Weblog for November '01
Thursday, November 29, 2001
A nice visit for a belated celebration
This past weekend I got a chance to celebrate my birthday with Carole, my ex-wife, my sons, Jeff and Mike and with my two granddaughters, Maegan (Jeff's daughter) and Kaitlin (Mike's daughter). We had a nice weekend together and on Sunday, the 25th, we took these photos. (You can click on each photo to see an enlarged version of it.) The first photo on the left duplicates both the subjects and the place where we had one shot back on my 45th birthday. When time permits, I'll find that one and place it on the web for comparison. Fifteen years makes a good sized difference in all of our appearances.
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Thursday, November 22, 2001
Thanksgiving
I am still exceedingly blessed and quite thankful.
When I was at Citizens Gas and Coke Utility in Indianapolis in 1994, Moses Dunston used to say "Any day above ground is a good day." I agree with him, and on this Thanksgiving day, I am glad to still be "above ground."
I am proud to have reached the venerable age of 60 and grateful that I still feel young, despite the evidence I see in the mirror and the mounting pile of memories that belies the illusion.
I am thankful that when my friends Rocky and Bruno reached the point where their bodies could no longer sustain their magnificent spirits I was able to muster the courage to help them depart this life peacefully and painlessly. And I am unbelievably thankful for the years we shared with each other.
I am grateful that my friend Del's children were thoughtful enough, even in their time of sorrow, to let me know of their Dad's death in October. In those early teenage age years, he and I shared almost every experience, and I cherish the memories I have of our deep and abiding friendship.
I am thankful that my son, Mike, has but one more weekend of restriction to his freedom and that these past two years have passed as quickly as they have.
I am happy that I was able to obtain a new computer this year as a result of an award program at the place where I work. The old computer and the new one are functioning well together in a network, and I am able to use both of them. I'm thankful to have a hobby like this that I really enjoy.
I am grateful that I am continuing to enjoy my job and that I derive satisfaction and pleasure from performing the chores that are a part of my responsibility. Getting pleasure from performing the job, rather than from the rewards or accolades that come from doing it, is one of the great blessings of any occupation.
I'm thankful for the advances of technology that makes bigger and better cheaper and smaller. What an amazing positive cycle technology is in!
I am thankful for friends who are still here and those who no longer are. Though thoughts of those who have departed this world or this part of the world often bring a tear to the eye or a lump in the throat, those same thoughts provoke gratitude for what we shared and the pleasant memories that accompanies it.
Everyday ought to be Thanksgiving because the beginning of another day in which I have the opportunity to count my blessings is a blessing itself.
I am thankful for my place in the line that traces backward in time through my parents and my grandparents to those who came before and forward in time through my children into my grandchildren and beyond.
I am thankful for the control I've been able to exercise over my passions and addiction and for the pleasure I derive from doing so. It's an honor to set a positive example, and I'm grateful to have the chance to be that to some.
I am grateful for the ability to connect to my circle of friends, relatives and acquaintances through this marvelous network known as the Internet. Wherever you are, I hope today is filled with things you enjoy, people you love and a sense of gratitude for all that life has sent your way. I am thankful for you and all you contribute to my life and my happiness, and I wish you a "Happy Thanksgiving!"
Friday, November 16, 2001
New members of the family
Smokey, Jeff and Deanna's female Siberian Husky (shown at the right), gave birth the other day to six puppies. The father is a Siberian Husky named Bandit who is primarily gray in color so the babies are a mix of the two dogs. Though I was offered one of the puppies to take the place of my dear recently-departed friends, Rocky and Bruno, I declined. I'll just enjoy them and their parents when I visit in their home. They're cute though.
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Monday, November 12, 2001
The "Roast"
Last night, a group of my friends here in Knoxville, helped me celebrate reaching 60 with a dinner at Naples. It was a lot of fun and dinner was excellent. My friend, Belva Ann, called the restaurant unbeknownst to me and ordered a Key Lime Chess pie for after dinner with 3 candles to signify the three previous 20 year periods of my life. She had them prepare a card that said "pretend I'm here" on it. That is significant because once before I had arranged a dinner for her and her daughter at a restaurant in Portland called "Three Steps Down." I had arranged to have a flower arrangement on the table, and I had included a card that said "pretend I'm here." So her doing the same thing gave the evening a thoughtful special touch.
I also used a program called Goldwave to edit some sound files and burned a CD with what were supposed to be messages left on my answering machine by friends who couldn't attend the event. It was fun to put that together and educational. It was the first time I had created such a thing and burned it to CD as an audio file. I found out the basics of the technique, including capturing short clips of sound from a DVD playing in my DVD player, so when I undertake the task in the future, I'll be able to improve on the technique.
It was great fun. Thanks to Steve, Terry, Tom, Roger, Roy, Paul, Mike (my son) and Kaitlin (my granddaughter) for attending and to Belva Ann for making her imaginary presence known. And to those of you when wanted to attend, but were unable to do so, I can only say you would have had fun. Sorry you couldn't make it.
Wednesday, November 7, 2001
The Big 60
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The day has arrived.
I am now 60 years old and more than ever a member of the AARP generation. Like everyone else who reaches this age, I suppose, I find it difficult to believe that I am this old and at the same time I feel just like the kid who couldn't wait to get his driver's license in 1957. Yet looking in the mirror jerks me back into the realization it is true.
I'm sure there'll come a time when I can long to be 60 again, if I live long enough. So it behooves me to enjoy being as young as I'll ever be again.
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Monday, November 5, 2001
Congratulations to the Arizona Diamondbacks
Last night's seventh game of the World Series was a very thrilling and, for me, satisfying game. The Yankees made the series exciting by their comebacks in New York, but a win in the bottom of the 9th for the World Series is hard to beat for excitement. Congratulations to the grizzled veterans of the D-backs. Whether they ever come back for a repeat doesn't matter. They have etched a place for themselves in baseball history, and one can only marvel.
I thought that the MVP award was very appropriately given to BOTH Kurt Schilling and Randy Johnson. They WERE the reason for Diamondbacks' winning the series.
Thursday, November 1, 2001
Only a couple of months left in this year.
In another week, I'll celebrate my 60th birthday. Talk about something to cause you to stop and think!! I'll write more about that on the day, however.
Yesterday I ordered an Intel Pro Video Web Camera. A couple of years ago, Mike gave me a web cam for Christmas, but I wasn't able to use it because the computer I had at the time didn't have a USB port and the OS (Win 95) didn't support USB. I returned it and purchased Win 98 with the money. I was prompted to buy this web cam now because there was a 25% discount because I was a Comcast Cable modem customer. We'll see how well the system works. I've read previously that this particular camera is the best of the web cams out there.
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