Well the conference is over and I would like to tell you about the serious
emotions that bubbled up at the end. Dr Hagelstein had the last word and he
wished to observe that today was the 25th anniversary of the Pons and
Fleischmann announcement. I've noticed before that he tends to have a somewhat
pessimistic view of the prospects for cold fusion. He described the field as
hanging on by its fingernails, and recounted how few research groups are active
now compared to four years after the announcement. He also said he was feeling
a glimmering of hope, and acknowledged the apparent success and good feeling
generated by the just completed colloquium.
He then moved to recognize the friends that are no longer with us, and
literally hit a brick wall. His eyes filled with tears and he was not able to
speak the name of Martin Fleischman or the others. At the suggestion of the
audience he wrote on the chalkboard "Thanks for twenty five years of struggle
and hard work". I sensed that his sadness was for the deceased, but also for
the wearying burden he himself has carried for the last twenty-five years. All
those years of pushing a stone uphill, the best years of his life, with so
little support or recognition. I say the good doctor has no reason to feel bad
about his show of emotion. The whole conference was touched and found meaning
in it. Now for those of us who are becoming more certain that the winds of
change are blowing at last, to find the gumption to push this thing over the
finish line!
Steve High
