Greetings fellow Council members,

First, let me apologize for missing the last Council call, which as you know I rarely do.

Second, thank you to those who have reached out to me regarding my well-being; that is greatly appreciated. I am glad to report that I am fine, having recently had a lovely holiday in Berlin with an old University mate, and planning to attend the APTLD meeting in Hong Kong in February, as well as the ICANN meeting in Seattle in March.

My inattentiveness of late to Council/GRC matters has been due to a family matter which I will share with you as a wakeup call for all of us.

Three weeks and two days ago, my wife’s Great Aunt, a vibrant, 86 year old, 50+ year Manhattan New York City resident, was on her way from her residence to the Subway to attend a play, when she became the victim of a hit and run automobile accident (an illegal left turn), which left her with a skull fracture, severe brain damage, a broken tibia, a broken ankle, a broken clavicle,  and severe bodily bruising.

Three weeks in since this incident, she has no idea who she is, where she is, why she is where she is, who her great aunt is, nor who I am.

This situation is most unlikely to improve much…

She was meticulously organized with her affairs, up to a point.  I am her executor, which gratefully I am not in that role at the moment, but expect to be in the not too distant future.

She left meticulous details regarding her funeral service, which I transmitted to the Rectors of her Church on Saturday

She left meticulous details regarding her end of life care decisions, which my wife has transmitted to the Hospital caring for her.

She left less than precise details regarding her daily financial operations (mostly on-line, but no login or password credentials, and only a vague notion of who her banker or financial provider are.)

She left less than meticulous details regarding what her long-term disability health care insurance situation is; although after a weekend of research, I think it looks OK.

I realise that this is an incredibly personal correspondence to pop up on the Council list, but I share all this with you as to (a) let you know that I am OK, and (b) issue you all a wake-up call to document everything for your heirs for when you are gone.

God knows it’s a wakeup call for me.  You just cannot leave behind too much documentation for your heirs.

I thank you for your understanding of my recent lack of participation in ccNSO Council affairs.  I hope to re-engage soonest, and look forward to seeing you all again in Seattle.

Best Regards,

//Stephen