SoCal Classmates and Guests Brave Winter Storm

Solterra Winery and Kitchen in Leucadia, California was the site of the Class of '71 Southern California winter meeting for 2014. Attending were ROB WATSON, Elyse and RICK OSTROW, Hilda and JOHN DRUMMOND, Cree and NED SCUDDER, Julie and GEOFF SMITH, Maggie and LAIRD HAYES, Carol and MARK WINE, Barbara and TOM SINCLAIR, Nancy 87 and STU RICKERSON, Susan and JOHN ARIGONI, Lisa and DON KIRKPATRICK, and long-distance award winner, RICH HOLLINGSWORTH, who parlayed a convenient "business trip" into a break from shoveling snow in Massachusetts, leaving that job to spouse KATHY MOLONY. Rich's surprise arrival only disappointed the four representatives of our Rocky Mountain contingent, who thought they had a lock on the prize, but not enough to dampen their spirits.

WILD Life participants with some barrels of the wines "tasted" at SoCal 2014 Class Meeting: Hollingsworth, Smith, Ostrow, Sinclair, Rickerson, Watson, Scudder, Drummond, Wine, Kirkpatrick, Hayes, Arigoni. (Click on photo for a larger version).

The group was excited by the prospect of Oscar coverage for Princeton and 1971 the following night, with DARLENE LOVE h71 favored to win in the Best Documentary category for the must-see biopic, "Twenty Feet From Stardom" (she won, with a tour de force, gospel-style acceptance) and, in reflected glory, Meryl Streep (though Vassar '71 she holds honorary doctorate in fine arts from Princeton) with her record-tying 18^th nomination. (See related article on this page). BILL ZWECKER and SCOTT BERG missed the SoCal Class meeting as they were in Tinsel Town participating in Oscar events.

Sharing stories - some of them even true - from college days is typical at these events, and flight after flight of wines made on the premises fostered lively conversations. Sprinkled in with stories of children and grandchildren were those about actual or impending retirements and even the rigors of signing up for Medicare! No one was contemplating such topics 43 years ago, when the burning question seemed to be, "what to do after graduation." Self-proclaimed "sorcerer's apprentice" El Jefe, who recently published his first book, Life, America and the Road, A Biker's Perspective (www.jefestours.com), remarked that the evening's meal, consisting of 7 different rustic Mediterranean tapas paired with the wines produced on site and served on large platters family-style, was "just like at Commons, but with wine, and no spooning."

Finally, before venturing out into the first big "storm" of California's "winter," the group decided upon the next gathering: September 19-20, 2014, when the Tiger football team returns to play University of San Diego. Watch this space and the Class website for further details.