I did quite well in my course work, but...

...Avi, of course, would have been at the top of the class.

There's so much computer-talk that the two of us could have shared...

When I first entered the Branford Hall program, I did not disclose to my classmates anything about Avi and his death. I did not want my situation to color the other students' - all of whom are less than half my age - perceptions and relationships with me. Once we all became well enough acquainted, however, I no longer felt the need to not reveal.

Once during the first module, in answering an instructor's question, I mentioned that I had a computer at home built from scratch. I quickly added, "But not by me!" One classmate found that strange and interjected, "You had to mention that?!" He probably was thinking that I was just trying not to stand out.

Several weeks later, after I had repaired Avi's computer at school, I asked that same classmate to help me with the doors as I was taking the machine to my car. I then told him that there was a story behind that computer, and that I had had a reason for emphasizing that it was "not built by me."

When he learned about my younger son, he asked me whether I had chosen to enter the computer field because of Avi. I told him that that was not the case. Rather, my choice had to do with my own interests, which Avi then picked up on and ran with...