[sorry to be late in responding.  I lost Squeak mail access for four days]

Juan Vuletich <jvuletich at dc.uba.ar>  wrote...

>Let me thank you for Smalltalk and Squeak. Your works are a source of inspiration to me. I learn from your code. I keep re-reading "Design Principles Behind Smalltalk", and watching your lectures on video. I enjoy reading every message you send to this list.
>
>I want to program like you. I want to write like you. I want to think like you.
>
>I first read about Smalltalk in 1984, in one of the very first computer magazines I read. It was like scientifiction. I only found it again ten years later at the university. By then, I had been programming for ten years, and I was completely shocked by Smalltalk. In 1997 I knew about Squeak, and I got my first job in Smalltalk. After that, I never took a job on anything else. Your impact in my life hasn't diminished a bit since then.
>
>I would really love to meet you at Squeak's birthday. I'm sure lots of us would but can't. I hope I'll be able to meet you and to thank you personally.
>
>Happy birthday, Squeak!

Juan -

Your message warms my heart.  Your experience is exactly what all of us who worked on Smalltalk and Squeak hoped for, and still hope for.  I accept your thanks for my part -- I am honored.  Let us not forget, though, that many people made Smalltalk and Squeak what it is.  From Alan's first inspiration, through all the good work that made things practical, and all the cool hacks that have made it so much fun, it has been the work of many wonderful people including the good folks on this list (and you, too, Juan) that have made this such a rewarding project.

I never meant to "take" the 10th birthday;  I just felt like having a party, and Craig mentioned the 10 year coincidence.  So happy 10th birthday to all Squeakers out there -- you are just as much a part of the celebration regardless of where you are.

	- Dan