Pop Music, La Paz and the Patriots

Fall 2023
Illustrations by Delphine Lee

1950s

“I relished the opportunity to answer the question from Pete Shannon ’53 (BA): ‘How do you know when you are getting really, really old?’ My answers: when you are older than your vintage wine; when you remember seeing Rice win the Southwest Conference; when you recall Houston’s professional baseball team as the Houston Buffs or Colt .45s; when you name your new pet the same as the previous one; when your kids are retiring.” — Contributed by Bob Kirkham ’53 (BS, 1954)

1960s

“I have retired but continue to consult on metallurgical issues. I value my technical language education, begun at Rice, for applications like testifying, en español, before the deputy superintendent of hydrocarbons, La Paz, Bolivia; preparation of a lettre de réserve, at the request of African client counsel, for the Superior Court of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; and as German technical translator for civil cases.”  — Contributed by Walter Mark Buehler ’68 (Hanszen: BA)

1970s

“My main eighth-decade project is my pop music blog, which I started writing in 2009, called 2 or 3 Lines. I’ve written almost 2,000 posts to date — including two featuring the art of our classmate, Kathryn Dunlevie ’74 (Jones: BA).” — Contributed by Gary Hailey ’74 (Wiess: BA)

1980s

“Last fall, I threw off the corporate yoke, venturing into modeling, voiceover and acting for TV, film and commercial ads for U.S. and Canadian markets. Less stress, more integrity and my No. 1 responsibility now is staying healthy and fit!” — Contributed by class recorder David Phillips ’85 (Wiess: BA)

2010s

“After spending the last four years with the Denver Broncos, I just signed a two-year contract extension with the New England Patriots! Combine that with the fact I got married in fall 2022, and one could say I’ve grown up a lot in recent months. My wife is a Cambridge graduate, so I’ve been doing my best to indoctrinate her into believing we have the superior university. We have Unconventional Wisdom in this household!” — Contributed by Calvin Anderson ’18 (Brown: BA)

To submit a Classnote to Owlmanac, contact your class recorder or log on to the Rice Portal at riceconnect.rice.edu and click “Submit a Classnote.” Excerpts from Owlmanac may be edited for length.