Howard Diamond

Where am I?

Living for the last 20 years in Chapel Hill, NC, home of the University of No. Carolina and 10 miles from Duke Univ. We moved here from Miami, FL seeking an intellectually stimulating and safe area after the woman my wife (Marion) carpooled with was murdered. It was a good decision. The murder was the last straw after our next door neighbor in Miami turned out to be a cocaine dealer who was killed in a shootout between two cars. Miami in the 1980s had a lot in common with the wild west.

What am I doing?

During the last 20 years I authored an educational software program (FUNdamentallyMATH) that teaches mathematics from 1+1 through matrix algebra. www.fundamentallymath.com It is one of the very few educational software products to produce statistically significant results in a research study. Also, it is the only product to prove in a study that it could bring the math skills of middle school African American students up to the level of their white classmates. Unfortunately it is yet to become a commercial success, but I am working on it. Presently I am trying to add calculus. The task is daunting.

What about my family?

I married late at 35. We have two married kids (Russell and Bradley) as well as one grandchild, age one. My wife was a special education teacher. All of my career I hated sales – I was a stockbroker for 22 years – so naturally both of my sons are salesmen. We are a close family.

What else keeps me occupied?

I love tennis and still play singles at least twice a week. Besides working out, reading (mostly non-fiction), walking our dog (a beautiful 13 year old greyhound we rescued), and driving Meals on Wheels, I get to relax. It is hard to live in Chapel Hill and not become an avid Tar Heel basketball fan. We used to go to the games but the only tickets we could get were in the nose bleed section up high. One observation - sit in a restaurant and listen to the conversations at the nearby tables. It seemed to me that in New York City people were talking about business deals or their stocks. In Miami the conversation seemed to be often about who was robbed recently. In Chapel Hill it is about Duke - Carolina sports. No matter how trivial this may appear, it still seems very wholesome to me.

My message to the Class of '57:

I missed a lot of you. Old friends are the best! My best friend from college looked me up after we hadn't heard from each other for many years. It was as if we had only been apart for 90 seconds. I am sure the same will be true with many of you. I haven't seen most of you since the 30th reunion. Marion who joined me for that remarked how incredibly warm and friendly she found everyone to be. This class has a special jous d'vivre.