DECEMBER 1, 2007

One day last summer, an e-mail appeared in my in-box from Mike Brown. I had looked for him on several occasions, but in the end, he found us with a Google search. It was sort of "Hi... I'm in Boston,... How are you?... be in touch later"

I called and left a messsage or two, but the activities of the summer took over, and it seems both of us put things on hold. He spends most of his free time on his sailboat, and part of the freedom of the winds apparently freedom from cell- phones too.

Tonight he called me though, apparently on dry land long enough to sit in front of a Celtics game. We talked for half an hour, but like most of the long- lost conversations among all of us, we likely could have talked all night. It was good to hear from him.

Pending more definitive word... and a few pictures(?)... from Mike, he said he went to NYU after Colgate, and that he administers part of a public environmental agency. His primary focus has has been Boston Harbor; his involvement with it started at time that it was smeared as the "Harbor of Shame" back in the 1980s.