Day by day…

Happy Anniversary Debbie!

Today marks 52 years.  That’s the equivalent of 18,980 days.  A significant amount of time to be with one’s significant other, true?

In reality it’s actually more when I add in the days we were engaged and the days we dated. Every day I have enjoyed being married to my high school sweetheart.

Many of you are in a long-lasting relationship; many have been married longer than we.  A Mile High Salute!  Maybe our relationship thrived because I was a “Road Warrior” for several years?  A colleague of mine once said:           

The secret to a long marriage is a husband that travels.

Lisa Kwiecien

I like to write about my wife frequently.  Like any couple, we have our good days and our not-so-good days.  Like many couples, we’ve also had some of those relationship-testing; foundation-rattling; we’re-not-going-to-make-it; kind of days.   When those days occur we follow James P. Owen’s advice:

When you’re riding through hell… keep riding.

Any meaningful journey is like that, don’t you think?  Even one of America’s most famous sweethearts offered this guidance on life’s journey:

Pain nourishes courage.  You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.

Mary Tyler Moore

Throughout our relationship we’ve had more than our share of wonderful things happen; all driven by love.  In fact, 52 years ago this month the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 was “Love Train” by the O’Jays.  According to Wikipedia: 

The word 'train' comes from the Old French trahiner, from the Latin trahere meaning pull, or draw.

My wife has pulled us along on that love train for 52 years!  I’ve tried to pay attention to the little things that make a difference day by day; lighten her load a bit; smooth the tracks.  Rob Gilbert made a list:

How to have a Winning Day:

You have to listen more than you talk…

You have to smile more than you frown…

You have to be fascinated more than you're frustrated…

You have to believe in yourself more than you doubt yourself.

You have to work more than you whine.

You have to do more than you don't.                 

I have also paid attention to my boundaries:

Men ordering custom colors must first bring in a note from their wife.

Guiry Paint Store

It’s OK; she writes the notes; I run the errands; we make a great team.  And on those occasional occasions where disagreement looms, we heed Harlan Miller’s advice:

Often the difference between a successful marriage and a mediocre one consists of leaving three or four things a day unsaid.                                 

18,890 days and still rolling strong.  No matter our future course; no matter the challenges we face; the trials that test us; not even the weather we may encounter; our love train will continue – pulled along by my significant other.  Even if an icy wind blows hard in our face, Etheridge Knight’s words will continue to guide us:

Love is a rock against the wind.

Happy 52^nd Anniversary Dear!  You’re my rock and I love you.

GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Another “Less” milestone…

Seems like we’re passing many milestones living a long life almost always include. 

We’ve been “dogless” for the first time in decades when our little Sydney died in 2022.  I’ve also been “jobless” since retiring on my 69^th birthday in 2022.

We’ve been “horseless” for the first time in 35 years when our son and daughter-in-law moved the horses from our Ladybug Ranch to their Wyoming ranch in 2023. 

We sold the Ladybug Ranch in 2024 and moved to a 55+ community across town.  So now we’re “ranchless” for the first time since July of 2000.  Prior to selling the ranch we also sold our John Deere tractor making us… that’s right… “tractorless”.

Yesterday I sold my truck, making me “truckless” for the first time since 2001.  I guess I won’t be hauling horses; hay; tractors; building materials; or anything else heavy, anymore.  Besides, my truck didn’t fit in our new garage.

These are sad milestones for sure.  But I  remind myself to be glad they were all part of my life to begin with.  We’re truly blessed; and I’m not running out to buy a helmet.

                                                            GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.

Enlightenment…

I returned to my college last October.  Recently I came across this Thank You note I wrote to the professor of the 1^st period class.  Thought I’d share…

Dear Prof. Harris,

I thoroughly enjoyed your first period class “Games & Culture” Friday, October 25^th .  And I salute your early morning enthusiasm.  I particularly noted your encouragement to one of your students that it’s better to be present and tired than not present at all.  I would have benefited from that advice fifty years ago!

Thank you for making me aware of Jaron Lanier’s work, You Are More Than a Gadget©.  Your discussion of his “Serfdom of Crowds” resonated with me.  Your definition of serfdom and serfs directly connects to the slogan I trademarked literally last century, Dark Ages Computing®.

I made my living selling in the technology space.  I primarily sold “leading edge” software (aka bleeding edge; betaware; alphaware; demoware; vaporware; visionware) all in the chase of leveraging technology for competitive business advantages.  I started in the mainframe world and sold throughout five more technology shifts in the marketplace: mini-computers; client-server; web-based; cloud; and mobile.  Today, I poke fun at the next technology shift that’s upon us -  AI and “the machines”.  Here’s an example:  https://gpokorn.blogspot.com/2024/09/authentic.html. 

You posited; has the noosphere become crowd-sourced knowledge, and can the accuracy of AI search results of the noosphere (manipulated by technology behemoths in search of money) be trusted?  It’s amazing how willing American are to trade their privacy for entertaining apps.  Reminds me of:

            Todd's Political Principles:

·         No matter what they're talking about, they're talking about money

·         Truth varies

Unknown Sage

I wasn’t familiar with "echo chambers" and liked your explanation of it as the absence of challenges to assumptions and opinions; limiting the ability to engage across disagreement. 

Your students might believe, “Digital Space itself is neutral”  but please assure them in the real world it is anything but neutral.  How the Digital Native generation decides to coexist with evolving Digital Space matters.  We are all counting on them to recognize the ramifications of:  

Neutrality:  the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict.

Thank you for helping enlighten your students.

We can all benefit from a little enlightening, true?

                                                            GAP

When life gets tough we could get a helmet… or… we could leverage the peace and share the power of a positive perspective.