P.A. 1964
Tom Seligson
15 Bradley Street
Westport, CT 06880
January, 2000

As our former head cheerleader George Bush continues his quest to host future class gatherings at the White House, you're no doubt aware of fellow classmates' efforts to help him. The most ambitious project was L.E. Sawyer's campaign to collect letters of support, along with financial contributions, from class members. The results of the campaign says a lot about our class's politics. Apparently, 30% of the class participated. Another 20% percent could not be reached. The other 50% said they are Democrats who felt uncomfortable supporting a Republican, even one they had gone to school with. However, L.E. reports that almost all of the classmates contacted offered George their best wishes. And even many die-hard Gore and Bradley supporters admitted they could forget politics for a night to attend a special P.A. Inaugural celebration, should George make it all the way. Seattle defense attorney Hunter John, who we've missed at all the reunions, promises to skip court, so he can attend. Despite his fabulously successful architectural career, Didi Pei said he too can always find time for a good party. I can vouch for that. I used to see Didi at John Axelrod's much missed annual Lutece dinners, and I recently caught a photo of his wife in Town & Country, looking resplendent at a New York City charity ball. Another big draw for George's possible White House fete, besides the opportunity to party with classmates, are rumors that members of the Torques are already meeting in secret to practice for the big event.

If our favorite band is planning a come-back, then hopefully we'll hear from Torque guitarist Craig Bonda, who's been missing from the school records for some time. Rick Davis, who went to Washington University with Craig, and gets contacted about him every so often, says that Craig dropped out after a year, and he hasn't heard from him since. Rick himself, who met his wife Sharon while at Washington, now lives in Healdsberg, California, a lovely town in the midst of wine country, a few hours north of San Francisco. He has three grown kids, and a grandchild. Rick is a building contractor, specializing in residential work. Like most builders these days, Rick reports that he's very busy, and employs about 10 people. "However, when times were tough, I've done everything from the roofing and tile work to the carpentry myself," he says. The former "Sour Grapes" tenor also plays in a rock band that performs in local bars and clubs. "I'm the oldest one in the group," he says. "The only one with no delusions about our becoming the next Rolling Stones." Another talented carpenter/builder is Charles Durfee. Charles originally planned to go into teaching (his father taught at Mt. Holyoke). But after being drafted, and surviving six months in Vietnam, he said he drifted into carpentry. He's gone from building boats to cabinets, to his new speciality, which is custom-built furniture. Charles works from his home in Woolwich, Maine. He didn't get married until he was 42, and he now has a 9 year old girl, and a 6 year old boy. Charles says that he sees fellow wood-working artist Bryce Muir, and reports that Jim Torbert, who lives near by, has retired from teaching high school, and is spending his time farming. He also hears a lot about Doug Brown. "Doug's considered the best orthopedic surgeon in the state," says Charles.

Brief news on other classmates: Hardy Phippen is still representing us well both on the big screen - he was in Meet Joe Black, and The Imposters - as well as commercials. In between acting gigs, he conducts tours around New York, educating visitors about city history and attractions. Bill Stowe is a Professor of English at Wesleyan. Bill has developed a new field called Eco-Criticism, which focuses on such literary naturalists as Thoreau and Edward Muir. Fellow professor Jeff Stripling is in the Psychology Department at the University of Arkansas, where his speciality is Behavioral Neuro Science. Mac Thompson remains a Managing Director in the insurance and risk management area of Marsh, Inc., the new name for his old firm of Marsh & McLennan. Chris Teuber is living in Venice, California, where he's a production manager for theme parks. This is but the latest incarnation of Chris's career as a "technical designer" for such varied clients as the Museum School in Boston, and the rock group Pink Floyd, for whom Chris helped design their show "The Wall."

Mark Blankenship wrote to say that he regrets missing the group encounter session we held at our recent reunion. Mark wondered whether there was a way classmates could continue to communicate with one another as a group. Well, as promised in my last column, Matthew McClure who already deserves our gratitude for maintaining our class web site, has now outdone himself. He has set up a mailing list with ONElist, which will enable everyone whose e-mail address is on our class web site to send and receive class mass mailings. This is a wonderful opportunity to keep us well connected. Those classmates who wish to be included on the list (whether your e-mail address is currently on the web site or not) please notify Matthew at mmc@well.com. You can all expect to hear from at least one classmate: yours truly.