Ponderances.

.....It was a day full of nostalgia for some reason. I can see in Live Journal that I don't think I was alone in that. :-)

.....I passed the old K-Mart on the way home in Bremerton. The doors were closed and all the signs taken down. The store is officially closed for good. This was a strange sight to me as it had been open longer then I have lived in Washington State. I remember back to the first Winter I spent in this state, in 1978. I lived in Belfair and it actually snowed! We had grown up before that in the Mojave desert and I don't remember a whole lot of snow there. :-)

.....My brother and I were so excited! We convinced Mom to go to the K-Mart in town and we picked up sleds for some fun in the snow. We spent a long time trying to decide what sled would work best in the snow and what we ended up getting was a lot of fun. :-) K-Mart was a special place for me after that.

.....Saw a notice at work advertising Floyd Nelson's upcoming retirement party. We in Dragon's Laire know him as Malcolm Radcliffe. I hadn't realized that he had worked for the Federal Government for twenty-eight years. I wish him well, but am chuckling a little at the same time. His wife, Anya, is probably dreading that day when he turns in his badge for good as he'll be home ALL THE TIME. :-)

.....The committee for the twenty-five year reunion of the Class of 1985 from South Kitsap High School has been very active lately. I'm getting e-mail traffic from them on an almost daily basis. They are very excited about the gathering this summer. I'm a little trepidatious as the leadership of this committee is made up of the old High School elite, mainly from the Cheerleaders and Sports Organizations. :-) Not necessarily my best friends while in High School. :-)

.....The next meeting is on my birthday, May 23rd. I used to avoid my birthday in thought and deed. When I was young it was often overshadowed by the other activities happening at about the same time, i.e. graduations; many, many other birthdays; Memorial Day; the impending end of the school year; etc. As I got older, my birthday mainly served as a reminder that I was getting older, a lot faster than I wanted.

.....But, you know, my attitude has changed a little this year. One of the activities the reunion committee has been doing is contacting everyone who graduated in 1985. One of the lists published was that of people from the Class of '85 who have passed away in the past twenty-five years.

.....Of the group of friends with whom I hung out with in High School, fully half of them have passed away for various reasons. I hadn't really realized it until I read through this list. These were people with whom I partied on Friday nights, played with in the Pep Band / Orchestra / Wind Ensemble. Marched with in Field and Marching Band. Geeked out with in Computer Club. Role-Played with in AD&D Games.

.....I'm starting to realize just how lucky I really am to have made it to another birthday. I've avoided fatal accidents. My stupidities of Youth did not kill me. I have somehow avoided things like Cancer. I looked at that list and am grateful to be alive and in relatively good health.

.....Even better yet, I have a job, a home, and a fantastic wife. I am lucky indeed. I think that I will celebrate becoming 43 years old this year. If the number 42 is the 'perfect' number, then the number '43' will be the first year of a new life. :-)

.....Aaron / Arontius.