Dear Friend,

Sitting on my deck this morning surrounded by the many gifts of the upstart spring—valleys dressed in shadows and light, pungent aromas from budding fir trees, mating ladybugs and chorales of birds, I am filled with joy at the gift of life today, on my 76th birthday. In my 27,376 days, I have lived under 912 full moons, worked in 108 countries, been present to the dying of the old and the rising of the new such as few in history have ever witnessed. As I sit here in wonder and astonishment, I remember you with gratitude.

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