I was back in Minnesota for the State Fair and spent some quality time with my nephew and his family south of The Cities. When finally I checked almost a month of email I belatedly received the news that Mesa had died. I didn't want to blog about it and I didn't want to think about it. The world just seemed a bit empty.

How Mesa fits into My Story is covered in various chapters; especially in the U100 parts. I interviewed her in my office in the basement at U100 and when she tried to leave, the door-knob came off in her hand. Our engineer had to take the door off the hinges so Mesa could leave. She kept the door-knob as a good luck charm.

U100 didn't last long so we never worked together again. I tried to entice her to San Francisco. That didn't work either. Whether you spent a lot of time with Mesa or just fleeting moments, she had an impact and that was the secret to her success. You just couldn't ignore Mesa Kincaid. The truth be told, she could have been an even greater success. She never reached the heights her talent deserved. She just did it her way.

She called me a summer ago. I was at a baseball game. The conversation went on for quite a while and ended with mutual pledges to 'do lunch'. It never happened, damn it.

So, our Mesa has climbed that mountain. Some day we'll climb it too. It isn't something I like to think about. Deep inside I know that on the other side of that big mountain are my Mom and Dad, my Grandma...and Mesa...with a great big purse...with a door-knob inside.