Lousy weather aside, everything else is great. The new job with Accenture is good, Connie's only got one more semester to earn her teaching certification, and the girls are healthy and happy. There's one problem though: hardly anyone wrote to me. I've only got a few letters to relay. What's up with you all? You've got my e-mail address, how hard can it be? Just fill in the address window with coulsontony@ hotmail.com, type a few lines about life in Boston, or Tokyo or Stockholm, and click on "Send." Go on, give it try.

Chip Bailey dropped me his usual once-per-decade note to say that he'd attended Vic O'Brien's wedding in Short Hills, N.J., and saw several classmate including Diane Schmidt Reingold, Wendy Thompson and Jay Nemeth '85. You can rest easy regarding Vic's choice in spouses; Chip's daughter (8) described her, Carolyn, as a "keeper." Nice work, Vic. Congratulations on the great "catch." Vic and Carolyn are living in New York, but plan a move to the 'burbs, possibly closer to Vic's job at Pepsi in Purchase.

As for Chip himself, he has two kids, Lauren (10-going-on-30) and Chelsea (8). Ruthie has recently sold her business and is enjoying being a stay-at-home (what a joke) mom. Chip has finally resigned himself to the fact that she definitely works harder now than he does. Chip left TCW a few years ago. He was a managing director but felt like a rebel without a cause. So he went out on his own and started Westbourne Capital Management, LLC. It's been very fun for him, and incredibly challenging, but he's glad he made the change.

Chip sees Wendy Thompson frequently. In fact, over the last several years, she has spent every Thanksgiving with the Baileys enjoying their great tradition of preparing Wendy's Aunt's wild rice recipe (complete with grain from Minnesota) the night before. The Thanksgiving tradition includes "slamming through the rice and two bottles of Cakebread." I've heard of slamming shots and getting slammed, but slamming wild rice and Cakebread wine is a new one on me. Next Thanksgiving let's ALL do it and make it a tradition for the entire class of '87. Wouldn't that be cool? And we can all toast Chip and Wendy every year for starting the tradition. Then one Thanksgiving years from now, when our children's children are slamming wild rice and Cakebread someone will ask "who the hell are Chip and Wendy and why are we slamming wild rice and Cakebread?" Ah, if they only knew. So it goes with traditions. For the rice recipe you can reach Chip at cobailey@ westbourne.com.

Aside from attending his wedding, Chip sees Vic regularly. Every fall they either go on a bike or hiking trip. Last fall it was Wyoming. Chip speaks with John Bonczek regularly, too. He and Cathy recently moved out to Stamford, Conn., after living in NYC for a "zillion" years. Chip also reports that Jack Blackstock has left Wall Street and is now SVP, investor relations of TYCO. That's about it from Chip. Thanks Chip, I look forward to hearing from you again in '11.

Lisa Eckstrom (nee Danyluk): can someone please send me a note and tell me where this Œnee' comes from? I've been hearing it all my life and never understood it. It would be one of those "unanswered life's questions" finally answered for me. Anyway, Lisa's in Washington, D.C., along with half of our class that has moved there from the San Francisco area -- from the Bay to the Beltway. Ann Schaefer (Reid) has moved, Melody Jeffries (Casperson), all right she's in Virginia Beach if truth be told, and rumor has it that Karen Marshall might be migrating east as well.

So what's Lisa up to in D.C.? No, she didn't move there to be a "govie" (and "revert to wearing floppy bow ties and sneakers with a business suit"). She's found her "dream job" running a development business for the National Park Foundation (not to be confused with the National Park Service), a non-profit organization dedicated to raising money to protect and preserve the heritage of our National Parks. Lisa complains about having to travel to squalid destinations like Yellowstone and Denali, but someone's gotta do it. To find out how you can make the move to D.C. and find your dream job, write to Lisa at lisaeckstrom@yahoo.com.

There's some kind of "Lisa conspiracy" going on I think. I don't hear from any Lisas for years, and then all at once I get two Lisa letters! This one is from Lisa Kennedy (nee! Lombardi). She congratulates me on managing to keep the same e-mail address for two consecutive Kellogg Worlds and goes on to report that she and her hubby, Ray, moved to Indianapolis seven years ago. She did some consulting, then worked as director of member services for USA Gymnastics for a year. Fun, but in '97 when Mara was born, Lisa had no difficulty in "retiring." Two years later Conor came along. (It kills me how parents, myself included, describe the arrival of children in such passive terms. Genny was born, Cate came along. How could something so physically traumatic and life-changing be described in passive terms? But there it is, proof that parents live in total denial of the havoc that these little creatures wreak upon our lives.)

Lisa sheepishly admits that she and Ray are committed to Indy because they've started designing a new house on a lake outside town. Look, Lisa, when California falls into the ocean, and the West runs out of water and burns up, and the East Coast gets nuked by extremists of one kind or another, you'll be damn glad you picked Indy. There's nothing wrong with showing a little Indy pride! Go Colts! Lisa keeps in touch with Jill Shugart (nee! Nicholas). They partied on their 40th birthdays in Florida last fall. Lisa also says all is well with Ellen Howse (nee! Garbow) who lives in the New York area. You can reach Lisa at lisakennedy1@home.com.

Well, I'm all out of news and "nees." I hope you're all healthy, happy and wise, and I look forward to hearing from more of you deadbeats next time.