Interesting, today I walked around Microsoft and did some digging for what should be in our next Channel 9 videos and I met Warren Stevens over on the IE team. He’s development lead. But that’s not what’s important. He was wearing a red poppy on his shirt. He told me what that’s all about.
It is a symbol that Canadians (correction: and others) wear around this time of year to remember their war dead. November 11 is Remembrance Day. He recited — from memory — the poem in Flanders Fields. What an emotional poem. My little HTML characters aren’t doing it justice. But Warren did.
After talking with Warren I sauntered out of building 2 along the paths near the soccer fields on Microsoft’s main campus and thinking that I have the best job in the whole wide world. I get to hang out with really great people. And I get to talk about technology and life with them.
And they get to remind me that millions of people have died so that I can have the life I now lead.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the Memeorandum gaming, or the Ray Ozzie memos, and forget that we’re building products for people. And that people build those products.
Thanks Warren for reminding me of what’s important in life. Simply by wearing a red poppy.
