Photo: Lynda Lester—NCAR/SCD

Poetry for the occasion: Greg McArthur, head of SCD's Digital Information Group, recites a humorous poem about Bernie that he wrote especially for the occasion.

All good things, as they are wont to say
Must eventually come to an end …
And so it is, on this very special day,
We bid farewell to a dear and valued Friend.

After nine and thirty years
Of working very hard
We raise a glass—our collective cheers
And toast the retirement of Father Bernard!

For those of us who know him
And cherish memories fond
It's time now to roast him …
To relate stories of our bond.

A complex and deep man is he
Who never sought the easy way
But to know him you must be
Prepared to listen to what he'll say.

So often to his office I would come
To hear his wisdom on NCAR survival
Advise and tactics, I always took some
And prepared for a Jesuit reprisal!

Bernie's office was a place to behold
A picture window looking out
On hikers and wildlife and mountains old
Vistas that made me want to shout!

But the best thing in there, the most telling of all
Was a neatly framed poster of a duck on the wall…

A sitting daffy-like Duck, holding a drink
With sunglasses on and not yet dead
Observing two bullet holes that made a chink
In the wall behind his perplexed-looking head.

"Missed me"—you can almost hear the Duck think
"But whose shooting at me, relaxed as I am
In my comfortable chair, sipping my drink
My own business I'm minding as best as I can!"

The poster speaks volumes about all facets of life
But it's Bernie's metaphorical survival clue
Four decades at NCAR are never free of strife
Someone, somewhere is aiming at you!

While some of us may think this view cynical
Or schizophrenically paranoid, lacking in tact
Bernie's assessment is far from being clinical
He'll tell you point blank—It's a fact!

So what final lesson from Father Bernard can we take
As he prepares to retire and leave us all?
Relax where you may, and your thirst do slake
But always keep your back to the wall!

—by Greg McArthur