ANOTHER BRAVE NEW WORLD

My wife and I are just back from a visit with two of our oldest and dearest friends, who are about to leave their small midwestern town where the husband once headed a highly successful private business run by three generations of his family. The whole family earned a wonderful living from this business, but it reached the point, after three generations, that too many of his brother and sisters all wanted their kids to run the business and the infighting and family snideness was rampant. My friend successfully negotiated a sale of this business to a highly successful and reputable midwestern industrial conglomerate. Now everyone is happy, busily clipping coupons and counting their fortunes as the stock of the conglomerate is a real winner and provided the basis for diversified portfolios.

My friend and wife were civic leaders, deeply involved in good works in their community and in the area, including a progressive school for three to six year olds, developing a beautiful natural area of fifty acres of their property which is a real landmark for nature lovers and much used, supporting the arts generously--you name it, they're generous and active supporters to a host of good causes. And the number of people they have helped to cope and get on with life is legion.

But time and age have come for this dynasty to move on, and it has been a real heart-tug, especially for the husband, to make the move away from this dynastic setting. None of their children is in the town: five of the six kids and countless grandchildren live in the west and the other is in New England, so there are no family ties to bind them to the little town. It took several years of entreating by their kids, but now they are both ready to make the move---and they are off in a week or so to live in Colorado in a lovely community where they can be independent and still have medical assistance when that time comes. They are nervous but ready. Knowing what they bring to any community and group of friends, I know they will fit right in and be immensely popular and contributing to the betterment of that new community.

My wife and I went through this change of life eight years ago when we left our small midwestern town where my family had been well-known for almost 150 years and moved to our island paradise in Sanibel, Florida. It is challenging, exciting and fun to start all over again, even as old farts. Some years ago, a doctor friend of mine told me that the surest sign of old age was the inability to adjust to change and the need to maintain rigid patterns of living. We all, sooner or later, must face this challenge to enter a brave new world of change. My wife and I did it: I'm confident our dear friends can pull it off admirably.

Welcome to a new world, dear friends. Now enjoy.