Dear Ann: I am thinking of you all, and of Georges. I am so glad we could all see each other just now in early January. As with previous dinners in your lovely home – on a bien mange et on a bien bu. I was blessed to cross paths with Georges at one of the most transformative moments of my life. This was my time as a law student in Toronto in the early 1990’s. Having Georges as my roommate during those hectic years filled my life with calmness and laughter. Law school worked out well for me. I attribute part of that to Georges’ amity and friendship. I was so fortunate to share that time with Georges, to be enlivened by his classiness, decency, humor, and absolutely wonderful originality and self-confident uniqueness. So many nights we stayed up late at our arborite kitchen table on those claptrap chairs talking about this and that, that and this, drinks in hand and ideas in the air. His world of ‘medievalism’ (as I called it) was such a welcome relief (a breath of fresh air) from the relentlessness of law. Georges’ compassion, erudition, and eclectic love for life buoyed me in the most demanding of times. In those old days, without cell phones, we shared a land line. I know it sounds silly, but I will never forget his handwritten messages, in his eccentric penmanship, of who called, including one note that let me know of a job I got, a job which ended up transforming my entire life, and I remember his joy to learn of it. I have so much affection for Georges, and I will miss him. I will miss him as a friend. I will miss his gentle soul. Michelle and I were reminiscing the other day about his toast at our wedding. Ann, I cannot be with you on Monday and Tuesday, but I will light another candle for Georges and you here in Virginia, and I will be there in spirit. Georges will forever remain in spirit with all of us, brightening things up, and his spirit will live on in your lovely children Nicolas, Sasha, and Isabelle. In peace, and sorrow, and also the most joyful of memories. Mark Drumbl