Unpacking College

For my 50^th reunion class book, I was asked about my college friends. I answered the question briefly. With the exception of David Tenenbaum, most weren’t class of 74.

The Tech was my alpha and omega, but specifically, my friends to this day came from the newspaper, the radio station, and the co-ed co-op where I lived, Student House.

At The Tech, I joined the late Norman Sander (my best man), Barb Moore and John Hanzel to form the UGI (The Usual Gang Of Idiots, a term from the masthead of Mad Magazine). Mike McNamee was an adjunct member. Dave Tenenbaum was my friend, my chairman and my roommate. I think I was friends with everyone else who worked there, but not as close. I am still in regular touch with all my living Tech mates.

At WTBS my close friends were Harry (now Harrison Klein still in touch, reads PSACOT), Ken Pogran (occasional contact) and John Taylor (disappeared off the face of the Earth). Student House provided my first two lovers, Sherry and Beth, as well as my exemplar of creativity, Michael Wildermuth, my freshman roommate Werner Poersch, Kevin Sullivan (a reader) and the man for all seasons, who tries to remember the joys of September, Clark Smith, who gave me my first Irish Mist, attempted to teach me to fence, taught me to cook, and has  been a good friend ever since.

My face is already red about the people I have left off.

Comments

[Robert E. Malchman]

I know what you mean about The Tech being all-encompassing. All of the MIT people I am in touch with (other than one who married a friend from high school, whom I didn't know at MIT) are a) from The Tech, and b) not from my class. The upshot is that, while I went to Tech banquets until about a dozen years ago when the arrogant, entitled, ignorant children running the organization sickened me to the point of leaving for good, I've never been to a Class Reunion. Doubt I'll go for the 40th next year, too.