It came suddenly, late in the afternoon.  Kari did what she does.  She
announced that we had to decide to handle it or not.  Get on with it, or
not.  She's so damned direct.  Where does that come from and why didn't
someone teach her to be subtle?

So we exchanged our cards and gifts.  We honored the moment.  We honored
the work we had done.  Recognized what we could not get done.  We said
goodbye.

Popular belief is that I will grow horns and a tail and torment her with
a pitchfork when next we meet and I am on the other side of the table.
I protest.  How can anyone believe that I could become silver tongued
and poker faced just by joining my brothers and sisters in the private
sector?  Rich maybe, but certainly no more diplomatic.

So there was a hug...we will have to be repremanded...and we discretely
wiped away little tears.  We are both tough guys...we don't need no
stinkin sentiments.

So you guys think I helped Kari become a better preservationist?  Only
you youngsters think that.  You old timers know what really happened.
My obligation was set the bar, to present an example of how a
preservationist faces adversity, with dignity, and fierce unrelenting
pride in the Work and the people who do it.  You take a stand and do the
hard thing because someone is watching.  Either its someone who is
learning, or it is someone who taught you, or both.  I did not make her
a better preservationist, she forced me to be a better preservationist.

I don't know whether to be proud, or worried.  Kari pointed out that
just because I have gone away doesn't mean that my ideas have gone
away.  The problems that I observed and would not turn away from, remain
and will continue to be observed.  She is so damned direct.  How did she
get that way?  It must have been that trade school and the ruffians who
taught her, sure couldn't have been the preservation architects she
worked with.

You must destroy this upon reading, we can't let anyone know that any of
this got to me.

Oh, on January 3, 2001, there will be one more preservation architect
out there chasing rfp's, and taking advantage of Ken.

-jc