The first event of this year’s Alumni Weekend – dinner at the Athenaeum on Friday night (May 17) – featured a cocktail party game in which participants were required to remember which types of drinks could be exchanged for the different colors of gambling chips they were required to purchase (“Green is for ‘premium well drinks’. . . no, wait, those are the blue chips.” “What’s a well drink?”). This was followed by another game in which everyone in the class of ’77 had to guess how many group photos the Institute photographer would take before being allowed inside for dinner (“Just one more. . . just one more. . .”). Dinner featured an entertaining after-dinner presentation on the history of the Institute by Tech archivist Judy Goodstein, whose slide and video show (“The more it changes, the more it stays the same”) featured photos of Einstein riding a bicycle and being smothered in kisses by women but, intriguingly, omitted the 1970s. Perhaps (former Caltech president and Secretary of Defense) Harold Brown had us all edited out of Tech history in retribution for Mullany’s midnight phone call to Mrs. Brown back in ‘77???
Flems & Friends in the shot above include (left to right) Doug Bourne, Chris Jensen, Kevin Gromley, Steve Hurst, Carol and Jim Seidel, Dean Sanzo, Ian and Melody McLaren, Nick Yang, Peter German, Tim and Linda Ahern.
Left to right above: Peter German, Doug Bourne, Steve Hurst.
Left to right above: Tim Ahern, Linda Ahern, Nick Yang.
Saturday morning’s Seminar Day program was followed by lunch in Dabney Gardens, where more alums hooked up.
Left to right above: Kevin Gromley, Tim Ahern, Mark Bandhauer.
Several alums then adjourned to the athletics field to engage the current Flems in a game of football (note: must remember to bring first aid kit next year). We then all moved on to a barbecue back in Fleming courtyard, where preparations for the BFP (‘P’ stands for party, you figure out the rest), the current incarnation of Interhouse, were underway. Above: Carol and Jim Seidel.
 Andy Shaindlin, Alumni Association Executive Director |  Class of '77 chair Tim Ahern |  Melody McLaren (front) and Prof. Nathan Lewis (also '77). |
After the tour, we moved on to Alumni House, where Burger Continental catered a “Greek Feast” for the class of ’77. The Old Flems returned to Fleming to bridge the culture gap with the New Flems by tutoring them on the nuances of lounge life, while the New Flems explained the protocol for scheduling a party. (Yes, it’s true – one must now fill out an application form to receive official clearance from the Institute for any party of 10 people or more and requisition the appropriate amount of alcohol to be served by a bartender to all over-21s present.) The rather bemused Old Flems responded by explaining to the puzzled New Flems how to gain membership in the 10-liter club. (All the photos taken during this portion of the weekend have been burned. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.) The Old Flems are now developing some rather ingenious solutions to the Party Application Problem, although they will probably seek legal counsel before submitting these to the Fleming Excomm. Oh, yes – for those who stayed on, there was also a very good trip above the cloud layer to Mt. Wilson Observatory on Sunday morning to see the telescopes, led by the loquacious but charming Don Nicholson, class of ’41.
Somewhere in this photo (roughly left to right) are: Chris Jensen, Lee Fisher, Jonathan Jensen, Heather Jensen, John Ernest, Linda Jensen, Carol Seidel, Peter German, Jim Seidel, Melody McLaren, Rich Feldman, Tim and Connor Ahern, Laurel German, Vince Caterina, Bobbie German, Vashta Caterina, Tom Caterina, Dan Brown. Somebody email me if you can identify anyone I haven't named here - I've lost my registration list!
Many thanks to Patsy Gougeon, Andy Shaindlin and the rest of the Alumni Association team, as well as to my fellow members of the Class of '77 organising committee (Randy Tagg, Peter German and, of course, our fearless leader Tim Ahern), Kevin Tse and the other mighty Flems for making our weekend a memorable one. See you all next time!