43 years. That's a long time. And over that span, you see a lot. Malcolm McFarland's seen storm systems, typhoons and anomalies in his role preparing the critical information the National Weather Service uses to get us ready and safe. And after more than four decades on the job as data acquisition program manager, he's retired from his post.

He told KUAM News, minutes before clearing out his desk, "Definitely on Guam I experienced a lot more storms than when I was on Wake Island or in Alaska or Honolulu, but here definitely. I definitely got into it."

Malcolm used his background in the Army and as an Oahu native, using rigid discipline, stern science and a laidback island vibe, completely  comfortable as a backoffice analyst, letting us all know what Mother Nature was up to. "I don't really produce the products, I support the people that produce the products," he continued.

"But the thing is, especially on Guam, knowing that I was always in a very, very good shelte, I never had to worry about where I'm was going to be at any given moment."

The NWS today has millions in the latest tech to assess weather patterns more rapidly and with greater accuracy than ever before. But Old School Malcolm recalls the days of computing forecasts manually, and he's still maintained his chops. With a chuckle, he recalled the heady times of "receiving the messages on TeleType and sending out the messages there. They eventually sent me to school and I started drawing our weather charts by hand. Oh yeah, slide rules and algorithms and log tables. Yeah, I remember those!"

His colleagues showered (pun absolutely intended) him with gifts, good-natured jabs at his quirky and eccentric habits, and admiration for his steadfast dedication to his work. And as he steps away from a job that carried him all over the Pacific, he'll miss one aspect of working here that's distinctly Guam, saying he'll miss the food.

And a trait that's common for anyone who's ever retired from the agency is what his first thoughts will be when the next storm approaches, even though he's not at his desk, commenting, "I'll be thinking about whether or not these guys got their products out on time. Did we have a communication breakdown? That kind of thing. And what the impacts were both on the people on the community."

So Malcolm, si yu'os ma'ase, mahalo and thank you. we're all more informed because of your work, and you'll always have a home here.