Chris & Mary Ella Boyle

Dear Evert and Marijke:

Congratulations on your fortieth wedding anniversary! Mary Ella and I are coming up on our 55th, so you two are gaining on us, I suppose. Does time move faster or slower the older you get? I can't recall, but it's one or the other. When Mary Ella is annoyed with me (and rarely when the reverse is true), she says, "Chris has been married for 54 years, but for me it's been 108!" Perhaps you two can use that little gambit also.

One of the things we old guys have become famous for is losing our short-term memory. I can attest to the truth of that folk wisdom. Thus, I can't remember any particular events or occasions when we were together and you two made fools of yourselves. I can remember (but will not recount) times when WE did--or rather Mary Ella did, as I think about it. Oh, well, I'll let that go for now.

Enjoy your day, enjoy your life, and keep it going for a long time. We hope to see you again some time in the future, but can't say when. Thank you again for being so hospitable to me on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of SAS. I had fun that week-end. Thank you!