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the process of getting the details right at MIT seemed at times to have no end in sight. As it appeared that MIT had now gotten its ducks in a row, however, there was no reason to wait. September 1 seemed like a good starting date. It would be only ten days after we'd come back from vacation, but we wanted to start in the States at the beginning of the school year.

Al's next call was on July 14, Bastille Day. As usual, our village was celebrating with fireworks, lit from a field just across the road from our house. I found that I could not be totally serious with Al, and wondered if he would understand. There we were, watching the fireworks over our little town in the French countryside, across the lake from the Alps. The conversation was almost inaudible with the explosions.

My wife and I were packing our bags for vacation. Although we assumed we could come back to sort out our affairs, we decided that if there was a question about whether to bring something or not, we should bring it. And so we left, with a young daughter, an infant son, and a cavalcade of friends going down to the airport with sixteen cases and boxes. My family never came back. I returned for ten days to sell, with the help of friends, the cars and the house.

Meanwhile, encouraged by George Metakides in Brussels, MIT and CERN inked an agreement to start the World Wide Web Consortium. It was announced in Boston by Martin Bangemann, one of the European Commission's commissioners, who was charged with developing the EC's plan for a Global Information Society. There was a press release. The Associated Press ran a story about it. Reports followed in the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, and other major papers. Mike Sendal and Robert Cailliau had been joined by François Fluckiger, who was to lead the consortium team at CERN. It still wasn't clear how the consortium would fit in there, since this was new. It was clear that MIT was very much in control, moving faster, with more experience and relevant contacts. Some people in Europe expressed