RICK HERRICK

508-693-8065

herricklr@verizon.net

Dr. Alex Walley is a faculty member at the Boston University School of Medicine where he trains residents and does research on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and substance abuse. He is also the medical director of a new pilot program with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for dealing with the problem of overdoses from the powerful pain relievers known as opioids.

According to Alex, more people die from opioid overdoses than car accidents. He recently brought that message to The Point, a daily talk show program on Cape and Islands National Public Radio. He was invited back by host Mindy Todd to answer call-in questions on Sept. 24.

Married to Erin Matias, a corporate executive with Kronos Inc., the couple live in Needham with two sons, David, six, and Wyatt, four. You may see one or both of the boys at the beach club with grandmother Caryl Dearing. Each boy spends a week alone with Caryl during the summer.

We missed many of the Bryan and Sanders clan over the Fourth of July weekend, and I recently learned why. Leslie Bryan e-mailed me that they were all in Dallas, Tex., for the wedding of Heidi and Will’s son, Weston Bryan, to Michelle Mahre. The wedding was held at St. Ann’s Catholic Church with the reception at Gleneagles Country Club. Will and Heidi hosted the rehearsal dinner on Friday, July 4, which included an awesome display of Texas-sized fireworks. Few members of the Bryan and Sanders family missed the grand occasion with the sad exception of Chuck and Kit Sanders. However, Chuck and Kit made their presence felt by sending a video which included the traditional Robert Burns toast.

Two weeks ago I wrote about my friend the general, Pat Carroll. I suggested that the general was holed up in his bedroom in broad retreat from an invasion from his extended family.

“General, do you have any room?” I now ask. “It’s getting scary around our house.”

I have already reported on my niece Marion Harris, her husband Dave, and their three kids Aiden, Ian and Emelyn. They are still here. They were recently joined by our daughter Heather Stewart from Valle Crucis, N.C., and her two sons, Benjamin and Nicholas. Reid, Heather’s husband, joins them for long weekends.

Our daughter in law Julie Herrick from Granthum, N.H., and her daughter Maddie arrived last Monday. Molly Herrick Kelly and her husband Tim, both teachers in the Washington, D.C., area, couldn’t miss all the mayhem created by their siblings and children. They are here too. And General, I’m already worried about next summer. Molly and Tim will come back as three. The one family member who has adjusted best to this onslaught is Graham Dripps, our patriarch, who at 88 seems to exist above the fray.

It was good to hear from Tom McMahon. He will be here for the first two weeks in August visiting his mother Kay, who is 88, and her husband Leo, who is 91. While he is here, Tom’s three sons will join him: Neal and Jeff are both teachers in the Washington, D.C., area, and Andy is a senior at Carleton College in Minnesota.

Finally, Lyn and I attended a memorial service for Leonard Harrill at Union Chapel on Sunday, July 19. The service was presided over by the Rev. Jim Kidd of Punta Gorda, Fla., and East Chop. Leonard, a graduate of the Citadel, served in the Aleutian Islands in World War II, and worked for Dan River Mills, a textile firm in New York city, for more than 40 years. He was married to Joycelyn Harrill for 47 years, with the couple residing in Montclair, N.J., for most of their married life. Leonard was fondly remembered for his long service to Union Chapel, and for his enthusiastic support of the beach club. According to Reverend Kidd, Leonard showed up at the beach club with a story and a smile that lit up his face. The service was followed by a reception at the home of Kim Patterson, his daughter. East Chop will sorely miss him.