61 Many of us have taken tours and cruises to interesting or even exotic places. Think of the trips to the Mediterranean, Alaska, the Far East, and Australia. Most of these operators are not terribly involved in true adventure. But we have a recent letter from Gary Busch that tells a different story. “After all these years in the wilderness, people are now interested in Africa. I just came back from Zimbabwe and Katanga last week and am heading back to the Ivory Coast and Nigeria next week. Still working as an adviser to a few African governments and several multinationals on African politics. Sold out my interest in the Sierra Leone mobile phone system. Our cargo aircraft are still flying around Africa with exotic cargos and somehow I always end up in or near war zones. That’s where the money is I am told. I am now a serial grandfather. My wife and children are all with me in London. Strangely enough they don’t travel with me in Africa. I am looking forward to finally getting to my first reunion (the 50^th). Ins’allah I’ll see you all there.”

More news concerning my neighbour and classmate John Sobke. Both of us live at The Landings on Skidaway Island outside of Savannah, GA. This is a gated community of 8,500 residents and 108 holes of golf. Each year six nominees compete for three positions on the Board of Directors. Interestingly, half of the candidates were Cornell Grads. John was duly elected and will be serving for the next three years.

One of our sources of material for this column comes from the News Forms that are submitted with the annual Class Dues subscription. Catching up on a few classmates who took the time to write we’ve heard from Patricia Dunning. She lives in San Jose, CA, having retired from IBM in 1991. Now I share a second alumni relationship with Patricia, having spent my career at Big Blue also. Currently she is spending time with The Museums of Los Gatos as a board member and treasurer while also doing research for the museums’ San Jose/Los Gatos Historical Homes Tour.

Diane Thomas Staab writes from Old Greenwich, CT. She quit her “day job” in June 2007, retiring from International Paper Co. as General Counsel - Asia. Also, David Neumann reports that he has retired from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and resides in Washington Grove, MD. David is teaching chemistry as an adjunct professor at Montgomery College in Rockville. He is also a member of the Historic Preservation Commission in the town of Washington Grove. In response to the question “What is the one thing you remember most fondly from Cornell?” he resurrects the memories of the “walk to 8 o’clock classes up the Hill.” Who can forget! Asked whom he would like to hear from in the class, he mentions Marian Slutzky.

May Lee Ling and husband Chung-Li recently moved from Hingham, MA, to Laguna Woods, CA. Along the way they visited ten National Parks on their driving trip. Now retired and active in Biking and Swimming, May would like to hear from Maureen Sze ‘62. Still actively engaged in real estate development and property management, Nelson Spencer lives in Dallas, TX. His leisure pursuits include rowing, rugby, fly-fishing and printmaking. He recounts fond memories of Zinck’s and the Johnny Parsons Club on Beebe Lake.

Nathan Kolodney wrote from his home in Hartsdale, NY, where he is retired. He was honored with an honorary doctorate from St. Petersburg Biographical Institute and has recently authored a novel and a children’s book. Nathan recalls his undergraduate Philosophy classes with Keith Donnellan, PhD ’61, and would like to hear from Linda Blaine Fleischer ’63.

A fairly lengthy note came from Suzanne Oparil, MD who continues her medical career at The U. of Alabama, Birmingham. She is involved in research in hypertension and vascular biology with emphasis on hormones and women’s health, addressing the question, “Why do women live longer?” She is serving a two-year term as President of the American Society of Hypertension, the largest professional organization in the world dedicated to the prevention and treatment of hypertension and its consequences. When not engaged in her professional pursuits she chooses to travel using her “perks” of academia. Suzanne would like to hear form Doris Markowitz Greenberg.

Ted Bier recently attended the Cornell Entrepreneur’s Program held April 22, 2008. A fellow Mechanical Engineer, Ted founded T.M.Bier & Assoc. in 1977 and has grown his firm into an industry leader in developing energy efficient climate control systems. TMBA is headquartered in Glen Cove, NY.

In our previous Class Column, fellow correspondent Joanna McCully wrote about her exciting trip to Morocco. The local paper picked up on this adventure and printed a feature story including pictures of Joanna, complete with caftan, in front of her desert tent. Try Google for the story appearing in the Daily Sun from The Villages, Lady Lake, FL, on February 5, 2008.

As always, your class correspondents need a steady flow of news for our column. Drop us a note, an email or whatever. Your input can be sent to us at: Doug Fuss, 5 Pineside Lane, Savannah, GA 31411; e-mail, dougout@attglobal.net; or Joanna McCully, 1607 Hilton Head Blvd., Lady Lake, FL 32159; e-mail, joannacelticlady@aol.com .