When I Think of the GSB

Will Lyons

The first GSB event that I attended was a welcome barbecue on the Stanford Campus. I was nervous about meeting three hundred future tycoons. Driving up majestic Palm Drive in my rusted out ’75 Ford Granada with three on the tree did not help. I thought to myself, “Going to this party is about the last thing I want to be doing right now.”

I found my way to the barbecue, looking for someone approachable. I saw one couple with a dog. I was comfortable around dogs, so went over to say hello. The dog’s name was Fritha. The couple’s names were Ken and Lauren Parlin. They were authentic, interesting, and funny, and we hit if off immediately. I have often marveled at the gap between my expectations of this event and the ensuing reality. I anticipated an awkward, forgettable experience, but I actually met two life-long friends and would remember it fondly for decades.

I don’t remember meeting Monte Rosen for the first time. I knew him by sight before meeting him. To my Connecticut eye he seemed very San Francisco, his hip urban jeans jacket contrasting with my suburban nylon windbreaker. Somehow we got to know each other, perhaps through study groups, perhaps punctuated by Ken’s celebrations that we had entered “P range” on a particular paper. Monte had an ironic sense of humor that I shared, though he combined an edgy honesty with an underlying compassion that was new to me. Ken, Lauren, Monte, and I ended up spending many fun times together from ’83–’85. Weekend parties at Monte, Karen, Mark, and Margie’s house were the best.

In the late ‘80s Monte moved for a few years to the Boston area where I was living. We had many good times together back in those days. Activities included visits to see Ken and Lauren down in New Jersey or up in Lake George. Days were filled with swimming, biking, tennis, and ragtag. Nights would see us in a little farmhouse, the Parlin kids asleep upstairs, a group of thirtysomethings comparing Myers Briggs test results, or playing take-no-prisoners Pictionary, yelling over the Mills Brothers in the background. Ken, Lauren, and Monte were great friends to me, in good times and bad.

Time passes. I met Mary, and Monte met Shari, and soon Monte and I were no longer bachelors. Monte and Shari moved away, sadly for me. They have come back and visited, but I have not been a good correspondent. Mary and I continued to see the Parlins, but eventually we had our own son Sam, and developed our own seasonal routines. We visited them with Monte and Shari in the winter of ’06 or ’07. That was it for a long time, and I felt I had lost touch with them.

Happily an envelope arrived in the mail five years ago, an invitation to Turner Parlin’s wedding (remember Turner?). Mary and I went, and had a terrific time seeing Ken and Lauren and their families and friends after so many years, with a little swimming and ragtag too. Mary, Sam, and I have been back many times since, and we hope to see them again soon. And as Neil Young says, One of these days, I’m gonna sit down and write a long letter to Monte and Shari.

When I think of the GSB, I think mostly of Ken, Lauren, and Monte. I feel very fortunate to have met them there, and to have benefited from their friendship over many years. I wish the best for them, and I wish the best for all of you.