So, why am I standing in front of a pink castle? This story has been told so many times now.

Wade was in good shape. He was a bit older than me and used to taunt me with how he could run faster than I could. I hated running and couldn't see the point of it. He, on the other hand, was a marathon runner and had begun setting his sights on Boston after recovering from a knee injury. One time after we bought new bicycles together we both rode down to Woods Hole. He beat me by more than an hour. What took you so long?

On a mountain it could very well have been be another story.

Wade valued his personal time. So much so you couldn't predict when he'd disappear. He was the king of no show. So, when he agreed to meet me in Salt Lake on his way back from a conference in Disney World, I was not just a little skeptical.

So, I flew down to Orlando just to make sure he got on the right flight back. What are friends for?

Paul and Yoko also flew down to satisfy some deep longing to see Mickey Mouse.

And so I find myself walking around a large castle painted pink for their 25th anniversary year. MIT people everywhere (can you say boondoggle?). Not me, I was just there to goof off and make sure Wade didn't disappear. So I had no trouble corrupting folks into blowing off their business trip to take rides on Space Mountain. Wade had particular guilt trips about not being in some stuffy meeting room listening to the ramblings of others on topics they didn't know much about.

Did the usual Disney things for a few days. I had never been there at Christmas time and it was oh so convenient for early Christmas shopping (early = before Christmas eve). There was even an outdoor skating rink.

And obviously I had to pay homage to my course of study and drag the four of us to the space center.