The first thing that hit me, this morning, was the obituary of a woman who had served as my boss's secretary in the 1990s. She was "only" 76, but had had her problems over the years - although, as cheerful a demeanor as she maintained, most did not know. She has no problems, now. The obituary wasn't very informative, giving basic information: name, date of birth, date of death (yesterday), and she'll be missed by family and friends. Perhaps more information will be forthcoming, later. She was a really nice person. RIP, Sheryl.
Sheryl, just breaking a smile at a retirement party for one of "her" engineers.
Then, as if that were not enough to make a person pensive, I got sidetracked into cleaning out some files on this computer. Oh, dear. Clearing out clutter from the early 2000s, I ran across an email from a friend at work that gave me a chuckle. Scott McNay, a technical writer when I knew him at Cessna, had sent me an email in January 2004 - upon hearing of my plans to retire in April.
Of course, you know that your announcement took many of us by surprise. I've never seen one person climb so high on so many "s-lists" so fast! [Although this could be taken otherwise, I choose it to mean "by retiring".]
I have always said, "envy is a horrible thing, and yet the word is so descriptive."
Unfortunately, in trying to track down a current email address for Scott, I found his obituary. He had died last January at "only" 70 years of age - of dementia related issues. We worked together on a committee (that he chaired) simplifying the English in Cessna service manuals. In his broader life, Scott learned to sign in order to better communicate with one of his friends. RIP, Scott.
Scott, who, if there is an afterlife, will be growing a huge garden, again, and signing his happiness.
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