Chances are Ray Flores would have taken a different path in life if things had been different. But chances are that's true for everyone. I had a wonderful talk with the guy who should have won "Most Likely to End Up in HR." Collegiate School's official reunion is this Friday, May 3rd, 2024, which means our epic reunion was almost one year ago! To RSVP to the school's festivities, click here. I will send out the Zoom link for our reunion (aka "Nightcap with The Capper") next week via email.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

August 6th of this year (2023) is the exact day that '83 Dutchmen host Taylor Mali will have outlived his mother by one day and his father by 30. He is on vacation right now, likely without reliable wifi, but he scheduled this podcast to post automatically. Mali says "This is a collection of audio postcards I recorded over the course of seven months and containing the artful observations and poignant—if sometimes lugubrious —musings of a poet. Because I am also a poet, in case you were not aware of that."

—updated Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

In this final episode of the series before the fiscal year of Collegiate ends on Friday, June 30th, Taylor talks with Thaddeus Bereday, who left after 7th grade but says we did a much better job of celebrating our 40th reunion then the school he actually graduated from (suck it, Groton Academy)! Thad speaks eloquently about his successes, struggles, failures, and the importance of mercy, second chances, compassion, and reform. Please be sure to check out his podcast, Redemption Radio, wherever you get your podcasts.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

After the 40th reunion, which was spectacularly held on May 5th, class agent Taylor Mali asked everyone in the class—whether they made it to the reunion or not—to send him a voice memo about their experience of the reunion, their experience with the podcast series, or just . . . their experience of their life. This episode is all those voice memos stitched together, including some cameo appearances by surprise guests. The format is completely different, and it might be the best episode yet.

The fiscal year ends on June 30th. Please make a gift if you'd like to be a part of what is already a record-breaking year.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

I stayed for my friends and then hid from them.

Karl Slovin recounts the stigma of being "held back" by Collegiate and asked to join the class of 1984. And how his parents—on the verge of divorcing themselves—gave him the choice of staying and repeating fourth grade or starting over at a new school (when he wishes that they'd just made the decision for him). In theory he stayed to be with his friends, but in practice the embarrassment of suddenly being a member of the class "behind" meant that he didn't want any of us to see him in the hallways so he avoided us. And he carried that shame for years. Later in the episode, Taylor excavates his generational relationship with Judaism. This episode was put together using voice memos; the next episode will be ALL voice memos.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

In this final episode of the series—at least before our 40th reunion, which is tomorrow, Friday, May 5th—Taylor speaks with Adam Mansky who has gone on to do great things despite a self-described lonely, unhappy, and underwhelming experience at Collegiate in high school. For reasons you will discover, we met online and recorded our interview twice, and even that was not enough.

There will be one Mystery Episode of this series which will appear on August 6th with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. You will have to be subscribed to the series in order to receive any sort of notification that it has posted. Thank you for listening.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new

I've had a wonderful time over the last couple weeks trading memories of Michael Chalfin with his widow Sharon Jacobs. Mike was so quiet and so decent, and yet so fearless in goal for The Warriors, our gym hockey team (two-time winners of The Mink Cup)! Peter Allan was with him at Middlebury College, but they didn't run in the same circles. Sharon says Tim White was the only Collegiate classmate she thinks she met. She shared a few minutes of news about Mike's life with me, and I am happy to pass it on.

Although you must be a member of the Collegiate class of 1983 to join our WhatsApp group, anyone can make a donation to the school here: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/25715/donations/new