Brought Gabe to work with me today, and thought I’d share a few of the highlights and authentic Gabeisms:

1. This being the U’s off-season, lots of rental properties around campus have “For Rent” signs posted – in windows, on the doors, on the lawn. We passed one such property and Gabe said, “That’s the second tree for rent I’ve seen today!” He laughed and laughed, then explained that the “For Rent” sign was stuck to the tree, but it was for the house …

2. In a colleague’s office, given full freedom of a white board, he drew three bowling pins and a bowling ball dropping from the sky – black outlines, red stripes on the pins. In order to use every color white board marker available, he signed the picture by: Gabe!

3. In a meeting immediately following the drawing, he sat quietly and recreated the drawing in his notebook. Then he drew another, with the ball actually striking the pins. Each of these he labeled “ARIGNL” — then made smaller version of each on a single sheet of paper, labeling those “COPY” and inviting me to hang them in my office.

4. In the same meeting, as people were filing in, he tapped me on the shoulder and asked, “How many boys will be in this meeting?” I replied, “Just us, I think.” (Most of my coworkers are women, and he seemed to be getting nervous – they all kept talking to him and trying to give him stuff …)

5. I was sitting at my desk watching the boy at the computer I set up for him, and got the warm, fuzzy, proud-papa feeling. “Gabe,” I said, “I think I’ll keep ya.”

“Fine by me,” he said.