The camera does lie, after all. I know this because somebody took some pictures of the group that assembled outside the Bowl for Yale’s home opener against San Diego, and George Piroumoff and Herb Hallas came out looking better than I did. Way better. So, of course,
did their wives, and Barbara McLendon, who drove us up in the same Jeep that’s been making its way up the Merritt to these games for what seems like decades. I mention all this by way of calling attention to Ed Greenberg’s new and beautiful class web site, where some fiend posted these pictures. The fiend was in fact Ed, and the best way to reach the website is to Google it, typing in Yale Class of 1959, which in turn leads you right to the site. Once there, you’ll find a link to Ed, to whom you can send stuff, although make sure it’s a good group picture or something worthy and not junk.You should find this site and bookmark it. Ed, still an enthusiastic member of the Yale Alumni Chorus, reports that the group toured the Netherlands Sept. 12-19, and that among the 100 or so people on the tour were Al and Peggy Atherton,
Ed’s wife Sue, and Packer and Laura Wilbur. The “Freedom Tour,” as it was named, produced concerts in The Hague and Leiden. Al also sang with a smaller group that included graduate students from the Yale School of Music at the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam. The next major
overseas stop for the chorus is South Africa, next June. Dave and Betty Schneider came to town for a wedding and joined us for a delightful dinner in Central Park, where Dave presented me
with a copy of Dick Posner’s latest book, “Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency.” Dick seems to produce as many books as I do columns for this magazine. This latest presents a worthy challenge to the charge that in its fight against terrorism the Bush administration has unnecessarily and illegally run roughshod over the American tradition of individual liberties. Mr. Posner’s argument is that terrorism is sui generis, demanding tailored responses to a uniquely grave national danger that requires a deft balance between the rights of the individual and the broader requirements of public safety. It is, like most of his work, not
only required but entertaining reading, whether you agree with its conclusions or not.
Two short notes and then some very good news. Alex Boyle, recently presented here as the proud father of a successful restaurateur in Edgartown, writes to say that he, Joe Corgill and
Marc Cunningham got together for dinner in Charlevoix, Michigan, at the Belvedere Club, where all three spend summers. And Gunnar Baldwin and his wife are rowing again for Habitat for Humanity, this time southward from Albany. Gunnar’s vision is to row the entire inland
waterway, and so far he has covered south-to-nrth legs stretching, collectively, from Key West to Southport, NC. his website is www.rowingforhabitat.slsoft.com. More on that later.
The good news is that Toby Tobin is on the mend. Toby had brain surgery a year ago to remove a malignant tumor and, while progress is slow, he is definitely recovering. Toby writes: “As few
patients survive a year after diagnosis, I am blessed with good luck, good care and much affectionate support from family and friends whose prayers and good wishes have certainly been an effective help in my case.” He adds: “We seem to be sliding gracefully and comfortably
toward a quiet life of rest, reading and repose, interrupted sporadically by a voyage in a sailboat.” On Aug 7, Toby and Harriet Rinse celebrated their fifth
wedding anniversary.