It is the disquieting habit of the compilers of the twenty-fifth-anniversary reports of College classes to publish a photograph of a class member as a senior and another one showing how he or she looks today. Stephen Michael O'Donnell '76, who has made his living mostly as a TV writer, notably for David Letterman, sent in the up-to-date photograph (right) and began his report as follows: "How much lovelier to begin this summary with 'I have discarded...' As in 'I have discarded prejudices, harmful delusions, material possessions,' etc. But the truth is that what I've been doing feels more like 'accumulation.' I have accumulated books, flesh, odd warts, moles and blemishes, souvenir coffee mugs, heartaches, Bic pens, CDs, videotapes, computer disks, good art, goofy art, some happy memories, and some real stinging hard ones....Sometimes, here in my forties, I feel like some wisdom and depth is accruing to me. (Accumulating?) Other times, I feel like the same old dope."
Overseers Dis Gov
Overseers Dis Gov
It is the disquieting habit of the compilers of the twenty-fifth-anniversary reports of College classes to publish a photograph of a class...
Explore More From Current Issue
How a Harvard and Lesley Group Broke Choir Singing Wide Open
Cambridge Common Voices draws on principles of universal design.
The True Cost of Grade Inflation at Harvard
How an abundance of A’s created “the most stressed-out world of all.”
These Harvard Mountaineers Braved Denali’s Wall of Ice
John Graham’s Denali Diary documents a dangerous and historic climb.