Yale Alumni Magazine Class Notes

      November/December 2006

          Robert B. Semple,Jr.

        Corresponding Secretary

The camera does lie, after all. I know this because somebody
took some pictures of the group that assembled outside the Bowl for
Yale's home opener against San Diego, and George Piroumoff and Herb
Hallas came out looking better than I did. Way better. So, of course,
did their wives, and Barbara McLendon, who drove us up in the same
Jeep that's been making its way up the Merritt to these games for
what seems like decades. I mention all this by way of calling
attention to Ed Greenberg's new and beautiful class web site, where
some fiend posted these pictures. The fiend was in fact Ed, and the
best way to reach the website is to Google it, typing in Yale Class
of 1959, which in turn leads you right to the site. Once there,
you'll find a link to Ed, to whom you can send stuff, although make
sure it's a good group picture or something worthy and not junk.You should find this site and bookmark it.
Ed, still an enthusiastic member of the Yale Alumni Chorus,
reports that the group toured the Netherlands Sept. 12-19, and that
among the 100 or so people on the tour were Al and Peggy Atherton,
Ed's wife Sue, and Packer and Laura Wilbur. The "Freedom Tour," as it
was named, produced concerts in The Hague and Leiden. Al also sang
with a smaller group that included graduate students from the Yale
School of Music at the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam. The next major
overseas stop for the chorus is South Africa, next June.
Dave and Betty Schneider came to town for a wedding and joined
us for a delightful dinner in Central Park, where Dave presented me
with a copy of Dick Posner's latest book, "Not a Suicide Pact: The
Constitution in a Time of National Emergency." Dick seems to produce
as many books as I do columns for this magazine. This latest
presents a worthy challenge to the charge that in its fight against
terrorism the Bush administration has unnecessarily and illegally
run roughshod over the American tradition of individual liberties.
Mr. Posner's argument is that terrorism is sui generis, demanding
tailored responses to a uniquely grave national danger that requires
a deft balance between the rights of the individual and the broader
requirements of public safety. It is, like most of his work, not
only required but entertaining reading, whether you agree with its conclusions or not.
Two short notes and then some very good news. Alex Boyle,
recently presented here as the proud father of a successful
restaurateur in Edgartown, writes to say that he, Joe Corgill and
Marc Cunningham got together for dinner in Charlevoix, Michigan, at
the Belvedere Club, where all three spend summers. And Gunnar Baldwin
and his wife are rowing again for Habitat for Humanity, this time
southward from Albany. Gunnar's vision is to row the entire inland
waterway, and so far he has covered south-to-nrth legs stretching,
collectively, from Key West to Southport, NC. his website is
<http://www.rowingforhabitat.slsoft.com.>www.rowingforhabitat.slsoft.com.
More on that later.
The good news is that Toby Tobin is on the mend. Toby had
brain surgery a year ago to remove a malignant tumor and, while
progress is slow, he is definitely recovering. Toby writes: "As few
patients survive a year after diagnosis, I am blessed with good luck,
good care and much affectionate support from family and friends whose
prayers and good wishes have certainly been an effective help in my
case." He adds: "We seem to be sliding gracefully and comfortably
toward a quiet life of rest, reading and repose, interrupted sporadically by a voyage in a sailboat."
On Aug 7, Toby and Harriet Rinse celebrated their fifth
wedding anniversary.