Class of '78 Reunion

Last week's party was loud and crowded, but I was very glad I went: skipping it would've made me feel silly since I'd spent nearly $200 for the tickets!

Seriously though, I had conversations that brought me great joy.

The lovely Carol came with me, trouper that she is, even though she only knew one couple there. We talked with Meg and Clinton and heard that their twins are doing well. I got to see Mark and John, who are really bright guys. (As an undergraduate, Mark's prof told him that "you've seen things some of my colleagues would miss." I think John might have gotten one 'B' at Stanford, maybe -- or maybe not. One of his papers came back from the prof with nothing written on it until the last page, which simply said: "Brilliant! A") We spent a lot of time together as undergraduates.

John started a business with another of our classmates, and he's the principal author of the most widely used software for, ah, something to do with soils and environmental engineering; he's traveled to Europe and the Middle East on consulting trips. Mark is a med school professor and edits a journal involving something really important related to evidence based medicine.

Besides the many pleasant memories evoked by seeing these folks, there's also the sense I got from them that they're doing things that really suit them well. It was wonderful seeing others as well. Luigi looks terrific; so does Rick, though he lost some weight. We all have shorter (or less) hair. Dan's got a beard now.

There were some sad moments, recalling some of our classmates who have passed away. My freshman roommate died, as did two others we knew from that dorm.

The high point of my evening, though, was hearing from another guy I knew from the dorm. He told me the story of how the younger teen "saved my daughter's butt!"

His daughter transferred as a junior from a small (Catholic?) school to Menlo Atherton (M-A) High School, which is huge by comparison. Those two factors caused some concern. As this father related the story, "ONE girl," (he held up an index finger) "One girl welcomed my daughter, invited her to eat lunch with them...." Gave her a group to be part of, helped her find her footing.

That sound you just heard? That would be my buttons popping.