Neil and I became close friends and partners during our work on the 1992 Report of the Surgeon General, Smoking and Health in the Americas.  We had the opportunity to travel together for meetings in several countries in the Americas, and during one of those meetings, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, we had a truly memorable experience.  Our hosts there arranged for us to participate in the Carnival parade, decked out in thematic costumes (‘Witches Brew’), and we then danced along with everyone from everywhere for a couple of days.  Oh, and yes, we then had a meeting with our collaborators from across the Caribbean! That Report was a major international effort that would not have been completed without his steadfast organizing, editing, and writing.  Later, as I represented the US in the early negotiations on the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, I had a another opportunity to see Neil in his element…..leading the charge to get the FCTC in place with the grace and diplomacy that he was so well know for.  He motivated so many of us in the global pursuit of a smokefree world, and we will all sincerely miss him. He truly was a gentle giant. Ave Atque Vale!