advised, and I speak as a long-time resident of the HKSAR. First off, the news then was not quite correct. Last Friday’s proposed legislation READ MORE 5/18/20 By Dick Riseling I’m eager to tell all of my Yale ’62 classmates about the Yale Blue Green Initiative that’s gathering strength and is worthy of classmate support. It is a Yale alumni organization already operating out of the Yale School of Forestry and Environment… READ MORE 5/18/20 By William Stork Hong Kong politics is entering a potentially perilous time, as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be abating while the protests of 2019 return. A controversial new interpretation of the Basic Law… READ MORE 5/12/20 By Ken Merkey [Ed. Note: Ken Merkey (Hilton Head, SC) contacted Yale62.org because he thought classmates might be interested in his unexpected recent business involvement in COVID-19 testing and test kits. Thanks, Ken.] I had never been involved in big pharma or the worldwide medical supply chain. A company that I am affiliated with, a hospitality company, has been doing business in South Korea for over 30 years. Early this year, my guys asked me whether we could help distribute Korean COVID-19 test… READ MORE 5/12/20 By Bob LeFevre, MD In “The Irishman,” Frank Sheehan spent months pinned down by German artillery fire on the beaches of Anzio. His home was a 10-foot deep hole in the ground. … READ MORE 5/01/20 By Larry Price Greetings from the epicenter of the pandemic. The real epicenter. I live in Union City, New Jersey which is a city of 68,000 on the west bank of the Hudson River overlooking NYC. It is a small city, only 1.29 square miles, and is reputedly the second most densely populated city in the… READ MORE 3/31/20 By George Snider In those dark days of 1939 – 1941, when the Class of 1962 was born, war loomed over growing portions of the world. Germany had invaded Poland, Japan had invaded China and both conflicts were quickly spreading. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor… READ MORE 3/27/20 By Y62 Class Members We requested that classmates check in to let us know how they’re faring through all of this. Some have responded. It’s not too late! If you want to contribute to this page, please email us at YAM@Yale62.org and we will add your news. READ ON to see what classmates have written… 3/27/20 By William Stork Bill, on whom we’ve come to rely on coronavirus news from the Asian quarter, gives us more helpful tips on life as we know it, now. READ ON 3/24/20 By Dick Riseling My partner Sonja and I operate Apple Pond Farm, an organic 80-acre farm powered by wind and sun in the beautiful Sullivan County, New York Catskills. For 48 years we treasured the immense enjoyment of freedom to be intimately connected to the many physical and social environments that populate our working farm and busy engagement with the public. Now, like you… READ ON 3/16/20 By James Wechsler  Ann & Jim Wechsler at The Bacon Mansion in Seattle (EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Wechsler’s report explains how Yale62’s Seattle Gathering became an example of the decisions we’re all facing and are also being made for us. Our postponement came several days before the nation realized the urgency of the challenge. In our own small way, we want to help classmates and their families collect and understand information during the Coronavirus Global threat, but we cannot be a primary news source. If you have information or reasoned opinion about the situation, particularly concerning your own or other classmates’ experiences, good or bad, please email them to Webmaster@Yale62.org. We will share them on our website and on a delayed basis in our alumni notes in Yale Alumni Magazine. At the same time, we truly could use a few volunteers to help us with communications and project planning, not only about Coronavirus but also on other topics of interest to people of our age and life experience. Please email YAM@Yale62.org if you’d like to participate.) Copying the action of Y62 in postponing its Seattle Gathering/Mini-reunion scheduled for late March, the Masters Golf Tournament postponed, the New York and London Marathons rescheduled, and lesser events, such as March Madness, have canceled. Even if you have lost your iPhone, you know that this results from the novel coronavirus… READ ON 3/10/20 Last December and January, I enjoyed a visit to some of the most pleasant places in the world, Australia and New Zealand. Parenthetically, I was married in Perth in 1974 and have been back several times and seen much of the country, but still have many places… READ ON 3/10/20 First and foremost, it is important to keep a positive attitude and to avoid panic. Fear and anxiety now are unnecessary if you follow these precautions, and they weaken the body’s resilience to withstand infection. Avoid going out! Work from home if possible. If you MUST go out, avoid crowds; this means staying away from Costco, Walmart, and Sam’s! And if you must associate with others, avoid shaking hands; instead use a wai which is… READ ON 3/02/20 WOW! Despite the worry about the COVID-19 spread, I woke up last Thursday knowing that I would soon be HK$10,000 richer! … READ ON 3/02/20 Moving to Naples During 2019, I ended 40 years as a Massachusetts resident and became a citizen of Florida, specifically a condo-dwelling, golf and tennis playing, member of a “gated community” composed of people mostly over 60, in Naples, Florida. In response to kind encouragement from our Class “Communications Team” and Class Secretary John Stewart, I am writing for Yale62.org on the possibility that some classmates might be amused by my account of this transition to a new home, community, and lifestyle. The decision to relocate had roots in the decades… READ ON 3/02/20 The “Book Coroner”  The print’s a bit small, in this edition… Recently I was struck by the notion that as we move into our reclining age, we all may be reading more. I know I am and I’m also interested as perhaps we all are in what each of us is reading. My taste runs to fiction, genre spy, mystery and sf, and literary, and some belles lettres, as well as New Yorker and NY Review, both of which I run far behind on. Here are some books… READ ON 2/25/20 Then and Now Following the Feb. 22 Washington Post headline “Trump on hunt for disloyalty in ranks,” I was depressed to learn from a retired senior Foreign Service Officer ambassador that in the past few weeks more than 20 seasoned Deputy Chiefs of Mission (DCM) have been fired… READ MORE 2/10/20 Of the seven dwarves, I now identify with Grumpy. After ten days of self-imposed quarantine due to this virus… READ ON 2/03/20 (Ed. Note: We are once again exceedingly thankful to have Bill Stork on the ground in Hong Kong, where he generously gives of his time to write updates on what’s going on in his adopted home city. Most recently, he wrote of the demonstrations, but now he turns his attention to the deadly coronavirus.) Here in Hong Kong it’s Super Bowl Sunday (though, due to the time difference, it’s actually Monday morning), but in HK it is hard to find a channel carrying the game. Television coverage has shifted from covering the anti-government protests to satisfying the information needs of the populace about the Wuhan-based novel coronavirus. … READ ON 1/15/20 Y62 INTERVIEWS Classmate Bill Nye recounts some of the many profound changes he faced during the activist ’60s, following his graduation with the class in ’62. His adventures found him at the heart of social and political change in New York City. Recently, Bill sat down with Y62 Communications Team member Dick Riseling to discuss this time in his life, and what lasting lessons he drew from it. Comments? Please comment here. 1/15/20 Hong Kong Heat continues By William W. Stork Our “man on the ground” in Hong Kong brings us a new update, and a useful Q&A … READ ON 1/15/20 Target Your Giving, and Feel Good By Roman L. Weil Making a gift to our alma mater? This is what I do; maybe this method works for you, as well. READ ON 1/09/20 The Iran Mess By Stephen W. Buck (Editor’s Note: Yale62.org team member Steve Buck spent the majority of his career as a Foreign Service Officer in the Middle East, including important years in Iraq where he served as Acting Ambassador. This op-ed offers his experienced views about the ongoing disputes and history between Iran and the United States, including each nation’s activities against the other and in the region. This piece was written and posted January 9) … READ ON 12/24/19 Y62 Gathering in Seattle: March, 2020 By Jim Wechsler and Roman Weil We sent out a mailing to all Class members on Friday, Dec. 20. Members of your Class Council are planning a Gathering in Seattle for Saturday night, March 28, 2020, followed by brunch/coffee Sunday morning, March 29. A new and (North-)western location. Please let us know if you are likely to attend. We’re posting this note on Yale62.org, in case you haven’t had a chance to read our email … READ ON FOR THE REST OF THE INFO 12/24/19
What are the special joys and challenges of living as partners in life and also partners in the workplace? We thought it might be rather interesting to ask some of our classmates and their spouses about just this very topic! We launch this new, innovative series with an interview with our Class Secretary John Stewart and his lovely wife, Jolly. They recently spoke with Y62 Communications Team member Dick Riseling via teleconferencing. We truly hope you enjoy the chat! If you’d like to post a comment on the video, please CLICK HERE. 12/24/19 The Whiffs Reunion: September, 2019 A holiday treat! Please enjoy Aj Lucka Lucka (above) and click here for candid photos of the happy event participants, as well as three more songs.
12/13/19 Envy vs. Jealousy By Roman Weil No trick question here: How do you distinguish envy from jealousy? I’ve carried around a distinction that an old mentor helped me work out several decades ago. Recently, I quit writing textbooks and teaching full time so I have muuuch time on my hands and have been reading non-technical material for the first time in a looong time. I’ve discovered that I enjoy, and learn from, the essays of Joseph Epstein, former [or as he likes to say, quondam] professor of English at Northwestern. [His use of quondam, when he could just say former, is one of about only three words I don’t like in his writing.]… READ ON 12/11/19 Op Ed: Investing in Conservation Politics David Bingham, responding to our class-wide request for Op Eds, immediately provided one for us to publish, concerning using our actions, financial and otherwise, to care for this precious world in which we live, and which we leave to future generations. READ ON 12/10/19 Why Rush to Judgment? Following on the heels of our own Steve Susman’s interview with MSNBC last weekend, Y62 Communications Team member Dick Riseling reached out to Steve to write an opinion piece for his classmates here at Yale62.org. Please Note: we actively and enthusiastically invite other classmates to share their views, as well. Let us know if you’d like to write an opinion piece of your own! In Steve’s article for us, he offers up a winning strategy for the Dems. Will anyone listen? READ ON. 12/10/19 Y62 INTERVIEWS Classmate Charles Eisendrath has led a varied, adventurous life, as a Time correspondent in Washington, London and Paris, bureau chief in Buenos Aires and professor at the University of Michigan. His freelance work has appeared on NPR and in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, International Herald-Tribune and The Atlantic. And as our interview reveals, he’s now written a memoir entitled DOWNSTREAM FROM HERE: A BIG LIFE IN A SMALL PLACE. Recently, Charles sat down with Y62 Communications Team member Dick Riseling to discuss his book, and more. Comments? You’re invited to make them here. 11/25/19 A Protest for the Future  Sam Waterston protesting at the Saturday Yale-Harvard game, 11/23/19 Estimates of numbers vary, but our own Sam Waterston was one of approximately 300 protesters (42 of whom were arrested, including Waterston) who occupied the halftime field at Saturday’s Yale-Harvard game. They were protesting for the divestment of Yale and Harvard funds in fossil fuels, and also called for the cancellation of Puerto Rican debt held by both universities, via investment funds. READ MORE, including Yale’s public statement concerning the event. 11/18/19 Letters from a Chaotic Hot Spot (more Hong Kong Heat)
When our Communications Team had not heard from Bill Stork for several weeks and we knew the situation in Hong Kong continued to deteriorate, webmaster Jean McKillop asked Al Chambers to reach out to Bill and Jasmine to make sure they were okay. Al and Bill had worked closely together in 2005 to organize the memorable ’62 Hong Kong Mini Reunion attended by about 30 classmates/ partners. Bill’s response came within several hours explaining that they were safe but that their daily life had become far more complicated and difficult. His reports are serious and revealing. The submission from Sunday expressed continuing optimism, but his message Monday cautioned that he thought he had perhaps been too optimistic. Let’s all keep Jasmine and Bill in our thoughts. (Hong Kong time is 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.) READ ON UPDATE 11/01/19 California in Flames
Have you or your family members been affected by this recent and still ongoing devastation in California? Please get in touch with us by emailing us at YAM@Yale62.org. Share your experiences and observations, and we will share them with the class. If you have photos or video, we will use them to let your classmates know what’s going on. Please, everyone, stay safe! Update: CLASSMATES SEND THEIR NEWS. READ ON 10/7/19 The Yale Alumni Chorus By John Stewart One fact that has always amazed and gratified me is the enormous variety of singing experiences at Yale, I suspect at least as much as any American university. When I arrived in New Haven, knowing little about Yale beyond its prestigious name, I was delighted to find how important singing was, and I quickly… READ MORE, and see photos of YAC tours, including this summer’s Odyssey of Song Tour in Greece, which took place from June 21 to July 25! 10/7/19 Venezuela Chronicles By George Cleary George is our “man on the street” in Venezuela, and we’ve just received a new letter from him. READ HIS LATEST NEWS 9/23/19 Intelligent Debate: An Idea Whose Time is Now.
9/20/19 Hong Kong Heat, Part 6 By William Stork, Yale International Alliance — Contributing Editor, and longtime resident of Hong Kong
It is 13 September as I sit writing this, and today is Hong Kong’s Mid-Autumn Festival, usually a fun family event, with the creation of home-made paper lanterns and family picnics on the beach, from which to see the rise of the August full moon. But this time here and now, the fun spirit is somewhat lacking, as the turmoil … READ MORE 9/18/19 Steve Buck at a Psychological ‘Club Med’  Steve Buck in the main square of Sibiu, Romania, July, 2019 In 1988, worn out by two years being Deputy Chief of Mission and Acting Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq war, I joined Hala and our then eleven-year-old daughter… READ ON 9/12/19 Norm Jackson, Down Under
Norm Jackson, living in Freemantle, Australia (near Perth, Western Australia), has sent us a selection of his stunning photos. To view them, READ ON 8/23/19 Hong Kong Heat, Part 5
Our own “Man in Hong Kong” Bill Stork returns with an updated report on what’s happening in his adopted home. READ ON 8/12/19 Dave and Cindy Hummel in Eritrea  A cowherd in Eritrea. Photo by Cindy Hummel Our intrepid globetrotters, Dave and Cindy Hummel, recently visited Eritrea. Sample a few of Cindy’s spectacular photos! READ ON 8/12/19 “Refugees in Eritrea, 1969” The Hummels’ recent journey to Eritrea reminded Steve of a time in that country, when he and Hala were newlyweds… READ ON Update 8/03/19 Hong Kong Heat, Part 4  Bill Stork By Bill StorkEd. note: As many of you know, our classmate Bill Stork taught high school for many years in the Hong Kong International School, later moved to Singapore, and has now returned to life in Hong Kong. He is closely following protest developments in Hong Kong and China’s reactions. Bill has been extremely active in Yale activities, including the development of the Singapore campus. Bill continues to update us on Hong Kong events as they unfold. “As I write this, reports are coming in of protesters having closed off the exit to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel that connects Central Hong Kong Island with the Kowloon peninsula to the north, and clashes with the police who are trying to remove them and their improvised barricades. Additional marches are scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday. “Some background: Young people have been at the forefront of continuing protests against a proposed extradition bill that have shaken Hong Kong. At the root of the turmoil is concern over what many people see as the inexorable erosion of civil liberties and the city’s autonomy by an ever-meddling central government that refuses to grant full democracy in the former British colony.” … READ MORE 7/17/19 Alex Garvin: Heart and “Sole”
7/01/19 Dickson ‘Dixie’ Carroll: Color, Whimsy and more
6/18/19 Exclusive Yale Attracts Record Applications for Class of 2023; Dean Jeremiah Quinlan Provides the Details By Al Chambers  Dean Quinlan Once again, with the announcement of the Class of 2023, I felt certain I would not have made it if I were applying now. I continue to be so grateful that I was admitted in 1958. A record of just under 37,000 youngsters applied this year. Final numbers are not available yet, but about 1,550, near 5%, are expected to arrive for classes. Even with Yale’s two new residential colleges, this will not be the largest first year enrollment. The largest freshman class came to Yale just after World War II. It is an especially dynamic time in New Haven, but not without its challenges. The “Varsity Blues” scandal involved Yale in a variety of different ways. Because of a combination of Yale’s prominence plus… READ MORE 6/18/19 McGlashan Interview Cristney and Bill McGlashan married about three months before our graduation and have lived a fascinating and unusual life together since. They never would have thought of the challenge they found themselves facing earlier this year involving the alleged involvement of their successful son, Bill Jr. (’86) in the nationally prominent admissions frauds that also involved a few other people with Yale connections, as well as the University. Bill displays an extraordinary open-hearted willingness to share with his classmates in this exclusive video interview. Classmates will find it time well spent to read Bill’s observations and experiences in the 25th, 40th and 50th Reunion books. 6/18/19 MEET OUR NEW COMMUNICATIONS TEAM GREETINGS FROM OUR NEW ’62 COMMUNICATIONS TEAM!  L-R: Steve Buck, Chris Snow, Dick Riseling We’re responsible for the YAM Class Notes and editorship of our feature story-based class website. With the retirement of our inimitable Chris Cory from his dedicated 7-year stint as our Corresponding Secretary, the Communications Team is now comprised of Steve Buck, longtime Co-Corresponding Secretary, and newcomers to the team Chris Snow and Dick Riseling. By way of short introduction, Steve and Chris are both retired Foreign Service Officers who continue to lecture on their specialties, which are the Middle East and public diplomacy, respectively. Dick runs a horse-powered, energy-independent, food production and teaching farm. John Stewart, Class Secretary, and Al Chambers, Corresponding Secretary 2002-2007, have been of great help in producing our first edition of Yale62.org website, which you see here. All of us hope you’re informed and entertained by this web communication, and will send us your news, stories, comments and suggestions for making Yale62.org a go-to place to visit. This site is built of your news, and it exists for you to read and reflect on. Remember that a lot of material has been published here since the website’s inception in the late 1990s, under then Corresponding Secretary Tappy Wilder’s watchful direction. Use the SEARCH feature at the top left of this page to check for feature articles we have run, written by your classmates (and possibly even yourself!). Please let us know if you have an idea for a story or a topic of interest, and we’ll see what we can do about bringing it here, before your eyes for the class to enjoy. Thanks.  L-R standing: Kane, Prince, Oliver, Koenigsberg, Davis, Mackall, Honneus, Weeden, Riseling, Swirsky. Seated: Garvin, Stewart. 6/18/19 CLASS COUNCIL REPORT By John Stewart Present in the room for the 12:00PM meeting: Richard Davis, David Finkle, Alex Garvin, David Honneus, Mike Kane, Dan Koenigsburg (Treasurer), Louis Mackall (YAA delegate), Bob Oliver, Larry Prince, Dick Riseling (Communications Team member), John Stewart (Secretary), Steve Susman, Gerry Swirsky, Bill Weeden… READ MORE |
[Ed. Note: We have a link to Yale President Salovey’s statement regarding this lawsuit – 
