I brightened up a bit reading about some of your inter-office inter-actions and can definitely relate. Alan and I volunteered at a local library together, and he certainly had the gift of gab, as well as a penchant for leaving charming and hilarious notes all over the place. As a fellow bibliophile, it was a pleasure to see Alan in his element among his books, and I was very glad to share a short amount of time in his presence.

He will absolutely not be forgotten.

Spaceship by Akurra

See here

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-video-6822961-sci-fi-animation-spaceship-flying-into-the-universe.php?st=a65808d

It’s from “Wind, Sand and Stars” by Antoine Du-Saint Exupery (who wrote “The Little Prince”).

“Thus is the earth at once a desert and a paradise, rich in secret hidden gardens, gardens inaccessible, but to which the [air]craft leads us ever back, one day or another. Life may scatter us and keep us apart; it may prevent us from thinking very often of one another; but we know that our comrades are somewhere “out there” – where, one can hardly say-silent, forgotten, but deeply faithful. And when our path crosses theirs, they greet us with manifest joy, shake us so gaily by the shoulders! Indeed we are accustomed to waiting.

Bit by bit, nevertheless, it comes over us that we shall never again hear the laughter of our friend, that this one garden is locked forever against us. And at that moment begins our true mourning, which, though it may not be rending, is yet a little bitter. For nothing, in truth, can replace that companion. Old friends cannot be created out of hand. Nothing can match the treasure of common memories, or trials endured together, or quarrels and reconciliations and generous emotions. It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.

So life goes on. For years we plant the seed, we feel ourselves rich; and then come other years when time does its work and our plantation is made sparse and thin. One by one, our comrades slip away, deprive us of their shade.”

I’m happy to see that you’re back to writing. I’ve always enjoyed your work, as your write the way you think: in well thought out paragraphs. best wishes

robert