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Plans for scheduled class events and reports of past events are found below.
Past: Mini Reunion held at Chautauqua, New York (July 8-11, 2009)
Past: Class Trip to Israel and Jordan (October-November 2008)
Past: Class Trip to Spain (September-October 2007)
Past: Class Trip to Morocco (September-October 2006)
Past: Class Trip to South Africa (September 2005)
Past: Mini Reunion held at Chautauqua, New York (July 8-11, 2009)
"Chautauqua's a place where 'I disagree' doesn't end the conversation."
That's how Chautauqua Institution President, Thomas M. Becker, began introducing
us to his famed organization. For 135 years, it has had a major formative
influence on American thinking by encouraging the thoughtful exploration of the
paths where faith and reason lead, in the conviction that such exploration is
the key to progress both for individuals and society at large. "…every man has
the right to be all he can be, to know all he can know…" said founder John Heyl
Vincent in 1888, in support of another basic Chautauqua tenet, lifelong
learning.
But we're getting ahead of our story.
Our mini reunion had its genesis months
ago when Len Katz suggested to Secretary Tom Chittenden and the assembled Class
Council that Chautauqua would be a great place for a Class gathering. This was
greeted with unanimous acclaim so Len and fellow dedicated Chautauquan, Jack
Turben, got to work planning the event.
And did they ever do a good job! In addition to this great leadership, our
mini reunion owed its success to many factors: a beautiful location and several
sunny, dry days in the middle of a very wet summer; the Chautauqua Institution
complex which enriched the mind and nourished the body; an astonishing diversity
of interesting speakers, concerts, and recreational activities; and lots of
quality time to renew some of "the friendships formed at Yale" as well as to
make some new ones.
We assembled on Wednesday, July 8th with some 46 Classmates, wives and widows
in attendance. We came from near and far—Karin and Paul Eisele came from San
Francisco but Jim Cunningham came from London and got "longest trip" award.
Before dinner, Jack and Susie Turben
hosted a reception at their beautiful
home, on the shore of Lake Chautauqua. This got us off to a running start in
several ways. First, of course, was the delightful meet-and-greet
opportunity—it's doubtful that anyone knew everyone, but everyone knew someone
and it wasn't hard to meet the rest.
Second, we better appreciated the physical beauty of the area—the 20 +/- mile
long Lake is located in rolling green farm country at the very western edge of
New York, just south of Buffalo and not far from Pittsburgh and Cleveland. We
watched the Chautauqua Belle sail by (it's steam powered with a rear
paddle-wheel) which recalled the Institution's formative pre-automobile days
when trains brought people to a station near the Lake and triple decked
steamers then took them around the Lake to the Chautauqua Institution or one or
another of the great Victorian hotels that then served the vacationing public.
And, most informative, Jack Turban introduced Tom Becker, mentioned above,
who gave helpful background information regarding the Chautauqua Institution:
- Founded in 1874, the Institution is a not-for-profit, 783-acre educational
center; much of that land is privately owned but improvements must adhere to
Institution standards.
- Although originally focused on Protestant religious education, it's long
since been ecumenical in spirit and practice, offering distinguished leaders of
many faiths, both as preachers and teachers.
- Moreover, Chautauqua soon established itself as a national forum for open
discussion of secular matters ranging from public policy and international
relations, to arts and science.
- The School of Arts is celebrating its 100th anniversary; it offers education
programs in the performing as well as fine arts. There are daily professional
presentations; professional musicians regularly perform. The Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra, founded in 1929, performs three times each week; and the Chautauqua
Ballet Company and the Chautauqua Opera Company regularly perform. Verdi's Il
Trovatore and Tom Stoppard's Arcadia we're both offered while we were there;
- The list of speakers over the years is a who's who of US and international
leaders from a wide variety of fields. For instance, presidential speakers range
from U.S.Grant to FDR to Bill Clinton. Approximately 100 lecturers appear each
season;
- It now has a 9 week summer schedule and approximately 7500 persons are in
residence on any given day.
Going and coming from the Turben reception,
we began to get a better idea of
the community. It has winding, tree-shaded brick walks; pretty gardens;
ginger-bread Victorian style houses and, as one brochure put it, an atmosphere
"reminiscent of small-town America nearly a century ago." There's a large, green
central square, Bestor Plaza, surrounded by a library, the post office, a book
store, some shops, etc. On Friday and Saturday of our stay, parts of this square
were taken over by a craft fair, with exhibitors setting up small booths to show
their works. Automobile traffic is all but forbidden (and the speed limit for
the few cars admitted is 12 MPH), with nearly all visitors' cars parked on
peripheral lots. Walking is definitely the preferred mode of transport (there
are regular shuttles to take you from here to there, if desired). Everything is
meticulously maintained. It even has its own daily paper, The Chautauquan Daily
(which ran a fairly lengthy story about our mini reunion complete with a picture
of Jack Turben introducing Tom Becker). Truly, it's a world apart--picturesque,
quaint, borderline precious, but it works very well.
Dinner that night was at the Athenaeum Hotel in a private dining room (all of
our lunches and two of our dinners were in this room, while our breakfasts were
in a reserved area adjacent to the main dining room—all of which togetherness
gave lots of quality time for good fellowship). Most of us stayed at the
Athenaeum, which dates to 1881. It sits on a tree-shaded bluff, in the middle of
the Institution's complex, a "grande dame", an elaborate Victorian wooden
building with 20+ foot ceilings in the first floor lobby and dining areas. It
has a wide veranda cum rocking chairs looking out over the green grounds, toward
the Bell Tower and to the blue Lake. There used to be many similar, great late
19th century hotels populating the Lake but, except for the Athenaeum, they've
nearly all disappeared, victims of "progress".
Dinner began with a rousing rendition of Bright College Years with
leadership from Reed Taylor (music) and Steve Wittenberg (words). The food was
plentiful, the wine flowed, good fellowship abounded, and our mini reunion was
off to a great start.
The entertainment after dinner was
in the huge Amphitheater, which was nearly
full and reportedly seats 5000. The performance was by the Louisiana Repertory
Jazz Ensemble of New Orleans. In addition to the toe-tapping good music, the
leader took care to explain the origin and background of the music played. This
was our first tangible taste of not only the excellent quality of the
presentations at the Institution but also the intellectual rapport between
audience and presenters.
The day dawned clear and bright (praise be!) and we squared away for the
first of two days of immersion in the wonders offered by Chautauqua. It is
impossible to adequately describe all that we did, let alone all that Chautauqua
offered. So, rather, these notes will focus on Chautauqua's signature series,
the Amphitheater Lecture Series, and the two lectures from that Series we were
able to hear.
To begin with, the Series divides up into a new and different group of
lectures for each of Chautauqua's 9 weeks; there's a new and different lecture
every weekday at 10:45 AM followed by Q&A. Each week is organized around a
weekly theme and this week, the 2nd of the series, was devoted to "Exploring
Our World with National Geographic". To illustrate the great variety of
matters addressed in this Series, week 4 is devoted to The Ethics of
Capitalism (there was much merriment regarding what a short week that might
be); week 5's theme is What Makes Us Moral? An Abrahamic Perspective;
while week 6 is On Cinema.
Thursday's lecture, our first, discussed the origins of man and was given by
Donald Johanson, Director of the Institute of Human Origins. He started with
Darwin (this is the 200th anniversary of his birth and the 150th anniversary of
the publication of his seminal On the Origin of Species) and took us
through the major discoveries that have produced our current knowledge of human
evolution.
He explained and showed slides detailing his great discovery of "Lucy", a 3.2
million years old fossil hominid he found in 1974 (on the anniversary day of the
publication of On the Origin of Species, no less). Johanson spent two
months a year, for several years, living in a tent and working with a group of
scientists, unsuccessfully searching for a human-type fossil in an area of
Ethiopian Rift Valley rich in animal fossils.
Then, one Sunday, when the temperature was 110 and he was walking to his Land
Rover, he chanced to look to his right and recognized a human-type bone
fragment. This, in turn, soon led to a reasonably complete skeleton eventually
determined, after extensive research, to be new hominid, Australopithecus
Afarensis, or "Lucy" for short. She was an adult, 3-1/2 feet tall who probably
weighed about 60 pounds and had the following salient characteristics:
- bipedal, not quadrupedal like apes;
- terrestrial, not arboreal like apes;
- long arms (like apes) which, Johanson said, were "evolutionary baggage" from
her ancestors' life in the trees; and
- a brain size similar to a chimp's, perhaps half that of a modern human's.
Lucy's discovery was a milestone in understanding human evolution because
she's the oldest known bipedal hominid. She has characteristics somewhere
between and ape and later hominids. She established that bipedalism predated an
enlarged brain (it had been thought that hominids became bipedal to accommodate
their large brain's ability to make and use tools, and their need to have their
hands free). There continues to be debate whether Lucy and her kin are ancestors
of modern humans or just collateral relations.
Johanson took some care to dismiss the notion that Lucy's discovery was a
matter of "luck". While it may have been lucky that Johanson looked right not
left at the crucial moment, it was not luck that he and a team of scientists
(geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists and many other highly trained
specialists) had deliberately selected that region for exploration, had been
working there for years, were able to recognize the importance of that first
bone fragment and find most of the remaining skeleton.
An arresting observation was that Lucy and her kin lived a well-adapted life
in Africa for perhaps 800 M to 1MM years, and then disappeared. By contrast,
modern humans have been around for only about 100-150M years. Johanson did not
speculate why Lucy's tribe vanished, but others have suggested that they were
done in by climate change that caused their congenial savannah homeland to turn
into the uninhabitable Sahara desert.
Turning to Q&A, Johanson was asked where race fits into the story of
evolution. He replied such divisions and distinctions are only a "social
concept" not a scientific fact. Human DNA is identical for all races. "We're all
Africans", he said, descended from a species that first appeared there and,
then, migrated all over the globe. At one time, there were 4 different kinds of
"man" existing simultaneously, including our ancestors and Neanderthals, but
"we're the only one left." Skin pigmentation is a matter of successful
adaptation to the varying intensity of sunlight—those living closer to the
equator need darker skin for protection while those who migrated north adapted
by developing lighter pigmentation to facilitate photo synthesis under those
conditions. To illustrate, nursing black babies just down the road in Ithaca, NY
have been found to develop rickets because their mothers' dark skin prevented
adequate photo synthesis.
When asked about creationism, Johanson basically avoided a direct response
simply by noting the different bases of faith-based and science-based ideas.
"Science has evidence without certainty and faith has certainty without
evidence", he concluded.
Back at the Hotel for lunch, we had a
fascinating preview of Friday's lecture
when the speaker, National Geographic photographer Mattias Klum, regaled
us with stories about his often harrowing adventures photographing nature in the
far corners of the earth. All agreed that Klum stole the show—if he ever wants
to drop photography, he has a promising future as a dramatic actor and/or a
stand-up comedian. That he talked to us at all was further proof, as if more
were needed, of the outstanding job done by Messrs.Turben and Katz in organizing
our mini reunion.
Since there was considerable overlap, there's no point in separating the
discussion here of Klum's luncheon talk and his Friday lecture. His basic goal
as a nature photographer and lecturer is to re-establish "connectivity" between
ourselves and nature. Increasingly urbanized and market driven, we've lost touch
with nature, and are on the verge of destroying much of the natural world.
That's bad for many reasons ranging from aesthetic (the loss of the beauty and
wonder to be found in nature) to the practical (the loss of possible benefits
which might yet be discovered in creatures and habitat we're irrevocably
destroying).
Klum kept us alternately on the edge of our seats and roaring with laughter
as he dead-panned his way through some of his often dangerous adventures (richly
illustrated by many of his award-winning photographs).
He began, playfully, on
Friday by taking a picture of us, the huge audience,
"because otherwise my son will never believe so many people came to hear me."
He told of documenting the endangered Asiatic lion which once roamed from the
Mediterranean to eastern India. Now here are only about 300 living in a small
national park in Gujarat, India (this assignment resulted in a cover photograph
for National Geographic). He was lying face down in the bush taking pictures of
a lioness, when an assistant signaled him that there was another lion right
behind him. Slowly he inched around and there, a few feet away, was a young male
looking like he might attack. "At that age, they are not efficient killers and
they just tear you to pieces."
When photographing meerkats in the Kalahari (another cover picture), he spent
weeks and weeks trying to gain their confidence--with such great success that
the meerkats began marking his legs with their anal scent, showing acceptance.
Klum said "It's almost like getting a medal from the King." At another time, one
meerkat climbed up on his camera. "He was looking for predators and failing to
understand that the world's most dangerous predator was standing right there."
He told of hanging all night in the top of a tree in Panama, "a smorgasbord
for mosquitoes", to photograph an elusive, arboreal nocturnal creature, the
kinkajou.
Klum's pictures and discussion of Borneo ("the island of my dreams" with so
many unique species) was particularly moving. Seventy-five percent of the
island's lowland rainforest is now gone, and he showed pictures of vast,
clear-cut areas turned into plantations to grow oil palms "so we can have potato
chips and shampoo". He described, and showed pictures of an aboriginal man whom
he'd befriended, living "like a hunted animal" with the sound of ever-nearer
chainsaws destroying not only the only home he and his ancestors have ever known
but also the hopes he has for his children and grandchildren. He talked and
showed pictures of orangutans killed as pests by clear-cutting farmers, and an
orangutan rehabilitation center where about 700 babies now live "motherless and
with no place to be." These animals have the intelligence of a 3-5 year old
human and can remember, and for years after suffer from the horror of seeing
their mothers "killed with a machete or clubbed to death."
His words and pictures and made a
powerful case for his basic point—we must
quickly and effectively set sustainability as the goal in dealing with nature
before it's too late.
These two lectures, while just the proverbial tip of the iceberg, give some
idea of the nature and quality of Chautauqua's overall offerings. Here's a
snapshot of a few of the other lectures and events many of us heard and which
are a small fraction of what was available:
- Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, a much published author on Jewish matters, gave a
series of lectures regarding The Jewish Way of Being. We heard the last
of these, Words That Hurt; Words That Heal discussing Jewish teaching
(and his own wisdom) on interpersonal relations, anger management especially;
- Rev. Dr. Peter Story, a Methodist Bishop from South Africa, discussed the
end of apartheid and, especially the church's role. He observed that,
previously, white South Africans had been living in an untenable but affluent
bubble, supported by the exploitation of the black population. He wondered if
America, and the West, might be living in an analogous bubble, untenable in the
long term, supported by exploitation of the 3rd world.
- Dr. Frederick Stowe conducted a Forum on Central Asia, arguing that
US policy regarding Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the like is fundamentally
flawed because it has a basically negative focus (defeat Al Qaeda and the
Taliban); offers no positive benefit for the lives of lives of the generally
impoverished people; and is short term ("we're fixated by an exit strategy")
which also fails to attract support from the people. These peoples have always
related on a tribal and regional basis, not a nation-state basis, but we insist
on ignoring these inter-relationships. This failure is exacerbated by the fact
that the major US agencies (State, DOD, CIA, etc) don't communicate well abut
the area. But, our "friends" such as Russia, China and Japan are making no such
errors and, overall, are dealing much more effectively with the peoples of
central Asia.
- The after-dinner concert on Thursday was by the Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra (the featured work being a brief but interesting concerto by the late
American composer, Russell Peck, which featured three percussionists scrambling
between instruments—this was in celebration of the 50 year tenure of the
Orchestra's chief percussionist, Ronald Barnett). Friday's concert was given by
country music star (or, at least, that's how he was billed), Josh Turner.
Under the heading of "other" some
played golf, some played tennis; we
explored the craft show and the book store; and we spent some time sitting in
rocking chairs on the Hotel's porch, talking with old friends and watching the
world go by.
Tom and Wendy Chittenden hosted a very pleasant reception on Thursday and, on
Friday, we had a dinner "cruise to nowhere" aboard the (fairly) large and
elegant Summer Wind, complete with a band for listening during coctails and
after-dinner dancing.
Most of us gathered for a bitter/sweet farewell breakfast on Saturday before
heading back on our separate paths. We were delighted by the many blessing of
the mini reunion—particularly "the friendships formed at Yale"—but sorry to see
it end.
Those who attended included: Walt and Antje Benenson; Kurt and Myrna Bloch;
Tom and Wendy Chittenden; Merrell and Lynne Clark; Rod and Chloe Correll; Jim
Cunningham; Becky Dunn; Paul and Karin Eisele; Charlie and Barbara Gold; Fred
and Olivia Guggenheim; John and Anne Herrmann; Steve and Judy Hopkins; Len and
Judy Katz; Ted and Karen Meyer; Ron and Elaine Morris; Dick Munn and Holley
Eaton; Vic Norton; Mike and Marianne Oberlin; Don and Mary Roberts; Sandy
Schocket; Ken Sharp; Joel and Winnie Sharp; Reed Taylor; Jack and Susie Turben;
Steve and Sally Wittenberg; and Jim and Ann Ziegler.
—Steve Hopkins
Click here to see more photos of the mini-reunion.
Past: Class Trip to Israel and Jordan (October-November 2008)
In trying to write a summary of the Y57 trip to Israel and Jordan, I'm reminded
of the joke about the flustered speaker who said, "There is so much to discuss,
I just don't know where to begin" and someone in the audience piped up, "Start
near the end."
I reject that probably sound advice
and will begin at the beginning. After
months of planning and preparation (Alan Hockstader was, as always, THE
ORGANIZER), 35 classmates, wives, widows and significant others gathered for a
welcoming reception and dinner in Tel Aviv on October 24th, the kick-off of the
two week tour of Israel and Jordan. Many had been on Y57 trips before but
nearly a quarter of them were first-timers.
Next day, we began exploring and learning. Our route was something of a
circle. After a day in the Tel Aviv area, we headed north along the beautiful
coast of the blue Mediterranean to Haifa and, then, inland to the Golan Heights
bordering Syria. Then, we headed south to the Sea of Galilee (with its many
early Christian sites) and crossed into Jordan (the Roman ruins at Jerash and
the layer-upon-layers of history at Petra were the star focal points). Crossing
back into Israel near Elat, we went north to the Dead Sea and visited the great
Herodian fortress at Masada, among other places. Our final destination was
Jerusalem, one of the world's great cities. And two weeks after we started, on
November 6th, we were back in Tel Aviv to catch planes home.
This was a truly great trip.
Many if not most felt it was the best ever (and
Hockstader has taken us to the four corners of the earth over the last decade).
The welcoming reception nicely underscored one of the cardinal aspects of the
tour, namely, the bond of friendship and affection, in the context of a
challenging and rewarding learning experience. Beyond that, there were many
reasons why this trip was so successful and, first and foremost, was the rich
history, and historical remains, of the two countries.
The truth of the adage that "geography is destiny" quickly became clear to
us. A great land bridge between three continents, with its open Mediterranean
coast, the area has seen traders and invaders come and go since the beginning of
time. Reminders and remainders of them all are there to see and touch; layer
upon layer of archaeological wonders left by successive waves—Canaanites,
ancient Jews, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Ottomans, British and, now,
modern Jews and Arabs. (Michener wrote of 15 archaeological layers or eras
dating to 10,000 BC in one valley in his classic, The Source.)
One intriguing surprise was the role of Herod the Great as the builder of
colossal, sophisticated projects. Most of us were familiar with Herod only
through the Biblical accounts of the nativity where he comes across as cruel and
treacherous. Apparently he was all of that and worse (he killed his wife and
several sons when he thought they might be trying to over-throw him).
But even paranoids have enemies and Herod had some real problems stemming
largely from the fact that he was a puppet, named King by Rome in 37 BC, not
very long after the Romans annexed the area (64 BC) ending Jewish independence.
First, he had to keep on the good side of the Emperors at a time of instability
(Octavian and Mark Anthony were struggling for control). Second, he had to
struggle to keep the locals obedient to Rome. As a questionable convert, Herod's
credentials as a Jew were suspect (or, at the very least, he wasn't from the
Jewish elite that usually ruled). He had nothing like a popular mandate or
effective local power base. Roman rule was still relatively new and resented in
many places.
One of his main strategies to solve both problems was a massive building
program (economic stimulus—sound familiar?). For example, Israel had no natural
deep-water port so Herod took on the challenging engineering task of building
one, Caesarea Maritima, which became a great city and capital of the Roman
province. Not only did this building increase the wealth of Israel, but also by
dedicating it to Caesar, he placated the Emperor (Octavian was Caesar Augustus
by this time). This was one of our first stops and there are still magnificent
Roman ruins—a theater and a hippodrome—plus Crusader fortifications and a lot
more.
Probably Herod's most spectacular and important accomplishment was rebuilding
the Second Temple in Jerusalem, largely to placate the Jews. Herod doubled the
size of the Temple Mount (a huge project involving complex design, massive
stones and thousands of workers) and, about 10 BC, erected a grand limestone
temple in the center. The Temple Mount has a rich history: it's traditionally
identified as Mount Moriah where God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac.
King Solomon built the First Temple there in the 10th century BC, which was
destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC when the Jews were forced into captivity
and exile in Babylon. The Second Temple was built here in 516 BC, after the
Jews returned from exile, facilitated by King Cyrus of Persia who had
conquered Babylon. Jesus taught there in the last week of his life (c. 30 AD).
The Romans crushed a revolt and destroyed the temple in 70 AD (some of the
rubble—huge stones strewn around helter-skelter where the Romans left them—is
still visible). This is the third most holy place for Muslims who believe that
Mohammed left from here on his mystical journey to heaven; now sheltering that
spot is the octagonal, gold topped Dome of the Rock built in 691 AD and richly
decorated in Arabic script and colorful geometric designs; and, nearby, Al-Aqsa
Mosque, built in 715. The Crusaders fought over it and the Ottomans controlled
it for centuries. Jordan took control of the Temple Mount in 1948 and Israel
took it back in 1967.
The Temple Mount is the holiest of Jewish sites, where the Western Wall or
Wailing Wall survives from the Second Temple. There were faithful filling the
space in prayer on both of our visits. Some idea of the importance of the Temple
Mount and the Wailing Wall to Jews was captured on a plaque near it:
Jewish tradition teaches that the Temple
Mount is the focal point of all Creation...
The Sages said about it: "The Divine Presence
Never moves from the Western Wall,"
The Temple Mount continues to be the focus
Of prayer for Jews from all over the world.
Bottom line, possession of the Temple Mount is one of the most difficult--and
emotional--issues today separating the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Temple
Mount was one of the last
But, for some of us, perhaps the most riveting of Herod's works were the
extensive remains of Masada, a seemingly impregnable fortress cum palace, where
one can vividly see and almost feel just what it was like to be on the receiving
end of Roman imperialism. The action took place after Herod's death. The First
Jewish Revolt started in 66 AD led by an extreme sect, the Zealots (now we know
where that word comes from). In response, the Romans captured Jerusalem and
destroyed the Second Temple, as noted above.
Then the Romans
began a mopping up action, tracking down the last handful of
rebels holed-up in the fortress of Masada in 72 AD. The fortress is located on a
plateau atop an isolated rock with nearly vertical sides, some as high as 1200
feet above the nearby Dead Sea (there's a wonderful view across the Sea into
Jordan). The aptly named "snake path" up the cliff is wide enough for only a few
men at a time and the fortress itself consists of a maze of defensive stone
walls. There was no way the Romans could successfully storm the fortress, so the
Roman general, Silva, began a siege. Looking down from the west wall, we could
see the neat, square outline of one of the deadly efficient Roman camps. And,
near it, the remains of the siege ramp Silva built starting nearly 500 feet
below and many hundred yards from the fortress. Slowly but steadily, day-by-day,
the Romans built the ramp, a remarkable feat, especially under the
circumstances. Vastly out-numbered,
The Zealots fought back as best they could and the Romans used spear-throwers
and stone-throwers to drive the defenders away from the wall. The defenders were
further hampered because the workers building the ramp were Jewish slaves whom
the defenders didn't want to kill. The battle went on for months but the ramp
kept climbing and the Romans kept coming. Finally, the Romans were able to set
up a great ram which swung continuously against the fortress wall until, at
last, it was breached early in 73 AD.
By this time, there were only a few Zealots left (around 1000). Choosing to
die as free men rather than live as Roman slaves, they set fire to their
buildings and systematically killed one another (Jewish law forbids suicide) so
that, finally, only one defender, Eleazar, died by his own sword. Masada today
is understandably one of Israel's greatest symbols; Israeli soldiers take an
oath there, "Masada shall not fall again".
And this is a good segue to another major reason why our learning experience
was so rich—increased knowledge of Judaism and Islam as well as Christianity. .
It was a moving experience to visit holy places we've heard about since
childhood—Bethlehem, Galilee, Calvary, the Wailing Wall, and more.
Regarding Judaism, those of us untutored in it were most fortunate to have
with us Alan Lovins, a rabbi for years, and knowledgeable others including Len
Katz. Our Israeli guide was also most helpful in this regard. One of our most
moving incidents came atop Mount Carmel, where the prophet Elijah is said to
have triumphed over the priests of Baal thousands of years ago. Alan Lovins read
aloud the relevant passage (1 Kings 18) describing just what is said to have
happened that fateful day when God created the miracle of the fire at the very
place we were standing. ("So Ahab sent to all the Israelites, and assembled the
prophets at Mount Carmel….")
Regarding Islam, we heard less
about the religion per se than the problems of
Israeli Arabs and Jordanians, both versus Israel and intra Arab. For example,
our Jordanian guide, a Bedouin, lived as a pastoral nomad for his first 18
years; now, he's educated and pursuing an occupation far different from his
ancestors'. This gives rise to a clash of values not unique to him as he and
much of the population try to reconcile traditional tribal and nomadic customs
(the law of the desert) with modernity. For example, some years ago, he fell in
love with and married and Italian girl, a no-no in traditional Bedouin society.
Family pressure forced a divorce and, some years later, family pressure forced a
traditional, arranged marriage. But, bottom line, he's now happily married with
kids and reunited with his family/tribe.
All of this calls for the observation that the three great monotheistic
religions have outlasted all of the empires. Each of us can draw his/her own
lessons about the durability of spiritual v. temporal (military, economic,
whatever). But, at least, the transience of the great empires reminds us of
Shelly's Ozymandias condemnation of mankind's hubris when a traveler "from and
antique land" came across the remains of an ancient emperor's statue ("Two vast
and trunkless legs of stone/Stand in the desert."):
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sand stretch far away."
The final major learning experience to be mentioned had to do with the
present and future of the region. It's a relatively small area and we traveled
extensively, covering many if not most of the important sections. There's some
topographical diversity—the hills of Galilee, as compared to the flat coast and
deserts; water is the be-all and end-all—from the lush Mediterranean coast to
the green hills of Galilee to the barren Negev and deserts of Jordan. We visited
thoroughly modern, bustling urban areas, like Tel Aviv and far different
life-styles in a Druze village, two kibbutzim and third-world Bedouin villages
in Jordan. One of the kibbutzim is in the shadow of the Golan Heights and, prior
to 1967, its tractors had to have armor to protect from Syrian bullets.
The visit to the Druze
village, located in the hilly north, was a most
interesting example of the ethnic diversity existing within Israel. The Druze
number about 1 million world wide, with most living in Syria, Lebanon and Israel
(perhaps 100,000+ in Israel). The sect's origins are not clear but it seems to
be an offshoot of Shi'a Islam (some Muslims deny that the Druze are Muslims)
dating to the 11th C.
We met with Mr. Zaydan Atshi, a leader of the community who, among other
accomplishments, served for 8 years in the Israeli Knesset, Israel's parliament,
and in NYC as part of Israel's UN delegation. Among the points he made: the
Druze have historically lived in remote places, such as mountain pockets like
this, seeking to avoid persecution whether by Crusaders, Muslims, Jews or
whatever. Since 1121, the Druze do not allow conversions or mixed marriages
(anyone marrying outside the sect is physically expelled). Not all Druze are
religious; he just became actively religious for the first time (and had his
head shaved in the process). They have no aspiration for autonomy or
independence; indeed, for thousands of years and still continuing in this part
of the world, only might prevails and the Druze know perfectly well they can't
successfully challenge the ruling power (whoever that might be). Rather, they
seek active co-existence; the Druze here recognize Israel as "their" state, just
as Druze in Syria or Lebanon identify with the nations where they live. This
particular village is 40% Christian and they've "always gotten along". The Druze
serve in the Israeli army, for example, and, as noted, he's been active in the
Israel government. Druze do not get "equal treatment" in this Jewish state but
they can live with that, recognizing there never has been and never will be
truly "equal" treatment anywhere, let alone here. There'll never be lasting
peace in this region—there's been one war after another for 5+ thousand years
and that won't stop now.
The last thought
is a good segue to the broader issues we explored regarding
the political future of the region. This topic was thrown into sharpest relief
by several excellent speakers arranged by Bob Pelletreau, Alan Lovins, Len Katz,
and John Herrmann.
A prominent Jordanian businessman said Israel was not yet willing to be
"just" in dealing with the Arabs; he gave examples from his personal experience
showing why, although he tried to work with Israeli businessmen, he thinks Arabs
can't trust Jews in business dealings or otherwise. Drawing comparisons to the
centuries of conflict it's taken to get France and Germany to live in peace, he
concluded a war between Arabs and Israelis is inevitable.
An Israeli professor and advisor to various Israeli leaders, Moshe Maoz, said
the Bush Administration, and many in America, seem to think that all that's
needed is to keep Israel strong and let nature take its course. Peace here is
much more complicated; the status quo could lead to war but there's no military
solution. True, Israel has to be strong because strength is the only thing
respected in this part of the world. Too many Arabs (Israeli, Palestinian and
otherwise) still regard Israel as "illegitimate"—there has to be an acceptance
of Israel, a re-education of the Arabs.
Beyond that basic,
there are complex issues between Israel and the
Palestinians (refugees, borders, security and, probably most emotional of all,
control of Jerusalem and, particularly, the Temple Mount), between Israel and
Syria, and between Israel and the overall Arab/Muslim community (where the rise
of Iran poses new threats and opportunities: the Sunni Moslems seem to regard
Iran as a bigger threat than Israel and, under the heading of "the enemy of my
enemy is my friend", this may present some opportunities for Israel to gain
acceptance). The speaker went on to discuss each of the problem areas but, to
mention just one salient dilemma for Israel: "the right of return" (UN
Resolution 194) for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees. To agree
would jeopardize the Jewish nature of Israel. Even granting full rights to
existing Israeli Arabs is a problem, but to do otherwise would result in some
sort of untenable apartheid system (the one-liner is that "Israel is democratic
for the Jews and Jewish for the Muslims.").
We heard a very thoughtful analysis
from Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, an Israeli Arab
who's President of Al-Quds University. He believes a majority of Arabs and Jews
want peace; that they favor a two state solution but that the leadership of both
groups is divided and/or comes from the more extreme elements of both group who
tend to see relations with "the other" as a zero-sum game. Meanwhile, back on
the ground where actions speak louder than words, Israel is slowly but
surely building the wall that segregates the Arabs, and filling the West Bank
with settlements; the two combine, all things remaining equal, to make a viable
Palestinian state all but impossible. Bottom line, Prof. Nusseibeh fears that
time is running out for a reasonable two-state solution and the likely
alternative, one state with Arabs oppressed and denied full rights, will lead to
great problems in the long and short run.
All agreed that the status quo is
not tenable, the Bush Administration's
relatively passive role has not been helpful, that US prestige and influence are
at a low ebb, but that the new Administration could play a needed and vital role
in bringing about constructive change. The current weak, divided and often
extreme leadership of both Israel and Palestine, standing alone, just doesn't
have what's needed to achieve peace. A strong and trusted external guiding
influence will be needed, in the short term at least, to bring the parties
together for serious negotiations. There was concern that the demands of
domestic issues, notably the economy, and the intractability of the
disagreements between Israel and Palestine (and all the others), may deter the
new Obama Administration from prompt and active involvement.
Two experiences vividly captured the competing pressures. It's a very short
trip from Jerusalem to Bethlehem (which is in the Palestinian section or
occupied West Bank) but, to get there, we had to get off our bus, go through
security, pass through the new, ominous and bleak 20' high cold concrete wall
into the Palestinian section and, then, take another bus (with a different guide
and driver) to our destination. And all of this had to be done in reverse to go
back to Jerusalem.
The next day, we visited Hand-in-Hand Center
for Jewish-Arab Education in
Israel (John Herrmann is a active member of the board of this organization)
located in Jerusalem. Almost every other school in Israel is segregated but this
school has equal numbers of Arab and Jewish pupils in each class and offers
bilingual, multicultural education. When we were there, a very energetic Arab
was teaching the attentive and responsive first graders the Arabic alphabet
while her Jewish co-teacher looked on, waiting her turn. We spoke with several
bright and enthusiastic older kids and some teachers who agree that getting to
know "the other" is absolutely unique in today's segregated and polarized
country. And this experience works, at least for the relatively small number of
parents and kids so far involved.
The odds against a viable two state
solution and a viable multicultural
single state alternative seem daunting but at least someone is trying.
Parenthetically, we were so impressed that our group jointly gave the
Hand-in-Hand school $1000 to help its good work and to honor Alan and Birgitta
Hockstader for all they did to make the overall trip possible.
Those who went on this trip are: Tip and Janice Atkeson; Anne Bingham; Tom
and Wendy Chittenden; Susan Christian; Rod and Chloe Correll; Jim Cunningham;
Becky Dunn; John and Anne Herrmann; Alan and Birgitta Hockstader; Steve and Judy
Hopkins; Len and Judy Katz; Bob and Sylvia Kirschner; Alan Lovins; Dick and
Holley Munn; Hal and Margo Russell; Ken Sharp; Bill and Glenn Sheffield; Dean
and Jacquie Waters; Paul Wentworth; Bill and Wendy Wrean; and Doug and Sally
Wright.
—Steve Hopkins
Past: Class Trip to Spain (September-October 2007)
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The Plaza D’Espana, Seville.
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Alan Hockstader organized and implemented the 10th of our Class’
international mini-reunions in Spain in late September and early
October. Steve Hopkins reports on this trip as follows:
There were 22 classmates and wives who participated. We started in
Madrid where we marveled at Valezquez and the other Spanish artists in
the Prado, went on day trips to Toledo and other historic centers, and
exchanged thoughts over good wine and food during late (for us)
dinners. A bullet train took us to Cordoba to see a mosque that had
been converted into a cathedral, followed by a bus to Seville and
Granada for glimpses of imperial grandeur, flamenco dancers, and the
indescribable beauty of the Alhambra. Then we flew to Barcelona with
its commercial and cultural vibrancy before the optional extension to
Bilbao, with the unforgettable Guggenheim Museum designed by Frank
Gehry, and, finally, to several cities in northern Spain along the
Pilgrims’ route, ending in Santiago de Compostela.
We could reach out and touch the sweep of Western civilization.
Roman aqueducts. Medieval castles perched defensively atop steep hills
and soaring Gothic cathedrals. Mosques and synagogues from a time of
greater tolerance and diversity, converted into Christian churches.
Seville, from which Columbus sailed and to which treasure-fleets
returned. Imperial palaces which governed the greatest empire the
world has known. Goya’s Execution of the Rioters on 3 May 1808 and
Napoleon; Picasso’s Gurenica and Hitler. Farmers carefully tending
wheat fields, vineyards, and seemingly countless rows of straight and
evenly spaced olive trees. Bullet trains, wind farms and Starbucks.
The favorite for many was Barcelona which combines pride of
tradition with thoroughly modern cosmopolitan flair. We found the many
buildings designed by Antonio Gaudi to be fascinating with his often
curving surfaces, bright colors and rich textures. In particular,
Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family) was riveting. Gaudi worked
on this enormous project over 40 years; construction was frequently
halted when money ran out; it was no where near completion when Gaudi
died in 1926 (and it’s still not completed now) but his plans were
known and have been followed. Its exterior is marked by soaring
towers, one façade dedicated to the nativity and another to the
crucifixion. Its interior is planned to look like a forest of columns.
We were so impressed that we passed the hat and donated a few hundred
dollars to the construction fund in honor of Alan and Birgitta
Hockstader to recognize all their hard work which made it possible for
us to see Barcelona and all the other wonderful sites we visited.
Overall, there were so many wonderful dimensions of the trip
friendship and fellowship; perspective on history, economics and
culture; and, even, gastronomic. But we were left with several
conundrums: after centuries of “unity”, why are there four official
languages and three major regions pressing for greater autonomy, at
least, and, perhaps, independence? After centuries of authoritarian
monarchs and church, repressive dictatorship and very little self
government, why has democracy seemingly taken firm root here when it’s
failed so often elsewhere? Why has the Spanish economy, so long a
basket case, taken off; and does it have a sustainable base? And
what’s the future given the uncertainties suggested by the foregoing
paradoxes, immigrants pouring in from Africa and South America and
altering whatever social homogeneity Spain had, terrorists bombing
Madrid’s trains, and “Al Qa’ida [urging] North African Muslims to
restore the Iberian Peninsula to the Islamic world…” according to one
English language paper printed while we were there?
Here’s the list of those who participated: Jim Cunningham; Fred and
Julie Gaston; John Herrmann; Alan and Birgitta Hockstader; Steve and
Judy Hopkins; Ron and Elaine Morris; Phil and Anne Richards; Hal and
Margo Russell; Joel and Winnie Sharp; Bill and Glenn Sheffield; Phil
and Peggy Weymouth; and Bob and Ida Wrenn.
Past: Class Trip to Morocco (September-October 2006)
Wait 'til Marrakech!
Imagine three weeks with classmates and companions under
the deep blue Moroccan sky. Imagine a university educated
Berber guide who speaks five languages including perfect
English, who is highly informed on his country’s history,
customs and gardens and has lectured at Harvard on its
architecture. Imagine sleeping in tents in the Sahara and
rising at 4AM to ride your camel to the top of a sand dune
to see the Saharan sunrise.
Marrakech certainly was the jewel worth waiting for as we
journeyed throughout Morocco. As the wonders of each city
unfolded, our guide, Mohammed, (what else) assured us that
Marrakech would be more and better. It was.
But, we did not start there. We started from the fabled
city of Casablanca, briefly seeing it through the eyes of
Humphrey Bogart and the many colonial powers who sought to
extend their empires in a country that uniquely belongs to
the indigenous tribal people.
Portuguese, Spanish and French have left their marks as
seen in the architecture and heard on the tongue. But, it
is the Arabs who have changed the people with their
religion; first by force, and then over the centuries, by
conviction of faith. There is no mistaking that this is a
Muslim country. Should you be in that half awake state at
5AM you will hear the first call to prayer followed by the
sounds of the city slowly awakening. The day starts and ends
with the clip clop of the horse, mule or donkey as it echoes
on the cobblestones of the narrow alley ways in the Medina.
During Ramadan the rhythm of life changes. The breaking
of the daily fast, when, in the evening darkness you can no
longer distinguish a black thread from a white thread, means
that the vitality of the people is renewed as night
approaches. Thus, for a month, night time meals replace
those of the day. As Joan and I were in one of the souks at
dusk, the owners invited us to share their breakfast: highly
sweetened mint tea, sweet pastries, dates and soup. Does
the invitation mean that we paid too much for our
merchandise?
The Medinas, defined by the original walled city within
the present city area, are varied depending on the century
in which they were built. Picture narrow (five to ten feet
wide) cobblestone streets bordered by tiny shops (souks) one
after another in the street level of ancient three, four or
five story residential buildings. But always the Medinas
are the center of life and commerce for the people. They
can be crowded and noisy, especially in the food souks.
There are the smells of spices and olives, the sounds of
live animals, the sights of small vendors with their mounds
of mint, honey drenched confections, fresh dates, figs,
olives, fish, meat and oddities of animal parts: heads,
hoofs etc. You are pushed along, your eye darting from the
pleasantness of color to the alarm of a heavily laden donkey
fast approaching, wanting your space in the narrow street.
This is Morocco!
Our eyes were almost always on the person in front of us
who was wearing a blue denim “Yale 1957 Morocco” hat.
Often, while we were in the Medinas, we had a local guide in
the front of our group and our trusted Mohammed in the back
watching out for the photo or shopper straggler. Mohammed
had the task of making sure that the same number came out of
the labyrinth as had gone in.
Everything is for sale and the price is whatever buyer
and seller can agree on. Many of us discovered multiple
unanticipated necessities.
The residential areas within the Medinas provide some
relief from the noise, heavy traffic and slippery
cobblestones. It is in this sector that you become aware of
high stark walls and a multiplicity of doors. There could
be a restaurant behind massive wooden doors opening into a
breathtaking palace atmosphere as found in Marrakech or the
brilliant blue doors of the coastal city of Essaouira or the
sight of a lovely young Arab girl standing in her doorway in
Fes, wondering at the sight of yet another group of tourists
invading her quiet street.
Our guide Mohammed was invaluable as a teacher and as a
friend opening up to us the thinking and culture of the
people. Hospitality is a practiced belief. We were
privileged to meet Mohammed’s family; first his father, the
retired imam of his village, and his mother at their home in
the Draa Valley and later his wife and children in
Marrakech. We were fortunate to be the guests for dinner of
a wonderful family in Fes in their newly built beautiful
large home and a few days later of the Governor of the
"State" of Marrakech where we were joined by many of his
distinguished government colleagues. Morocco is a
constitutional monarchy with a written constitution
providing many features of democracy. As we met with
various people, we were reminded over and over that it is a
society and culture that allows for the peaceful
co-existence of different ethnic groups. Once trusted,
friendships are forever joined.
Yet disturbing questions remain. Why is it that the one
influential person whom I asked is adamantly against the
state of Israel’s right to exist? Why is it that Jews are
less than one percent of the population and Christian
residents are almost non existent when each has been more
numerous in earlier centuries? And, why is the Berber
majority dominated by the Arab minority?
Morocco stimulates the senses as few countries can. The
detail of the architecture inside and out was refined
centuries ago and remains vibrantly beautiful. We
experienced the Sahara by sleeping there in tents and
viewing it from camel back at sunrise. The arid Atlas
Mountains dominated our view as mile after mile we marveled
that sheep and goats could survive. The goats have become
adept at climbing trees to gain moisture from the succulent
leaves. Amaaaazing! We savored the glory of the oasis as
date, orange and olive groves flourished.
Something else happened in those 21 days. A group of
miscellaneous 1957 graduates became a family; one caring for
another. Most had various travel ailments but we survived.
One could even say we flourished. Just as the date, orange
and olive groves flourished because of an abundant water
supply, we flourished in the atmosphere of loving
relationships. As first timers, we thank you one and all
for the welcome you extended to us. Thank you, Alan and
Birgitta Hockstader for starting this odyssey.
Wait Till Next Year!
—Dick and Joan Young
Click here to see pictures of the trip.
Past: Class Trip to South Africa (September 2005)
Having just returned from a wonderful trip to South Africa,
I thought it might be worthwhile to make other members of
the class of ’57 more aware of an idea that one of our
classmates had some six years ago and how that initial
concept has led to eight highly enjoyable and rewarding —
and, frequently, adventurous – trips to foreign shores. Alan
Hockstader proposed the idea of a Class trip to China in
1999 and as Alan stated in an e-mail he sent to all the
participants on this most recent trip:
When I proposed the first trip to China, I thought it
would be fun to go there with a bunch of my Classmates and
their wives for the purpose of sightseeing and learning
something about the country and its people that couldn’t be
learned by reading newspapers, magazine articles or books.
Fortunately, the trip was a great success and I was asked to
do it again. We have now had a total of 8 trips (2 in 2005)
and after the second one, I began to realize that the trips
had an additional and even more important dimension that I
had not thought about previously. That dimension was about
renewing and creating warm and lasting relationships with a
few of our Classmates and their wives some 43 plus years
after we had shared the experience of attending , with
utmost pride, one of the world’s greatest universities.
I’m sure that many of you have taken some of the Yale
University Educational trips open to all graduates; but the
unique aspect of Alan’s excursions is that they are only for
our class. As “first-timers” and Californians, my wife,
Sheila, and I were delighted to join Alan and his wife,
Birgitta, and 11 other members of our class and their
spouses on a remarkable three week trip this past September.
Yes, many of the 25 people were from the East Coast and 14
of them had been on earlier Hockstader trips but it surely
didn’t take long to find that all of us had so much in
common and the conversations flowed smoothly – perhaps, even
constantly – and a congenial atmosphere persisted throughout
the journey.
Alan’s experience in setting up these adventures was
certainly in evidence since the entire trip was well
planned, comfortably paced – although those 5:00 am wake-up
calls some 6 days in a row in the game reserves took a
little getting used to — and covered much of the history
and highly diverse culture of South Africa. We had excellent
local guides on each segment – Alan is quick to point out
that he is only the organizer and not “the” guide – and they
were effectively in-house professors as they related their
versions of so many fascinating aspects as to how the
country was developed and has changed throughout its long
history. As a matter of fact, Louis Willemse (our guide
during the southern half of the trip) just sent all of us a
detailed report of some 25 pages on just about everything we
had seen and heard! And one other point before outlining
some of the highlights, the cost of the entire trip was very
competitive – perhaps even some 20-25% below very similar
trips run by the commercial companies such as Tauck, Travcoa
et al. for similar levels of travel – a good deal indeed!
For any classmate who might be interested in seeing the
complete itinerary – since we stuck to it very closely – I’m
sure Alan still has a few copies. I’m sure that each of us
on the trip will have different thoughts as to the
highlights, but I’ll just mention a few of ours:
Jo’burg area: Apartheid Museum, dinner at Wandie’s Place
in Soweto, Voortrekker Monument and Union Building in
Pretoria.
Victoria Falls: Royal Livingston Hotel, elephants
frolicking in the river next to the hotel and, of course,
the Falls.
The Game Reserves: Seeing the Big Five (minus the elusive
leopard!), the excellent guides, the abundance of giraffes,
elephants, zebras, etc.
The Garden Route and the wine country: Whale watching,
lunch at Parkes Manor, the incredible Cango Caves, the view
from the mountain road looking down on Franschhoek and
Stellenbosch.
Cape Town: Table Mountain, the vibrant Victoria and
Alfred Waterfront, champagne at sunset on the top of another
mountain, Cape of Good Hope, drinks at the Mount Nelson
Hotel.
All of the above was, of course, accompanied by some
excellent lunches and dinners — and discussions that showed
clearly that we old Yalies had the right answers as to how
to solve the problems of the world if only some of the
younger Yalies and Princetonians who are currently running
the country would listen! It made for some interesting
debates that seemed to prove that a Yale education doesn’t
lead to any uniformity of thinking on political, social and
cultural issues – and certainly all the spouses were lively
participants in all the exchanges!
Just for the record I should mention who were the
energetic and enthusiastic members of our class who made the
sojourn. Merrell Clark (Lynne), Jim Cunningham – our London
representative —, Ammon Dunton (Kathy), Fred Gaston
(Julie), John Herrman (Anne), Steve Hopkins (Judy), Ron
Morris (Elaine), Joel Sharp (Winnie), Bill Sheffield
(Glenn), Phil Weymouth (Peggy), Bob Wrenn (Ida) and, of
course, Alan and Birgitta. It was a congenial and gregarious
group — with no shrinking violets among us — and I would
hope that several will write something about the trip for
our class’s Web Site as well.
One last item, Alan is already hard at work in preparing
for the next voyage – and perhaps the last one before the
Big 50th. It looks like the Class trip for 2006 will be to
Morocco, probably in mid to late September or early October
and should be about 21 days. It might also include some
areas of Southern Spain. Alan will be filling all of you in
on the details before too long – so start working on your
French and Spanish!!
That’s it for now — but stay tuned!!
—Joe Mark
Click here to see pictures of the trip.
Site designed and maintained by Christopher
Bates.
This Page Last Updated: September 25, 2009.
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