When I went to the Boston Living Center’s Celebration of Life Thanksgiving Dinner this year, I caught up with many old friends. One of them was Michael Bacon. Michael began at the BLC a few months before I began volunteering in the summer of 1996. Michael was the Meals Program Director and later the Director of Nutritional Services and after 21 years decided to retire. The BLC held his retirement party on his birthday and Chris and I were honored to attend.

It was special to see so many old friends and catch up with people- we joked about it being like a family reunion. The tributes were touching. One particular sentiment that I always appreciated was that the Dining Room was always the Dining Room- it was about family and enjoying a meal together. As someone who sat at tables and enjoyed many conversations, I know how special that is.

I remember a few weeks after I began volunteering serving dinner on Monday nights, I sat down to talk with a few members after dinner was served. It was a great conversation and I soon realized other volunteers were cleaning up and I wasn’t. I apologized to Michael for not doing my job and he told me I was doing it- sitting, talking, hearing stories and being present for people was more important than anything else I could be doing. It’s something I never forgot.

I was also struck at the history that brought so many people together- past directors including Larry Kessler who I have known of for so long. So much time has passed since I volunteered and people have moved on (and in some cases passed on).

The message I left in Michael’s card were the first thoughts I had when I heard of his retirement: “To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” -Emerson