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Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson, Sep 11, 2024

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter.

Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter—a period marked by tragic errors and miscommunications, enflamed egos and craven ambitions, personal tragedies and betrayals. Lincoln himself wrote that the trials of these five months were “so great that, could I have anticipated them, I would not have believed it possible to survive them.”

At the heart of this suspense-filled narrative are Major Robert Anderson, Sumter’s commander and a former slave owner sympathetic to the South but loyal to the Union; Edmund Ruffin, a vain and bloodthirsty radical who stirs secessionist ardor at every opportunity; and Mary Boykin Chesnut, wife of a prominent planter, conflicted over both marriage and slavery and seeing parallels between them. In the middle of it all is the overwhelmed Lincoln, battling with his duplicitous secretary of state, William Seward, as he tries desperately to avert a war that he fears is inevitable—one that will eventually kill 750,000 Americans.

Drawing on diaries, secret communiques, slave ledgers, and plantation records, Larson gives us a political horror story that captures the forces that led America to the brink—a dark reminder that we often don’t see a cataclysm coming until it’s too late.

Bowman, Kirk

My wife, Laura, and I moved to Rowayton a little over two and a half years ago from Healdsburg, California. We left Healdsburg, located in the Sonoma Country wine country, because the fires they were having there were beginning to look like annual events. We moved here to be closer to our only grandchild, grandson Sam, and his mother, Alison, who live in Chappaqua, NY.  We have another daughter, Amy, who will soon be moving back to the States from Belgium with her husband, A J, who is retiring from the Air Force as an intelligence officer who was on loan to NATO.

I was born in Oakland, California in 1941 but  grew up on a 12 acre property near Walnut Creek, CA on which we had 250 walnut trees. I graduated from the University of the Pacific, located in Stockton, CA in 1962 with a degree in international relations. It is at Pacific where I met Laura, my wonderful wife of 60 years.

After receiving my MBA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967 we moved to Chicago where I began my career in venture capital at The First National Bank of Chicago. We moved back to California in 1972  when I joined Bank of America’s venture capital subsidiary. From there I became a partner at WestVen which was co-founded by Weiss, Peck& Greer and BankAmerica Corporation. I joined Hambrecht & Quist in 1981 where I and three partners ran its venture capital operation. In 1985, one of my H&Q partners, Grant Inman, and I co- founded Inman & Bowman which we successfully ran until 1998. After retiring, I made a number of private investments and participated in a number of volunteer activities including the Board of Regents at the University of the Pacific and board member of the Healdsburg Education Foundation.

Over the years, I have enjoyed golf in many places around the world, but I don’t play much any more. Being an avid golfer and a good golfer are two separate things, and I would describe my golf game as “30 years of beginning golf.” My wife and I started taking bridge lessons at the DCA shortly after moving here and are enjoying bridge very much. However, it is beginning to have that feeling of ” 30 years of beginning bridge.” We also enjoy travel, and reading is another of our common interests .
 

Book Club: The New China Playbook by Keyu Jin, May 8, 2024

“China’s economy has been booming for decades now. Keyu Jin, an economist who was born in China and educated in the United States, brings her fluency in Eastern and Western cultures together to offer an explanation of how China became such a successful economic story. This book is a guide to the Chinese economy as it has shifted from being based primarily on state-owned enterprise to being based on entrepreneurship and participation in the global economy”–

An Evening of Jazz, April 17, 2024

Wednesday, April 17, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.

The DMA will present an evening of jazz music with five members of the Norwalk  Symphony Orchestra at the Annex Building of St. Luke’s church in Darien. Prior to  the concert we will provide wine, beverages and delicious hors d’oeuvres prepared  by the well-known caterer, Carolyn Eddie. The music will begin at 7:30 p.m. These  talented members of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra are looking forward to  entertaining our members and guests with great selections of Jazz music. The cost is $35 per person for this delightful evening, and checks should be made out to  DMA.

We have a maximum capacity of 100 people, but still have some openings, so  please bring a check and sign up at the meeting, or contact Bob McGroarty at  rgmcg@me.com. Jerry Crowley and Chet Cobb have kindly volunteered to help  out for the evening.

Kweskin, Ed

Ed Kweskin was born and raised in Stamford. He graduated from the University of  Pennsylvania in 1968 with a B.A. and then earned a Juris Doctor degree from George  Washington University Law School. After practicing law two years with Community Legal  Services, Inc., in Philadelphia, Ed and his wife Helen moved to Rowayton. He began practicing  law in Stamford with Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky, and there he has remained as a  partner for over 50 years. Ed is a past president of the Stamford-Darien Bar Association. In 2016,  Connecticut Legal Services and the Connecticut Bar Association honored him with their Pro  Bono Awards.  

Ed served seventeen years as a Commissioner in Rowayton, including ten years as  Commission Chairman. Additionally, Ed is a past president of the Bell Island Improvement  Association, Temple Sinai in Stamford, and the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Club of  Fairfield County. He is currently a member of the Silvermine Golf Club and the Rowayton Yacht  Club.  

Ed and Helen have lived on Bell Island since 1977. They have two children who grew up  in Rowayton. Ed and Helen enjoy traveling, especially to see their three young grandchildren  who live in Geneva, Switzerland. Their three other grandchildren live in nearby Armonk, NY.

Hike Mianus River Park. April 22, 2024

HIKING MIANUS RIVER PARK

​​​​STAMFORD, CT

​​​​   APRIL 22, 2024

​​​​     10:00 AM

Mianus River Park is a 391 acre nature preserve on the

Stamford/Greenwich border. The park, one of a series of green areas in the Mianus River Watershed, features a two mile stretch of the beautiful Mianus River, forest lands, vernal pools, glacial outcroppings, varied wildlife and rolling hills. The trails are good but feature the usual rocks and roots and some elevation change but anything steep is in short spurts.

We rate this hike of about 3.5 miles as easy to moderate and it should take us about 2 hours to complete. Dogs on a leash are welcome (there are many dog walkers here!) and, of course, bring a spouse or friend to enjoy this hike.

There will be an optional lunch after the hike at Zody’s 19th Hole Restaurant at the E Gaynor Brennan Golf Course near the Park and Stamford Hospital.

DIRECTIONS:

We will meet at the Merriebrook Road entrance to the Park in Stamford. Both Waze and Google Maps respond to “Mianus River Park”. There is parking on the right before the bridge over the river. Do not park on the roads in the area which are marked and patrolled.

Write Up:

A cloudless sky, 54 degree temperature and Earth Day to boot made for a memorable 2 hour hike through the spectacular Mianus River Park! A total of 21 DMAers, spouses and two dogs spent the first half hour walking upstream along the river which was full and moving rapidly. Two of the party retraced that section back to parking but the rest continued on over the inland portion of the trail, which is hillier and more rugged, through scenic views of rocks and trees. This is a park that is well used by the public and it is easy to see why! 

We encourage hikers who would like a shorter hike to come with us. There is almost always an intermediate point where it is an option to return to the start. So long as there are at least 2 for that option, we can offer it on most hikes.

After the hike a smaller group ate lunch at Zody’s 19th Hole Restaurant at the E Gaynor Brennan Gold course. Lunch there, by the way, is excellent and well priced!

Dave McCollum

Robert Plunkett

Looney, Bill

William Looney

William (Bill) was born in late December 1953 in the North Country of Vermont – it goes without saying he is very familiar with the last light of day.  An early memory was watching his father build by hand a lake cottage in the Sandwich area of New Hampshire – a place that remained in his family for more than 60 years and inspired some epic father/son bonding trips into fields, streams, bogs and mountains where the destination was not always clear. 

After this early education in the woods, Bill went to school at Connecticut College, where he spent semesters at the London School of Economics but mostly traveled to wild places in Cornwall and Wales. He moved back to New York as a graduate student at the Columbia University School of International Affairs, receiving an advanced degree in 1979.  His working years began shortly after that, as an analyst and writer for the Economist Intelligence Unit, where he was assigned to cover the Canadian market and spent many long winter weeks in Ottawa reporting on Quebec separatism and the country’s dalliance with economic nationalism. Later, he was among the first to uncover the rise of the global consumer movement after the Union Carbide chemical disaster in India, work that gave him the tag line “Bhopal Bill.”     

That led in turn to a long stint in the pharmaceutical industry where he handled public affairs and policy issues in the UK, Japan and other non-US markets for Warner-Lambert and later Pfizer, trying as well to keep the CEOs happy at the Davos World Economic Forum and other ego-embellishing events.   After that came roles as editor of two pharma trade publications, for which he received awards for excellence in editorial commentary.   Currently, Bill contributes part-time to content and event management for a French company, the Galien Foundation, co-founded by the late author and holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel to promote medicines innovation as an instrument for global growth, development and peace.  He also works with DMA Secretary Mike Wheeler as an English tutor for new immigrants, in a program run by Family Centers of Greenwich/Stamford.   

Bill now lives in Darien with his wife Andrea, who he met early at his first job, being told by the boss to offer his seat (reluctantly) to her, as the fresh new face from the Economist’s Washington office.  Forty years later, Bill still has that bentwood office chair, now at home — and continues the (now not so easy) practice of offering his spare seat to a stranger – because you never know what good can happen when you do. 

Taebel, Jeffrey

I was born in Elmhurst, IL in 1956 and grew up in Los Angeles and Seward, NE. In 2022, after 41 years in Houston, my wife Kathy and I retired and moved to Darien to be near our daughter, Sarah, her husband, and our two granddaughters.

I have a B.S. in Life Sciences from the University of Nebraska and a Master’s of Urban Planning from Texas A&M University. I began my career with the City of Houston Planning and Development Department and later moved on to the Houston Galveston Area Council, where I was Director of Community and Environmental Planning for 35 years. I am a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners and served as a Site Visitor for the Planning Accreditation Board which reviews and accredits collegiate urban planning degree programs. I am also currently serving on the Town of Darien’s Great Island Advisory Committee. I enjoy playing guitar and basketball.

Hike Sherwood Island, March 14, 2024

HIKING – SHERWOOD ISLAND STATE PARK

WESTPORT, CT

MARCH 14, 2024

 

We finally had some beautiful weather with mild temperatures and sunny skies for our hike today at Sherwood Island. A total of 32 hikers came out to enjoy the day. Our walk of just over three miles included a stroll on the beach followed by a hike in the woods on a loop trail and then onto various paths nearby and along another part of the beach. We also spent some time reflecting at the meaningful 9/11 memorial. Following the hike, 12 of us enjoyed lunch at The Little Barn in Westport.

Robert Plunkett

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