Sue Mair Holden

As I write this, I am thinking of so many of you, as we were when we were 17, of course.  (By the way, there is a great book, Seventeen, by Booth Tarkington, that my father introduced me to just before we moved East.)   I dearly hope to see you all, but I am not certain I will be able to attend, as I broke my leg earlier this month, while on a hike in France. (At least it was a cool place to have an accident!) I badly sprained both sides of my ankle, too, and the only way to manage the pain now is to have it up - way up!  I have been getting back to school - Edgemont Junior-Senior High School in Scarsdale, where I am a guidance counselor - but it is a little unseemly to be meeting with kids and parents with my leg tied to the light fixture.  I am hoping it calms down by Friday so my husband Steve and I can make the trip to join you.  I know you all must agree that the committee has done a fabulous job organizing the reunion and capturing our interest.  I would hate to miss it! 

            The trip will be from Rye Brook, New York, which is near Rye on Long Island Sound, and the Connecticut border.  We have lived there for 35 years, after starting out in White Plains, and have raised three children: Amy, 42, Steve, 41, and Timothy, 33.  All are happily married to wonderful mates, and we have two darling grandchildren, Stevie, 7, and Celia, 5.  These lights of our lives live twelve minutes away with their parents, Steve and Kristine, in White Plains.  My husband Steve works there, too, as an attorney in general practice.  Steve joined his father after Cornell Law School, where I met him as an undergraduate anthropology major.  Steve practiced law with his father until he died at 94, never having stopped going to the office every day.  This is Steve’s plan, too, but with a little more time off for favorite pursuits of ours—skiing, sailing on the Sound (a 27 foot C & C)—which are our main passions—and hiking, tennis (not so much lately, but hoping to get back to it), and more travel. I love to swim too, but only outside.

            Our daughter Amy works for M.I.T. in the Office of Sponsored Programs, where she is involved with administering federal stimulus money, among other grants and contracts.  Our son, Steve, is an attorney for the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York, and Tim teaches humanities to gifted and talented seventh graders in the Delta Program, in a public school on the Upper West Side in New York City.

I still love my job, although it is all-consuming with long hours, and have no plans to retire, having begun this career only twenty years ago.  I stayed home with our children for 17 years, which I enjoyed, but once Tim started school, I felt pretty redundant.  I was volunteering, with the American Field Service, but mostly in Cornell alumni activities, including chairing our 20th reunion.  That nearly full-time activity helped me to know I wanted to work, and I joined the guidance department at my local high school.  Young Steve nearly had a heart attack when I showed up in his halls during his sophomore year.  I was training parent volunteers for our College and Career Information Center, coordinating a pretty comprehensive student volunteer program, and teaching a work-study course, all without an advanced degree.  I figured I didn’t want to be labeled an imposter, even if the school didn’t mind, and got my counseling degree.  I had no plans to leave Blind Brook, but Steve set me up with places to send my resume, and it all worked out easily and very happily.  He knew I needed it and that I could earn a lot more—smart fellow!  Now I mentor interns and new teachers, counselors, or psychologists most every year.  I also have taken a literature course through school for the past 20 years, with a book each month, which provides me with good reading and discussion that I don’t have to find for myself.  Regarding the hours of the job:  they should be reasonable, but it is very hard to walk away when the issues we are dealing with are so very important to our parents and the kids themselves, and, as I said, I love the work.

Along the way, I chaired my Cornell class’s 40th reunion, and took on various other volunteer jobs.  I have recently begun a term as Cornell’s Class of ‘64 class president, leading up to our 50th  reunion.  One of my young friends at school asked, “Wasn’t that a long time ago?  Do you still need a president?”  By the way, Sue Raulerson and I roomed together our junior year.  We drew an imaginary line down the middle of our room so her side could be neat and she could leave me to my messy ways!  Amazingly, we survived and are still good friends.  Just to clue you in, when we speak with each other, the one who speaks first refers to herself as “Susie II.” 

I can’t wait to see you all!!  Our last reunion was such fun.  I am the one with white curly hair (an allergy to hair dye) and, oh,…a  broken leg. 

                                    Sue (now usually known as Susie or Susan) Mair Holden

Susie cooking in France