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To Alyce, from Julie

I've procrastinated writing this. Alyce won't be surprised by this confession.

Alyce knows well this particular foible of mine. In fact, she's on a first-name basis with several of my foibles, and the great thing about Alyce is that she has never made me feel bad about them. She just patiently and persistently - VERY persistently - pushed me to keep going, finish what I needed to finish, and address what needed to be addressed.

I'm supposed to be writing about all the things Alyce has done for IOBA, but it's not working. Not that there isn't plenty of material there. Alyce has been involved since the earliest days, contributing her ideas and energy and time. She's served on the board and as chair of the Internet Operations committee, and I don't know how anything could have gotten accomplished without her.

No, the problem is that when I think of Alyce, I don't first think of IOBA. I think of the dozens and dozens of times when she's made me fall out of my chair laughing. Alyce has a wonderful, wicked sense of humo(u)r. I've been searching through hundreds of e-mails, trying to find an example that would serve, but everything either requires too much context to understand or is a shade too blue. All the best ones are short and subtle, wry observations or the written equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

Another thing about Alyce, she can use that sense of humor to cut through crap better than anybody I've ever seen. Specious arguments, weasel words, and lame excuses don't carry any weight with her. And believe me, I've tried my share of lame excuses.

And here's the main thing about Alyce. Despite all the lame excuses and whining e-mails and complaints, she's always been gentle with me, whether I deserved it or not. If she ever lost her temper or got irritated with me, she never showed it. She never passed judgment. She just kept gently pushing me to do whatever I needed to do.

For that, I will always be grateful, and for that, I will always call Alyce friend.

H.O. Ethel, you're the greatest.

Julie Fauble