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CONCORD ACADEMY MAGAZINE SPRING 2008rough for my youngest. Otherwise Ihave been busy with traveling, playingtennis, running, coaching, writing, andthe usual crazy kid stuff. My motherpassed away from Alzheimer’s in the fallof 2006, and we are still wrapping up allthat paperwork, taxes, and selling thehouse I grew up in. Hope everyone isdoing well!” Lesley Koenig just finishedher fifth year as general manager of theSan Francisco Ballet. “It is the company’s75th anniversary this year —we’re the oldest professional ballet companyin the country and started theNutcracker craze that pops up everyyear all over the country. It’s fun to‘own’ Christmas and to watch little kidstwirling around on the sidewalk afterperformances. Life is great. There wassomething so cool about turning 50 andclimbing through another career andknowing that, somewhere out there,you’re all doing it too.” Amy Dunbarwrites: “Washington is very exciting inan election year. Like Alex, I am helpingsome on the Obama campaign andbeing very active in community serviceactivities, both as vice president of communityservices at Emily’s NationalCathedral School and through severalWashington women’s organizations.Emily’s soccer keeps me busy on thecomputer and in the car, as she now hasschool, travel, and Olympic developmentsoccer. Fortunately she loves it and recognizesthat it helps keep her organized— so long as I am organized! Isn’t itwonderful how we teach our children toavoid our own shortcomings? Ted hasmore clients on the front page of theWashington Post than is reasonable forone human being. Democratic oversightis good for the country and business,just not for time to get home. Life calmsdown on Wednesdays when I take careof our 19-month-old grandson — thegrandparent role is all they say it is —enjoy the good times now that youknow what you are doing.” HappySayre McCord writes from NorthCarolina that she is now head of schoolat “the Montessori school our sonsbrought us to 18 years ago and where Itaught in the ’90s. It is a wonderfulschool, great work to do, and Montes -sorians are the best people to have ascolleagues. I am glad to be at a point inmy life where I can pour myself into thiswork (aka 12- to 14-hour days).” FromTom McManus: “The past year haseasily been the most challenging in mynearly 30 years on Wall Street, but onemust recognize the great fortune wehave enjoyed . . . to experience so manygood years since we began our careers(especially when compared to the muchmore difficult conditions that prior generationsfaced). It’s much more importantthat family and friends are mostly well,and I pray for continued good fortune for64us all.” Ruth Lounsbury, who has beenlecturing across the country, writes:“The food and environment themes inmy books have made them quite timelythese days, and they are frequentlyselected for common book programs atcolleges and universities, and even highschools and municipalities. As a writer,of course I’m delighted that the readershipgrows, but as a citizen of theplanet, I look forward to the day whenthe novels are looked at as quaintlyanachronistic — oh, wow, things werereally bad back then, so glad all thoseproblems have been taken care of. Butfor now I talk about the issues and problemsand hope that helps somewhat. Iintend to hunker down for the springand summer in Cortes Island, BC, plantall sorts of exotic Asian vegetables inthe garden, and work on a new noveluntil it’s done.” Susan Minot’s also writing,between New York and NorthHaven, ME, with daughter Ava, who issix. Eve Stockton showed her largescalewoodcuts at the H. Pelham CurtisGallery in the New Canaan library thisspring (evestockton.com). Evan Youngremains in California after all these yearsof threatening to move back East,working as a lawyer on death penaltyappeals. Happily married with three girls— one daughter is finishing high schooland two stepdaughters are out in theworld as grownups. As for me, CecilyMcMillan, my son Tom McMillan ’03is also out in the world, working in LA,and I’ve moved back to coastal SouthCarolina, with a writing job online and anidea about new work. I like being in thecountry again — vast numbers of stars,noisy birds, and flowers — and I look forwardto getting out the vote in this ruralarea come fall. These are such historictimes. Stay in touch.1975Class Secretaries: Christine d. Fairchild,cfairchild@hbs.edu; Jacqueline van derHorst Sergent, jsergent@gvdhd.orgJay Clark reports on three very creativekids finding their way in the world: sonWill is eager to head to the Cordon Bleuafter graduating from high school thisyear; Henry is interested in pursuingglassblowing after completing his stintin high school; and Delaney, bringing upthe rear in seventh grade, has her eyeon either RISD, Brown, or NYU. Jay’swife Carlyn balances an interest indesign with that of Tibetan Buddhism.And Jay spends lots of time at 36,000feet, jetting back and forth to Jakarta forthe firm RTKL. Jesse Cohen is balancinga similar age group: one senior andone junior in high school. Clearly theyhave run him ragged as he’s just undergonea total knee replacement and isnow working hard to regain his statureon the soccer field. Meg Richey Haugeand her husband John are still fullyentrenched in the younger parent syndrome. . . David is a delightful 10-yearoldwho is reveling in all those thingsthat keep mothers and fathers runningfrom pillar to post — chess, piano,sports, school, friend-gigs. Meg, likemany of us, turned 50 this year andthrew herself a big shindig . . . but Megbeing Meg, she was thinking of ways tobrighten the lives of others in need. Shehad a singing group from Jackson Hole,WY, and when the 50th birthday bashwas over, she took them over to WalterReed Medical Center for a private concertfor wounded soldiers. “The humorand the quality of music the Bar Jshared was just what these woundedwarriors and their families needed. TheBar J distributed free, signed CDs at theend of the evening. It was a truly magicalnight.” Meg is married to PuddieHauge Sword’s brother, John Hauge,who is at the Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank, focusing on Centraland South America. And as for me,Christine Fairchild, life continues toperk along. I’m travelling a bit more thisyear in honor of Harvard BusinessSchool’s 100th anniversary — we’re takingfaculty on the road to visit withsome of our furthest flung alumni. I’mtraveling to Australia and New Zealandand then to Beijing and Shanghai. I lovethis job! It’s especially gratifying to haveone of CA’s best with her hand on thetiller at Harvard — Drew Gilpin Faust’64 has a remarkable voice and clearvision for Harvard University. It’s anhonor to work with her. Susan CouchLowell, who’s working for Intel on afuture computer chip and looking forwardto a two-month sabbatical, says: “Ido find myself wishing for somethingdifferent in my work life — not sure if it’sretirement or more likely, simply retirementfrom the norm. This sabbaticalidea starts the dreaming again, youknow, but the kids aren’t quite oldenough, the mortgage not quite paidenough. But what if there is somethingelse? I am a very lucky mommy — twoboys, 13 and 8, who surprise or agitateme every day and make me proud, anda husband who endures the hints ofmenopause quite, um, quietly, so far.”Jamie Parker is “VP of marketing atWGBH in Boston — the nation’s leadingproducer of the best in public broadcasting.Love it. Live in Newton with longtimeBF and four combined kids. My sonZach is a sophomore at MarlboroCollege and plays in a contradance band.Wyatt’s 13 and in junior high in Newton,acting and video-gaming (I still can’tmake it through Foghat on Guitar Hero,pretty pathetic). We have a 15-year-oldbeagle who wears diapers but is proudthat his breed won Best in Show thisyear at Westminster. Life is fun.” DedeRuggles is a full professor at theUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign,for which she was rewarded with asemester sabbatical in Spain last fall.“My husband and I put our 14-year-olddaughter (somewhat fluent) in a Spanishschool and, guess what, cafeteria foodis just as awful in Madrid as it is inUrbana. Instead of paella and olives itwas fish fingers and watery soup. Whoknew?” Jinny Sisson is director of ageology field school for the University ofHouston, taught in Red Lodge, MT. Sheis also president of the nonprofit thatruns the facility for UH and several otherschools and says the big accomplishmentwas replacing a bridge supportedon one side by a fridge filled with concrete.“Other than that, I spend most ofmy days running after my 3-year-old sonAlex. I also fit in two short trips toGuatemala this year: one to do fieldwork and the other to co-lead an internationaltrip of 55 interested in jade andhigh-pressure metamorphic rocks of theCaribbean.” Brooks Stevens writes thatMerrill and Tomasen are sophomores atConcord-Carlisle High School and doingfine. She continues in her private psychotherapypractice in Lexington.“We’re all fine. Not much news, butthat’s a good thing, I think. Hope everyonein our class is well.” Puddie HaugeSword is about to launch her third (andlast) child to Trinity College in the fall.“In the meantime, I am thoroughlyenjoying my business, Sword Solutions.I organize anything: home offices, collections,basements, estates, any roomin the house, anything that doesn’twork. I have wonderful clients, fromWashington to Boston, and it gives methe chance to drop in on friends alongthe way.” Jane Wang has been composingmusic for two choreographers inthe Boston area, Danny Swain and KeeChin. She is working on music for a Keepiece to be performed at the DanceComplex in Cambridge, MA on June 13and 14. Last summer she toured in Italywith Sabir Mateen’s Omni-Four, and inthe fall composed and performed forHanne Tierney’s Leibniz’ Folly at FiveMyles, a Brooklyn gallery. She wasinvited to join the Mobius Artists Group(of experimental artists) and has finallyput up a Myspace page of her compositionaland multidisciplinary endeavors(myspace.com/janewangcomposer).Marcia Johnston Wood is having whatis probably the busiest year of her life,but she can’t figure out what to eliminate.Still working the same 3/4ish timein private practice, she also chairs theOregon Psychological Association’sEthics Committee, which has been themost stimulating, challenging, andrewarding professional thing she’s done