What a pleasure to know and love this amazing man. He has taught me so much, given me so much, these 21 years since I had the good fortune to find him looking for a work partner.

Puppets, singing, harmonica-- Bill uses all of these to annoy, uh, I mean entertain his patients. He tells jokes during pelvic exams. And gets away with it. He just has such positive, hopeful energy, that people naturally grant him a lot of latitude.

I found him to be a thoughtful, open-minded, and gifted clinician, as well as a man with a wide range of ambitions. He grows amazing roses, writes evocative, thought-provoking, sometimes stunning poetry. I have had the privilege to witness his maturity as a poet, augmented with a dogged determination and with genuine deep talent, he has achieved his dream of writing poetry that both matters and pleases. He has also become an awardwinning harmonica player (harmonicist?). We can only anticipate with wonder how the yodelling will evolve.

I must mention with awe the stellar and critical role Bill played in protecting current and future generations in our area from the noxious spewings and toxic arguments of Fibrowatt and its local minions. They will all think twice before they try to pull another fast one on the likes of Bill Blackley.

Mostly he has been a great friend. He has acquired a formidable armory of wisdom in his challenging and very colorful life, and in sharing much of it with me he has saved me from many a false step and much avoidable misery. And when misery has been unavoidable, he has been an unflinchingly reliable ally and supporter.

I wish I could do justice to the gratitude and admiration I feel toward Bill. Perhaps he can take my fragmented and inadequate thoughts and write a poem. Thank you, Bill, for the many great years of practice we shared, and thanks even more for your friendship, which I hope to enjoy for decades to come. And I can't wait to see what your next project is. I understand world hunger is still a problem...

Frank Spence