We got a Poet!

Hello everyone and welcome to the liver blog. Thank you for coming over.

Last night Aidan informed me that he had watered our garden and that it was looking good. What I did not tell him is that our garden is not yet planted.

But I'll tell you who planted a garden. The LWR Board of Directors did. They announced the new LWR president this morning, after a nine month secret search. Friends, I was stunned, shocked, thrilled, elated. We all were. Joanne and I never wished so badly to be at headquarters in Baltimore.

They announced John Nunes, who had presented at the Virtual U this past April and inspired all of us about the vocation of a global citizen. Who knew that he was also in the candidate pool for LWR president. But the best thing is he's a poet. They hired a poet for our next president. Isn't that awesome? A poet CEO. I love it.

So today when Joanne and I listened on speaker phone while the Baltimore staff all gathered to meet and greet John Nunes and his wife, Monique;

When we heard him listen to us;

When we heard him tell cute stories about his personal life;

When we heard him charm, joke, and say inspirational things like, "If you don't think working here is about changing lives then you are working at the wrong place."

When we heard the room full of joy and laughter ring through the telephone speaker;

When we heard John Nunes orate one of his favorite poems by Derek Walcott, Nobel laureate (below) ;

When we heard all this a thousand miles away via telephone, I knew that a garden had been planted.

If you still don't believe me about the potential of this planet, maybe you'll believe John Nunes. And to the members of the LWR Board of Directors, I want to extend my deepest thanks for your thorough and excellent work. Thank you a thousand times. And to the other finalist, whose name I will probably never hear, I thank you for going through the process and wish you consolation and another big open door. Now the poem:

LOVE AFTER LOVE

The time will come
when, with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door,
in your own mirror,
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,
and say,
sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

~ Derek Walcott ~

With love, T

P.S. I was going to give you a house tour today, but with this breaking news decided to wait on that for now. Coming soon, friends!