Will this be you?

So it's your last day before retirement. No big deal. You've done your best for the last 40 years in pharmaceutical marketing. Now you're saying goodbye. At some lunch party they have cooked up for you. Some place in New York.

You get to your office, and it is filled with flowers, cards, and gifts. On your chair is a huge sign: "We'll all miss you." Every employee has signed it, most have written kind words about how great it was to work with you. How important you were to them. How you led with a strong sense of decency, how you were a team player, how you taught by example, how much fun you made out of all the hard work.

Your e-mail box is full of more of the same sentiments, only this time it is from your competitors, clients, and friends. How the game won't be the same without you. How they'll hound you, hunt you down, and consult you even in your retirement. And again, how much fun you made out of all the hard work.

Your voicemail box is full, too. Your family members, neighbors, friends, all chiming in, saying they'll see you at the luncheon. They can't wait to see your face, they say, they have something special planned for you today.

You stroll down the corridor, and they come out to say goodbye. Some are excited, some hug, some weep. Somehow, you say just the right thing to all of them. They all say they'll see you at the luncheon.

Before long, you're headed to the party. You arrive and you are pleasantly surprised to see that there is a banner with your name and likeness. Everywhere you look, there are signs that you are admired. There is a collage of pictures -- of you with clients, colleagues, family, some are serious, most are hilarious.

You are greeted by your office manager, who escorts you into the dining hall.

Suddenly, there is loud applause: It is for you.

A thousand backslaps, handshakes and hugs later, you are seated at the place of honor, underneath a huge videoscreen. The lights dim and you see a tribute video, narrating your life, and punctuated by interviews with colleages, who express kind, warm thoughts about you.

Afterwards, you are coaxed to the podium, again to thunderous applause. You calm the throng and speak from your heart.