A Hero Retires

When you’re my age, the news of peers retiring is part of the constant reminders of, well, your age, as well as how well we've all used our time on this planet. We’ve all reached that stage of life when if there are going to tributes, it’s time for that to happen.

And today I can link to a well-deserved profile of Michel Blecker in the San Francisco Chronicle. Michael, a veteran of the Vietnam War, has been the guiding light of the non-profit Sword to Plowshares for the past 42 years. This organization, which provides services to military veterans, has done enormous good to those who need our care once they come home survivors of war. 

Nancy Pelosi speaks for all of us who know him when she calls Michael “angelic” and “an All-American hero.”

He also happens to be a personal friend. Our kids grew up only blocks apart on Bernal Hill and attended the same schools. They became close friends, as did the four of us who are their parents. Michael and Carol were a steady source of emotional support during my topsy-turvy personal life, while each in their own ways were leaders in our community. 

Always modest and self-deprecating, Michael exemplifies how a person can quietly devote his or her life to the greater good. And we are all immeasurably better off as a result.

Michael will remain in an emeritus capacity at Swords.

• HEADLINES: 

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  • Why It’s So Hard for China to Fix Its Ailing Economy (NYT)

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  • Woman Figures It Easier To Just Get New One After Forgetting Boyfriend In Uber (The Onion)