By Arthur Greenwald
My late Dad was an attorney by profession, but also a born proofreader. A proud parent, he could spot the word “Yale” in a block of copy from two rooms away. So I’m never surprised when I hear about chance encounters among our classmates that come about when someone glimpses or overhears the name of our alma mater. Even so, Cecile Ablack’s Yale story is a goody.
Cecile and I were as relieved as pleased to see each other in November, having postponed our get-together a half-dozen times — and no wonder! I travel a lot and Cecile is deputy mayor of Los Angeles for communications. Suffice it to say, there’s always something in L.A. that requires major explaining, not to mention frequent consultation with her media-savvy offspring — son Rob, 19, who’s fulfilling some UCLA entrance requirements this year at Santa Monica College, and daughter Tessa, 15, who’s happy at Beverly Hills High. And speaking of media tech, Cecile’s husband, Robert Stokes, is the author of a revealing and chilling new book, Odyssey of an Eavesdropper. But here’s the Yale story: recently Cecile took a surprise phone call from Beth Burke, her freshman roommate who happened to be awaiting jury duty not far from City Hall. They had just agreed to meet for lunch when Cecile gets a second call. Beth, it seems, spotted another potential juror scribbling a letter on some Yale-themed stationery. It was Wendy Goodman Thum, who made it a noontime trio. Now comes the kicker: our server overhears Cecile’s tale and, in true L.A. waiter fashion, is compelled to “share” that she’s just completed UCLA and is considering Yale for grad school in English literature. I mentioned that we have a classmate who teaches that very subject at UCLA: Rob Watson. “Dr. Watson?” gushes the waitress, “He’s the best teacher I ever had! He’s amazing!” We urged her to approach Rob for grad school guidance, which she no doubt will.
Skillful Rob Watson Segue: Rob was among the guests at Aimee Liu’s house when she hosted the Yale Club of Southern California’s potluck dinner, which also attracted Jackie Austin, who’s looking great. My culinary contribution that evening was Frank Pepe-style white clam pizzas, hand-made from scratch according to the sacred recipe published in Two For The Road by Jan and Michael Stern of Roadfood fame. (My little improvement: I approximate Pepe’s 700-degree oven by placing a pizza stone in my gas barbecue and closing the lid.)
Continuing the theme of tenuous Yale connections, I recently attended a theater reception where I encountered venerable TV host Monty Hall, AKA father of Richard Hall ’74, a co-founder of the Yale Daily News Magazine. Hall the elder reports that after several successful seasons as a producer on CBS’s Emmy-winning Amazing Race, Richard recently penned his first screenplay. Mr. Hall then surprised me with news of another Magazine veteran, our classmate John Tierney, who just that morning had ended his latest New York Times op-ed column by announcing it was his last. “I’ve enjoyed Washington,” wrote John, “but one election cycle is enough. I’m returning full-time to the subject and the city closest to my heart: science and New York. I’ll be writing a column and a blog for the Science Times section.”
The recent AYA assembly focused on Yale students’ community service, but one of the most talked-about sessions was dean of admissions Jeff Brenzel’s overview of admissions policies and statistics. In summary, Yale has become so successful in reversing its onetime negatives (chiefly, quality of life in New Haven) that applications have doubled since 1990 and the “yield” (applicants who accept Yale’s invitation) is now over 70 percent. That makes admission tougher for all groups, including alumni offspring. Jeff plans to post a complete presentation on this topic on the revamped admissions office website. Elsewhere that weekend, I enjoyed a too-brief walk and talk with Margit Dahl and had the pleasure of dining with AYA Board of Governors member Rami Levin, who continues to balance teaching and composing. After only one quarter at the Princeton game, I zoomed to the airport, returning home in time for Sunday brunch with Mark Peters, who was stopping in L.A. en route to Thailand, where he would celebrate the 50th birthday of his partner, Claudio. That’s it for my first-person reports.
Paul Baumgartel writes, “Last June, I hosted a gathering of Joel Fain’s widow Moira, our classmate Bill Oppenheimer, and our freshman counselor Roger Skok Little ’70 and his wife Peggy. I saw Bill and his wife Nancy again a few weeks ago at lunch in New York City, where they were guests of XM Satellite Radio for a Sting concert. Bill (virtually) reunited former members of Yale rock group Diamond Reo by sending us all a copy of our 1975 recording. I was amazed at the quality of the musicianship (merely relieved about my own!). Besides Bill and me, members included Tommy Bourgeois, Chris Kee ’77, and classmate Tim Kalliches who has just retired from a career as a professional sound man for the likes of Paul Anka, Liza Minnelli, and Frank Sinatra, not to mention classical-music duties at Carnegie Hall. I’m currently consulting for Credit Suisse in New York as an Oracle database architect in the investment banking group. My son Joseph has moved to Las Vegas, where he teaches and performs guitar. My daughter Susan is in high school in Connecticut.”
From Abigail Shaine, this missive: “The last two years have been very trying for my daughter and me. Miranda is 9. I adopted her from China as a single parent seven years ago. After practicing law in D.C. for many years, I moved back to New Hampshire right after 9/11 to work as executive director of the Massachusetts Bar Association. Although things went exceedingly well for a while, most unexpectedly and very distressingly, my employ there ended with me suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome and in David vs. Goliath litigation with the MBA. I have not been well enough to work since. I am well represented on a contingency fee basis by the former director of enforcement for the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. But I would love to hear from my Yale friends who can offer advice and support to me in my situation. For more information, please visit my website, shainelegalfund.com, or e-mail me at ashaine@erols.com.”
Finally, if you enjoy language and wordplay, make time for Ben Yagoda’s latest, When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better and/or Worse, just out from Broadway Books. It’s now a delightful addition to the Yagoda bookshelf that’s taken up residence in my den.
Please help us keep in touch. Update your contact information by visiting www.alumniconnections.com/yale/. And please subscribe to our class listserv at www.aya.yale.edu/lists. As always, your class notes news is welcome. Write to me at yale1975@aya.yale.edu. A happy and healthy 2007 to one and all!