The following is an edited and updated description of my life so far that I submitted for the 50th Reunion Yearbook of the Class of 1956.
Career Following graduation from Amherst, a brief period studying with the Graduate Faculties of Columbia University, a longer period with the U.S. Naval Reserve on a minesweeper and a still longer one in a family import business, I went back (at age 30) to Columbia, this time to its Law School. I went on to a career first with a major New York law firm. After the breakup of my first marriage I went to Saudi Arabia with another New York firm and subsequently to London with a Saudi company. Finally I joined a major international firm for whom I opened a London office, later returning to New York. I retired in 1999.
Marriage I was married during my final year at Amherst. That marriage produced three daughters and lasted not quite 20 years. The breakup left me with effective custody of my daughters and led to a major career change (see above). I remarried during my time in London and have had two more daughters, one of whom is currently in college.
Other Interests Throughout life, I’ve found ways to keep my body and my brain active.
Sailing: I’ve won the North American championship of the Flying Scot class, a popular 19’ one-design racing class, and sailed a 29’ sloop across the Atlantic (via Iceland).
Bicycling: I’ve biked across America and done independent tours in Ireland, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. I’ve designed on-road bike routes for the East Coast Greenway. A serious accident in a bike race in 2004 put me in intensive care for four days, but I have made a good recovery.
Nordic skiing: Mainly with Swedish friends, for the last 20 years I’ve done an annual hut-to-hut ski tour, most often in Scandinavia but also in the Rockies.
Running: I began serious running while in Saudi Arabia, and I’ve done six marathons, with a best time of just over three hours.
Canoeing: I’ve taken multi-week wilderness canoe or kayak trips in the Canadian Arctic and northern Scandinavia.
Choral Singing: I’ve sung with choruses and opera companies in Saudi Arabia, London, New York and locally. I am a member of the Greenwich Choral Society. Male voices are always in demand, and since retirement I’ve been able to rehearse with several groups at a time, permitting me to perform works I particularly want to do.
Civic Involvement I’ve been elected to my town’s legislative body, the Representative Town Meeting, for 13 two-year terms and currently chair its Land Use Committee. I have served on local and state advisory bodies that focus on transportation issues, and I’ve formed a local bicycle advocacy group, Greenwich Safe Cycling. I also formed Calf Island Conservancy, a “friends” organization affiliated with a national wildlife refuge on an island off my town.
Reflections I’ve been blessed with good health, the result no doubt of my astute choice of parents. They also introduced me to sailing and bicycling, activities that gave me at an early age a sense of independence and control of my life that today’s kids don’t achieve until much later. I’ve also been lucky.
I’m lucky to enjoy physical activity and foods that happen to be good for me (e.g., whole grains, veggies, red wine, dark chocolate). I’ve been lucky, also, in making some very good choices in life (although not always for the right reasons). One of them was my choice of Amherst. Attending the Fairest College demonstrated the value of setting challenging goals for myself and standards of excellence at work and in institutional and social relationships. For their contributions to that, I thank my classmates.