From Chris Michel '69, June 20, 2026: 

Regarding retirement. Am in the mood to comment that, at present, I feel largely very good about having practiced medicine for 48 years after my residency, but a bit out of sorts about the sorry state of the Delivery of Medical Care in this country.

Fortuitously learned an enormous amount about life in general, and a good bit of esoterica in addition, from my patients over the years. Especially loved teaching the 'Introduction to Patient Care ' subject for 20 years at UCSF School of Medicine during some of my time in practice.

So grateful to fellow Obie, Sara, for how terrifically she managed to head up the path of raising our wonderful 3 sons (who have added 4 grandchildren to our lives) , while additionally putting in her own extraordinary 49 years of work as a brilliant and dedicated attorney — mostly as a California Courts appointed Criminal Appellate Attorney, but also as Continued Education of the Bar editor for a bit.  {Here we are at a No Kings demonstration.]

Obie made it possible for me find a way to get my undergraduate education despite my parents failing to help finance the commitment, which made it possible for me to really learn how to learn and pursue my later career. Obie was instrumental in forging my academic underpinnings with its many ramifications, including, unforgettably, being a part of Drs Candace Pert's and Solomon Snyder's Lab's discovery of the Opiate Receptor during an externship at Johns Hopkins School of Med in 1973, while I was still a student at U of Md School of Medicine. So much to be grateful for!

My classmates were enormously important in shaping the nonacademic segment of my college education, and while no grades were involved (thankfully), you were undoubtedly responsible for the vital leavening and humanizing ingredients folded into my college experience. So thanks to Obie, and all of you classmates, past and present.