Philadelphia Freedom

I have been to every Princeton reunion but not to every Wharton one. I graduated in December 1984 and have some friends in the class of 1984, but most of my business school friends are from the class of 1985. I went to my fifth reunion and their fifth, my tenth and their tenth. I decided I could skip the fifteenth, because it’s a relatively minor one and you can’t do everything. I skipped the 20th because I was newly unemployed and not quite prepared to address it (or to spend the money on it). I would have gone to my 25th last year, but I had a class. Since I had missed my own 25th, I wasn’t inclined to go to ‘85’s. But they made a big push to get people to go. And a lot of the people who I heard were going were my friends. I had gone to a Follies reunion a few years back (Follies is the student musical – I had been one of the writers and worked on props, and kept in touch with many of the Follies people) and had a great time. So, I decided to go!

I never made it to the Penn campus – that is, I had lunch with an old friend at Reading Terminal Market (I didn’t go there much when I lived in the Philadelphia area, so it was like a whole new place; now that I have been to other markets, I can compare – this one has a nice variety of offerings, lots of local flavor, and plenty of seating) and we drove by the campus just so I could get a feel. But I always like walking on the campus, and I didn’t get the chance to do that – nor did I attend any of the programs, which looked interesting but not compelling enough. My friend Mike had a party that day, so I spent the afternoon out in Narberth; I don’t go to a lot of parties these days, so this was a nice slice of life.

I usually stay with friends when I’m in the area, but since I thought the party would run late, I stayed in a hotel –my new go-to place in Philadelphia, the Alexander Inn. Boutiquey, good location (though I can’t think of exactly what neighborhood it’s in), good price. And convenient to the Wharton dinner, which was in the Loews Hotel, an art deco place that had been the landmark PSFS building. The dinner itself was fun, and the band realized that we wanted to talk and not dance, so they played softly. I saw lots of friends and was glad I went!



The next day, I had brunch with some friends and then did a little walk, looking for Phanatics Around Town. To me, everything pales in comparison with Chicago’s Cows on Parade (for that I was a bit compulsive, tracking down and photographing every cow), but it is nice to see how different places and different artists utilize this theme. Plus, I’m a big fan of the Phillie Phanatic! And it was a nice excuse to walk around the City Hall and Rittenhouse Square areas.





A few weeks ago, there was a Wharton ’84 get-together in New York City. Since I could work my schedule so that I could be there, I decided why not. One good friend (who normally lives in Oakland, so I don’t see him a lot) was going to be there, and who knew who else. It was held on a Park Avenue rooftop – very elegant. There were about 20 people there, sans spouses (more room for classmates that way). It was nice to see people – as with the class of ’85, people seem to have gotten to a point in their lives where they’re for the most part successful, happy, and not trying to impress – but I’m not sure I’ll keep in touch with anyone I saw there or go to the next gathering if it becomes a regular thing. But it did in some small way make up for not being able to go to the big one last year at Penn. All things being equal, I think I will try to go to both 30ths!