Hello again, everyone, and it certainly is a pleasure to see in these files what everybody has been doing all these years . It was equally terribly saddening to read about all those that are not with us any more, some of whom died decades ago.

With that cheerful thought, the most important events in my life were the births of my three children—Christopher (now 43] and the IVF Wonder-Twins Rosemary and Oliver (now 26). If anybody had asked me In school, what would be the most memorable in my life; I would have answered, math and money (wrong).

For education after BCC, I first went to a college primarily known for varsity sports, fraternities, and sororities, whose real contribution to my education was to light a big fire under me with the message, “get to work, or don’t blame me for what happens.” Following that year, I went to Caltech in Pasadena California for a BS in math in 1965 and a PhD in math and English in 1968. Later, I got a Master of Liberal Arts (concentration English and philosophy) from Stanford University.

My work was initially as a consultant in telecommunications networks, culminating in a five year stay in Paris, France from 1974 to 1979 as a consultant to the French ministry of telecommunications. France at the time was very short of capacity, and many people outside the capital had to wait for years to get a simple residential line. It was exciting to be there on the spot to help design a long term optimal network that would quickly supply the whole country. Upon returning home I turned to general high technology and became a professional expert witness in property tax appeals and hearings for large users and technology providers to establish what the market value of their products and networks would be as they aged. The courts and California State Board of Equalization adopted my findings for a number of users and their customers . In all, I published over 100 technical and economic reports.

Meanwhile, I was not getting any younger, and at 73 I suffered a massive stroke; which paralysed the entire right side of my body. Not recommended, no matter how many papers you published or how many college degrees you earned. I was in and out of several hospitals and rehab centers for three years until finally my family all agreed that I needed a total change. My older son Chris proposed that I move in with him and his family of four in Singapore, and I gratefully accepted. Getting there was the hard part—after a 15 hour flight, I collapsed all over again and didn’t wake up for 13 days. Then, all was well again, and though I still can’t walk, I thank my good fortune to be alive and awake. Rich Lane