As a new student at the Mary A. Burnham School for Girls, I would join the rest of the student body at post-dinner singalongs and belt out the lyrics to "Pick Mick in '84" without a clue as to who Mick was. The words were simple and the tune was easy enough (in retrospect pretty annoying): "Pick Mick in '84 (sung 4 times with increasing emphasis)" then "for better government (sung 3 times)" with the grand imperative, "Pick Mick in '84." Finally I worked up the courage to ask who Mick was. And it was Ann Mickelson, who had graduated 2 years earlier. "She is going to be President in 1984" those in the know would confidently say. So for two years, I joined the campaign and passed the word along to new students who were as baffled as I had been. Ann was a star. Even the teachers knew it, the housemothers who would talk fondly of this remarkable leader with a huge heart and deep commitment to what she believed, the student who couldn't get enough learning, the friend who brought people together. Twenty some years later I got a call from someone named Ann de Brauw who lived a few blocks away and just learned I had graduated from her alma mater. "Oh that's nice," I said, mildly interested in continuing the conversation if it didn't involve a request for a donation. At some point she gave me her maiden name and I could barely stand it. I was talking to Mick, this icon I had revered for years. "You were supposed to be President in 1984! What happened?" to which Ann softly said, "I WAS President-of the PTA Council." Huh. I guess that worked, due to a lack of specificity in the campaign lyrics. But that started a wonderful friendship during which we championed causes, shared meals, cried at tender moments, laughed at many more joyful ones. I felt the wind come out of my sails when I read of her death a couple of months ago. I am grateful to read about all the experiences Ann was able to have in the last years of her illness. Colonel Moseley is the Asian history teacher who sparked her interest in Cambodia. He did the same for me about India, and Ann and I would share our love of and appreciation for the Colonel for helping fill our open minds with a sense of wonder and adventure. I know he would say, "Well done, Miss Mickelson" and he wouldn't be talking just of her trip. Well done indeed, dear, beautiful Ann. Gardens are growing because of you.