News from Hugh Oxnard!

I applaud Bob’s efforts to keep the blog open, although he’s probably fighting a losing battle with Facebook. I have enjoyed reading the blog, but I suppose that keeping it alive means others have to put pen to paper (figuratively). I have actually been thinking about lab school days recently. My parents are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Due to geographic constraints – they live in western Australia, I live in the Boston area, and my brother Guy now lives in Switzerland -- we gave up on the idea of a party, and instead have been contacting old friends of theirs to send letters of congratulations, reminiscences, old photographs, etc; to be made into a scrapbook for them when they visit here in June.

Our family only spent twelve years in Hyde Park, 1966 – 1978, but of course it was a large part of my life, and they still have many friends from that time. I have been looking through old photographs and exchanging letters with their friends. It’s been fun making contact with people who I have not seen in decades. But definitely challenging, since the all important rolodex is 11,700 miles away, and we’re trying to keep it a surprise. I recently spent an evening trying to locate a friend in Phoenix (unsuccessful) and in Tasmania (successful, yess!!). If your parents were friends, please ask them to send my parents a note to via my email address hcno@msn.com.

Otherwise, life ticks over here in Acton MA. We’re patiently (somewhat) waiting for spring to arrive and plants to bloom. I missed last year’s reunion because our oldest, David was graduating from high school. We now have two high schoolers and a college freshman in the family. Dan Deutsch lives nearby and we see each other occasionally. Dan is also experiencing the dubious joy of paying college tuition for his son. Also got together last year with Ann Dyrud and her mom Rose when my parents visited. Regards to all.

Come to Lab Connections--April 18, Navy Pier

Lab puts on a great party/fundraiser every year and we're trying to get more alumni to show. We can turn it into a mini-reunion if we work it right. Please consider attending if you are in Chicago, or make plans to be!

You can register online https://udarchicago.wufoo.com/forms/connections-2009/. Ask to sit with the Class of '78 group--or not!

Also check out the first ever online auction with over 150 items ready for bids from March 30 - April 15. The auction features everything from gift cards for restaurants, stores, and hotels to amazing one-of-kind opportunities such as a tour of Dr. Paul Sereno's Fossil Lab and a week in a large home in France. Check it out http://www.cmarket.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?vhost=labconnections2009 and please forward this link to your family and friends so they can win great items while supporting Lab.

Connections is just two weeks away. Please RSVP as soon as you have a chance. Questions? Call or email Lab’s Alumni Relations and Development Office at 773-702-0578 or connections@ucls.uchicago.edu.

Lab in Washington

In case you have been living under a rock for the past two years, a Lab parent was just elected to the White House. For those of you not still around Hyde Park, the neighborhood is crazy with streets blocked, and people wearing Medici "Barack eats here" t-shirts.

Many Labbies are involved, forgive me for those of you I miss:

John Rogers '76 was, of course, one of the 4 co-chairs of the inauguration itself and was announced at the swearing in, just after the supreme court. He did get a chance to introduce himself to John Paul Stevens a supreme court justice and lab grad.

Arne Duncan '8? is the secretary of education. Valerie Jarrett '73 is one of Barack's confidantes and a senior adviser.

I saw Stephen Currie at the Home States Ball and we both recognized each other, despite not having seen each other in 30 years. It was fun to catch up. Stephen has a kid at UofC of all places. He was accompanied by his mom, Barbara Flynn Currie, whom as you may know just finished impeaching our Governor.

Kevann Cooke was somewhere to be found, but I did not see her. I did see Dan Hornung, Mark and Jackie's eldest taking some time off from Yale and enjoying the festivities.

The joke in Hyde Park is that when Barack was elected President, most people wanted to know, who was going to get his Senate seat. But in Hyde Park most people wanted to know who was going to get Malia and Sasha's spots at Lab!

Keep in touch and here's to a great 2009, for you, the country and the world!

It's been too long...

Since I posted anything to the blog. I promised to keep this alive and I will with your help.

1. I went to Circuit City last weekend for their going out of business sale. What was really cool was that for all the Bose products like headphones and speakers, etc. you could push a button and it would tell you a little about the product and then play some music to try to demonstrate the awesome acoustical quality of their products (and why you should pay 2x any other brand).

Why do I tell you all of this, well because the first musical selection they pick to demonstrate Bose products is Lucy Kaplansky's cover of Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash! Very cool. So I went to all the speaker displays and kept pushing that button and put the speaker on full bore, so Lucy was resonating throughout the store. Congrats to Lucy!

BTW, I have that rendition on my iPod and highly recommend it. It is from her "Over the Hills album".