By Tommy Bourgeois
The close of last year brought welcome opportunities to reconnect with several classmates, and I’ll take the liberty of mentioning time spent with some era-mates, as well.
I was lucky enough to enjoy two visits with Diamond Reo 75’s trusty drummer Paul Baumgartel, who spent a couple of nights chez Toler-Bourgeois in October, on his way to see his son (and my fellow guitarist) Joe in Las Vegas. His whirlwind stay in LaLaLand included our dinner pilgrimage to the original location of El Cholo, a local landmark celebrating its hundredth anniversary this year. After a century of immigrant waves to Los Angeles, and in fitting testimony to the city’s ever-changing demographic landscape, this shrine of Mexican cuisine now finds itself in the middle of Koreatown. I pause to ask, where else would this happen? For the first time in a decade, I also got to catch up with Joe, who showed up from the desert as his dad’s chauffeur. We’ll get around to my next visit with Paul in a few paragraphs.
In early November, I spent three days in New York before heading to New Haven for the resumption of in-person YAA meetings after two years of COVID-imposed remote gatherings. While in Manhattan, I dined at Sotto 13 in the West Village with the benevolent despots of Scarsdale, BK Munguia and Jon Mark, whose bicoastal daughter Ramona had very recently established a nearby beachhead. Considering they’d spent their afternoon racing to keep up with grandchildren Penny and Simon, I found my dinner companions remarkably alert and energetic.
The next day, I met Andy Gould at American Bourbon on West 34th for—well, I’m not going to lie—bourbon and a late afternoon nosh. Andy continues his entrepreneurial adventures in fisheries and other gainful arenas. I tried to keep talk of my retiree status to a minimum. As usual, Mr. Gould was a font of erudite and amusing conversation.
As for New Haven, the formal Alumni Assembly and Fund Convocation program was not as full as in past years. The theme was Yale’s Global Initiatives: Impact on Humanity. The focus was on the new Jackson School of Global Affairs, which had been launched as the Jackson Institute. I understand its elevation to the cohort of graduate and professional schools met with mixed reactions from the Yale faculty, but I was positively impressed by the conversation between President Salovey and inaugural dean Jim Levinsohn. They discussed the school’s mission, student population (in terms of admissions, even more competitive than the college), methods of teaching, and emphasis on understanding and crafting policy solutions to global challenges. Most of its students have rendered national service to their countries, and the curriculum prominently features interaction with real-world policy makers.
Joining me at assembly/convocation were our treasurer Nancy Young and at-large class representative Cheryl (Lewis) Green, whose term will expire next summer. I’m particularly indebted to Cheryl for her service, especially given that the first two years of her term saw nothing but Zoom meetings! Robert Cole also attended, in two capacities, no less. He represented the fund, and he was among the recipients of a YAA prize awarded to the Yale Club of Washington, DC, for its outstanding programming.
After the meetings concluded, it was on to Alumni Village, where I hosted a class table before the Elis’ victory over previously unbeaten Princeton, which paved the way for their season-ending triumph at Harvard’s home field and sole possession of the ’22 Ivy League championship. Our group at the table was small but spirited. I reported in my last notes that I was expecting Chris and Cary Whipple, and they did not disappoint. Chris, in fact, arrived with some extra pep in his step, announcing, “I just hit send on the afterword to my book!” Also noted in my last column, the book is The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House, which became available on January 17. The Whipples not only showed, but they brought friends: Chris’s Deerfield classmate John Hutchins and his wife Anda. The rest of the crowd included the aforementoned Paul Baumgartel and Bob Cole, Chris Donnelly, and Greg Zorthian. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two of my favorite members of Pierson’s Class of ’77, Ellen Levy Ryan and YAA executive director Weili Cheng, who also graced us with their presence.
Paul and I went on to enjoy the game with ’76ers Ken Inadomi and Dan McDermott before repairing to Paul’s Stamford digs for a musical trip down Memory Lane. The evening ended with food and wine at Stamford’s Villa Italia, and my Metro North carriage returning me to New Haven.
The next morning, I had breakfast at the Omni with Diamond Reo 75’s steady (and Mobile’s most in-demand) pianist William Oppenheimer and his eleven-year-old grandson, Harris. They had come to represent the Alabama branch of the family at their cousin Klara Oppenheimer’s bat mitzvah. Stopping over in New York for some theater and a trip to the Hayden Planetarium on their way to the Elm City, Bill and young Harris also broke bread with Michael and Denise Greenwald.
December came and went quickly, but I got to spend my 70th birthday in Tucson with dear friend David Bodney ’76, who treated me to a rousing Little Feat concert, a vigorous hike in the local mountains, and a bit of gallery-hopping. Back in L.A., my birthday festivities continued with a leisurely lunch at Shutters in Santa Monica, where Lori Andrews, whose home away from (Chicago) home is literally next door on the beach, hosted Aimee Liu and me. We raised a glass to the women of the Class of ’75.
Finally, this update arrived recently from Seth Walworth. (Full disclosure: former chair Seth and I serve on the board of directors at All Peoples Community Center in South Los Angeles.) After earning an MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School in 1981, Seth settled down in Pasadena and enjoyed a career in sales and consulting. He’s clearly excited about his new project: “I’m happy to report that Dick-on-a Desk, our gluten-free family online venture, has climbed into the top 10,000 Elf-on-a Shelf knockoffs. Available online, our little guy continues to make friends, mostly with GenX women in Middle America, with his daily reminder to lighten up, step away from the desk, and dick around from time to time. Very much a post-grad education in social media and viral marketing. Bottom line, it’s every bit as hard as they say it is. Maybe we’ll even figure it out! TBD.
“When not dicking around, I continue to help out with All Peoples Community Center and very much appreciate that you, Mr. Secretary, have signed up and taken so much on. Handsome Dan approves.
“And I continue to resist pickleball, focusing on mediocre tennis instead, but it’s probably a losing battle. All my sparring partners are crossing over, and there is something to be said for a sport that you can play with a drink in one hand.
“No Nobel prizes to report. Happy 2023 to one and all! And remember: we still have juice.”
As I submit this column, classmates are gathering in New York for the Class of ’75 70th Birthday Bash, about which we’ll have lots to report next time.