Our 33rd Year

September 8, 1999
October 6, 1999
October 20, 1999
November 3, 1999
November 17, 1999
December 1, 1999
December 15, 1999
January 26, 2000
February 9, 2000
February 23, 2000
March 8, 2000
March 22, 2000
April 5, 2000
April 19, 2000
May 17, 2000
June 7, 2000
July 5, 2000

Other Years

March 8, 2000

by Dick Prentke

35 years ago, the siren call of the NCAA basketball tournament lured Phil Reitz and Larry Ely away from midterms. The chemical engineering majors hitched from Princeton and considered it a good omen that their math preceptor gave them their first ride. They took a train from Omaha to Salt Lake City and rented a car for the last leg to Oregon. A high speed ride delivered them in time for the last half hour of the Princeton-UCLA game. Phil was able to make up both of his midterms, but Larry was permitted to make up only one of his two.

Any regrets? Where are they now? Larry recollects a great time, with no regrets. He is now the director of an astronomy research institute, the Demeter Institute in Amherst, Mass. Among other things, they are looking for a 10th planet. His research and writing about the underpinnings of ancient astronomy continues with enthusiasm despite the daunting tasks that it represents. He continues his several-decade task of writing a book on the Platonic Great Year, a cycle of 2160 years that is a turning point in time. He is embarking on a grant search to supplement his consultation income. He suggests that any classmates feeling concerned about issues connected with the Internet and the escalating global economy read Hamlet’s Mill, G. de Santillama and H. Von Dechend, David R. Godine, Boston 1977, an essay investigating the origins of human knowledge and its transmission through myth by two illustrious European academics. Phil is living in Lesterville, Mo.

Richard Weiss has been chair of the math department at Tufts since 1982 and has been writing the same book since 1995. While this doesn’t yet approach Larry’s authorial duration, the race isn’t over yet.

Lawrence Cheetham signed on to push for Bill Bradley ’65 in the New Hampshire primary as a New Hampshire Steering Committee member.

© 2000 Dick Prentke and The Princeton Alumni Weekly. Used by permission.