David Eckerson

 ... Dave Eckerson here ... I retired from the Foreign Service two years ago and now split time with my bride between houses in Northern Virginia and Seattle.  I was lured back to USAID to run our development program in Burma for a few months last September, and just did a month in El Salvador mentoring all the young'uns who now fill USAID's ranks.  On New Years Eve our daughter married the son of a family friend who died in the Asian Tsunami ten years ago.  We attended an amazing Buddhist remembrance ceremony on the remote island off the coast of Thailand where he died, along with survivors from around the world who came back to witness and relive that infamous day.  Five days later we had our daughter's wedding on the beach where her husband's dad was pulled out to sea.  Needless to say, the wedding and party afterward became one hell of a celebration of life on the island. We spent a month afterwards exploring Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos before returning to Virginia.  We head out to Seattle mid June via a northern route, and will return via a southern tack in October.  My email handle is davesbirthday@gmail.com if anyone wants to connect when we are either going or coming.