It does bring new hope. Change always brings a new vision that will be stronger. There's still far to go.

We hope that Merrill Lynch sincerely desires to give teeth to its diversity initiatives and to bring a meaningful change.

The riots just scared everyone away from this place. People are still frightened.

How many people will change routes? How many people will flex hours? How many people will telecommute? Carpool? Etc. This is a challenge. People do want answers now, but we don't have them.

The last thing I wrote to a friend was that I hope all the things we've done will change the laws in Virginia so we can go home again. This just isn't home. I'm not sure it ever will be.

We hope that everyone involved will understand that this change is being made in response to the critical situation in the Middle East and will help us make these changes work.