08/24/2016
Since our Class Notes didn't make it into the summer edition of The Lawrentian, Mike Kasperzak had the brilliant idea of posting them to our Class page. So here they are ...
Bruce Hager
’72 Class Secretary
55 Tuxedo Road
Montclair, NJ 07042
[email protected]
The notion that the world is growing smaller due to globalization and Internet connectivity is pretty much a given these days. But occasionally coincidence allows us to see just how small the world can be, especially if you’re wearing an Lville T-shirt. An example can be found in the following story from Doug Watkins.
“While visiting the Exumas (Bahamas) in early March with my kids, I found myself in a small shop renting a Boston Whaler to cruise around the nearby cays snorkeling and whatnot. The young man at the counter in front of me finished his business and turned around to exit, revealing his Lawrenceville T-shirt, to my astonishment. It turned out to be Chris Loutit, Esquire, class of 1996. We chatted briefly. I had just arrived in the islands; he was leaving the next day. Both being North Carolina natives (the coincidence continues), we swapped business cards and have struck up an email thread. Chris has generously offered to treat me to an extravagant lunch at the Players' Retreat the next time I am in Raleigh! Isn’t that right, Chris? Anyway, my twins Maddy and Jackson thoroughly enjoyed our visit to these Out Islands, which included a visit to the Tropic of Cancer (23o 30’ 00” North Latitude for you geography freaks) on Little Exuma. This deserted beach is one of the prettiest I’ve seen in all my travels. It dawned on me later that had Chris not been wearing the L’ville gear, there would have been no chance meeting. Just two passing tourists among the many, many wintering yachters hanging out in the islands, mon. Further, I would not have been able to bail out Bruce in his relentless (and much appreciated) quest for input from us, Class of ’72. Surely I am not alone in observing that our column is moving inexorably toward the beginning of the Class Notes section of The Lawrentian. Yikes.”
Amen, Doug, and thank you for the help! And the moral of the story is … always wear your Lville gear.
No edition of our class notes is truly complete without a word from Dean Harden, who recently passed along a photo (see second attachment) forwarded by Dave Mislan. The photo shows Dean and Dave as counselors at the Lawrenceville Camp circa 1971. The Lawrenceville Camp served disadvantaged kids from the surrounding area and was staffed by Lville students. Dave’s mom had kept the photo all these years and thought Dave might like the memento. In addition, Dean writes that he is starting the drumbeat for our 45th reunion in 2017 and that he’s recently been reunited with Dave Becker (more on him shortly) and wants to see Fred Noble.
Dean, thanks for the reminder: Our 45th Reunion is in May 2017. You will hear more from me and others about this as the year winds down and next year winds up.
John Murphy reports that he invested in a small hotel, The Marisol, that is ranked #1 on Trip Advisor in Coronado, CA. In addition, “my son Jack is attending Georgetown and I have to say it is way harder than any schools I attended. I am proud of him. Finished the Super Seal Olympic distance triathlon last Sunday in just under three hours and hope to podium in the Super Frog 70.3 distance in September. I barely beat my way older brother Henry (class of 1970). John Detmar stopped by on his motorcycle recently to brag about his accomplished daughters - they obviously take after their mother. I speak to Brian Smyth often but not as often as I would like. I had a great visit with Dave Becker (see below) over dinner at the Del - Even after 35 years I felt as close to him as ever. I am looking forward to our 45th (well, sort off). April 3 I celebrate 33 terrific years on the water wagon!”
Sincere congratulations, John. That is a HUGE anniversary.
OK, so as coincidence would have it, I received the following note from the long-lost Dave Becker. “After reading "Confessions of the MIA" in your last post in the Lawrentian, I felt I should come out of hiding and check in. I live in Atlanta, GA with Eileen, my wife of 35 years (and my very first grammar school girlfriend!). We have two kids, Lauren, a pediatric registered nurse, and Drake, an insurance case designer. Both are proud graduates of the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!) and Hope Scholars! Lauren just delivered our first granddaughter, Alexandra in August, and we are deeply in love with her. Our son was married in October in the north Georgia mountains. Everyone lives nearby, and we have a lot of love in our family! After L'ville, I went to USC to study film and humanities. After a couple of years, I realized that film is a "business", and really didn't care for the dark side of the politics and chicanery of what it takes to succeed. I've been in the telecommunications industry for over 35 years. Started selling $20,000 word processors in LA, then moved through a succession of high tech start-ups and major players. I have the dubious distinction of turning down a job at Microsoft in 1985 ;-) In 1999, Eileen and I founded Perennial Grace Nursery, an ornamental perennial plant nursery, growing 900 varieties of plants and over 15,000 growing at any one time. We were recognized by Atlanta Magazine as the top Nursery in Greater Atlanta in 2006. Right after that, the wheels came off. Two and a half years of catastrophic drought (think Calif.), followed by the Great Recession, literally turned off the lights in late 2008. Since then, Eileen has devoted herself to many charities, especially HomesStretch.Org. Meanwhile, I am Director of Business Development at InfoVista.Com, a provider of performance management and service assurance tools for communications service providers. I travel globally and may surface almost anywhere at any time (watch out, Dean Harden!) I talk to John Murphy (see above) often, and had dinner with him at the Hotel del Coronado not long ago. He hooked me up with Brian Smyth and John Detmar, and we are scheming on some get-together soon. Life has been really good to me and to our family. We are blessed with good health, more than we need and lots of love around us. As my hero, John Lennon frequently said, "Love is All You Need!"
From the left coast comes word from our 2020 presidential hopeful, Mike Kasperzak. “I finally made it to a local Lawrenceville event in San Francisco to welcome the new Headmaster. It was a fun evening. There was even some discussion during the Q&A about the school camp (see above), much as there was recently with the picture of Dean Harden and Dave Mislan. So, am I crazy, or wasn't there a monster, played ironically by Mr. Megna, named Cropsy? Anyway, other than L'ville events, I have been spending my time over the last year running for the California Legislature representing the 24th Assembly District, also known in these parts as Silicon Valley. We have 8 candidates in the June 7 primary. California has a "top two" open primary, and while this is a solidly "blue" district, the Presidential GOP primary could really boost the GOP turnout. In any case, it is a real horse race, but we will know the initial outcome the night of June 7. If anyone has some cash burning a hole in your pocket, we are not immune to the ravages of Citizens United, even out here on the left coast.
Finally, and since my exalted position as the class secretary allows me the last word, I am happy to report that my youngest, daughter Zoe, will be attending the College of Charleston this coming year. I am very proud of her, as any father should be of their daughter, but especially because she has broken with my age-old family tradition and decided to attend college south of the Mason- Dixon line. We visited Charleston in late March, and I am already looking forward to returning. The college, which was established in 1770, is centered in a beautiful town that boasts incredible restaurants and extraordinary antebellum architecture. But just as importantly, Charleston appears to be close to where several 1972 alums live, which means y’all might be hearing from me real soon.
