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I am honored that Len Horwitz invited me to be part of this farewell event. I think my best credential to speak to you is my longevity. I came to Menninger with my husband, Steve, in 1972 to do a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology. We were both 28 years old. We came here from Berkeley, and before that from New York. We were positive we would stay for only 2 years and then we would head back to one coast or the other. And we felt very, very sorry for the people who actually lived here.
Two years became two decades, and now almost three. I am 58 years old and I have been here my entire grown-up life. It never occurred to me at any time that Menninger would be leaving me rather than the other way around. Although I have always understood the fact that all institutions live and die, just like human beings live and die, it is still hard to accept that fact when the institution is The Menninger Clinic as we have known it. So I appreciate the opportunity to reminisce with friends and colleagues.
I vividly recall how I felt when I arrived in 1972 to begin my postdoctoral training. I was thrilled to be part of this extraordinary community of learning. I was thrilled to be in a program where I would receive in-depth training in psychodynamic theory and therapy rather than a smattering of this and that. I was thrilled to have remarkable colleagues and teachers who, without exception, took their work seriously and taught me to do the same. I was thrilled to purchase a three-bedroom bungalow on Huntoon Street for $17,000 and that I would never have to learn to parallel park.
In addition to being thrilled about all these things, I also felt quite intimidated. It took a while before I could speak out in a psychology meeting, or any meeting, without experiencing tachycardia or other symptoms of terror. I did speak out. I did not let my discomfort...