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2001:
Cat Nap
IN MY OPINION
Books Read in 2007 "Officially
Retired" Flash
Version here My Favorite Video Blogs Missbehavens (for others, see Links page)
Guinness Hands Video (this is so cool!) The Machine is Us/ing Us (Thanks to Missbehavens for this one) Andy Taylor & the Patriot Act T.R.Knight responds to gay slur New on My
Support liberty and justice for all
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A RETIRING SORT 11 February 2007 I guess he's officially retired. After the huge party that was held in his honor today, he can't really change his mind. Jeri flew in from Boston around noon, after which she and Walt both took naps. Walt's sister and his brother came in around 4, with his sister-in-law arriving an hour or so later. The party was held at a local brew pub, Sudwerk, and we arrived a little late, but the party couldn't really start without us. Tom & Laurel and Ned & Marta were already there, as were a lot of friends, old and new.
Someone had flown in from Washington, DC and our long-time friend, Dave Johnson, had come from Portland. Dave was Walt's very first boss when he first came to Berkeley in 1960. His son Stefan was the ring bearer at our wedding and later, his daughters were our kids' babysitters.
The Pinata group was also there in full force--Mike & Char, Pat & Rich, Richard & Michele.
There was a nice buffet dinner after which was the program--the formal part, extolling Walt's accomplishments over his 49½ years with the Department of Agriculture. The "formal" part of the evening began with some nice words by the Emcee, Charles Davis, which was followed by an original song recorded by Jeri and Phil to celebrate Walt's retirement. I've truncated this part and made a 7 minute video, which is Part 1 of what will ultimately be 3 or 4 videos from the evening. Beckie Challender had done a fantastic job putting a power point presentation together, showing that Walt had been around for all the wonderful moments in history, which will be the video of the day tomorrow. Then came a collage of photos that several of us had sent to Beckie, and which she had assembled to present with a Lawsuit musical background. There were letters to read and gifts to present and the presentation of a gold pin. The best thing about the pin was that it was this wonderful U.S. Government eagle in a box plainly marked "Made in Hong Kong." When it was all over, people filed by to give their congratulations, a lifetime of friends and colleagues who had all come together to honor Walt.
I think he was really touched by it all, and someone remarked to me afterwards that she had been to a lot of these retirement gatherings and didn't remember any where the comments by people were so heartfelt. So now...it's on to the rest of his life. I don't have a "honey-do" list for him, but his sister does! We have a full house here tonight. Jeri is here. Walt's sister is here. And, after her unfortunate accident, which blew out both of her tires, Walt's sister's friend, Gingie, is here too.
I had hoped to include some of Ned's photos here. He took mostly photos and I concentrated on video. But my multi-card reader won't read his card, so I have to wait until he can bring me the photos on disc before I can post them, probably to Flickr.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
I loved this moments of the kids laughing together.
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This is entry #2509
