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From the President's Desk
Toward a Stainless Future
by Russell Wild

My dad belongs to a group of 20 or so men, mostly in their 80s, with two in their 90s, long-retired lawyers, engineers and bankers. They call their club Cerebration. Once a week, on Monday mornings, the old Floridians meet to sip decaf coffee and discuss anything and everything, sometimes as a free-for-all, other times following a designated speaker. On the particular day that my son and I were invited as guests, Gabe, a retired physicist and chemist, delivered a slide-show presentation (real celluloid, not PowerPoint) on the production of steel.

Gabe clearly had full mastery over the subject matter, and spoke eloquently. But on occasion, as is sometimes the case with people that age, he struggled to find the right words. Or maybe he was just taking a dramatic pause, and it appeared to those of us ageists in the room (ageists of all ages) that he struggled. In any case, the other men in the room, practically each time Gabe stopped to take a breath, would jump to finish his thought for him... "

And so, in order to inhibit rust," said Gabe, "we add nickel, and the resulting alloy is known as...[long pause]..."

.... "Stainless steel," the other elderly men voiced in chorus, with great enthusiasm.

It was quite sweet.

I suddenly had this image of us ... you and me ... the current members of ASJA, meeting in April at our annual conference during the year 2040 or so .... jumping in to help each other to finish sentences ... whether or not help is needed.

I step down as ASJA president this month, but I look forward to many years of continued camaraderie, shop-talk and perhaps some day even co-producing sentences with fellow ASJA members. If retired lawyers, engineers and bankers can bond over such collaborative diction, imagine what fun a bunch of retired journalists and authors could have doing it!

I would like to thank my fellow officers and Board members, who, during my tenure, worked together cohesively and creatively to build a stronger, more vibrant organization. I thank the entire office staff, along with our techies Bruce Miller and Stephen Morrill, and our newsletter editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, for their energy, drive, and dedication. I thank the many, many ASJA volunteers, both committee heads and members, for their invaluable and ongoing contributions, without which we would not have an ASJA. And thank you, Anthony Elia, Esq., for your wise, behind-the-scenes legal counsel.

I especially thank Executive Director Alexandra Owens for her incredibly adept steering of the ship, both when the waters were calm, and (particularly around conference time) when the waters were choppy.

I welcome Salley Shannon, current vice-president, as our next president, and have complete confidence that Salley will do an outstanding job. I will remain on the Board as a past president, along with Jack El-Hai. For whatever our experience is worth to Salley and the Board, we'll be there to help things along. Past president Lisa Collier Cool, who has been on the Board for nearly a decade and has worked tirelessly for ASJA, can enjoy her newfound civilian status, although she will remain head of the ASJA Writers Emergency Assistance Fund, as well as co-chair of our Program Committee.

After so many months in this position, and having written so many of these columns, I'm now struggling for what to say. I want to leave you with important words, but all I can think of is ... [long pause] ... stainless steel.

See you in 2040.

ASJA President Russell Wild can be reached at prez_AT_asja until midnight June 30 [Eastern]. Immediately thereafter, he'll likely be sleeping. Regardless, you can then reach him at Russell_AT_Russellwild.com . . . hopefully, for decades to come.