Quick Beginnings

Happy last day of January 2026 –I slept in (it’s now 7:00 am exactly) and I am in a quandary; least piece being that my Saturday morning post is now way late. First of all, it’s minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-20.5C) which realistically precludes doing anything outside. The picture shows that cold snaps are not all that uncommon in these parts.

City of Louisville, 300′ long and holding 1,500 passengers

Next, I need to pause as soon as Marcia wakes up to make certain she’ll be parked appropriately behind her walker. Then get her to join me with morning coffee. Somewhere in that mix there will be breakfast for her.

Also, cannot forget updating the daily White Board Kirstin started for Marcia which shows date, her daily ‘Goal’ and her ‘Schedule’. It’s something I’ve kept going since she came home from her stay at the hospital.

Oh well, it’ll all fall into place. Patience dear boy, patience.

Today ends the first month where all of our family was devastated by the loss of Marin. Couple that immeasurable loss with Marcia’s breaking of her hip. This means that we’re turning a new page.

Quotation – this by the great American Poet, Robert Frost (1874 – 1963): “In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”

What Frost didn’t say, but the Bible does is the placing of perspective into life itself in James 4:14:
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”

It’s all because of Marcia – that the kids mentioned that we take our larger screen Roku TV from the sunroom and place it in the living room, as a way for her to stay entertained.

Well, Marcia is not much into movies or television. News quickly becomes a backdrop of, blah, blah, blah.

Ahh, but then there are sports. And Marcia who taught sports and played varsity Basketball does like sports (me too). Hence, this week we’ve been following tennis as the Australian Open is taking place in Melbourne. Me, having volunteered last summer at the Cincinnati Open saw many of the stars of the sport playing.

So tomorrow will be the men’s finals; Carlos Alcaraz, 22 versus Novak Djokovic, 38. Djokovic could become the oldest to win the Australian Open (as I am also not a ‘spring chicken’ that last piece is of interest).

Also, Djokovic had the guts to protest the Covid jab and thus wasn’t allowed to play the open and in fact was deported from Australia. I too refused the barely tested mRNA Pfizer jab and managed to find an alternative which did allow me to eventually gain entry into Canada to check on the cabin. Those were strange times. Guess who I’ll be rooting for?

Update – Marcia just had her morning coffee poured and already has her ‘Lazy Boy’ chair fully extended with her favorite ‘throw’.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Throughout history, each generation has used their form of slang. Here are some slag terms which I’ve heard say people wouldn’t mind being revived. Which should NOT be on this list?

1) pad
2) square
3) made in the shade
4) wallflower
5) gas
6) peepers
7) applesauce

Last week answer – #2 “Google”

The Season

The Season – is now mid-winter. Really mid-winter. It is still dark this morning and I am certain that the day will be short. That temperature is approaching zero and announced that a ‘snowmageddon’ is fast approaching.

But it’s more than that, even with a fresh full pot of coffee, it’s difficult to escape that these days a dark curtain is hanging over me as a reminder that the loss of Marin is real and it is vicious.

This morning in years past I would be doing my annual 5K – Cyclones Frozen 5K – sponsored by our local Hockey Team. This year I’ll wear a ‘Frozen’ jersey of past years in honor.

So, even with a bit of melancholy, the focus should be on the fact that other duties call and as time moves on, looking towards Springtime the vision of blossoms does creep in. Creeps in with a hint here and there. Notably, Marcia is on the mend; she thinks it’s going way too slow, I see progress daily.

Today is Cathy’s birthday and coming Tuesday it’ll be Kirstin’s. All this acknowledges that even being aware of the fragility of life, life itself is immensely strong and shines brilliantly. A strange ‘yin and yang’, isn’t it?

This past week we lost noted Folk singer and writer Tucker Zimmerman and his wife in a house fire. In light of all that’s happened and will be facing us, I think it appropriate to play his song, The Season.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk
BONUS POINTS:

Which of these words did NOT gain their start as an acronym?

1) scuba
2) Google
3) Yahoo
4) Smart car
5) Care package
6) taser
7) radar

Last week answer – #6, “Supernova”

Panglossian

New Year – came and is one which our family can never forget. It’s daily that memories of Marin creep into thought, talk, and events. And yes, I do understand fully that time will play a part in the healing process.
Nevertheless…

Then there is the fall and subsequent hip surgery Marcia underwent. Now home, but with movements severely restricted means we’re all affected. She’s healing and yesterday the Physical Therapist swung by, evaluated, and got her going on a series of exercises.
Nevertheless…

At heart, I am of a Panglossian mindset – that being that all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.
Nevertheless…

Nevertheless… for those of us with a faith that there is more including that during every time in our lives there is hope. Hence the Panglossian mindset. This weekend will be the birthday of the iconic Dolly Parton. This, her song, appropriate for our family at this time.

Marcia just got up — and after a quick stop crawled back into bed. I’ll hold off on the coffee until she’s up for the day. Over the holidays I swung by Jungle Jim’s International foods and purchased some Dutch Douwe Egbert coffee. Yesterday was the last pot brewed from that batch.

Luckily, over the holidays George brought a bag of Don Pablo coffee (available in their Costco but not ours) so today it’ll be a great mug of Don’s finest. Thanks George.

A Disaster that wasn’t – What all the misery brought this New Year’s did bring to mind another New Year, this one a debacle from 26 years ago.

That debacle-that-wasn’t had me quite busy. For those too young or too old to remember, here’s the scoop. Space on hard drives in computing systems was always at a premium. To save drive space, many programs used just two digits for a year, i.e. ’16 for the year1916.

As the Century turn crept closer bit of a national panic set in, especially businesses, transportation, power grids, and government with fears that in place of recognizing ’00’ systems would misread; that the systems would interpret the ‘00’ to mean the year 1900 rather than the year 2000. Fears that lots of bookkeeping would figuratively ‘blow’ up and fail.

To cover backsides software companies ran test after test and created thick manuals to distribute to their users (all to prevent /minimize lawsuits). It cost $300B to $500B to discover that there was minimal screwing up.

By the way, my company’s software and the systems I was marketing used the Julian Calendar and thus we were fine (but still had to document all our documented work to satisfy our customers).

But wait! There’s more! — The next apocalyptic event will hit in 2038. 2038? This time it’s because back in 1970 the older 32-bit systems stored time by counting seconds. They paid little attention to the fact that on January 19, 2038 that number maxes out and those systems will reset to 1901.

Good luck getting through that piece, I’ll be smiling from somewhere.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What is the explosion at the end of a star’s life cycle called?

1) Aphelion
2) Neutron star
3) Event horizon
4) Libration
5) Pulsar
6) Supernova
7) Nova

Last week answer – #3 & #6, “Ate and left no crumbs” & “Air Jail”

Aside from a major surgery (hip) with Marcia we began 2026 with a devastating loss. A bright star in our family dimmed. Grandson, Marin, has departed the turmoil of his earthly being and is currently at peace. We loved him and in memory we will only love him more.

Our prayer is that he received a welcoming entry into his everlasting heavenly existence.