"No occurrence in time or space has the seal of forever stamped upon it," writes William D. Booth, director of Hampton University's religious studies program. "All happenings have a tenure, and in due time must exit from life's stage." Reflecting on the year's end, Booth comments on the phrase "it came to pass," reminding us that "the troubles and the triumphs of our yesterdays and of our tomorrows are fleeting." Booth urges his readers to remember that all things pass, so "neither the days of triumph nor days of trouble can unravel you." He quotes Benjamin Elijah Mays '20, who wrote, "Man must believe that however hard the road, however difficult today, tomorrow things will better. Tomorrow may not be better, but we must believe that it will be."

At the U.S. Cross Country Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, Jan. 3-10, David Chamberlain '98 will race for a place on the 2006 U.S. Olympic cross country team. "It's a matter of going out and getting it done," he said. A member of the 16-man U.S. ski team at five World Cup races in Canada last November, Chamberlain has been teaching at Gould Academy in Bethel while training for and competing in world-class Nordic racing. He is married to U.S. biathlete BethAnn Chamberlain, who is racing this week in Fort Kent at the U.S. Olympic biathlon trials. [David Chamberlain was named to the Olympic ski team on Jan. 17, joining brother Kris on the men's squad set to compete at Turin Feb. 10-26.]

Peg Olney '57 was demure when contacted about being named Mattapoisett's 2005 Woman of the Year. "It took some convincing to get her to accept," said her husband, David Olney '56. Her volunteer work includes taking part in Mattapoisett Land Trust programs, driving for the arm of the Council on Aging that provides transportation to medical appointments and service at the Historical Society Museum. "It's hard to say 'no' when people ask you to do things," she said. She and David's commitments also earned them the 2004 Philip J. Zeimetz Award for volunteer activities. "She's a totally unselfish person and extremely dedicated," said church secretary Liz Field. " 'I'll be right there,' that is the kind of person she is."

Sparks House, an eyecatching yellow building across Harvard's campus from Memorial Hall, has for 30 years been the official residence of Peter Gomes '65, Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister of The Memorial Church. The grand 19th-century residence and its resident are well-matched. Here dwells a man who lives large and whose hobby, antiquing, fills the space. In his study, photographs of Gomes with distinguished friends and colleagues abound and books are piled deep on a table. "These books are fuel for my life's work," he says. "It's a good thing I read fast." Gomes remembers being a graduate student at Harvard's Divinity School in 1967 and watching Sparks House being moved to its current location. "I never thought I'd be living in it," he says.

When it comes to sizing up the college scene, picking the right school, and knowing what you can and can't control, Leigh Weisenburger, a Valley Regional High School grad and an assistant dean of admissions at Bates, has good advice. During your visit, spend some time at a college's post office, Weisenburger suggests. "Leave your parents for about half an hour. See the action — how students interact, what they're wearing and the magazines they're receiving," she says. "Get a sense of how things operate." Weisenburger encourages students to take the traditional tours, observe classes and attend informational meetings on campus, but says that the best way to get a real sense of the campus is to find an unconfined setting for observing and talking with people.

Tennessee lawmaker Russell Johnson was in Maine in December visiting bottle redemption centers and other facilities opened because of Maine's bottle bill. In an attempt to combat roadside litter, Maine began to levy deposits on bottles and cans in 1976. Johnson has been trying to do the same in Tennessee for five years, and is introducing a bill again this year. Marge McCormick Davis '76, a Portland native, came to Maine with Johnson to work on the bill. "Everybody acknowledges that litter is worse than it ever was," she said, noting that people from outside of the state notice it, too. Johnson hopes to make Tennessee the first in its region to pass such a bill. If he succeeds, the bill would take effect in January 2007.

Jesse Connolly '01, the Democratic activist who managed John Kerry's presidential campaign in Maine and helped engineer the defeat of the effort to repeal the state's gay rights law, will now go to bat for Gov. John Baldacci. Connolly, 27, of Portland was tapped by Baldacci to manage his 2006 re-election campaign. "He has done a lot of good things in his four years, and I believe he deserves a second term. We will communicate that to the people of Maine," Connolly said. Connolly led the campaign that ended last month when 55 percent of Mainers voted to keep the gay rights law. Baldacci staunchly supported the antidiscrimination measure as it made its way through the legislative process. Last year, Kerry carried Maine with 54 percent of the vote.

Maine's public education system needs a sweeping overhaul if students are to flourish in the future, says a panel of educators, business people and politicians. The Select Panel on Revisioning Education in Maine has issued a long list of recommendations, many of which grow from a concern that Maine isn't ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century, said James Carignan '61, who chairs the state board and the special panel. Carignan said his panel set out to come up with a six-page report after three or four meetings, but enthusiasm was so high that the panel issued a 60-page report after a dozen meetings. Carignan is the former dean of the college at Bates. Also on the 15-member panel are Weston Bonney '50 and Colleen Quint '86.

Kennebec Village on Madison Avenue will gain a new store when a Dollar Tree opens in May 2006, the owner of the shopping center said Wednesday. Donald Sheldon '82, a Massachusetts developer and lawyer, purchased Kennebec Village two months ago. Sheldon said he and other retailers were concerned about vacancies there. Currently, a paint store and a restaurant are the sole occupants. Sheldon said he wants to place several stores in the old Shop 'n Save store, but prefers to fill the old Kmart space with one big store. Jeffrey Hewett, the town's director of economic development, said that Sheldon's willingness to divide the former Shop 'n Save should pay off. "Don being willing to move into smaller spaces is going to make a big difference," Hewett said.

Most non-profit officials expect 2005 to end with record-setting donations. Despite reports that Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters may have exhausted donors' giving ability, many charities have received donations of at least $10,000, with some in the multimillion-dollar range. The big donations are prompted in part by a new tax law -- passed by Congress out of concern that Katrina would hurt some charities -- that expanded tax breaks available to wealthy donors. "By having another 50 percent that I can use to offset capital gains and so on, I decided this would be the year to make some special grants to the causes I care about," said Frank Wendt of Southport, Conn., a retired investment banker and regular contributor to Bates and other charities.

Victoria Wyeth '01, the youngest member of the famed Wyeth clan, waxes ecstatic about the beauty of the bucolic valley that her grandfather, famed artist Andrew Wyeth, still calls home. "I wake up early in the morning, when the sun is just coming up, and oh, my gosh, the light!" gushes the younger Wyeth, 26. She has just finished a talk at the Brandywine River Museum, where many of her grandfather's most famous paintings of the area's snow-covered hills and weathered farmhouses reside. Outside, another Wyeth winter is just around the corner. So, too, is a major celebration of her grandfather. "Andrew Wyeth: Memory & Magic," a key retrospective of the 88-year-old artist that opened last month at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, already is drawing renewed attention to the scenic Brandywine Valley.

On Dec. 20, Ruani S. Freeman '94 of Waterville has a date with the president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse. Freeman's journey comes nearly a year after a tsunami struck Sri Lanka and seven other Asian countries. An American born and raised in Sri Lanka, Freeman poured her time and resources into the Sahana Project, a humanitarian effort she conceived to help rebuild an entire Sri Lankan village after the disaster. Rajapakse will honor those efforts during the reopening of the village of Kalamitiya, whose 31 homes were rebuilt largely with donations from Mainers. "Maine has been very much like Sri Lanka for me," Freeman said. "It's small and people know and trust each other." The project has raised $80,000 so far, about half its aim for the entire village.

A tribute to six-decade community leader C. Eric Lindell '40 will be held Wednesday at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The event is being hosted by the Lindell family and friends, including his son, Craig Lindell '68. The reception will feature remarks from individuals who will recall Eric Lindell's remarkable record of community service, which includes service to the Bristol County Economic Development Council, Housing for New Bedford Inc., the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts, United Way of Greater New Bedford, Junior Achievement, the Whaling Museum and the New Bedford public schools, where for years he read to children. Lindell came to New Bedford after World War II to work for the Fairhaven Corporation, a ladies' handbag manufacturer. He retired as resident manager of the company in 1978.

An alliance of private equity firms and the McClatchy newspaper group are both considering entering the running to buy Knight Ridder, the San Jose-based newspaper company. But a board member of Gannett, the nation's largest newspaper company, said Thursday the company was not planning at this time to bid on Knight Ridder, which faces a shareholder revolt demanding the company be sold. "Given the softness of the advertising markets across the country, I'm not sure anyone is really ready to step up and bite off a big chunk like Knight Ridder," said Gannett director Karen Hastie Williams '66, a retired attorney who has served on Gannett's board for eight years. "I think everyone is watching at this point and thinking, 'What if?' ''

The Hingham Republican Town Committee hosted a reception honoring Darrell Crate '89, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, on Monday, Nov. 21, at the Ninety-Nine Restaurant in Hingham. Now serving his second term as volunteer chairman of the Massachusetts GOP, Crate has been chairman since January 2003. He is currently the executive vice-president of Affiliated Managers Group Inc., a publicly traded asset management holding company. He is also a member of the Bates Board of Trustees and is chairman of the Bates Alumni Fund. Crate received his bachelor of arts degree from Bates and his master's in business administration from Columbia Business School. He and his wife, Nancy, reside in Beverly with their four children.

"We have to start thinking about the so-called post-petroleum economy. There's no doubt about that." -- Peter Rogers, assistant professor of environmental studies, commenting on Bates' decision to buy only electricity generated in Maine from renewable sources.

In a move designed to "practice better environmental stewardship," Bates will purchase all of its electricity from renewable energy sources in Maine, specifically biomass generating plants and small hydroelectric producers, President Elaine Hansen announced. "Bates by itself is not considered a large user by electric power suppliers," said Hansen. But working through Maine PowerOptions, an Augusta-based nonprofit purchasing consortium, "we increased our bargaining clout by teaming with hospitals, other nonprofit organizations and local governments. We know that we have a motivated campus community that will help us reduce electricity consumption as the college commits to using renewable energy from our own state." The new arrangement will reduce the college's greenhouse gas emissions almost to their 1990 levels, according to a study completed by Camille Parrish, learning associate in environmental studies.

As the holidays approach, many brace for leaner wallets. Jacqueline Wicks, president of a new Web site called PEERtrainer, offers advice about another holiday aftermath: fuller waistlines. The site enables like-minded people can monitor and encourage one another in groups to achieve their fitness goals. Wicks said the site, which is free and offers users anonymity, provides a simple, structured means for organizing participants into groups of four. Wicks, who founded the company with her husband, Habib Wicks '94, said obtaining diet and fitness knowledge was less of a problem for most people than putting into practice what they know. "All we ask of you," said Ms. Wicks, who started the site while trying to lose weight after giving birth, "is to be positive."

A Republican lawmaker has offered expanded options in Maine's DirigoChoice health insurance program, which faces GOP challenges heading into next year's gubernatorial election. Rep. Kenneth Lindell '86 presented his plan to the Legislature's Insurance and Financial Services Committee, which is looking at proposals to improve the program designed to extend coverage to uninsured or underinsured residents. Lindell calls for a combination of a low-cost catastrophic insurance policy with employee-owned health savings accounts. Lindell, of Frankfort, said it would offer a consumer-driven option in addition to the more traditional plans available. "I advanced this not as a dig to the governor or to his health insurance plan, but out of a genuine concern it is not working," Lindell said. The committee will resume deliberations on a Dirigo overhaul on Dec. 7.

Hurricane Katrina brought the politics of race back into the public eye. On Wednesday, the MU Black Culture Center at the University of Missouri will present "Public Images and Political Interests in the Aftermath of Katrina: Criminals or Victims?" The event is part of MU's 13th annual Black Culture Week, which runs through Thursday at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center. John McClendon, former director of the MU Black Culture Center and founder of Black Culture Week, will be the guest speaker. McClendon is now associate professor of African American studies and American cultural studies at Bates, and is the author of CLR James's "Notes on Dialectics": Left Hegelianism or Marxism-Leninism? and editor of the American Philosophical Association's Newsletter on Philosophy & the Black Experience.

The first St. Louis gay lawyers' association has been set up, joining the growing ranks of specialty bar groups nationwide. "A big part of this is consciousness-raising. It's easy for us to be marginalized in the legal profession," explained Jason Hall '97, president of the new group, Lawyers for Equality. "We want to provide an independent legal voice." Hall, 30, an associate at Bryan Cave LLP, said he's the only member of his firm's office in St. Louis who publicly has identified himself as gay. "We think it's great that Jason is taking a leadership role such as this one," said Betsy Bousquette, a Bryan Cave partner in New York. "Diversity is one of our firm's core values." Lawyers for Equality plans to have a public rollout in January.

A fourth generation of the Raye family has invested in Raye's Mustard, ensuring that the company will stay in the family and keep operating in eastern Maine. Founded in 1900 by the late J. Wesley Raye, Raye's Mustard Mill was passed down to Raye's son and then a grandson before going to Nancy Raye, the founder's granddaughter, who transformed the company into a gourmet mustard producer. Her cousin, Kevin Raye '83, and his wife have bought into the business and will assume its day-to-day management. Nancy Raye is approaching retirement but wanted to keep the business in the family, said Kevin, a state senator. "They probably would have removed the equipment and moved it off someplace else," he said. "But we didn't want that to happen."

For 20 years, David Beneman '80 made his living like every other criminal defense lawyer in Maine. Beginning next year he will be like no other. Beneman has been named the first federal public defender for the district of Maine. He will oversee an office that will handle the majority of federal criminal cases against people who cannot afford a lawyer. Creation of the office is a marked change in Maine's court system, which until now has relied entirely on court-appointed private lawyers assigned to indigent defendants. "Maine needs this," Beneman said. Maine's federal courts handle a small portion of the state's criminal cases, but the federal cases involve some of the most serious crimes, such as drug conspiracy cases and certain gun possession charges.

In a Chronicle ad, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation listed the recipients of its Graduate Scholarship for 2005. Among the 76 recipients named and pictured was Matteo Pangallo '03, now taking a one-year master's course on the study of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, taught jointly by King's College and the Globe Theater in London. "To every Scholar selected, every institution nominated and every institution a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar will attend, we say thank you and congratulations," the foundation stated.

At a branch of the Greater Pittsburgh YMCA, five clowns from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus juggled, flipped and twirled their way through a recent program aimed at introducing kids to the science of the circus. Dan Berkley '03, host clown for the program, has a bachelor's degree in physics from Bates and has been with the circus about a year. The program is designed to show children how much fun science can be. The clowns perform tricks to illustrate the laws of gravity, balance and rotational velocity. "There is a lot of physics in circus acts," Berkley said. The 4- and 5-year-olds at Friday's program watched with rapt attention as two clowns juggled bowling pins and another kept seven balls in the air.

". . . Capitol Hill, as it usually does, has moved on to the next crisis. I was up on the Hill yesterday, talking to lawmakers, and I was the only reporter up there asking about Katrina and money for Katrina. Reporters were talking about a leak investigation. They were talking about ethics investigations. They were talking about Iraq. They were talking about everything except Katrina. It was really stunning that this storm -- the largest natural disaster in American history -- hit just over two months ago and already Washington has really stopped talking about it." -- Bill Walsh '86, Washington correspondent for the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Attorney Amanda A. Meader '01 has joined the Real Estate Practice Group at the law firm Bernstein Shur, one of northern New England's largest full-service law firms. Her practice will focus on commercial acquisitions, sales and leasing. A Freeport resident, Meader has experience in zoning, land use and real estate matters affecting municipalities. She serves on the Freeport Zoning Board of Appeals and is a member of the Women's Law Section of the Maine State Bar Association. Meader is a 2004 graduate of Cornell Law School in Ithaca, N.Y. A native of Fairfield, Maine, she is a 1997 graduate of Lawrence High School. The firm's Real Estate Practice Group represents hundreds of small and mid-sized family-owned businesses as well as many large developers, banks and businesses.

This month Nathan Hale-Ray High School softball coach Lou Milardo '66 received what he regards as the singular honor of his life: induction into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association's Hall of Fame. "This is the No. 1 honor because it's given by your peers," said Milardo, who has a lifetime record of 532-145 as coach of the Little Noises. This will be Milardo's 30th year as softball coach at the little East Haddam school, the place where he spent his entire career, teaching math from 1968 until he retired in 2001, but staying on as softball coach. His record is legendary. His teams qualified for the state tournament 29 times, won nine league championships and won four of the eight Class S championship games they played in.

The Bates women's soccer team is gearing up for its first trip to the NCAAs in eight years. Under the watchful eye of head coach Jim Murphy '69, who also coaches women's basketball, the Bobcats are coming off of the school's first ever NESCAC championship and they know full well that Saturday's NCAA tilt with Eastern Connecticut State will only add to the pressure. But for Murphy and junior Meg Coffin, who plays both sports, competing on the basketball court and soccer pitch offers some similarities. "The fact that they can count on a right wing being on the right side of the field and at the right area is just as crucial as running an offensive play in basketball," Murphy said.

Bates College is giving students with overdue library books some incentive to help the community while avoiding late fees. The college library will forgive any fines for overdue books if the offenders bring in food donations from now until the end of semester. "We're trying to get the books back at the end of the semester, which falls right after Thanksgiving, so it's a good opportunity to get the books back and help the community," said librarian Julie Retelle. The donations will be taken to the Good Shepherd food pantry on Lisbon Street.

Phil Barr '05, a swimmer at Bates and survivor of the 2003 fire at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., rejoined the swim team and completed his senior year with 87 percent lung capacity. His leadership and spirit earned him the 2005 NCAA Sportsmanship Award. He helped set up the Station Family Fund to aid victims of the fire.

Originated centuries ago by American Indians, lacrosse is now one of the fastest-growing sports among high school students. In towns where weekends are spent carting children to athletic events and the names of top-tier colleges are stenciled on car windows, families see lacrosse as an opportunity for their sons and daughters to shine in the equally competitive arenas of college admissions and athletic scholarships. How big is the lacrosse advantage in college admissions? "In a few cases, it might make a difference," says Wylie Mitchell, Bates dean of admissions. "But it's not nearly as dramatic or different as the average family might think."

After 29 years with the Middlebury College athletic program, Russ Reilly '66 is ready to move on to new challenges. Like his grandchildren. Reilly announced that he will retire as the Panthers' athletic director, a position he has held for nine years. "It's a great opportunity for me to become more involved in my family," Reilly said. Reilly also served as head coach for men's basketball, women's soccer and golf. He oversaw the expansion of the college's athletic facilities with the addition of the Kenyon hockey arena, the Kohn all-weather field and a softball diamond, as well as the renovation and expansion of the fitness center, Pepin Gym, the Duke Nelson Recreational Center and The Bubble, which housed an indoor track and five squash courts.

The water rights of a dairy in Gooding County will be scrutinized by the Idaho Supreme Court. Since 1999, the dispute between dairyman Adrian Boer and environmentalists Lee Halper '70 and Bill Chisholm has bounced between the courts and the state water resources department. After the county approved Boer's permit for a dairy in 1999, Chisholm and Halper protested Boer's water rights transfer, saying it violated the "local public interest" aspect of Idaho water law. Halper and Chisholm argued so effectively that odors from the dairy would not be in the "local public interest" that the Legislature rewrote the law in 2003. Subsequently Boer changed his operation such that now, the environmentalists claim, the dairy no longer conforms to the plan under which it won its water rights.

"[H]er demeanor, which was a demeanor that many times reflected caution, was something that many people thought was a matter of cowardice. She had a demeanor of humility that many people would conflate with passivity. But she was far from being passive. Her humility was grounded in a real sense of human dignity. And her decision not to give up her seat on Dec. 1, 1955, was not the first time she had resisted segregation on the bus system in Montgomery, Alabama." -- John McClendon, associate professor of African American studies and American cultural studies, on civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, whose memory was honored at Bates in a gathering on Dec. 2

"I came to ski for a year. I'm still here" is the classic story of downhill mecca Jackson Hole, Wyo. The professional skiers nicknamed "skids" ("ski kids") based here have all the ambition and acuity of the sharkiest Wall Streeter. An example is freeskier Kina Pickett '97, a core skier for two film companies, Warren Miller and Teton Gravity Research. Raised in austere circumstances, Pickett learned to ski with support from a foundation called the National Brotherhood of Skiers. He ended up racing at Bates and moved to Jackson in 1997 to take a coaching job. "You have so many world class athletes in this town," he says. "But I've never felt like there was some type of competition. It's more camaraderie and respect for the mountain."

Nora Demleitner '89, who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito from 1992 to 1993 and is now a law professor at Hofstra, recalls an "incredibly tolerant" judge. "He doesn't have this narrow, set view of the law," she says. The only time she ever saw Alito upset or angry, she says, was when he thought a lawyer was misrepresenting the facts of a case. "He has no patience with lawyers when the record doesn't reflect the argument they make. He has no patience for people trying to pull a fast one."

Ben Cline '94 learned the skills he would need to serve in the House of Delegates at an early age. “As the son of an economics professor, you tend to look at everything in dollars and cents,” Cline said. Cline, who graduated from Bates with a double major in political science and Russian, spent the next eight years working for U.S. Rep. Bob Goodlatte '75, working his way up to chief of staff. "He’s kind of a political mentor,” Cline said. “We’re both solid conservatives." In 2002, Cline ran for the 24th District seat in the House of Delegates. Cline defeated Democratic contender Mimi Elrod to win the special election. Cline said that in the long run, he would like to “inject more efficiency” into the state government.

What began as a doctoral dissertation 12 years ago has evolved into a full-length history of the summer community of Poland Spring -- its people, buildings and landscape -- and later the famous mineral spring water that has become a household name. David Richards '84, assistant director of the Margaret Chase Smith Library, has blended memories of the bygone era of resorts, tourists and Victorian summer hotel culture with the beginnings of the mineral water marketplace in Poland Spring: A Tale of the Gilded Age, 1860-1900. The book chronicles the rise of the 19th-century tourist Mecca and the emergence of the "springs" phenomenon. Richards' interest in Poland Spring began 21 years ago, when he graduated from Bates, spent time in the world-renowned summer community and became fascinated with its history.

This fall, Bates reluctantly joined a small but growing group of institutions reaching a significant milestone: Its annual price tag passed the $40,000 mark -- $42,100, to be exact. As operating costs continue to climb, four-year colleges, as nonprofit learning enterprises -- many with modest endowments and fund-raising capacity -- have little choice but to raise tuition. "We hear all the time, You should copy the operating efficiencies of this company or that company," says James Callahan '65, a member of Bates' Board of Trustees. "Well, those techniques are relatively unavailable if you're trying to maintain a prestigious liberal-arts college. Our primary cost driver is having a quality faculty. You can't get a whole lot of improvement out of that. You can't outsource that."

Patricia R. Johnson was the first paid executive director of Washington, D.C.-based Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit organization that provides housing rehabilitation assistance to the disadvantaged. "I made $6,000 my first year," she says. "I worked out of my home, but of course it wasn't part time at all. The oldest of my four children was 10 at the time, and the youngest was less than a year. Our bookkeeper used to call me 'Patty with the kid on her hip' because that's how I greeted her at the door. I took my youngest son to board meetings with me." As a Bates student, that son -- John Scott Johnson '04 -- founded the Lewiston-Auburn chapter of the organization.

Maine Won’t Discriminate has hired Jesse Connolly '01 to lead the charge to protect state legislation that protects civil rights regardless of sexual orientation. Son of the late state Rep. Larry Connolly, who introduced Maine's first equal-rights legislation in 1977, Jesse worked for the State Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, a group charged with insuring a Democratic majority in the State House, after graduating from Bates. Last year he headed Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign in Maine. He is affable, connected and working well with his cohorts, a departure from the heads of the 2000 Maine Won’t Discriminate campaign. “I think he knows how to run a campaign in Maine," says Maine Won't Discriminate founder Pat Peard. "He is intimately familiar with politics in Maine, and that's just what we needed."

In honor of Eric Chasalow's 50th birthday, the acclaimed Auros Group for New Music will celebrate the world-renowned composer and Brandeis University faculty member with a concert at 8 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Slosberg Music Center. The concert will feature music from different periods in Chasalow's career, and will mark the world premiere of a new flute chamber concerto commissioned by The Serge Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress and the Koussevitzky Music Foundation. Chasalow '77, a professor of composition at Brandeis and director of the Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio (BEAMS), is a recognized leader in the field of electro-acoustic music, known best for his works that combine live soloist with electronic sounds.

Kim Alexander was a three-sport star at Greely High School. Now a Bates junior, she concentrates on soccer -- unless, that is, you consider her contributions to the women's basketball team. "She does come to a lot of basketball games," said Jim Murphy, who coaches women's soccer and basketball. "And she really gets the crowd going for us." But Murphy is glad she's on the soccer team, since Alexander leads Bates in scoring, with seven goals and one assist, and is one reason the Bobcats are so highly regarded in the NESCAC. "There aren't too many things, athletically, that she cannot do," said Murphy. "But she's also someone who practices just the way she plays in the game. . . . She's become an excellent role model for the younger players."

Subira Gordon, now a Bates senior, formed her own all-female drumming group in 1999. Drumming since she was 5, Subira was featured on the American children's series Sesame Street in a segment titled "A day in the life of Subira" and in the magazine National Geographic Kids. She has also represented Jamaica on the international stage, performing in West Africa, New York, Philadelphia and in the Caribbean. In 2000 she was the recipient of the Prime Minister's Youth Award for the performing arts. Although no longer an all-girls group, her group, the Nayamka Drummers, won the World Champion trophy at the World Championships of the Performing Arts held in Los Angeles in 2001. -- (signed) Sista P

Frank M. Coffin '40, who ran in Maine’s 1960 gubernatorial race, plans to retire next year after serving on the U.S. First Court of Appeals for more than 40 years, 11 of them as chief judge. Coffin is one of the few people to make his mark in all three branches of government. A Democrat, he served in Congress, went on to become deputy administrator for USAID, and went to the federal bench in 1965. But Coffin started out as a political operative. As chairman of the Maine State Democratic Committee in the 1950s, he was largely responsible for making Maine a genuine two-party state. Coffin was recruited for the job by Edmund S. Muskie '36, whose 1954 election to the Blaine House broke the Republican Party's decades-long dominance of Maine politics.

The Androscoggin Fund provides for a powerful payoff for students from our communities and for our communities. Now in its sesquicentennial year, Bates has served Maine students from its founding. . . . Twenty-three years ago, L.L. Bean gave Bates $250,000 to endow a scholarship fund to support students from Maine at Bates. With skilled investing, the original $250,000 has quadrupled to approximately $1 million. In the program's first year nine Maine students received awards. Of those, seven currently live in Maine: a state senator; a legal counsel to the University of Maine system; a teacher and coach; a bank commercial lending vice president; a district attorney; a homemaker; and the executive director of a scholarship foundation. -- Bates Vice President William Hiss '66, writing in the Sun Journal

The Princeton Review named Bates the "No. 1 Best Value" among American colleges and universities, a ranking that reflects high academic quality, high graduation rates and a generous financial aid program, including additional funds for study abroad, student research and other student initiatives. While we take great pride in being labeled American's "No. 1 Best Value" as an educational institution, we are more concerned about sustaining our "values" -- the beliefs and ideals that inspire what we do -- than about the rankings. And as we also begin celebrating the sesquicentennial of the college this year, we are particularly proud of how long these values have lasted and served, and how much they owe to our distinctive locale and heritage. -- Bates President Elaine Tuttle Hansen, writing in the Sun Journal

Winfield S. Brown '89 of Westford has been named vice president of administration at Lowell General Hospital. His responsibilities include overseeing the strategic planning, marketing, development and volunteers programs at the hospital. Brown holds master's degrees in business from Husson College and in health care administration from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Bates College.

For retirement, Dan Dustin '68 is saving a box of his handmade wooden spoons. He knows he'll be too old to carve them one day and figures it's better to scrimp a little on sales now and save some for the future. "When I'm 90, the stuff'll be worth plenty," said Dustin, a Contoocook resident. Dustin may always retain his Yankee frugality, but a new novel by Ernest Hebert is likely to boost his sales. The book, Spoonwood, tells a story of a man who retreats into the woods and makes a living carving wooden spoons. The book is dedicated to Dustin, who Hebert met about 15 years ago. Hebert, an English professor at New England College, called Dustin's spoons the perfect metaphor for the New England woods. Dustin agreed.

"I was glued to the coverage, like everyone else, and was frustrated to see that those of us who had so much could do so little. We were joyfully starting up the academic year up in Lewiston -- and it seemed like a crazy idea -- but it did occur to me that if there were any Maine students who needed a place to study, we might be able to squeeze them in . . . Within 24 hours we received 24 calls, and we've enrolled 17 [full-time] students."-- President Elaine Tuttle Hansen, explaining Bates' response to Hurricane Katrina. Appearing with her was one of the displaced students, Brett Chalke of Auburn.

The Memphis-based Fred's, Inc. which runs more than 600 retail discount stores and pharmacies, has named its first-ever COO. Douglas J. Tate '78 joined the company this week as executive vice president and COO. He comes to Memphis from Boston, where he has served as COO of Bell Allied Group, a national distribution and transportation services company. He has a master's in business administration from Babson College and a bachelor's of science from Bates. Fred's CEO Michael Hayes says that Tate's more than 20 years of experience makes him a strong addition to the corporate team that will help the company grow and remain competitive. Throughout his career, Tate has helped companies build revenues, improve cost efficiencies, fine-tune operations and strengthen performance. "He is a proven leader," Hayes said.

Possibly the most talented and controversial school superintendent Boise, Idaho, has ever had was John W. Daniels, Bates Class of 1876. From 1881, when he was hired as principal of the Boise school, until 1903, when he was dismissed once and for all by the school board, Daniels experienced a roller-coaster ride of near-firings, firings and rehirings. (During one of these periods out of office Daniels got a doctorate from Bates.) While the school board periodically worked to oust Daniels, he was generally favored by parents and the newspapers. Author J.D. Flenner wrote in a 1912 book of biographies that Daniels was "the ablest disciplinarian of the West and what is remarkable about his discipline is that he rules by love and not by force."

College and university administrators say the baby boom generation of parents are so involved in their children's college lives that they risk preventing their children from growing up. Today's students e-mail their papers home for their parents' inspection before turning them in, and parents in turn are stepping in to solve roommate problems and helping students pick out courses. "We tried to keep some distance between us and our parents at college. Now they are connected," said Tedd Goundie, dean of students at Bates. At Bates, parents are told the college considers the student their client, not the parent. "We say, feel free to call us but don't expect to hear a lot of information back about your student," said Goundie.

Maine undergraduates studying at colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast area devastated by Hurricane Katrina will be able to continue their education tuition-free at Bates College his fall. The liberal arts college said Thursday that students from Maine who planned to go to schools in the affected areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama can apply for emergency admission at Bates. They will be welcome to take classes for credit without charge, but room and board will be the student's responsibility, the college said. "We don't know how many Maine students this may apply to, but we are confident that we can make room in classes for them," said Elaine Tuttle Hansen, Bates president.

Each May in some Greek villages revelers walk barefoot across a bed of burning coals as part of a celebration honoring Saints Constantine and Helen. "They believe that the power of Saint Constantine -- the religious power -- allows them to do it and that that is a miracle," said Loring Danforth, an anthropologist at Bates. Danforth has extensively studied fire-walking rituals, including the event in Greece and the fire-walking movement in the United States. As interest in fire walking has grown, he said, scientists have attempted to demystify the phenomenon. But no amount of debunking can take away from the empowerment a fire walker can feel, Danforth said. "[Fire walking] can have the power to affirm one's life. It can change lives, give confidence, all kinds of things."

Dr. Matthew S. Jones '89, a board-certified general surgeon, has joined the medical staff of Huggins Hospital in Wolfeboro. Jones is a graduate of Bates College and the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va. He completed his general surgery residency at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass. Prior to joining Huggins, he was in private practice at York Surgical Specialists, York, Maine, and was a member of the York Hospital medical staff. He will practice at Wolfeboro General Surgery, Medical Arts Center.

"We try to make it a really meaningful volunteer experience, not just putting them to work. . . . Rather than two years into their experience [having them find] out that Lewiston exists, we give them an opening view of what Lewiston is." -- Kirsten Walter '00, founder of Lots to Gardens, on working with Bates first-years on a community gardening project during the AESOP orientation program

They skulk in, alone or dragged by their wives or girlfriends -- follicularly endowed fellows seeking a drastic solution to their body hair hang-ups: waxing. Spas have seen a surge over the past two years in the number of male clients willing to subject their skin to those strips of white muslin all in the name of confidence. Customers range from twenty-somethings to fifty-somethings, Wall Street types to truckers. Not all men are convinced. "Chest hair is back," says a Northwestern University student. "I want it to grow." Body hair "makes you a man. It's a maturity thing," says Bates junior Chris Robinson. "I bet it would be ridiculously painful" to take off. But he could be persuaded: "If a girl asked me, yeah, I would do it."

At Montello Heights retirement community, fiddlers ranging in age from 14 to 81 warm up their strings. Residents tap their feet and call out to one another. Young children huddle together, and a group of Bates friends chat. Cindy Larock '75 beckons dancers to the floor. If it weren't for Larock's love of contradancing, she never would have discovered this lively part of her French heritage. "Cindy builds bridges between different generations," Benoit Bourque, master Quebecois step dancer, said. "It's like a family approach, which is very, very important…" As the party drew to a close, a group of older women skipped and smiled, twirled and laughed, and when they sat down, clapped out a rhythm with the fiddlers. Now that's joie de vivre.

Bates College has been a national leader in the area of service-learning for years. That commitment stands to grow with the new Harward Center for Community Partnerships. The center brings together several of the school's existing outreach efforts, including its student volunteer program. The goals are simple to state, but more difficult to implement: Put the resources, expertise and manpower of the school into solving problems within the community. A social contract exists between a college and its host community. As Bates President Elaine Tuttle Hansen told the Sun Journal last week, in a knowledge-based economy, the kinds of skills that Bates students have to offer can be a great asset. Service-learning recognizes that connection and the potential for great accomplishments.

Evan Jarashow '01 sat staring at his computer, waiting for a class at Columbia, when he noticed a link on Yahoo's Web site for a baseball trivia contest. For him, a dream contest: answer 10 trivia questions and make a 150-word case for which big-league team made the best offseason moves.More than 20,000 people entered, but only 12 progressed into a fantasy league that commenced in July. The victor would win a job in the San Francisco Giants' front office. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime for every baseball fan," said Jarashow. But even if he wins this league, he doesn't plan to stay out West long. "I'm a lifelong New Yorker," said Jarashow, whose dream is to become Mets general manager. "Hopefully San Francisco would just be temporary."

At Bates' 1948 Sadie Hawkins Dance, Hugh Penney was minding his own business, he recalls, "until I got a sharp jab, an elbow in my side. . . . [T]here beside me was this very attractive young lady insisting I should dance with her." Lois Keniston and Penney graduated and got married in 1950. Since then, these world travelers have promoted peace, justice and sustainability. In June, on the 55th anniversary of their graduation, they received Bates' Distinguished Alumni Service Award. "What the two of us have, that many couples don't have, is the ability to talk," says Lois. "There's just a sense that we are a unit." Hugh agrees. "I couldn't think of possibly living out the rest of my life without her."

"One of the best ways to keep inspired during a job search is to use your down time profitably. Sure, the heat and exhaustion of the 'employment hunt' can drain your emotional and creative batteries. [But a] good book can spark your imagination, fire your energy and give you a boost. . . . See if you can become refreshed [by] discovering some recent books that may offer some provocative techniques, ideas or insights that have not been covered in the literature for a while. Some of these books may help keep you centered and focused during your search, inspire you a bit or offer a new perspective on the situation." -- A. Charles Kovacs, director of Bates' Office of Career Services, introducing a list of recommended books

Pacific Dream: A Pacific Crest Trail Through-Hike is a first-person account of walking the 2,657-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. It is a fascinating, thought-provoking book that ranks with the best literature on long-distance hiking. The author, John Illig, is head squash coach at Bates. For 800 miles, he recounts, his wife, Cristina, hiked with him until a fracture forced her to leave, and the book succeeds because it is much more than a description of a difficult hike: Instead, Pacific Dreams is a bittersweet account of love, mountains, high achievement and an unforgettable woman. Cristina, Illig writes, came into his life "and was engaged in the painstaking process of teaching me that life is too short to get troubled and saddened by every single conceivable thing."

Phil Barr '05, who overcame lung damage from 2003's deadly Station nightclub fire in Rhode Island, is the men's 2005 NCAA Sportsmanship Award winner. The Bates swimmer was placed in a drug-induced coma for 21 days and had only 45 percent lung capacity when he left the hospital in 2003. He returned to Bates in September 2004 after a year of intense rehabilitation. Barr was "a teammate, confidant, leader and role model," his coach, Dana Mulholland, said Friday. "I have seen courage, compassion, selflessness and determination displayed in many ways over the years, but never more than what Phil Barr displayed at Bates." The Sportsmanship Award honors student-athletes who have demonstrated one or more of the ideals of sportsmanship, including fairness, civility, honesty, unselfishness, respect and responsibility.

Andrew Byrnes '05 spent his summer in British Columbia training with the men's Under 23 Canadian Rowing team, which won a bronze medal at the World Rowing Under 23 Championships in Amsterdam last month. "It's the best crew I've ever rowed with, and definitely the fastest," said Byrnes. A member of the Bates varsity rowing team, he was named to the NESCAC All-Academic selection this year. In the fall, Byrnes will attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he will row and study mechanical engineering. Next summer, he plans to try out for Canada's top international team. "It was a great experience to row with the some of the best rowers," he said. "In the long run, I hope to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games."

Can you love the dawn and hate the day? I do./ "Addicted to the beginnings of relationships,"/ as I've been told. And told. And told. The new/ light looks as something else when it first hits,/ something more like Catherine standing up/ across a strangered room, that promising look/ she had before the promises, still stuck/ with sweetness to her face in my notebook/ of pre-day ecstasies . . . -- "Can You" by Christian Barter '90, from The Singers I Prefer, copyright CavanKerry Press, Ltd.

Despite its exploding economy, China is commonly considered a mausoleum for the broken dreams of foreign entrepreneurs. The Chinese business education of Chris Barclay '89 took 11 years. "Longevity is key," he says. "You've got to survive your failures." He endured several before having an insight that has proven valuable for many American entrepreneurs: The easiest way to prosper in China today, Barclay says, is to serve the thousands of large multinational corporations flooding into the country. In 1995, Barclay started a company offering management training for local Chinese employees of such giants as Adidas and Coca-Cola. To enhance that business, he opened a mountainside hotel near Guangzhou. Together, the ventures employ 30 full time, bring in about $2 million a year and earned about $400,000 in profit in 2004.

"Some cultural institutions are abdicating responsibility, integrity and standards for short-term goals. As a corporate culture based on growth for growth's sake has permeated large institutions, the authority of the curator has diminished exponentially. On a more positive note … look at the solid work being done in mid-size museums . . . [and] the once-stodgy museums at universities and colleges across the country. Conducting scholarship, displaying challenging work and commissioning new artworks, and with a dedication to educational programming, these museums are curatorially driven and dedicated to artists and audiences. The 'bottom line' is as paramount for them as for larger museums, yet they continually prove their capacities to manage growth in creative ways." -- Mark Bessire, Bates College Museum of Art director

Peter Cianchette announced Thursday that he will enter the Republican primary for the office that eluded him in 2002, when he lost to Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, who is seeking re-election. Cianchette was state chairman of the Bush campaign last year and was a Maine representative on the Republican National Committee. Cianchette ran well in the 2002 campaign and established a high name recognition that will help him this time around against Baldacci, said Douglas Hodgkin, professor emeritus of political science at Bates. Cianchette is in a stronger position to win the GOP nomination than two other possible candidates, state Sen. Peter Mills and former state Senate President Rick Bennett, because he is better-known and enjoys the support of the Republican mainstream in Maine, Hodgkin said.

The start of school is more than a month away, and many are still looking forward to family vacations. Why on earth would we want to think about the start of school now? "Parents may not be tuning in, but some kids are," says Michael A. Goldberg '86, a child and family psychologist in Norwood, Mass., and president of the Massachusetts Psychological Association. Thoughts of school may be triggered by class assignments arriving in the mail, by the early onset of back-to-school sales or by a child's vulnerabilities. Children don't like change, so the start of any grade can be cause for worry. Because children don't express their worry in straightforward ways, parents often don't connect it to the start of school and don't provide the support a child needs.

Plague bacteria are thought to inject so-called effector Yops into host cells. The identity of host cells targeted for injection during plague infection is unknown. We found, however, that Y. pestis selected immune cells for injection. It appears that Y. pestis disable these cell populations to annihilate host immune responses during plague. -- Cited from one of two studies by researchers at the University of Chicago, including R. William DePaolo '99, that show how plague bacteria outsmart the immune system and how the researchers produced what may be the first safe and effective plague vaccine. The other study appeared in the August issue of Infection and Immunity.

Running away and joining the circus has been a youthful American wish for more than a century. And one Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clown is living that dream. Dan Berkley '03 is a 24-year-old trained physicist who left the scientific world behind to join the circus and make people happy. Berkley spent part of his Bates career performing in juggling acts and part of it in the laboratory. After, he says, "I did an internship at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, and I realized then that I didn't want to do research," says Berkley, whose costume includes a lab coat. "It's just not for me." So instead of graduate school, he headed to the Clown Conservatory at the Circus Center in San Francisco.

Math and science are a scream for the students in the Short Term course "Roller Coasters: Theory, Design, and Properties." The students study roller-coaster design to learn practical applications of physics, and tested key concepts firsthand on a field trip to Cedar Point, in Ohio, the self-styled "roller-coaster capital of the world." Meredith Greer, an assistant professor of mathematics, Chip Ross, an associate professor of mathematics, and two students designed the course to appeal to people who might normally shy away from math courses. Still, many math and science majors also jumped at the chance to analyze coasters -- and ride them. "When the students figured out how finely tuned the rides had to be, it made it a lot more exciting to go on them," Greer says.

The Vietnamese newspaper Tuoi Tre ("Young Age") highlighted efforts by a pair of Bates juniors, Khoa Pham and Trang Nguyen, to establish a forum called VietAbroader. The forum supports Vietnamese students studying in the United States and helps other Vietnamese students who want to study there. VietAbroader also functions as a bridge linking students at home and abroad. Recently it successfully organized seminars in Hanoi and Ho Chi Min City on studying abroad. In the future, the forum's members intend to release books featuring outstanding students. Most importantly, VietAbroader will cooperate with organizations and agencies in Vietnam to design probation programs for outstanding students.

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch is expected to nominate Mark Weaver '80 of Greenland to serve as a special justice of the Hampton District Court today. Weaver, a private attorney, has served as a mediator in the New Hampshire Superior Court system for the past 10 years. He formed his own law firm, Ford, Weaver and McDonald, in Portsmouth in 1991. He focuses primarily on commercial issues. In recommending Weaver, Jill Blackmer and Philip Waystack, co-chairmen of the Judicial Selection Commission, wrote: "The commission finds Mr. Weaver to possess a good judicial temperament in that he is patient, courteous, reflective and a good listener. He is unbiased and enjoys an excellent reputation as a highly competent commercial lawyer among his peers and judges before whom he has appeared."

Money Magazine and CNN recently named Moorestown, N.J., as their Best Place to Live for 2005. The family of Naoji Moriuchi '99 has farmed there for three generations, and Naoji himself returned a few years ago, leaving a marketing career in Wilmington, Del. Now, at 29, he's a real estate agent and a volunteer fire fighter. Who can blame people for wanting to return to Moorestown: top schools, good jobs, nice homes at reasonable prices. Because no major road runs through Moorestown, sprawl stops at the town line -- which isn't to say that growth doesn't present challenges, as much of Moorestown's farmland has been lost to subdivisions.

A shifting diet of two flightless birds inhabiting Australia tens of thousands of years ago is the best evidence yet that early humans may have altered the continent's interior with fire, changing it from a mosaic of plant life to the desert scrub evident today, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team that includes Beverly Johnson, assistant professor of geology at Bates. The unprecedented ecosystem disruption is thought to have led to the extinction of Australia's large terrestrial mammals, which disappeared shortly after humans colonized the continent about 50,000 years ago. Using isotopic studies of fossil eggshells from both indigenous emus and the extinct, ostrich-sized Genyornis, the study published in the July 8 issue of Science magazine shows that the ecosystem's flora changed swiftly and dramatically after humans arrived.

Knox College in Illinois is one of the latest schools to question the usefulness and fairness of the SAT and ACT. Last month, the 1,200-student Galesburg college announced it would no longer require applicants to submit scores from either test. Knox was influenced by a 20-year study at Bates, which started phasing out standardized tests in the 1980s and made all of them optional in 1992. About two-thirds of students applying to Bates submit scores anyway, said admissions director Wylie Mitchell. The optional policy has "definitely helped us identify students who might have otherwise been overlooked," Mitchell said. And students who might not have considered Bates before now are giving the school a closer look because they like the statement the school is making.

If you're considering playing college basketball, Brian Gerrity '05 can probably help you. Scoring more than 1,000 points in his Bates career at the Lewiston school and described by coach Joe Reilly as one of the smartest players he ever coached, in August Gerrity will hold the Northern Elite Basketball Camp at Kents Hill School. The camp is designed for recent high school graduates or those entering their junior or senior years. "It's really a camp preparing guys to play college basketball," Gerrity said. Gerrity's staff includes assistant coaches from Bates and Stonehill as well as several former college players. Bates Colleges admission officer Billy Hart '02 will also be on hand to direct players on getting into the right school. "I just want to help Maine basketball," Gerrity said.

Youth sports experts are well-aware of a trend toward a new category of confrontations in athletics, clashes between parents and coaches, and they point to one overriding factor as the cause. With college costs swelling and the competition for admission to the most select institutions escalating, parents have zealously invested time and money to winning athletic scholarships or the perceived edge that a top athletic resume can bring. Such high emotional stakes feed a new irrationality in youth athletics. "There's no hard data on the level of violence, but confrontations in general are way up," said Dan Doyle '72, founder of the Institute for International Sport at the University of Rhode Island. "Parents think it is in their purview to have regular, sometimes inappropriate, contact with coaches."

For the Love of Small Scale, created by four Bates students, was a winner in the 2005 Maine Documentary Film Competition, the Maine Film Office announced. The 10 winners, chosen from more than 40 works, include documentaries on everything from the secrets of the Vietnam War to the invention of artificial testicles for dogs. The Bates filmmakers are Christina Maki '05, Craig Saddlemire '05, Ryan Sparks '06 and Joshua Stoll '05. A product of a course on environmental filmmaking, the film offers an inside look at the effects of free-trade agreements on farmers in Androscoggin County and offers ways in which communities can be actively involved in supporting local agriculture. The competition is part of the annual Celebration of Maine Filmmakers at the Maine International Film Festival, in Waterville.

R&D is the lifeblood of the pharmaceutical industry, but in the past few years many of the world's large pharmaceutical firms have been looking a little anemic. Recently the number of new drugs launched has fallen dramatically. There are several reasons for the drop. For instance, the cost of drugmaking is going up. One Eli Lilly official estimates the cost of bringing a new drug to market at $1.5 billion; others put it even higher. A recent analysis by Christopher Adams and Van Brantner '02 at the Federal Trade Commission found wide variations across companies and products: for example, the average HIV drug cost $479 million to bring to market, but the average figure for rheumatoid arthritis was $936 million.

A battle is brewing at Bates. Conservative Republican and liberal Democratic students are at odds over the student government's passage of a resolution supporting an academic bill of rights for the college. The unanimous vote on May 23 -- a few days before the end of the school year -- involved just 12 of the college's 60 student representatives. The vote thrusts Maine into the national debate between those who say there is a liberal bias in college classrooms and opponents who say such policies smack of political grandstanding and could stifle speech. Jill Reich, dean of the faculty, said the resolution fits with Bates' policies, procedures and philosophies. "If the students wanted to pass it and think it is important, that is fine," said Reich.

With an economy of words -- "Got sun to light my road/Got love to lift my heavy load/Got a roof over my head/Ever thankful for my daily bread" -- Corey Harris '91 handily synthesizes the pure, easygoing charm of his latest album, Daily Bread. It's an album that takes its sweet time, savoring each story along the way. Blues fans might remember Harris from his prominent role in Martin Scorsese's PBS series The Blues in 2003. But there's no need to relegate Harris to a single genre; he certainly doesn't. From the Malian bounce of "Mami Wata" to the reggae undertones of Sylford Walker's "Lamb's Bread," this is an eclectic affair. Fans will notice more pop flourishes than on previous recordings, but they don't diminish from the album's home-spun soul.

Jeff Lamont, in his final year at the United States Coast Guard Academy, is an experienced big-boat racer. Last October, to find out where he stood against his peers, he and two dozen teammates competed in the 2004 Intercollegiate Offshore Regatta, where student sailors race big boats while their owners come along to assist. While the team finished third, he was thankful for the opportunity to test its mettle. But thank us, say some of the owners, by coming to race with us. "Getting good big-boat crews is tricky," says Express 37 owner Bob Behringer '81, who sailed in the Corinthians regatta when he was a student at Bates. "It's hard to find people. Dinghy experience is good, but you need to learn to handle a big boat."