David Machlowitz

Since CHS, I have tried to forget everything about CHS--and what I was like before age 25--except for my CHS friendships, some of which are still close today and others, surprisingly, were formed in the past 10 years. Other than some friends I lost touch with, the only things I miss about CHS are my then hairline, waistline and ability to play sports without needing ice packs and a nap afterwards.

I went to Penn and Yale law school, then lived in Philly, then Manhattan, then Westfield (an NJ suburb of NYC). My wife, a drama therapist for victims of domestic violence, and I married in 1985. Before we had children, I was also a freelance writer and knew all the good dance clubs in New York; after children, I wrote only notes of teacher sessions and knew only all the dialogue in The Little Mermaid.

I was the general counsel and head of some other groups at big corporations and spent many years as a clown in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade--these careers had much more in common than I expected.

I retired in 2008 to have less work and more fun--but my wife and children probably thought it was to boss them around more. I have learned scuba diving, improv; acting, ziplining and boxing, none of which I am good at and all of which strike my kids as signs of a midlife crisis. I enjoy charity work and traveling.

I hope everyone is well--and has forgotten what I was like at CHS.

When I told my kids that the biggest student protest at CHS involved jeans and culottes, they looked at me as if I were insane (not an unusual occurrence since their teenage years began and I transformed overnight from wise father to resident idiot).