AndoverMagSpring2015

www.andover.edu/intouchfeeling about the breadth and diversity of our greatUnited States of America. ‘Exceptional’ is a very aptword to describe the U.S.A. We embrace and believeit. Good things will come to us and the global familyas Americans all strive to individually add value.”Tony Accetta met Head of School John Palfreyin Denver and said, “I was quite impressed! Thefuture is bright.” I agree wholeheartedly. You havebut to step onto the campus to sense the head’senthusiasm for the school, and vice versa. Speakingof stepping onto the campus, please remember thatour 55th Reunion comes up a year from now.Leslie Stroh reports that his latest insurancecompany statement says that his medical costsover the past nine months for three brain surgeries,rehab, and numerous ER/ICU visits for seizuresamounted to $2 million, of which it appears that lessthan 20 percent was actually paid out as cash. Leslieexpressed more concern with the medical systemthan with his own health: “There is something verywrong with a system where the uninsured poor arebilled full fare and, at this level, made bankrupt. Yes,it is wonderful that they get the care, but their livesare destroyed when everything is gone and they arebankrupt as well.”Leslie is confined to the city for the time beingbut says, “We are bringing the country to NYC witha three-panel 5-by-13-foot triptych showing theinterior and my wife and myself in situ. Jim Rubinlives across the street but will not be asked for anopinion of the artistic merits of the painting. He willbe asked about the agricultural merits of the wine ofchoice from Alsace.”Tom Pollock sent me a bunch of memories ofour time at Andover. I was very glad to get these andwill share them with you from time to time in thesenotes. Fritz Allis was a major influence on me andmy teaching career. Here, Tom remembers: “Mr.Allis once asked his American history class, oursenior year, ‘Why did the railroad companies makeso much money?’ The way I heard it, he offered agrade of 95 on the next hour exam to anyone whogot it right. Answers were all over the map: familydynasties (Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, etc.), no antimonopolylaws, government subsidies, corruption,technology. Mr. Allis kept saying things like, ‘No, notquite. No, not close.’ Then John Young (my sourcefor this story), partly joking, said, ‘The coefficientof friction of rolling steel.’ Mr. Allis stood up andsaid, ‘You got it exactly right.’ One of my favoriteAndover stories.”At an Andover function I ran into Jon Hay ’64,brother of Toby Hay. Jon reported that his brotherwas well, and together we lamented that Toby and Iseem to be unable to communicate with each other.The problem is technology. Toby does not care forthe computer, and I hate the telephone. Alas. Toby, ifyou will e-mail me your phone number, I’ll give youa call. Can’t say fairer than that.Did any of you ever sneak through thesteam tunnels?1962ABBOTKathrin Krakauer240 Columbia DriveBomoseen VT 05732802-273-2548kkrakauer@shoreham.netAmong Caroline Thomas’s acting studentsis Devin Druid, who appeared as the youngversion of Frances McDormand’s son in theHBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge. You can seehim next in the independent film There Will BeBombs, which was directed by Joachim Trier.Caroline’s son, David, still lives with his wife andtwo small boys in the United Arab Emirates,where he is completing a doctorate in technicallinguistics while teaching full time. In the winterof 2014, Caroline’s daughter, Elissa, finished herundergraduate degree at Hunter College withhonors in English and creative writing. Caroline’shusband, Robert, has made three televisioncommercials, including one for The Gap that rannationally and was directed by Sofia Coppola.Karen Grant McWhorter wrote in her 2014Christmas letter that between several trips toLondon to visit son Alex and his family, sheand husband Jack took a three-week vacationin Alaska. This wonderful trip included, amongother things, panning for gold in the Yukon,putting their hands into the nearly frozen BeringSea in Barrow, and touring Denali National Park.At home, Karen has taken up photography andholds a leadership position in the local women’sgroup in Hancock, N.H. Son Keith and his newbride live in Harrisburg, Pa., where he is a naturalgas consultant with IHS.I (Kathrin Krakauer) am struggling a bit withretirement. Although I feel it was a good decisionto stop working, since my brain no longer thriveson the pressure and intensity of my work, I amstill trying to establish who I am in this new phaseof life. In the snowless months, I spent a lot oftime walking in the woods and meditating overa wide variety of ducks on the lake. The winteris an entirely different environment, but stillbeautiful and very peaceful. Vermont is certainlyan idyllic place to live. I also have joined the localwomen’s club, although solely as a bystander fornow. It’s an old-fashioned (though at least nowhite gloves and hats are necessary in Vermont)but very friendly and well-meaning group. Fromthis experience so far, I can see how CalendarGirls happened and am anxiously waiting forsomething surprising to occur!PHILLIPSVic Obninsky1101 Navarro St.Santa Rosa CA 95401707-230-2271707-843-5784 (fax)vpobninsky@comcast.netTime passes so swiftly. Fifty-seven years ago Iwas a boy in junior high school, wondering if Iwould be admitted to faraway Phillips Academyin Massachusetts. This fall we will be holding our53rd reunion on Cape Cod, at the Ocean EdgeResort & Golf Club in Brewster, Mass., startingon the afternoon of Oct. 13 and concluding afterbreakfast on Oct. 16. There will be first-class golf,ocean fishing, hiking, and bicycling available. Wewill eat and party together in a separate indooroutdoorfacility on the edge of the golf course,and all of our rooms will be one-bedroom suitesin the same area. Our class remains very tightlyconnected. There is daily chatter amongst ourselveson the “PA Classmates” mailing list, which isconducted through my e-mail address as listedabove. The instant communication we have is agreat supplement to the official Andover magazine. Ifthere is too much, or something you find offensive,you can always hit the “delete” button. Pleaseshoot me an e-mail after reading this and get a newversion of the “daily bulletin.”Our three-sport phenom Jorge Gonzalez istraining for a triathlon this spring in San Juan,Puerto Rico. Gonzo was indestructible in football,hockey, and baseball. He has played a lot of golfbut is now seriously training to compete over 70miles before he turns 71. This came up in a discussionwherein your scribe warned everybody aboutdriving dangerously on New Year’s Eve. Jorge saidthat he has surrendered night driving to wife Pinkywhen he goes out to parties and finds that life ismore enjoyable. At the reunion, I learned that mostof our classmates and their wives are mainly winedrinkers, but I still strongly endorse good Irishwhiskey and frozen good Russian vodka.Sam Caldwell and Jack Fabiano spent a goodtime at the reunion fishing, but the water was notas hospitable due to our long-lasting drought.Fortunately, we’ve been receiving rain lately, sofishing should get better, as should life for ourfarmers. We had a lackadaisical stickball game oneafternoon. I particularly remember Dan Jenkinsand Mike Davey being more interested in thegame than the numerous spectators. The foodwas very good, and the high point was barbecuedsteak and a local rock band. I had enough of theaforementioned Irish whiskey to do a little dancingmyself; my wonder dog, Lexi, also danced with agreat deal of happiness. The Chalet View Lodgepeople said they’d never had such a fun group; weinvited the owners and staff to dance with us, andeverybody had a wonderful time. Jeff Hill musthave the world’s best collection of ’60s music, andit is all thoroughly categorized in his computer; heAndover | Spring 201583