Although Michael is by all accounts a very deep thinker, I know him mainly by his playfulness.  My first chance to get to know Michael was shortly after Victor and I had joined LCS, when Michael invited both of us to join an expedition to Munich, Germany, as part of the obligations associated with a sponsorship by Siemens.  I came as a wife, and I was very impressed that even wives were invited on these expeditions.  It was the time of the Fasching Festival, and Michael's assistant had lined up a couple of majestic costumes for Victor and me, which practically filled up our suitcases.  Dancing in these costumes at the evening festival celebration was a real challenge, and the whole experience felt over the top.  Afterwards, Michael and Steve Ward took us out for beers on tap at a famous German BrauHaus, served up in humongous mugs. Who could resist the large quantities of excellent German beer, especially when Michael assured me that German beer is so pure you don't have to worry about a hangover?  The next morning I woke up realizing that not everything Michael says is true.

Another fond memory I have of the early days was when we were driving back from an LCS off-site meeting at the Cape, a yearly tradition with Michael that also impressed me greatly.  Cell phones were just starting to appear on the market, and both Victor and Michael were earliest adapters.  Victor impressed Michael by already possessing one of those new-fangled devices that could detect police radar. Michael, driving right behind us in his Cadillac, called up Victor and shared with him his plan to follow closely behind us at whatever speed we wanted to set, cognizant that we would pull over sharply if we detected any police activity.  All of us made it home in record time from the Cape, without mishap, a tribute to technological toys.