To my PA ’55 classmates and their partners in life and love,
The window of opportunity has opened for sounding off in Andover Magazine’s summer issue. Those who can may email their thoughts to 74apollo350@gmail.com. Those who can’t may do so by phone (303) 746-5983 or by regular mail (address below). By June 26 if you please.
Those who would like to stay connected via Zoom meetings Walt Howe and I would like to know. He’s at walt@walthowe.com / 781-932-8240 (Maryland). If there’s enough interest a classmate can volunteer to host meetings at our convenience or school staff can do it at their convenience. The Spring issue has Walt’s thought along with a call for volunteers.
On a serious note
When we’re not touched by our own lives at the moment — when we’re not moved to share from our own experience — we can be touched by others’. Like Edith Eger’s life that ended recently. A Holocaust survivor, friend of Viktor Frankl, and psychotherapist, who wrote The Choice: Embrace the Possible (2017). A testament to the value of character and family being there for one another. To usefulness that chooses how to take a hit rather than just reacting to it.
A reflection on what matters: timeless, relevant, and moving. And a prompt for our class’s reflection. But one among many that can be used to do what seniority does best: share its wit and wisdom to guide the less experienced. In a class note if not anywhere else. The vague idea that entered my mind when I looked across the quad from my room in Rockwell House toward Bishop Hall. A dorm for seniors. Role models for how it’s done. Character being there for family.
And not so serious
Joie de vivre has been the motif for the last few issues but that could change. Heading into summer Walter Winchell will no longer be culling gossip for his column from backstage at GW Hall. Where he’s been mingling with the glitterati and literati of Broadway and our class, as he did when he hung out at Sherman Billingsley’s Stork Club. He’ll be taking up residence at another venue across campus where he can mingle with another element. The Mob. Wise guys in on the hustle, shooting pool in the basement of the Commons. Smoking cigarettes.
You know who you are. Tough guys. Hustlers. The kind Winchell kept track of with his police radio. Who until now have been shunned by our class notes. But no more. Your chance to make the big time is here. With notice in the NY Daily Mirror and enough swagger to blow the lid off Sam Phillips Hall. Courtesy of a class secretary who’s all heart. A secret admirer who wished he too could wear dirty white bucks but never had the courage.
To the memory of four who did us proud: John Daly, Ben Dorman, Charlie Helliwell, and David Page. Pillars of support for country and community, family and friends. Exemplary lives that earned the support they were given in return. You can read about them on my website. Four more reasons why I’m honored to be your class secretary.
Dave Harrison
74apollo350@gmail.com / (303) 746-5983 / https://www.davidclarkharrison.com
2210 Nelson Ave. Apt. A Redondo Beach, CA 90278-2428