Continuing to examine my life

My guy and me on my 75th birthday

How is it possible that two years have passed since this picture was taken? I think we still look pretty much the same, but it really does astound me how quickly the years fly by as I get older. In two years, my friend Leo from the coffee shop has changed from a pre-teen to a young man. I can see the change so easily when I look at him. He doesn't much care to engage with us old folks any more, but it was only a decade ago that I dandled him on my knee.

It's nice to look at pictures to see times past, long ago and not so long ago. As you know, I take pictures with my cellphone almost daily to chronicle my current life. And as anybody knows who has been around for long, things change and nothing is permanent. That's both a good thing and a bit scary, when you consider that our short time being alive is rushing right on by, inexorably carrying us from the present to our unknown future.

One of my blogging friends put a picture of a yellowed newspaper cutting in a post that has got me thinking. Since Trish MacGregor of Synchrosecrets and her husband write books (as well as their blog) about synchronicity and other supernatural phenomena, I have followed them for a long time. This particular item is worthy of examination. In the Tacoma News Tribune on April 11, 1953, this short little article appeared:

There'll Be No Escape in Future from Telephones: (Pasadena, AP) Mark Sullivan, President and Director of Pacific Telephone and Telegraph said in an address Thursday night: "Just what form the future telephone will take is, of course, pure speculation. Here is my prophecy: in its final development, the telephone will be carried about by the individual, perhaps as we carry a watch today. It will probably require no dial or equivalent, and I think the users will be able to see each other if they want, as they talk. Who knows but what it may actually translate from one language to another?"

When he made this uncanny prophecy about our phones, it would have seemed impossible to fathom how this might come about. In 1953, we didn't even have computers, much less those little magical devices we take for granted, carried around like yesterday's watch. When I started working at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in 1979, I remember we typed manuscripts onto Selectric typewriters, without so much as a a floppy disk in sight. Then we went to our first "computers," Micom, which allowed us to transfer our typing onto an 8-inch floppy disk and insert it into a huge machine that typed out the manuscript, one character at a time. That was the beginning, and we quickly moved to personal computers. Well, "quickly" took several years.

And now I sit here with this lovely little laptop, which is rapidly becoming obsolete. I will probably replace it with a later version sometime this year, but I still am often astounded at how much has changed during my own lifetime. Who knows what the future holds? I remember that sometime in the 1980s, I went into the bowels of NCAR's basement to examine its Cray Computer, which took up a space about the size of half of a football field. It needed to be supercooled because otherwise it would burn up. I still remember walking around the dark towers of computing technology in awe.

These days, I have a smartphone that I carry with me everywhere, and it not only allows me to call someone whenever I have internet connection, but it also allows me to ask questions or get information instantly. The telephone aspect is rather incidental to my use of it. I also have a tablet, an iPad, that allows me to stream movies and news whenever I have internet. These items have become essential to my daily life, and they are not likely to be left behind as I continue to take a look at what's become extraneous to my enjoyment of life.

Yesterday I watched several episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on my tablet, which is currently set in 1960. The difference in life today and back then kept reminding me of how much has changed since those days. If you haven't been watching the series, you probably don't know much about her, a young woman who decides to become a standup comic. That was simply not done by many women back then. The character of Lenny Bruce, a comic I remember from those days, has been re-introduced to the series, and he becomes a mentor and friend to Midge Maisel. I woke in the middle of the night (it happens often to me) and suddenly remembered that the real Lenny Bruce died at a young age in 1966. I wonder if the series will be around in that time period and how they will deal with it. (That link in the beginning of this paragraph is to a Washington Post article that examines the question.)

The series has reminded me about how much more people drank back then, and how cigarettes were ubiquitous. I myself smoked for over a decade during the 1960s and 70s, and realized I would have to give it up if I wanted to stay healthy. It was a really hard journey to become free of nicotine, but I managed it over a period of years of backsliding. Research shows that after a few decades free of cigarettes, my lungs are probably no longer at risk of cancer. Of course, something is going to fail, as that is the inevitable direction of life. I do the best I can to keep myself healthy, but as the years pass, it gets harder to keep up.

You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.—Marcus Aurelius

I will continue to struggle to rid myself of old habits that hold me back from enjoying the life I share with my dear partner. It's coming along, but it's also interesting to notice what matters the most to me, what I definitely don't want to let go of. Part of what gives me pleasure is sitting every Sunday morning in my darkened bedroom writing this post. Time is passing, and the coffee shop beckons, as it always does early in the morning. My friends await.

And of course, with that, I must also remind all of us that the power of connection, family and friends, is the lifeblood of our happiness. My tea is long gone, he's over there snoring lightly, and it's time to start the rest of my day. Until we meet again next week, dear friends, be well and don't forget to count your blessings.