People who have faced imminent death and survived report visions of their entire lives passing before their eyes. My experience at the recent 50th anniversary meeting of the Electron Microscopy Society of America was similar. In a matter of hours I saw a vision of the entire half-century history of electron microscopy. It was exhilarating.

I was an invited guest among the handful of surviving charter members. Attention was lavished on us and we were treated with TLC (the nursing profession's abbreviation for tender loving care). We recounted our experiences and had an opportunity to meet old friends and colleagues whom we had not seen in years. Most significant, however, were the formal presentations that showed the enormous growth of the field, both in depth and breadth.