Billie,

It was nice to speak with you the other day. Please accept my condolences
on Milt's passing.

As I mentioned during our conversation, Milt was one of a kind.
Professionally, I am sure there is no one I admired or respected more than
Milt. He knew his "stuff" backwards, forwards and sideways. Milt was a
person who could size up a situation, or a person, very quickly - and was
invariably (I might even say infallibly) on target in his assessment. He
was also a wonderful teacher and debater...challenging me to re-examine my
belief systems and assumptions.

I specifically remember an instance where we were working together at a
facility in Manhattan. He was showing a consumer, and me, how a job could
be arranged for maximum productivity. The consumer tried Milt's method,
and began churning out work three or four times that with which he was accustomed.
Milt turned to me, knowing I understood what he had done, and - through his body
language - communicated his satisfaction. I will not forget that instance - mostly
because he had been doing this his whole life, and it had not gotten old.
Most important to me was having Milt as a friend - however distant
geographically our friendship may have been. Whenever I spoke with him, I
felt - at the conclusion of the conversation - a greater, better, more
relaxed sense of who I was and what I wanted. It was terrific to speak to
someone who had "done it" in this field, because it made me believe it
(fair and intelligent treatment of people with disabilities) could be done
again, if you just worked at it. Even with all his frustrations, and I know
there were many, he never ceased giving me all that he had.

 
I will miss Milt for the rest of my life.

 Justin