class
notes
Left to right: Rob Saunders ’75, Willcox Dunn ’76, and Boota deButts ’76 participated in the Pancreatic Cancer Walk in Richmond in memory of Brad Tazewell ’76.
Left to right: Tench Coxe ’76, Hunter deButts ’47, Boota deButts ’76, and Al Rhyne ’76 enjoyed a summer visit.
down to Yazoo City later this summer for remedial cotillion. (Baker reports that it was difficult, and he hadn’t practiced such charm since visiting Tommy Long at Wimbledon, but he’s glad he went.) Anyway, she and John O’s wife, Lucy, the patron saint of Class of ’77, added a lot to an otherwise homely crowd of guys. Good luck, Lisa! Before I go too much farther, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank (and this is one of the few parts of the report that is actually sincere) our reunion co-chairs, Tom Catlett and John O. Goddin, for putting this together. Our Friday evening dinner was at John O. and Lucy’s
wonderful home, which was mercifully close to the School. It was a great way to catch up with old friends, who somehow seemed to fall right back into place after years of being apart. Some of the familiar insults were resurrected, plus a few new ones. I thought for a minute there that Mike (aka Emmett, aka Max) McGee and Brac McKee were still vying for some (second place behind Caleb King, of course) academic prize. Little did I know, however, that this proximity was not going to be so advantageous, since some of us would be spending a lot of time in taxis for the
next six to eight hours looking for culture at a place called Madam’s Organ. Predictably, some of us had trouble locating it. I also have another debt to Tom Catlett, since he taught me that it’s OK not to drink all of those short, clear drinks that Tommy Long hands you. Isaac Manning taught me that not all restaurants are created equal, when you’re working from a 21-year-old mental map of 2 a.m. breakfast houses. It’s a miracle that Jimmy, Tommy, Isaac, and I weren’t eaten for breakfast ourselves. Before we made the trek into the big city, though, we had a grand time reminiscing about all the stuff that old guys like to talk about, but can’t remember the next day, due to, well, you know. I can tell you that Hank Wall and Kennon Morris were, once again, like an old married couple. John McAfee still referees the relationship effectively, though. But Hank had his hands full. Even though he’s probably given up on Kennon’s here and now, he’s working on behalf of Kennon’s afterlife. Apparently this has been a long-term project since that fateful trip to Florida they made in the ’70s. (I think that the statute of limitations will allow Kennon back into the state now.) Hank was kind enough to share some of his inspirational writing with us, which was very thought provoking, which is saying something, considering it was 9:00 a.m. on Sunday after the reunion. Am I the only one of us who marvels at the obvious goodness of Hank Wall, who is after all, still an attorney? Regrettably (for me anyway), I didn’t get to spend as much time with John Voorhees, Will Barber, Jack Schutte, Bennett Atwill, Rooney deButts, or Brac McKee, all of whom showed excellent judgment in not going out with us Friday night after dinner. (I imagine John O. and Lucy were happier with our decision though.) The combination of their adult-like entertainment decisions and choice of accommodations (Not with us on dorm…there’s a pattern here…) made the rest of us very self-conscious about our behavior (OK, once we went back to our home towns). I did get to remind Bill McIntosh how we North Carolina guys were still
EHS
The Magazine of Episcopal High School
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