My
son, James, graduated from BU in May. I would be proud of him anyway, but he’s
overcome some extra hurdles that make me even prouder. When he first started at
BU, he was a mechanical engineering major, a reasonable choice for a guy who’s
good at math and science. But it was tough sledding for him. At first, we put
this down to the difficulty of the engineering program at BU, and it is a
difficult program, no doubt about it. But by the middle of his second year, we
realized the real problem: James didn’t like engineering. He could do it, and
he could even make himself do it, and he could probably even make himself do it
as a job. But, my gosh, why? Why make yourself do something you don’t like, if
you don’t have to?
The
summer after his second year, I told him that he had to change majors, for his
own good. I suggested he look through the entire BU course catalog and find
courses he would WANT to take. He did, and they were all in one major:
Anthropology. He talked to a couple of anthro professors, liked what he heard,
and changed majors.
Now,
there’s not a lot of overlap between mechanical engineering and anthropology,
so he essentially had to cram a 4-year-major into his 2 remaining years. He somehow
did it and, despite all the work – and he was crazy busy the whole time – he loved
what he was doing and learning. His specialty is biological (aka physical)
anthropology: he’s one of those guys who can look at a 5-million-year-old skull
and tell you that the creature walked upright, ate walnuts, and was named Vinnie.
Amazing stuff.
Not
only did he graduate, but he had a job lined up before he graduated. After
volunteering for about a year there, he landed a job at the Boston Museum of
Science. Right now, he’s helping out with their Egypt exhibit (which I saw a
couple of weeks ago: really good) and the Human Body Connection (where
my understanding is way below the ten-year-olds there). In the fall, he might
be helping them to redesign the entire Human Body Connection area.
So,
yeah, I’m proud of James!
Sorry
about missing June. I kept meaning to put out an issue, and things kept coming
up, and it never happened. I hope that didn’t mess up your month too much. ;)
The
numbers haven’t changed since last time. We still think we have good contact
information on 692 classmates, which is fairly stunning. That doesn’t
necessarily mean we have email addresses for everybody, though. So if you have somebody’s
email address, and they’d like to receive these things, let me know and I’ll
add it to the list.
Condolences
to Patricia Dewey Giarrusso, whose mother died in May.
Condolences
to Lauren Goding Johnson, whose father died in June.
In
the last issue, I was wondering about classmates who have retired already. How did
they do that? What are they doing now? How are they liking it? A few people
were kind enough to respond. Here’s what they have to say:
“As for
retirement – I feel good about retiring from one career and starting another. Hard
to imagine 4 ½ years have passed already. It is nice to be receiving an
annuity, and I enjoy the organization I work for. There’s a lot to be said for
working in a small office. I figured the time was right to plan to retire when
I did, and life has proven me right. My organization moving to Texas did not
make me decide to retire, it just confirmed my decision.” – Joe Ricci, who
worked for the Army Materiel Command for about 30 years
“I retired in
2001. I play a lot of golf and manage my rental properties. I am now looking at
new business opportunities, as I am well rested (11 years).” – Steve Wasser
“I am also
retired, from the Cranston YMCA, since 2008. Took up yoga as part of healthy
living and now am teaching yoga at another Y to all who are interested.
I chose to teach
yoga since retiring: thought this might be my last time to get in better shape.
My best advice to new retirees is to be flexible, breathe, and let go...it all
comes together. Cherish family, friends, and yourself. All this is just
temporary.” – Jean Colaneri
“I am starting
my own business this summer. I'm 61 and it's never too late to run your own
business, or start something new. I am however still considering collecting my
social security at 62, which will be in January. My new business is "The
Wizard of Carz", and I will be going to school in Saginaw MI in June to
learn auto interior repair and paint perfection, as well as headlight
restoration (which I am already doing), and windshield repair. I am going to
have to get a van and have it lettered and all, but one step at a time.
I don't know if I would ever want to fully retire unless I win a lottery. It's so hard to keep up with the ever increasing cost of things, etc.” – George Alford, who retired from the Air Force, http://thewizardofcarz.vpweb.com/
I don't know if I would ever want to fully retire unless I win a lottery. It's so hard to keep up with the ever increasing cost of things, etc.” – George Alford, who retired from the Air Force, http://thewizardofcarz.vpweb.com/
“Since you asked
about retirement in your newsletter: I retired 6 years ago. I was a liability
manager for Aetna then Travelers. My wife Lynne, who is also retired, was a
school teacher for 30 years. I guess you could say that now I am a ski bum,
sailing bum, and motorcycle bum when I am not attending to my grandfather
duties. I also spend a lot of time helping friends with their construction
projects. The word got out that I work for vodka, so I can get pretty busy. I
got to say though, the best thing about retirement is that you own your own
time. As I said, it has been 6 years since I left my profession and I have not
had one minute of buyers’ remorse.” – Bill Collinson
So,
there you have several views about retirement. Anyone else have experiences to
share?
In
another phase of life completely, Jacob Adler reports, “My big news: My son,
Luu, has just graduated from Nursery School. He's very proud now to be a big
boy going to elementary school.”
We
have lots of ways to keep in touch online, now. For example, we have a web
site:
(thanks
to Ernie Sutcliffe for starting and maintaining)
and
Facebook group:
and
a Facebook event for the last Reunion:
Check
out one or more of these easy ways to see what people are up to.
That’s
about it for me. What are you doing this summer? Regale us with your
adventures.
Ed
DeJesus
