H A P P Y N E W Y E A R
The above drawing was done by my cousin, John Hartman.
John has documented many family events over the years
with his ability to capture special moments
with his unique drawing talent.
As we usher in not only a new year, but a new decade, it is time to pause and reflect on the past ten years which seemed to have flown by like a speeding bullet. Not only did the years pass by all too quickly, the changes and occurrences that have come to pass during the past ten years are also somewhat mind boggling. Do you remember how we all held our breath as the year 2000, or Y2K as it was so often referred to, rolled in because there was concern that many of the major computer systems that controlled air traffic, government payrolls, hospital systems, etc., would fail because most of the systems were written with a two digit data field for storing the year--rather than a 4 digit field, which presented a serious subtraction problem (I know, I was working with some of those systems!). Luckily nothing serious happened and the world remained intact, at least for the time being. Then came the day no one can forget 9/11 and the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, an event that changed things in our country drastically. And as we bring in 2010, we are still dealing with the consequences of that foreign attack on our soil. Since then--and terrorism became an ever lurking reality--airport security has become an never ending challenge. We have continued to fight wars in Iran and Afghanistan throughout the decade and our country has been devastated by many major weather events, with Hurricane Katrina standing out as the most deadly as it roared through New Orleans and almost completely wiped out that port city.
Technically, where did camera film go? Now we all are equipped with digital cameras and we upload and download pictures straight off our cameras to our computers and then share them with the world via the Internet. When traveling, we never need to stop and ask directions because we have GPS. Likewise, we seldom use landline telephones and 'long-distance' calling is a begone concept as we have cell phone service world wide. With our Smartphones we have 'Apps' for every need right at our fingertips. The evening news is still around but if we miss it, no problem because we have cable news running 24/7. On our computers, we Google to find answers to our questions, we log on to Facebook to socialize with our friends, we bank on-line if we are out of town, we blog to log our lives, and if we get bored we can play Solitaire or Scrabble.
Remember when 'Crocs' was short for crocodiles? Now colorful Crocs are what feels so good on our feet and we all plod around in them wherever we go. Likewise, 'going green' means carrying cloth bags with us when we shop as we try and save the planet and not get bogged down by 'information overload.' And so it was--the years 2000 - 2009.
Fred, Shelley, and I ushered in the New Year by getting together with friends Mike and Sharon Purcell on New Year's Eve at the Lone Star restaurant for an early evening dinner. Even though we thought we would beat the crowd by going early (4 p.m.), we had a short wait before being seated. Following dinner, Mike and Sharon came out to the house for a few hours and we had a nice visit in front of a cozy warm fire. As it was a nippy, drizzly evening, dusk came early, however a the beautiful full Blue Moon lit up the cold wintry night sky as we said good-night to our guests. Seems by 11:30 I was welcoming in the New Year by myself as Fred, Shelley and Sophie were already snuggled in bed counting sheep.
On Sunday evening, January 2nd, Fred and I joined Mike and Sharon at their house to watch the Salukis basketball game against Bradley which was televised on Mediacom. It was another frigid evening but the Salukis warmed things up with a win.
A week later we were saddened to learn that cousin Junior Hartman had died. He had been in ill health for a number of years and in 2004 had moved from his lifelong home in Pesotum to live with his sister, Alice, in Joliet. I am grateful for all the wonderful times I shared with Junior and may God grant him eternal peace.
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