15

 We've passed into the seventh week of the semester, which means that after this week I'll be half-way through my final semester. Yesterday I sent along my official letter to my Provost and Dean stating that I'm retiring and that my final day will be the end of June. They both knew this was the case, but at a certain point you have to make it official for the sake of HR and paperwork. It's weird in that in my line of work that date, 30 June, doesn't really mean much because the semester will end in the first week of May, so that's all I'm really thinking about. When I walk out of class the last time, both my regular semester class and my last Final Exam, that will hit me. The end of June will pass essentially unnoticed (except for my bank account, obviously).

And thanks to Willie Fleming, who is happily still around, for loaning me his number 15 for the countdown. I always expect to get an email from one of the players either, jokingly, pointing out that they didn't actually loan me their number or congratulating me on my impending retirement. Fleming was born in Atlanta, GA, and starred for the University of Iowa (and played on their Rose Bowl championship team). He played his entire career for the BC Lions, becoming the first BC player to rush for a thousand yards. During his time there he won a Grey Cup and eventually had his number retired by the team - and he's a member of the CFL Hall of Fame (here's another player whose plaque I'll check out this summer during the Hamilton trip). He earned a very cool nickname - "The Wisp" or "Will 'o the Wisp" - because he was hard to tackle.