I have been requested to prepare an essay "about the birthday boy" in honour of Michael Gelfond. Though gratified by the proposal and willing to do my best, I found it fairly difficult to present Michael Gelfond to his students and colleagues, and even more to the many scientists in the world that are aware of his important contributions to Computer Science. Then, I drew inspiration from Benjamin Franklin, who, in the incipit of his autobiography, motivates his writing it by saying: "I have ever had pleasure in obtaining little anecdotes of my ancestors" and assuming that the same might hold for his relatives and friends. Likewise, Michael's friends and, I hope, Michael himself may take some pleasure in my telling some anecdotes related to my long-termed acquaintance with Michael. Actually, I realized that I have quite a bit of stories to tell, and that the subtitle of this essay might be "Pleasures and inconveniences of traveling abroad".
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