My Thoughts

I am not sure, that in any of the calls that we have had during the crisis =
surrounding Enron, that I have been able to fully express the depth of my g=
ratitude to each of you. I am as grateful as one can be. Like many of you=
, I loved this place and feel an immense sense of loss at what is occurring=
. My heart also aches for the financial losses that so many have suffered,=
not only in our group, but also throughout the company, particularly given=
how much all of us have given to this place, some for many years. I have =
been searching for a way to capture what we've done here and was reading a =
book the other day about Teddy Roosevelt, former President of the United St=
ates, and saw a quote that I thought was appropriate to our group and circu=
mstances?the quote is,=20

"the credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena?who strives =
valiantly, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends =
himself in worthy causes. Who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievem=
ent and who, at worst, if he fails, fails while daring greatly so that his =
place shall never be with those cold and timid souls, who knew neither vict=
ory nor defeat."

The work that we did here was great. The way we did it, I believe, sets an=
example for those who will attempt to fill our shoes?and we fought for the=
right cause, i.e., competitive markets around the world. Our victories we=
re many and often directly due to our presence and leadership?the failure t=
hat we are experiencing as a company, however, that is so deep and so thoro=
ugh, was not of our making. I don't know exactly what the days and weeks a=
head hold for any of us, but I am quite confident that the good work that w=
e do and the way that we do it, and the sense of community that we were abl=
e to create in this group, will show up in new places and new companies all=
around the world over the next months and years. I hope to speak to many,=
if not all of you, on a one to one basis over the next several weeks to ex=
press my thanks and gratitude for having had the opportunity to work with y=
ou, but I also want to take this opportunity to wish each of you the best i=
n the future and during this holiday season.

Thank you