1962

Even as Homer, for inspiration, invokes the muse of epic poetry in the opening lines of The Odyssey, your snowbound secretary summons forth visions of the sunny Greek Isles to bridge the gap between February, when these words are written, and April, when they come to light. And suddenly, magically, with spring in the air our Tripmeister Tom Komareks Grecian adventure gets under way. Aboatload of 48 stalwart '62s poised for adventure plies the blue Aegean in search of the mighty Odysseus and his faithful dog Argos. Your most obedient scribe, duty-bound to tag along, commits to spy and report and elucidate all, but not quite yet. First ye must hearken, mates, to the compelling tales of other voices, other scribes.

Paul Weinberg, our first official scribe (1962- 67), writes from his home in Beverly, Massachusetts, that these days he is busier than ever. Formerly a military lawyer and judge, Paul claims to be fully retired now and benefiting from a 12 step program. He affirms, "I'm pleased to describe myself as a recovering attorney." He volunteers as "administrator for a small community cemetery, assisting families at some of their most vulnerable and difficult times. I find the work both emotionally draining and rewarding." Paul also enjoys "travel for pleasure, usually traveling with or to friends and relatives who mean a lot to me." He writes of a moving chance encounter during an airport layover. "I saw a soldier sitting by himself and bought him a beer to thank him for his service. It turned out he had been injured in Afghanistan and was still recovering. He was grateful for the attention but not as much as I was for the opportunity to let him know his service is appreciated."

Richard "Bing" Gordon, our third scribe (1977-1982), lives in Rowlett, Texas. "Professionally speaking," he writes, "I have spent almost four decades in education, as a college professor at Clark University, a high school administrator and a public school teacher at all levels in inner-city schools in Louisiana, New Jersey and Texas. In addition, I owned and operated a research and evaluation agency working with the N.Y.C. public schools." Bing has written a soon-to-be-pub- lished book, The Emperor Has No Clothes, which he predicts will be very controversial "since it deals very critically with race and inner-city public schools." Feeling like the messenger who brings unwelcome news, Bing expects to be attacked for opening debate on a touchy subject. "I continue to be on the front lines," he says. "I am teaching Spanish to blacks, whites and Hispanics in a middle to lower middle class high school in Texas. It is a sociologists dream [and] is certainly keeping me young."