A big hello to Colby’s new president, David Greene. Since you don’t have the benefit of knowing through experience, President Greene, I will tell you that the Class of ’87 is considered the most intelligent, thoughtful, and attractive class in Colby’s history. That’s a proven fact. Here are just a few examples: Tristram Korten writes, “I spent a month this summer on Block Island, R.I., where I speared a 45-pound striped bass in about 25 feet of water. Biggest fish of my life.” [You still fish with a spear, Tris? They now have striped bass at Whole Foods. Mental note for next time.] He continues, “My 6- and 9-year-old girls set up their first mint iced tea stand. The garden was overrun with mint; lemonade market seemed saturated. Now I’m back to my relatively new job as director/editor of the nonprofit Florida Center for Investigative Reporting, which funds in-depth reporting projects in the state.” * Jeff Russell is “happy to report that I survived dropping my daughter off at dear old Camp Colby on a picture-perfect summer day. The college looks fantastic and has amenities beyond anything we ever imagined.” [That’s true, Jeff. Though I think the new llama stables are a bit much.] “She seemed to be in her natural habitat, so I departed a happy parent ’18 and wonder where 31 years went.” * Andrew Rudman, Josh Shapiro, Jeff DiSandro, Bruce Dalbeck, Josh Goldberg ’88, and a few others who shall remain nameless until the trial is over visited New Orleans to rekindle their intimate connections with beignets and voodoo. They would like to thank the many generous citizens for their beads. * Lisa Kelly Coddington offered one correction from the last column. She said, “I have two sons. Blake is a boy. Probably a typo, but in the column he is referenced as ‘her.’” [My apologies to Blake. And to the poor typographers who trusted me.] * I want to add a quick note. We are all approaching 50 or somewhat past it, as the case may be. Now is a good time to do all those things that will take us to 100. Men, get a colonoscopy. Not kidding here. And don’t use the home kit! Former perky Today Show host and current Yahoo maven Katie Couric told me to tell you this. She’s a very close friend in my imagination. Spend more time doing the things you enjoy with the people you love. See the world. I hear Europe is an amazing country. Learn an instrument, like the lute. We need more lute players! If you are sad, reach out and tell people. Try to connect in ways other than Facebook and Twitter. Not everything can be summed up or assuaged in 140 characters or fewer. Now isn’t a bad time to pick a personal cause and support it. That cause may well be just one friend or family member who’s out of work, or abandoned animals, or your local school that’s desperately in need of art supplies. Giving a little always pays back exponentially. With the possible exception of the IRS. Viktor Frankl, who wrote Man’s Search for Meaning in addition to surviving the Holocaust, wrote that you should live your life like you already lived it. That is, do your best to imagine what your life will be like over the next 10 years, try to see what choices you could make, and then live deliberately based on your most educated decisions. But I think the best advice comes from Patrick Swayze in the classic film Roadhouse: “Watch your back, and each other’s.” This is the same man who said, while getting a knife wound stapled without anesthesia, “Pain don’t hurt,” so I think we can be fairly sure he knows what he’s talking about. Until next time, I hope all your news is good and all your hopes come true.