It was the start of a new year in a number of ways. On my way to Opening Exercises, I met Khalid Latif, the new Muslim Chaplain and then saw this nice bumper sticker which was clearer the second time around.

The next day, I had my annual meeting with Mike Jennings, chair, and Pat Heslin, Department Manager, of the German department and at our first senior staff meeting of the new semester, Joanne McLaren, the new payroll manager, came to visit leading to the next day when Maria's wonderful painting of my office came back nicely framed and Nick Diehl from the Ombuds Office came for a meeting and Peter Dougherty of the Princeton U. Press took me out to lunch.

The new year really started a few days when the guests started to arrive for the New Years luncheon after services. First came Tamar and Tom Jacobson and then Lizzie Presser and Zach Balin arrived with Jane followed by Peter Kramer and Seva Kramer. I headed off to Princeton Junction to get Janet, Larry, Paige and Christiano and returned to see the table set so that we could take a few partial group pictures before digging into the soup which seemed to need to eaten while standing around. I did a number of tries to get the right self portrait with Larry with quite limited success

so I flew into the kitchen to see the last of the meat be cut and the ratatouille tomatoes and corn that would go into the pasta before the assembled visited the buffet with the nice flowers from which I assembled this plate of food and then had a few desserts and added a few more as the assembled engaged in conversation for a real holiday celebration.

After a substantial meal and before the football game, we took on the task of rolling the stump to the patio

which made us happy to begin our walk with a stop at Einstein's house for pictures of Paige and Christiano and then on to the game where Paige, Christiano and Larry and Ben posed as the players huddled while the referees conferred as Lafayette got ready to take on the ball and we captured a photo of Christiano against the backdrop of Princeton Stadium as a cloth remained on the 10 year line while Princeton went into formation a few times

before the punter came out and did his thing so that the Lafayette Leopards took over the ball and brought the ball downfield for a touchdown and then an extra point that went through the uprights but soon the referees were marching off yardage and Princeton was the victor 26-14 which caused the band to invade the Wilson School fountain in celebration as we went on to Thomas Sweets and Paige and Christiano Sarah and Ed Suzanne and Janet and Larry posed for the good feeling of a new year.