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I loved John Barbato’s comment!  I too, found Elaine to be a rock:  accepting, non-judgmental, and always ready for a quick or endless chat.  For years, she, Richard Clegg, and I circled each other in those little offices in the back hall, and Elaine’s was one place I knew I could go to blow off steam, puzzle through tough issues, or just lay back and have a good old belly laugh.

As some of you might be aware, during my years at Maryland I was raising Adriano (with his gifts and deficits), completing a B.S., and an M.S., and struggling to build a nest egg that would span two lifetimes.  Elaine was a great listener and had a way of pointing out the sharp edges of my reasoning. She was always so kind.  And she was funny.  And never let it be said that she didn’t like a good old fashioned gossip every once in a while!

It has been such a long time, but her sweet face was unforgettable.  I was glad I got to chat with her when I was at the reunion in…was it 2017?  That long ago?  She was getting around in a chair and was her bright same self when we chatted.  Funnily enough, I’ve thought of her off and on through the years with affection and the knowledge that I was better for knowing her.  Bye, bye, Elaine.  We shall meet on the other side where the best people end up!

Farewell Elaine. It’s heartbreaking to hear that you are no more. Your warm personality, infectious smile and radiant grace will always occupy that enduring space in my memory. May you abide in eternal peace.

It is with deep sorrow that I learn of the passing of my friend and former boss, George Sidney. It was my pleasure to work for George on Okinawa in the 1970s, and I was a guest at his home when we both lived and worked in Maryland. George was soft-spoken, polite, and very bright. He never boasted of the fact that he had been a combat soldier in Korea. I once asked George if he had a copy of his novel that he could loan me. He frowned and told me that I would have to take very good care of it. I perceived that he did not want to loan me the book, and, for whatever reason, he never did. Now almost fifty years later I found a yellowed copy on Amazon for a few dollars, and I enjoyed it. Thank God for Amazon books. In the 1970s George was working on his second novel. He was struggling with it, he told me, because he wanted it to be better than the first. He called it "second-book syndrome." I can find no evidence that it was ever published. If anybody on this list knows anything about George's second novel, please give me a shout. Thank you very much! My prayers are with George's spirit, and with his wife and son. 

Posted on: Nov 20, 2020 at 2:09 PM

Here are a few recent books I’ve written.

Posted on: Nov 20, 2020 at 2:41 PM

Here are four of my latest books! The photo on the upper left (partially obscured) is TRAVEL TALES: Michael’s Own Best 150! These include many of my own personal travel tales from my two years (1974-1976) that I taught for the University of Maryland in Europe.

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Here it is!

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you all are doing well!

I have a bit of good news: Culicidae Press, of Madison, WI, published my first novel earlier this year. I am very grateful; in many ways, I can't believe my good fortune.

The title is Will My Touch Make You Feel Any Less Lonely?

If you want to have a look, here is a link: https://culicidaepress.com/wodarz-will-my-touch-make-you.../

And if you want, you can peruse the Table of Contents and the first 5-10 pages on Amazon as some kind of preview option.

Best Wishes to you all!!

Peter
Okinawa, Japan

It’s difficult to know where to start in writing about George, especially after the wonderful tributes already posted here. He meant so much to so many of us for so long. I met him in 1976, when I was one of a host of clerical people working at Im Bosseldorn 30 and he was Area Director for the Med. He had a magnetic presence and was a deeply respected, imaginative administrator. George was a good friend to many of us—a careful listener and wise adviser with a great, caring heart. 

As a novelist, George had a keen eye for people and situations. He’d often watch the action at a dinner table or meeting without saying much but keeping a close eye—with that much-noted twinkle—on the quirks of character and interactions that seemed to amuse him. His input in the aftermath would always be incisive and enlightening.

George was a great character himself too. I remember him barreling around the country outside his home in El Centenillo, Spain in an old blue Mercedes he’d bought 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) hand that was always breaking down; but he always seemed to have the tools and know-how to get it going again. I’m not sure it was registered anywhere or had insurance coverage, but one way or another that car worked and got him where he needed to go. 

El Centenillo once hosted a British mining operation and, unlike most Spanish villages, featured white picket fences and roses planted along the streets. It was a sweet and welcoming place in the middle of nowhere, which meant it was off the tourist circuit and just the right place for George. His old house was a wonderful and mysterious place with various levels, including a work area off the back garden and a small, dark room where he would write. I was fortunate to be a guest there a few times with Christie, and it was always a memorable experience, with people coming and going from all points of the compass, including his friends who were native to the village. 

George was a quiet man, but he had boundless energy, as evidenced by his motorcycle trips with Dave Glaser, the constant maintenance of both his houses in El Centenillo, his ideas for courses and genius for matching professors with places where they were needed. It seemed like he’d be with us, forever, like an element of nature. It's hard to take in the fact that he is gone. But memories of him in Heidelberg, Okinawa, Madrid, El Centenillo and my house in Gaucín, which George visited with Hye-jin, will keep him with us for all the days to come.