P.A. 1964
Tom Seligson
15 Bradley Street
Westport, CT 06880
February, 1998

The benefits of living in New York include visitors from out of town. I had a wonderful catch-up lunch with Steve Lerner, who was here to promote his new book: Eco-Pioneers. Five years in the writing, the book profiles a colorful collection of entrepreneurs, visionaries and local activists who've developed unusual grass roots ways of preserving the environment. Whether it's by using recycled aluminum in place of concrete, developing a form of naturally colored cotton, or living on $10,000 a year, Steve's pioneers are a dedicated group, and obviously close to his heart. Following his early days with The Village Voice, which is when I last saw him, Steve spent years wandering through Asia, and living in Vermont. He's put down his roots, championing the environment as the Research Director of Commonweal, an institute of alternative medicine. He lives in Washington with his 6 year old son, and his wife, a former U.S.A. Today reporter, who's now a cabaret singer. Veteran reporter Sam Allis is still a confirmed news hound, although no longer for Time. Sam, who's been Time's Boston Bureau Chief, has jumped to The Boston Globe, where he's now Assistant Managing Editor for foreign news. Sam's photo in the paper, announcing his hiring, shows him looking boyish as ever, albeit a bit more serious. Understandably, considering he's now covering the world.

Your class scribe should have fulfilled his journalistic duties when he reported in the last column about Pete Schandorff's heart attack. Though I did say he was now fine, I failed to share the genuine drama of our esteemed classmate's mishap. It appears that Pete, who's an accomplished actor, when he's not teaching high school history, literally keeled over on stage, while rehearsing Auntie Mame for Summer stock. After undergoing a few balloon angioplasties, and a procedure called a "stent," - at Dave Gang's Springfield hospital no less - Pete was out in a week, just in time to play the butler in an Agatha Christie play. Pete now reports that he's made a full recovery and, thanks to a new diet and exercise, is back teaching full time.

Honors were recently bestowed on several of our classmates. John Axelrod was chosen by the prestigious magazine ARTnews as one of the top 200 art collectors in the world. John was singled out, both for his varied collections - which range from art deco and Italian furniture to Latin American and African American paintings - as well as his generosity. He's donated much of his art to Yale, and The Boston Museum of Fine Art. Indeed, yours truly once witnessed John making the rounds of Paris galleries, a team of hungry-eyed curators struggling to keep up with him. John is quoted: "I'm addicted to art the same way others are hooked on drugs or gambling." Dick Wolf continues his domination of prime time television. This year Wolfie has three shows on the air: New York Undercover, Players, and, of course, Law and Order, which is now in its eighth season. The series remains one of the most intelligent shows on television, and last year finally won the well-deserved Emmy for Best Drama. Dick was also honored by the Anti-Defamation League with their Distinguished Entertainment Industry Award.

Under the Where Have they Been? department, I tracked down Bjorn Lange to Concord, New Hampshire, where he's been a legal aid lawyer for years. He now works on the Federal level, representing primarily drug offenders. "I get to see Goliath beat up David every day," he told me. Bjorn, who's married for the second time, with a step-son who's 30, said he has fond memories of his days at Andover. He recalled in vivid detail an incident during chapel, when many of our classmates, inspired by the sermon, got up and walked out. "Andover helped me understand institutional people, which comes in handy in my work," he explained. Dick Reynolds also works for the government. He's a geologist with the U. S. Geological Survey out in Denver, specializing in climate change. Inspired by our old History 4, Dick originally though he'd become an historian, but decided, while at Princeton, that he wanted to spend his time outdoors. His work has taken him to Antarctica, Micronesia, Saudi Arabia, and Mt. St. Helens right after it erupted. "It's an exciting time in geology," Dick said. "I love the challenge of solving problems." Dick has been married for 13 years, and has a 4 year old daughter.

Have a great spring, and don't forget to check out our class web site. Address is http://www.well.com/user/mmc/pa64.html