Martha Kolman-Davidson was a valued and respected member of the Agitar Software team.
She joined Agitar as our 10th employee, Senior Technical Writer, on 2003-January-20. I was a Board member but not yet CEO at that time and remember the call from founder and first CEO, Alberto Savoia, asking Doug Leone and me to approve the acceleration of this hire. Alberto concluded after her day of interviews that Martha was the best technical writer he had ever met, and wanted to get her right away. She jumped in, worked very closely with engineering and product management, and delivered first-class documentation with every release of our product from Agitator + Dashboard 1.0 through 3.0.5; she also did most of the documentation for AgitarOne 4.0.
Documentation is an important part of the complete, saleable product. Martha’s documentation was acclaimed by users and reviewers, and made it markedly easier for our customers to see the value of Agitator and AgitarOne. She also cheerfully (albeit reluctantly, since she didn’t see herself as a marketing writer) reviewed Agitar press releases, datasheets, and other marketing materials, which were always improved by an editing pass from Martha.
Martha loved her work and enjoyed working with her teammates at Agitar, who felt the same way about Martha. Even to the end she hoped to come back to Agitar some day, and was eager to review technical and marketing documents. Before going on her medical leave she made sure to recommend her friend and colleague, Vickie, who joined Agitar on 2006-October-23. Martha wanted to make sure that we continued with a terrific writer who could support our products as we grow, and stayed at work through an effective and efficient transition.
All of us in Mountain View remember Martha’s wonderful sense of humor which was quite evident at our group lunches, after-lunch walks, and Friday afternoon beer bashes. Good writers normally like to write, and one expects a writer to enjoy words and language. Martha fit this description. Martha’s sense of humor exploited her facility with language; she really enjoyed word games and puns as well as jokes.
She also liked haiku, which led a few years ago to an extensive email thread between Martha and me. It started as a lunch discussion and carried on over six weeks through two of my business trips and one vacation trip. We used the standard form with 5 – 7 – 5 syllables on lines 1, 2, and 3, respectively. I captured almost all of the thread below, edited from a long sequence of “reply to” emails that I had saved, missing only the few initial haiku that were delivered verbally. I simplified the “From” field and arranged the messages in chronological order instead of reverse order, for easier reading. The timestamps and haiku are unchanged. I added in a few cases comments in italics to explain otherwise obscure references.
Martha and I had great fun with this, sharing a lot of laughter in person as we visited each other’s cubicles to comment on the latest haiku. I gave Martha a version of this in early June 2007; she enjoyed revisiting this exchange. I wanted to preserve this demonstration of Martha’s creativity and love of writing and share it with her colleagues, friends, and family.
Jerry Rudisin, CEO
Agitar Software
Mountain View, CA
On Thursday, October 28, 2004 at lunch at Agitar all of us were discussing the new code-rules enforcement feature in our Agitator product. Martha offered this off-the-cuff haiku, which I remembered and documented in an email to her late that afternoon:
Code rules, checking code.
Engineers waiting, crying.
Disk drives sometimes die.
[Agitator created vast numbers of files as part of its analysis, and put real stress on disk drives.]
I followed that afternoon with these haiku of my own:
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2005 5:56 PM
Software in trouble?
Agitation going strong.
Relief in sight soon!
--and--
Java sets you free.
Software health does matter most.
Agitator spins.
On Friday, October 29, 2004 at lunch Martha and I traded some off-the-cuff haiku which we did not write down. I finished with one that Martha observed had a syllable too many. A few minutes later I continued the thread…..and, inspired and encouraged by Martha’s love of words, we went on from there for 6 weeks of haiku fun.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 12:06 PM
Syllable too far.
Haiku is now conformant.
Happy man am I.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 1:26 PM
Go, Jerry, go, go.
I've created a monster.
He cannot stop now.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 2:48 PM
Laughing now I am.
At San Francisco airport.
Plane – it leaves late. Woe.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Friday, October 29, 2004 3:21 PM
Hope your plane leaves soon.
I'll see you when you get back.
Happy Halloween.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 7:08 AM
Are there one or two
Syllables in "I'll", I ask?
Martha wrong? Not so!
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 2:54 PM
Martha, I return.
Business trip is over,
Happy to be back.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 3:13 PM
Received it I did.
Now I sound just like Yoda.
Nice to have you back.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 3:17 PM
A truce we shall call,
In this duel of haikus.
Much work to do now.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 3:20 PM
A duel did we have?
A friendly conversation?
With work we proceed.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 3:24 PM
No, no, not a duel.
Two colleagues, conversing.
I cannot stop. Help.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 4:01 PM
I cannot stop you.
But I will continue to play.
This has been much fun.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 4:05 PM
But you have erred.
"Continue" makes eight: too much
On your second line.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 4:09 PM
Oops, I cannot count.
Move it back to present tense.
That should make it right.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 4:12 PM
An elegant fix,
Done rapidly with humor.
That has made it right.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 4:27 PM
Now it is my turn.
I cannot think what to say.
My brain needs a rest.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 10:34 AM
A new day dawned.
Mind restored to duty?
Time for more haiku.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 10:36 AM
My brain is awake.
I'm ready to start again.
Let the games begin.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 11:29 AM
A big tray of drinks!
Carried with care to the team.
Good public service.
[At our company beer bashes Martha often gathered the refreshments and brought the drink cart to get the beer bash started.]
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 2:11 PM
Four o'clock comes soon.
Eclipsator is ready.
To Tied House we go.
[Eclipsator was the nickname for the 1.5 release of Agitator, which plugged into the Eclipse software development environment for Java. The Tied House is a local bar where we sometimes had team celebrations after a major release.]
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 2:14 PM
Deals will follow soon.
A slow start in October,
But momentum builds.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 2:52 PM
Time to look ahead:
Planning for what's next begins.
There is much to do.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 2:55 PM
Pipeline grows each day.
Average deal size: bigger.
OTTWD*
* Onward toward total world domination
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 2:58 PM
Customer list grows.
Agitators everywhere.
And then even more.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 3:17 PM
A network effect
Spurring extreme growth, bigger
Than we see today.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 3:48 PM
Customers must learn:
Big responsibility
To write clear docs.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 6:33 PM
Day ends and night falls.
Haiku marinates my brain.
Some bad, some clever.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 9:22 AM
The Agitator,
Abstemiously churning,
Makes your code better.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 11, 2004 9:38 PM
Another new day.
Code rules examples to write.
And release notes too.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 9:38 AM
(A correction to one of mine from yesterday):
My error, using
"W" in the last line
Making it too long
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 9:39 AM
I missed the mistake.
Counting syllables is fun.
One two three four five.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 9:44 AM
Agitate today!
Parsimonious disk use?
No, oh no, disks die.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 4:31 PM
Your ardor lower?
Or too much time on real work?
With work, haiku wanes.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004 4:33 PM
End of a long week.
Code rules help off for review.
Time to relax now.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 2004 2:27 PM
Saw Yanni? How sweet!
Pay money to hear him sing?
I would not do that.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, November 15, 2004 9:21 AM
To each his own taste.
The concert was amazing.
I'm so glad we went.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 11:00 AM
Paris fits my taste.
Flying away this Friday.
Dreaming of fine food.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 11:02 AM
Fun and business too.
Celebrate your birthday there?
You will be gone long.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 11:09 AM
Birthday come and gone.
November eight was the day.
I improve with age.
(And I think that business has 3 syllables.....)
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:02 PM
If I say biz'ness,
Can you count the way I do?
Common sense prevails.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:04 PM
Clever, quite clever.
Yes, open to much abuse,
But oh so clever.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:06 PM
Thank you very much.
Haiku is good discipline.
And stretches my brain.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:24 PM
Martha, queen of words.
The expert in clear writing.
The best tech writer.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:45 PM
Thank you yet again.
Encouraged to keep writing,
I cannot refuse.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 16, 2004 5:51 PM
You walk out the door,
Driving to San Francisco.
Home, to your dear Wolf.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 1:50 PM
Good forum today.
Alberto was in fine form.
And the panel too.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 4:40 PM
Kent Beck did very well.
He's* a jolly good Fellow.
Nobody can deny.
(* Using your rule of pronounced syllables!)
[Kent Beck is an industry figure and a part-time Agitar employee, who had just spoken for us at a local event with Alberto Savoia, Agitar co-founder and CTO.]
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 4:46 PM
Now you count like me.
Haiku is an oral form.
So it makes more sense.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 4:54 PM
From the oral form
To the written word, thus did
Mankind make progress
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 4:58 PM
Respect the old ways
They got us where we are now
From there we go forth
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:02 PM
Here to agitate,
We change how software is made.
Old ways are failing.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:06 PM
We start with what worked.
Build on the traditional.
Make new ways to code.
--and--
Chacun a son gout.
You travel to Paris soon.
I used to speak French.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:13 PM
I do not have gout.
I eat a lot, but I stop.
French? Je parle un peu.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 5:17 PM
You are way too much.
I can't stop laughing at this.
Where will we go next?
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 6:17 PM
Where will I go next?
Paris, London, and then home.
Then, off to Tokyo.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 9:33 AM
I stay here and write.
Many places you will go.
And many time zones.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 9:49 AM
To Paris I go,
When the beaujolais nouveau
Is still fairly new.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 12:46 PM
Back from lunchtime walk.
Warmer than I thought outside.
Now back to writing.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 12:52 PM
A walk after lunch.
Reduce my expanding girth?
I walk too rarely.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 12:58 PM
We walk every day.
You are welcome to join us
When you are in town.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 2:10 PM
Walking and thinking.
Thinking, talking, and laughing.
Mirth while fighting girth.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 2:28 PM
We walk together,
"A team, not a family"--
Agitar's culture.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:11 PM
A witty reply,
To quote one of my mantras.
New ones as haiku?
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:13 PM
What shall I say next?
I think and then I count words.
Such is my process.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:17 PM
I hold my tongue,
And let haiku marinate.
Sitting on United.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:18 PM
Dare I count again?
How many in United?
I count one extra.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:28 PM
Now I have erred.
Yes, my count is off by one.
Flying United.
--or--
Flying United.
Now, that count is accurate.
My count is now right.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 3:58 PM
Off-by-one errors:
Hard to count right every time.
Needs vigilance.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 4:20 PM
Agitate to solve.
Automate the count and test.
License sells itself?
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 4:32 PM
No more POCs?
More and more new customers.
And more new features.
[POC = Proof-of-Concept, an on-site trial of Agitator and Dashboard on customer code, which we do as part of the pre-sales process.]
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 4:37 PM
Agitator thinks.
Beating many disks to death.
Seagate will love us.
--and--
Farewell I bid you.
Long journey starts tomorrow.
See you in some weeks.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Thursday, November 18, 2004 4:44 PM
Have fun on your trip.
Eat good food and drink good wine.
Then come home and fast.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 11:48 AM
My taxi comes soon.
Leave then for Frisco airport.
Frisco? Tourist term!
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Friday, November 19, 2004 12:48 PM
Jargon in its place.
Know when to use Plain English.
That is my charter.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 3:02 AM
On Eurostar I sit.
Zooming under the water,
From France to England.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 9:51 AM
Blackberry is good.
You send mail while you're not here.
Having a nice trip?
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 9:54 AM
Not on the 'Berry.
Wi-Fi magic at hot spot:
British Library.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 9:56 AM
That was really fast.
Transatlantic messaging.
World has gotten small.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:00 AM
You are faster still,
With a wit so sharp. Scary?
No - but loads of fun.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:01 AM
Shaking my head now.
And smiling with a big grin!
Happy Thanksgiving.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:04 AM
Laughing loudly now,
Baring my big pink gums, source
Of spousal teasing.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:09 AM
I can see your face.
We talk more when you're away
Than in the office.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:15 AM
That haiku magic.
Bringing people together,
All around the world.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 10:18 AM
Not just Japanese.
Haiku works in English too,
As we have both seen.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 1:30 PM
What more can I say?
High time for a brand new thread.
Wait and see, Writer.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 1:52 PM
Laptop died today.
Started with new IBM.
Installing software...
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 1:54 PM
A sad bad topic.
Tough start to a long weekend.
Better days ahead.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, November 24, 2004 1:57 PM
Could have been worse time.
Thank you for your sympathy.
Now, more to install.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Sunday, November 28, 2004 5:53 AM
Delight in a cup:
Sorbets (Maison Berthillon).
Eaten: not enough!
Tasty but fragile,
Available in Paris,
It travels badly.
Thus fine chocolate
Made the journey from Paris.
To join you at lunch.
This sweet ambrosia,
From Maison du Chocolat,
Feeds our hungry team.
Expensive per pound.
Fifty Euro plus: oy vey!
Enjoy and savor.
Bought by Agitar?
No: personal funds, Martha.
Special team gets treat.
For Beth and for me:
Please save a total of ten
From the hungry mob.
[I was on vacation in Paris and brought back some chocolate truffles for the team in Mountain View, which I planned to leave on Martha’s desk when I stopped in the office, before heading out on a business trip to Tokyo.]
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 10:40 AM
Chocolate surprise
On my desk Monday morning.
We will all enjoy.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:06 PM
Haiku from Japan.
Inspiration in Tokyo.
Source of this art form.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:13 PM
Chocolates all gone.
Lasted almost two whole days.
Now you bring sushi?
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:18 PM
Sushi on the plane?
Yes, it will survive the trip,
In "belly class" seat.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2004 4:46 PM
I was just kidding.
Something fishy in that thought.
Fun to contemplate.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 5:57 PM
It is morning here,
The land of the rising sun.
A haiku cliché.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 9:46 AM
Good morning, Jerry.
Say hi to Jeff and Mirek.
If you see them there.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 3:42 PM
Saturday here now.
Saw Jeff and Mirek; they left.
Soon, I leave for home.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 4:23 PM
Friday ends soon here.
Mark gave tech talk on solvers.
Almost time for beer*.
(*or equivalents...)
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Saturday, December 04, 2004 4:25 PM
Home, but for how long?
As deals loom, perhaps I fly.
CEO's burden!
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 9:33 AM
Good burden to have.
Last company had no sales.
This is much better.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 10:43 AM
How can I top that?
Two-oh-oh-four haiku brawl
Draws to a fine end?
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 10:51 AM
Chocolates all gone.
Sorry for missing request.
You go back to Paris?
[In spite of my request that Martha save 10 pieces of chocolate – excellent truffles – for Beth Kaiser and me, all of it was gone when I returned. Haiku is apparently not the best medium for explicit requests!]
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 11:42 AM
Chocolate steward:
My heart is badly broken.
Next time, you save some?
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 2:02 PM
I will not forget.
To Trader Joe's I will go.
For both you and Beth.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 2:29 PM
Better than nothing,
Though inferior to my treats.
But, I will survive.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 2:32 PM
You are strong enough.
I will find the best they have.
Which indeed tastes good.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 3:11 PM
Better as writer
Than steward of the goodies
Beth and I craved.
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, December 06, 2004 3:19 PM
You pay me to write.
To each her own expertise.
The rest is gravy.
From: Jerry Rudisin to Martha Kolman-Davidson
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 4:08 PM
Mistress of the stars,
Doing serious duty,
Fetes our employees.
[Each of the first 60 or so Agitar employees had a cardboard star posted on the lunchroom wall when he or she started. Each person was encouraged to paste an old – ideally embarrassing – photo on his or her star. At each anniversary of joining the company, a gold star was added to the cardboard star. Though this is really an HR function, Martha volunteered for the care and upkeep of these stars. Her desire to be accurate and timely was appreciated -- and often the source of amusing conversation at lunch.]
From: Martha Kolman-Davidson to Jerry Rudisin
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2004 4:20PM
More photos now too.
I keep track of everything.
And it's so much fun.
[Even though the timestamps on the emails show that we managed to interrupt this haiku fun with some real work, we finally called it quits as Agitar got into the end-of-quarter rush and December holidays.]
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