Ed Hirshfield: We continue to live in Cupertino, Ca, use our beach house at Pajaro Dunes. It's only 45 miles away so we go there frequently. But, I've put it on the vacation rental market, so it's not always available. Our mid-20s grandkids also see it a lot so it is now in great demand.
I continue to develop my "System to Alleviate congestion on our Roads" and have completed first iteration full-size manufacturing drawings of the most critical element in an attempt to attract investors but only several nibbles and no bites. I'm looking for someone to take it over because at 82 it seems I have better things to do with my time. At the risk of offending some, I will say that I am so disgusted by our current Federal administration that I'm spending time to shove them out of office. On the other hand I'm pleased with our current State Government.
My daughter's family are now evacuated from Santa Rosa for the 3rd time in 3 years on account of fire danger. They are now in San Francisco with her parents-in-law who lost their home to the fires 3 years ago. Climate change is a real problem here.
So, we continue to enjoy life. Today, we plan to go to Santa Cruz for lunch with our friends. Every day has its challenges, but we're having fun!
David McCoy: Lately, I've been consumed by three things: 1) How my children and grandchildren are faring, with three grandkids in college now; 2) the current political scene, especially on the national level, but also working for local candidates; and 3) spending a good bit of time as treasurer of my local League of Women Voters. Also trying to do a bit of reading--now working on Isabel Wilkerson's Castes: The Origins of Our Discontents.
Barry Auger: Rumors to the contrary I have survived this evil epidemic and am still working, managing my small landscape business here in Vancouver. While I may not be out there at the crack of 8:00 every morning I do still occasionally get spotted with a rake in my hand. Most of what I hear about Gambier comes from Bob Heasley and for which I am thankful. And finally I do hope all you, my fellow classmates still alive, to be well and distanced and occasionally having fun.
Wilson Roane: The fall colors are outstanding as usual here is Wisconsin. It's hard to get used to the idea of winter with the covid pandemic still very much a problem. Wisconsin has become the epicenter in recent weeks so Sue and I are continuing to be hunkered down. We're actually getting to know each other a lot better. The other day I pulled out a CD of Kenyon songs and it was good to hear some of those old favorites again. I was in the car at the time so it was easy to sing along and not disturb anyone else. Sue and I have moved into a duplex in a retirement village. It was very hard to give up our house but it seemed the right thing to do. Our bishop has essentially closed the churches due to the pandemic so I'm not getting any of the usual requests supply. Our children, six grands and one great grand are doing fine. Hope all rest of the Kenyon nation is staying healthy.
Richard Schori: Dick Schori here. On May 22 and 26 I had major back surgeries in San Francisco at the UCSF Medical Center with 9 vertebrae fused and metal bars installed on both sides of my spine. I can now walk upright without pain so life is much better. We live in Reno, NV, and love it at over 5,400 feet of elevation with a great mountain view. You could say we are on the foothills going up to Lake Tahoe and the nearby California ski areas. We have grandchildren in Corvallis, OR, and a get-a-way cabin in the mountains of Oregon between Reno and Corvallis. Life is good.
Brent Scudder: In executing my bucket list, I continue to make an annual pilgrimage to tornado alley during late April and most of May to chase storms and photograph tornadoes. My route of travel to that area often brings me within 15 miles of Gambier at which time I stop by and tour the campus. Although I have yet to see a tornado, I have seen plenty of menacing low hanging clouds and incredible lightning displays that put the best fireworks productions to shame.
David Gury: So much planned and unplanned has happened this year. In March we went to Cleveland Heights and our condo there where we planned on surgery, participating in the graduation of my granddaughter from Kenyon and celebrating our 60th anniversary of graduation. My surgery for a total knee replacement and Elias spine surgery to free nerves that were buried under stuff from time went very well with successful recoveries. The impact from the Pandemic changed a lot for all. No graduation celebration and no 60th reunion. Spring time in Ohio was wonderful. We returned to Florida October 1 to find familiar things, and still so much closed or limited. Looking forward to some brighter times ahead when we can all come together again.
Henry Curtis: Chris and I are fairly healthy and waiting out the virus. We miss live theater, the Cleveland Orchestra, and bridge games. Looking forward to next year. Over the past few years I find myself at the same soccer fields and basketball courts watching grandchildren that I visited 25-30 years ago watching my own children. If the virus permits, we are looking forward to a May reunion.
David D Taft: Nothing to report except quarantine in Northern Michigan (Traverse City). We return to California mid-November to escape the cold North winter ahead.
What might be worthwhile is organizing a Class of 1960 Zoom conference using the College’s Zoom subscription to allow a greater than 45 minute meeting—available for free on Zoom. I feel badly we were unable to pull off a reunion last May—because the College had to cancel Reunion Weekend. Zoom was new to many of us then. We should have gone ahead, paid a year subscription and conducted a Class Meeting/Reunion Zoom call.
With the years passing quickly, I think it is important to find a way for classmates to reconnect after many years and talk about today’s issues. I do this every other week with a Men’s Luncheon group in California and find the dialogue is unique and refreshing compared to the polarized news outlets we are flooded with today. Last Spring we talked about Covid testing and vaccines that stimulated many of us to continue an email dialogue after these meetings were stopped for the summer.
I think a Zoom call among class of 1960 members who would participate might renew communication among members in this quiet pandemic quarantine period for seniors. What do you think? Hope things are well for you and your partner—either in Cleveland or Florida. I am amazed at the changes happening in our lives as a result of the pandemic. So many work related, cultural, sociological changes that will become permanent and introduce a broad new era ahead!
