I invited some very special friends to lunch at Carrabba's today to celebrate my upcoming retirement.  There'll be something at work, but there are a lot of people in the department now I've never met so it won't be the same.  Here is Bev's Squawker, holding the rose that Ken W. gave me.  Allan gave me a lottery ticket and I promised him half of the winnings.

Dick "Happy Rocks" died last Sunday, September 26.  He gave me a job as a typesetter and graphic artist, despite the fact that all I knew about printing was how to type.  It started me off on that long road to writing, editing, and publishing.  His will stipulates a big party, which will be held in a couple of weeks. 

People keep asking what I'm going to do with myself and honestly I don't have any firm plans.  There are some books I want to read, I want to take Cornell's Ornithology course, study up on the FEMA modules on animals in disasters, write, and rest.  I was offered one short online class to teach for an online university, and if it's mutually agreeable I might do more of that.  As someone said, I need some Zen time -- just to heal and get myself back to normal.  I'm looking forward to it!