It was 6:30 this morning and I heard that all familiar sound from my
cell phone. I got up to check and found a message from Siri. She wanted to
tell me my snoring was keeping her awake. Now if you don’t know about Siri,
she lives inside your I-phone 4. You can talk to her and ask questions or have
her call or text someone for you. She is your own personal assistant right
there in your phone. Normally she would not start a call on her own, but I
guess if she needed her rest and I was keeping her up, it is understandable.
There is only one problem. I don’t have an I-phone. I have an Android phone.
I’m wondering if perhaps she was just visiting my phone and decided to spend
the night. What is the gestation period for little Andrapples?
Before I could get back to bed and pull the covers up over
my head, my phone went off again. This time it was a different ring tone. I got
up again to check. This time it was my Android; he figured that since I was up
and neither of us was going to get back to sleep, perhaps it would be a good
time to start the annual Christmas Letter. I tried to get additional
information from my phone about what had just happened, but his screen went
blank and he reset himself. I’m guessing he wanted to wipe out his short term
memory before he spilled the beans.
So, my friends, here I am. It is 6:45 AM and I am starting
to put thoughts on paper. Have you ever wondered who is in control? Is it you
or your electronic devices? I used to laugh about getting up to go to the
bathroom and checking e-mail before returning to bed. Now, I have my phone
reminding me that I should pay a bill or wish someone a happy birthday. I
appreciate the help remembering, Lord knows I need it, but whose life is it
anyway?
Pat is still working for the Secretary of State but is
nearing retirement. Knee surgery is also in her near future. I am still House
Doctoring in a semi-retirement mode. My body/mind wanted to retire long ago but
my fiscal needs have not allowed it.
So, where should I start? If I followed the norm for social media, I
would start with the most recent. I guess I did that with the opening, but for
now, I’ll just be old fashioned and start with January. Did you ever wonder why
the year starts in January? It’s winter, the days are short, and it’s cold. Why
not start with a natural beginning like spring? What if we all started our own
personal year on our birthday? Then we could go around saying, “happy New Year”
all year. But I digress. (What’s new?)
January in the Sriner household is the code word for Eagle
watch, and we did our share of that this year. We spent many hours at the
Havana Nature Center, resting inside while we scoured the skies for the
majestic Bald Eagles. As they glided toward our sanctuary, we all headed out
like bugs from a burning log. Cameras scanned the skies and shutters clicked in
rapid succession. Then it was back in for picture viewing and comparisons. The more
the river freezes, the more the eagles congregate around open water at the
locks. We have had sightings in Keokuk of trees filled with over 50 eagles.
What a sight. At times the branches bend under the weight and it would be easy
to reach up and grab a lucky eagle feather. Unfortunately, doing so, might get
us a stay with Governor Rod in a limited access federal housing facility.
With my 65th Birthday just around the corner, I had
decided that a birthday gathering for all our classmates who would be sharing
this Medicare Mayhem would be super cool! The date was set and Pat and I
started the planning. What started as a simple “gathering,” somehow swelled
into a $5000 class event. By March, we were so stressed out; we needed to get
away for a while. Pat and I met up with Kim in New Orleans for a southern
shores spring vacation. We traveled all along the coastline camping as we went.
We saw the great golden moon rise along the beach in Destin while we were
visiting Nancy and Bill Dillen along with a few other classmates; then we drove
across Florida to meet up with Karen Waters and Bryan in Jacksonville FL. It was an awesome trip and we got to see many
old friends. Sometimes I wonder how they got so old!
June marked the premier showing of the new TV reality show,
“It must be Friday”. The pilot episode aired June 1st and 14th. It started with me
at my Primary Care physician’s office. He is looking into my right eye saying, “This
is completely black”. This is followed by a flashback to a recent encounter
with my previous optometrist who is saying, “No, you don’t have to worry about
cataracts. You are a long way from needing surgery.” At this point we scan
forward to the surgeon who would make the final decision regarding my
ever-darkening vision. The third scene took us to the surgery pre-op. Draped in
the customary hospital garb, I am shown getting the first of many eye drops
before surgery. The camera zooms in and goes into a slow motion as the first
drop hits my blinking eye. The drop bounces off the eyelashes and makes the
first splash on my cheek. As the procedure continues, subsequent drops follow
similar paths until there is a raging waterfall down my face and torso only to
end up somewhere in that black hole known as the belly button. Then, I watch
the walls speed by as I am catapulted down the hall into the operating room. In
my semi-conscious mindset, I look up at the surreal picture where the stand of
doctors and nurses look like a dense forest of tall trees. The bright sun above
looks almost heavenly and I hear a voice from the distance. “I don’t like the
looks of this! He isn’t dilated at all!” There was a pause as I drifted deeper into
the drug induced bliss. The last thing I remember was a short discussion
regarding the wisdom of continuing the procedure. With that the scene ends with
the caption, “To be continued.”
The second half of the pilot shows the next day in the
doctor’s office, I was asked how I was. I replied, “Fine, except that I can’t
see out of my new eye.” One check of the eye pressure explained the problem.
The pressure was 49 compared to my normal of around 17. Homeland security
classifies this as explosive. One bump and I could blow up the entire clinic.
The Doctor looked and said, “I don’t like this!” I told him it was a lot worse
from my side. He described the next procedure in medical gobbly gook, but I got
the translation. He was going to put a needle in my eye and draw out some fluid
before I exploded and took half the city block. That ended the two part pilot.
The show has continued the rest of the year with regular Friday appointments
trying to fix the screw-up. I have had slits in my eye and excessive inflammation
even down inside the eye. Every procedure seems to end in a lot of prolonged
pain and irritation. We have been preempted most of this month for seasonal
programming, but I will be back on next month with another “two slits and we
are done” episode. I’m hoping this will be the last procedure.
After more than 6 months of planning, the SHS 65th
Birthday Bash took center stage in mid-July. I was quite proud of the success
but very relieved it was over. It started on a Thursday night with pizza at Gabatoni’s
and went into full swing Friday morning with a golf outing. I spent the morning
in a golf cart following the golfers around trying to police their play. They
explained to me that it was OK to use multiple balls on each hole. I also found
out that if the foursome agrees, your T-shot can be a “Gimmy”. I didn’t
understand all the new rules for friendly tournament play. I did learn how much
fun they had.
We finished Friday’s festivities with a casual mixer at the
Comedy Club. Saturday started with an early morning behind-the-scenes tour at
the Abe Lincoln Presidential Museum. Local ALPM members were able to get
everyone in free. This was an unannounced bonus. At noon we migrated over to
Cozy Dog for lunch and then out to the Elks Club on the lake for the afternoon
and evening. Dinner included prime rib and a dessert cake with the now famous
65th Bash Logo!
The final event was a breakfast at Wanda and Dave Keil’s
house Sunday morning. We played an adult version of hide and seek – stalker
edition for a while, but with limited hiding spots, it was difficult.
With the Birthday Bash, also known as “Medicare Mayhem”, fresh in our
minds, Pat and I decided to take the party to the mountains and had a mini-bash
at Rocky Mountain National Park. We were joined by Carl Crouch and Jay and Joyce
Kesinger. Kim joined us on this trip too and we had a great relaxing time. 
There were several other gatherings for the SHS class of 64, including one for Dianne O’Keefe home from California with her family.
Our Christmas Gathering pictured below was well attended
and enjoyed by all.
Somewhere around mid-year, Kim decided she would return to
Springfield after graduation in December from SIU Carbondale. She would have
her Master’s Degree in Counseling. She planned to move into Gram’s house, next
door. The house, having been empty and unheated for 3 years and rented for 3
before that, was in complete disrepair. I made plans to buy the house and get
it ready for Kim. This has been a true labor of love; OK, it is also an
investment, but I don’t think I would have worked so hard if Kim were not
moving in. It got a new roof, new drywalled ceilings, repaired plaster walls
along with electrical and plumbing work. To cut costs, I have done all the
work. Something about a 65th birthday party and carrying 90 pound
bundles of shingles up onto the roof do not go well together. I called it my
reality based stress test. Actually, the real stress has been the paperwork
needed to complete the title transfer. It is still in limbo. Andrew Friedman,
Kim’s boyfriend will be spending part of his holiday break with us. I hope his
hand fits a paint roller. He is finishing his Doctorate internship this summer.
Steve and Krystal, not to be outdone, also needed help
finishing their basement. Throughout the year between other work projects, I
found myself laying ceramic floor tile, installing molding, electrical and
plumbing. This is another project not quite complete. But just like Kim’s, it
is now at least partially functional as am I!
This brings us to a close of 2011. As I look back, I see two major
themes for Pat and me. One was a lot of hard work. The other was a year filled
with the rekindling of friendships. In early youth, it is all about ourselves;
in school, it is all about our friends. As we mature, it is all about our
families; and now as we age and our kids are on their own, we find time to
return to the old friends we had. For those who also find themselves in this
period of life, enjoy every minute with friends and grandkids, because the next
phase takes us back to the beginning. We do have an advantage our parents
didn’t have and that is the ability to use the internet to connect with friends
thousands of miles away. We can text and tweet, e-mail and skype. We can
exchange thoughts with the speed of light through the social networks. It is
amazing. So, whether you follow us on Facebook or one of my blogs, stay in
touch. The love of family and friends is the only thing that can last throughout
eternity. It is our wish that all people realize that we are all headed for the
same ultimate destination; only our travel agents are different. To each and
every one of you we wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah or whatever
blessing your faith embraces. May your new year be filled with Peace, Joy, good
health and prosperity.
Love and Light,
Pat and Dulany
