[Fandfs] Fifty years iof Cynthia

For Cynthia's 90th, I wrote her a kind of 8,000 word valentine in which I tried to sum up---an impossibility, of course !-----all the wonderful things we learned, appreciated, coveted, and tried to remember & imitate, from the 50 odd years our family has been lucky enough to live in the Highlands, as dear friend and colleague of Cynthia Williams, and indeed the entire community living on the Northern end of the Highlands bordered by Gibson Creek on our right leading eventally to Gibson beach in Pt Lobos.

Since I wrote it specifically for Cynthia I don't know how many others might have had occasion to read it. But in view of the outpourings of love and affection coming in f rom all points of the compass to Cynthia these past days , I've decided to try to cut it a little---and send it out to Cynthia's virtual community. I'm dothis---knowing many of you are busy and may be put-off by how long this statement --even with cuts ---turned out to be. Everybody, of course, has his or her own "Cynthia" , to remember & celebrate and in this statment I've tried to describe some of the more memorable experiences she and we have had togeter. . For those who simply can't find the time to read the whole thing, perhaps you may find one scene or another to pique your fancy. For those who manage to complete the trip, here's hoping you found it ,retroactively, worthwhile.

I send it to you all in solidarity with our common gratitude for having been able to experience not only what kind of woman Cynthia is, but what kind of virtual community she has been able---almost single-handedly ---to create, an astonishing achievment which may well elude "rational" analysis, but which we all of us know, looking into our own hearts, may well be one of the luckiest gifts we've ever had come our way. .

Love and holiday greetings to everybody .And may Cynthia Williams continue to thrive & grow stronger( & bolder) with each passing day.

Alan Marcus