By Arthur Greenwald
As any class secretary will tell you, the chief challenge in composing these class notes is finding enough material. Thank heaven for the loyal denizens of our class listserv, who took a break from our exhaustive study of the teachings of Sarah Palin to offer up some fresh news about various classmates, sometimes even themselves. To wit:
Literary roundup: Manhattan’s Museum of Sex was the setting of a recent party celebrating the publication of Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex, which features a short story by our own Eric Goodman entitled “Blue Balls”—a glandular tribute to Yale, no doubt. Eric was recruited by the editor of the well-reviewed book, Ellen Sussman. Boston Globe columnist Alex Beam has a new book coming out this month called A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books. Michael Carlisle has founded his own successful literary agency, Inkwell Management, whose clients have collectively won the National Book Award, the Man Booker Prize, and the Pulitzer.
Elsewhere in the arts: Painter Peter Halley is now Adjunct Professor Peter Halley and director of graduate studies in painting and printmaking at the Yale School of Art. And the always sparkling and refreshing Joy Sterling is now CEO of the Iron Horse Vineyards in Sonoma. The winery’s delightful 2005 Wedding Cuvee was served at the wedding of Jenna Bush, and also frequently in my backyard.
Great vacations: Sally Sanford reports that she’s “adjusting to empty-nestedness. We just got back from a fabulous raft trip down the Grand Canyon—very moving and fun. Slept out under the stars every night. Even rope-climbed up a waterfall!” Meanwhile, in Ecuador: Mark Peters and his partner Claudio “had a lovely visit with Linda Jewell and family—just before the end of her three-year tour as U.S. ambassador. After a four-day stay at the official residence, a stunningly beautiful estate with a perfect view of the Las Puntas volcano to the east, Claudio and I cruised the Galapagos, then came back to Ecuador’s mainland. All of the Ecuadoreans I spoke with had high praise for the ambassador and her absolutely fluent Spanish. For Linda’s part, Ecuador has been one of her favorite postings. We took Linda and her family to dinner one night at a wonderful Quito restaurant. Transportation was at high speed, accompanied by a chase car—a reminder of the risks our career diplomats must take every day.”
After some mild coaxing (okay, nagging), I finally persuaded the ever-insightful Michele Anderson not only to speak up on the listserv but to write something for the class notes: “Hello, fellow classmates. In case any of you were wondering, I’m an editor at the San Francisco Chronicle where I’ve been since the Bush I years. I own a San Francisco micro-mini condo that I bought with a non-funny-money mortgage. I have a dog—an Australian shepherd named Rex (’cause he wrecks everything). I am an art addict. (Instead of kids, I have wall-to-wall artwork, some good, some bad, but none indifferent.) I’m still a recovering attorney (haven’t practiced in 25 blissful years). But with the way the news biz is going, I may have to eat those words. I recently saw former roomie JoAnn Charak, who was in San Francisco to attend the wedding of one of the sons of Laurie Weisberg. We all, of course, looked fabulous. And instead of going on a fall vacation, I’m spending all my money on Obama!”
Charles (Chip) Manekin writes, “I am still dividing my time between Washington, DC, and Jerusalem, living full-time with my wife Rachel, who was appointed assistant professor of Jewish history at the University of Maryland, where I am a professor of philosophy. Our four children are all married in Israel, and our fourth grandchild was born this summer. I continue to perform (in English!) the baritone leads with the Jerusalem Gilbert and Sullivan Society—free tickets for Class of ’75ers not living in Israel!”
Stacey Keen has a good reason when she asks, “Do we have many grandparents among us in our class?” Stacey and her husband Andrew Alpert ’73 just announced the birth of their first grandchild, Natalie Sam Faust, born June 19, 2008. The parents are Stacey and A.J.’s daughter, Rachel Alpert ’03 and her husband, Aaron Faust ’02. (Gotta wonder if Pampers come in Yale blue?) Stacey promises “more news next spring when we visit them in Syria (!), where Rachel and Aaron have just gone to study Arabic for a year.”
From Trinity Church in Menlo Park, California, Rev. Frannie Hall writes, “It’s still amazing to say that our daughter Hannah is in the Yale Class of ’11. She is soaring! She sings in Proof, serves on the Freshman College Council, and writes for the Herald. Life is good. My husband Michael and I gave birth to our ‘third child’ two years ago—an audacious nonprofit called the Beatitudes Society (www.beatitudessociety.org).”
I’m sorry to report that Yale’s Alumni Records office has informed me of the deaths of two classmates. Sadly, very little information was available about Marilyn Newmuis, who passed away last December. Marilyn had not updated her contact information with Yale in some time, so I would welcome hearing from any classmates who knew her during our time at Yale.
We know a good deal more about James Slaff, MD, who died on September 5 from complications following a stroke, as well as “a life battle with Crohn’s Disease.” Ironically, James was a distinguished gastroenterologist based in Gainesville, Florida, where he practiced and taught at the U. of Florida College of Medicine. At the NIH in the 1980s James was a pioneering AIDS researcher and wrote one of the landmark books on the topic. At Yale, James famously studied geology and discovered “the world’s largest feldspar crystal, which he donated to Yale’s Peabody Museum.” A member of St. Anthony Hall, James is survived by daughter Ashley Slaff and by his longtime companion, Dana Welch. The family suggests memorial donations to the James Slaff MD Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, P.O. Box 1245, Albert Lea, MN 56007-9976.
As always, we ask you to keep in touch and to help Yale to do the same. Update your e-mail address and contact information at www.alumniconnections.com/yale. While you’re at it, we urge you to subscribe to our class listserv at www.aya.yale.edu/lists. And remember, we’re not too old to jump in a pile of freshly raked leaves.