Godspeed, Dr. Shon

My beloved pulmonologist, Dr. Shon, surprised me during my visit today when he calmly slipped in, "By the way, you did know I was retiring, didn't you?"

My jaw dropped. After I got over my initial shock and while fighting back my tears (pretty unsuccessfully), I asked him what he planned to do during his retirement.

It didn't surprise me when he said travel a lot (don't a lot of retirees have that goal?)
But I guess climbing El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park, did. Rising more than 3,000 feet above the valley floor, it is the largest monolith of granite in the world. It is for experienced rock climbers only.  He plans to even stay overnight on the rock's face.

I was amazed.  He is a quiet man, quick with a smile and a dry sense of humor.   I am going to miss him a lot.