“Stay hungry, stay foolish.” Steward Brand in The Last Whole Earth Catalog, later quoted by Steve Jobs.

matt's new job

Today was grandson Matt’s first day on the job.

Yesterday was his birthday. He is 15 now.

It’s a volunteer job, no pay. He signed a contract that he will volunteer a minimum number of hours each week -- for a year. He will exceed that, grandpa predicts.

It’s not like he is working to assist the janitor, which would be good, except not for this child. He is a first wash computer geek, after his father and oldest brother.

So he is working with the computer development people in a small but expanding TV station. The station is christian and its influence is moving into new areas, and growing.

I remember when Miriam started to College a lot of years back. I had been a full time student in the same department. At noon I went up to see how she was doing. Her eyes were saucer wide: “These people know how to do art and they want to teach me. “ It was an astute observation and was so true.

Matt will likely have the same deer-in-the-headlights look when we see him later today.

As he was leaving, I gave him one bit of Grandpa advice: “Don’t be a smart aleck. Be humble and teachable.”

I have a hunch he will do both.

ahh

Memories are strange things.

Miriam still remembers the old days well, but necessarily, with great accuracy.

She told me this year for the first time that her birthday was the same day as her grandmother. They do share the same day of the month, but not the same month. Still, I had not heard that until this year.

I am routinely told that my grandmother had black hair (it was not all white, but mostly) and that my other grandmother was “fat” (she was not). One grandfather lived to be 98, and rode his bicycle for many years (he had a Model T early in his life, but then was carless during the depression, getting his first “modern car”, (a 1936 Ford 5 window coupe) a couple of years before I met Miriam.

She is sure she saw grandpa riding his bicycle, but I am pretty sure she did not.

She remembers that her mother was 5 feet tall and weighed 100 pounds, but the rest of us say she was closer to 5’ 3” and weighted about 120.

Most of these changes memory have happened after Miriams diagnosis, so I think they are related to the disease more than to real fabrication.

If you think you can change her mind about any of this, think again. Mostly it does not matter.

Or does it?

We cut out the stuffed animal collection that was left over from Emily's childhood. Not all went to recycle.
Miriam found these and arranged them with her nurses cap.

surprise

Once there was a new pastor who had a birthday.

HIs congregation hid their cars and waited in the pastors darkened house for him to return home to surprise him with a party. (His wife was in on the surprise).

In time he came home and found the porch light was not working, so he reached up to check on the bulb, but the bulb had been removed and instead he put his hand right into the socket.

He was shocked and let out a stream of soapy mouth sailor language.

All were embarrassed.He probably put in for a transfer to Jamaica or such.

I guess that is the hazard of surprise events.

On the other hand, I did pull a surprise birthday party on Miriam when we were in Texas.

It is one of my happiest memories.

Maybe that was the exception rather than the average.

I don't know.