Thursday, May 8, 2014

Say Thanks Before It Is Too Late

Recently, while facing a perplexing budget issue, I was telling a colleague of mine about a great professor who I was fortunate to have at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.  He taught an excellent course called the 'Social Software of Financial Accounting'.  He was either a singularly impressive professor or I am suffering from an increasingly poor memory because I can't recall another professor's name from that time.  Norman B. "NB" Macintosh was on loan to us from Queen's University in Canada where he was Professor Emeritus.  Dr. Macintosh received both research and teaching awards from the Canadian Academic Accounting Association during his career.

The conversation with my colleague brought to mind the fact that I had allowed my correspondence with "NB" (nota bene ~ meaning to 'note well') to lapse.  I was determined to renew my correspondence with him and send him a note of thanks for the lasting impression he made on my education and my thinking.  

I searched for his address in the international 411 directory and also found him in the Queen's University faculty directory.  I wrote my letter and searched for additional details about what he had been up to since NPS.  To my great dismay, I came across an "In Memoriam Tribute" to him on the Queen's School of Business website from 19 May 2011.  My heart sank.  I was too late.  He had passed away a day after my birthday.

The lesson for me (and perhaps for you) is not to wait too long to say thanks to those who have helped expand our minds and who have demanded more of us than we thought ourselves capable. 

Thank you professor Macintosh. 

N.B.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A great insight here, Mike. I think generating notes and letters for whatever reason, but specifically to recognize those who had a significant impact or created an epiphany event in one's life is gratifying. It is gratifying to the individual who may have never recognized his or her influence on someone's life and it is gratifying to the individual who wrote it from recognizing this influence. Cheers, Igor