Being brand new to the workforce, it all seemed a bit unusual, but it didn’t take long for me to recognize that Ron Miller was definitely something special. His voice rang across the office frequently throughout the day as he used the intercom for his personal phone. “Eddy,” he would call, “See Ron. Eddy, see Ron. We have a unique opportunity.” He never called them problems. Or situations. They were always opportunities. Once I understood the code, I grew to love him. His own operating system was not without error. I helped clean up the wall splattered in coffee, when an “opportunity” distracted him. He left the machine on all afternoon, until it finally blew up to get his attention — which led to another opportunity. He didn’t always return from lunch, which left a void in the speaker system. His clothes and hair were often rumpled in opportunity. And I saw him as a work in progress. A work of art. 

I haven’t seen him for so long. But his wife, sends me a Christmas card each year here in France. I barely know her, but she is the glorious link that keeps us connected. 

I watch the news from home and my heart hurts for the divisions. Two sides so broken. Only seeing the problems. Where is our Ron Miller? Who is telling us to look for the opportunity. In all of this disarray. In all of this confusion, there remains the opportunities, if we choose to take them. There is art to be made. Tables to be set. Lessons to be learned. Letters to be written. And sent. Links to somehow reach over the divide and keep us connected. Yes, the walls we have put up and forgotten, are covered in mistakes, but we can correct this. Will we? 

I hear the voice overhead. It calls to me and I smile. I will keep trying. Rumpled and ready, I step into the opportunity of today.