I've been racking my memory for embarrassing incidents and other roast material to include in this note. Unfortunately, however, I was never witness to anything like that which you were involved. I could comment on your jogging style and attire as you motor up and down North street, but then again, people who live in glass houses ...

Not to take things too far in the other direction, but I've always known you to be a very energetic, knowledgeable and charismatic kind of guy. It's been good to see you find your niche as IBM's Internet Guru (what exactly does your business card have as your title? --- and, BTW, are you still carrying all those e-mail addresses from obscure networks like GEnie?).

I guess the first time our paths crossed was when I was working for John Hoffman in financial marketing and you were employee #4 or something like that in ICC. Then I joined ICC in 1985. After a couple of years, it was time to move on and John followed you across the river to the promised land of NSD in New Jersey. John regaled me with tales of how you were going to change the culture of tens of thousands of NSDers to be more marketing-oriented, so I took the plunge too. It wasn't too long after that -- I guess the culture must have been successfully changed by that time -- that you moved back across, and eventually, so did the rest of us.

Then there was OS/2 and PSS. I remember I was to have a staff of six, but started out with one. Being forward-thinking as you are, you assigned work as if the future was now and I had the full six -- which made life never dull. There was Team OS/2 and grass-roots marketing and Dave Whittle and Paul Pignatelli and all the rest. Then there was the move to another promised land, as Lee Reiswig decided it was simpler to move a couple hundred people than to move himself, and PSS went to Austin. If I recall, that was another organization in which marketing people were cherished and lionized. Luckily, you and I had other ideas, and managed to stay here.

I heard recently from a couple of people you may remember. Jim Colosimo said he worked with you way back in the beginning. You must have started near the same time, since he retired late last year after 35 years. Also, being interested in GPS, you may have read the NY Times article on Sunday, Jan, 27 about automotive navigational systems. Quoted and pictured was Janet (Gobeille) Crenshaw, who was part of our OS/2 team in Somers in '92. Both Jim and Janet say hi.

Depending on how the schedule works out, I'll either be at your morphing (molting?) party or at Northern Westchester, getting cortisone injected into my back -- not that I'm comparing the entertainment value of the two events. In either case, best of luck in your future and whatever new ventures you have in mind. I know it won't be a dull road.