Hey, it's a done deal. Thanks to Rick, Mom, Walt, Mary, Cindy, Jeff, Andreana, Mitch, and, of course, Gail, for all being here; to Dave, for his seven years of patience; to the rest of the Biological Sciences Department at WMU for being such hoopy froods; to my fellow doctoral grads for bonding so instantaneously as we all figured out simultaneously, just before going onstage, just how many Ph.D.s it takes to fold an academic hood; to the new grad with the battery-operated Christmas lights on her mortarboard for making the occasion so festive, and to the rest of the approximately 2,000 people who received degrees from Western in three separate ceremonies today for sharing such an amazingly vibrant experience.

You challenge and inspire,
Your hope is our desire,
We sing to you, our Alma Mater, Brown and Gold.

The photos will miraculously appear on my website as soon as I reconstruct the $&@*#$& thing. There's not much else to say today, really ....

JKS, Ph.D.