Hello,

It has been a while since I posted, not because I did not write, but rather because I messed something up on two occasions now, and everything I wrote disappeared before it somehow got posted. I am not exactly sure what I did. That is even more frightening. The semester is going quickly and there is a ton of stuff to do, but that seems to be the norm rather than the exception. So . . . I need to have jogging shoes on regularly, more like a sprint, but I am sprinting a 5K rather than a 400 or 800 meter race. Then there is my age . . . which is beyond the middle!! (o:

It has been a good semester though. I have made a few trips to the cities now and I am working on trying to manage a new project between Thomson FindLaw and my usability course. Like anything new, there are some bumps, but I am managing them. I have learned a ton and that is always a good thing. I am glad that there are a number of good people with whom to work, both here at Stout and at Thomson.

I am working on cutting back on some things and trying to not be so inundated with "stuff". That is mostly of my own making. I am trying to reassert the "no" word. That is a very difficult thing for me. I can somewhat get the "n" sound out, but it is the longest and hardest two-letter, one syllable work I have ever known. I do think I will try to focus on that process during the coming summer. I think I am slowly realizing the effect of my inability and the long term consequences could be harsh, so I think it is something on which I will concentrate.

During the spring break, I did not go anywhere, but, Rachael, my great-niece, visited from Iowa. That was fun. I took her bowling and rollerskating (I participated in the first and observed the second). I also worked on various things that needed to be completed. Overall, it was a reasonably productive time.

It has been a few days since I actually started this post. This past weekend we had a tragic house fire which took the lives of three students. One of them, I knew relatively well. The campus is trying to cope with the reality of our frailty at this point. It is a difficult time, but the campus administration has done an excellent job of reaching out and communicating with the community.

It is hard to believe that another year is over in less than a month. It will certainly be busy. I wanted to get back to California and they have asked me to come back, but there is no time. I will teaching again this summer, but that is fine too.

I guess I leave you with the following thoughts:

If you are thinking you should get in touch with someone, please do it.

If you are wondering if you make a difference in the world, you do! No one lives in a vacumn.

If you are wondering of you will be missed, you will; somewhere someone loves you and cares about you deeply.

If you wonder where it will all go, don’t think about that. Live in the present realizing the consequences for the future.

If you think it would be nice to know the measure of our lives, I am not so sure. I think it is more important that we are faithful to whomever we believe in and trustworthy for those who know us.

Finally, to April, Amanda and Scott, know that you are missed; you are not forgotten, and you touched and changed lives in the short time you walked among us. Bless your memories and your families and friends.

Thanks for reading.

Michael