Thank You, My Friends

This is the last post I'll be writing from the Boston area - or at least as a full-time resident of the Boston area - for the foreseeable future. I've lived in the region for 20 years and I've developed a number of friends and colleagues in the area, many through the advent of social media over the last couple of years.

Last night, I was roasted by a number of people who were kind enough to give up their Friday night and turn out for a very unique and memorable event. Instigated by none other than Chris Brogan and flawlessly orchestrated by John Wall, I was the recipient of fun-filled barbs at my expense.

Admittedly, I'm an easy target for a roast, but when stacked up against the auto industry and Detroit, there's an abundance of material. Last night's roasters spared no expense. They included:

• Susan Getgood - was a fine dinner companion who refrained from flinging insults at the end of the evening.
  
• Todd Van Hoosear - a man with Michigan roots himself, he set me up with the 3-1-3 gang hand gesture that might get me out of a jam if caught in downtown Detroit
• John Wall - who noted that my new color a crayon should be "turd brown"
• Laura "Pistachio" Fitton - who still thinks there's an opportunity to monetize our Twitter concept
• Chris Brogan - who thought that crayon's thinning ranks should result in the company renaming itself "pencil"
• Adam Zand - favoring his Elton glasses, he played the Henry-Ford-was-a-Nazi card
  
• Len Edgerly - a class act, if ever I met one, he used skills akin to Sherlock Holmes to deduce why I would choose to go to Ford
  
• Doug Haslam - he compared me to that other Renaissance man, George Plimpton, leaving me with a copy of Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback. He also showed a copy of my crayon resignation letter:

John manned the control panel and took care of the audio recording of the entire event. I've got to say, I have a very funny and talented group of friends who unleashed without mercy. Since I've got a good sense of humor, I took it all in the spirit it was meant, but I also got a chance to offer a rebuttal.

If you're not familiar with the concept of a roast, check out the Wikipedia definition. According to tradition at the Friars Club, "we only roast the ones we love."

I'm reminded of what the Wizard said to the Tin Man about his heart:

A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others.

And after last night, my heart is filled with gratitude for the tribute paid to me by my friends, and not a little sadness for leaving Boston behind. It's a major hotbed of social media, with many bright, creative and selfless people. It's not going to be the same without you.

Farewell, my Boston friends. I look forward to many more interactions, both online and off, where I'm sure we'll continue our collaborations and our friendship.