Roll Call

The knock-on effect of being unexpectedly cut off from Baltimore was the prospect of an eternity of free time in a place I never planned to spend much at all. I sought therapy to keep my mind out of the doldrums, and I'd highly recommend it to anybody with time to kill and co-paying health insurance! The new friends I made were very patient with me.

Kirk: You're not exactly catching us at our best.

Spock: That much is certain.

- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1987).

Kyle gets his own paragraph here, for taking it upon himself to be my surrogate Dad. Every seasonal excuse for a get-together, I felt like part of the family. At Thanksgiving, there were eight at the table and four of us were "displaced". The food was fantastic and there was plenty of it. I've learned much about rolling with life's punches from Kyle, and you need to see him with his daughter to believe it. Every time I make the mistake of talking down to her she surprises me with some smart comment that should be impossible from a five year old - excluding the paranormal. Someone get Kyle a "Best Dad Ever" mug, now!

Lest I forget, a roll call of local souls that went that extra mile for me at one time or another would look a little something like this: Joe, Brad, Evan, Kendrick, Erika, Tiffany, Gina, Hannah, Jen B, Jen S, Abbi, Eve, Monica, Pam, Mike, Alicia, Chuck, Tim, Justin, Trevor, Ross, Dan, Abner, Lisa, Laura, Ashley, Courtney... which is not to slight in any way the many co-workers not listed individually here, the bar staff that know your name and your drink on sight, the owners at Subway who last week introduced me to a new member of staff as "one of our best customers", the mall baristas... oh, the baristas! I can't remember what I was saying now.

To friends!