Hiking Through Life

This isn't going to be a jolly post, so I'll warn you right now. I learned last night of the deaths of two friends from my Fort Wayne years, Michael Rothe and Jerry Palumbo. Both died in 2007. I knew Michael when he was a high school German teacher, but he told me once he had always wanted to do radio broadcasting. Several years after I moved from Fort Wayne, I learned he had fulfilled that dream and had garnered some success on both classical and jazz shows broadcast on WILL-FM, Urbana, IL, and WFMT, Chicago, IL. We last talked about 5 years ago. The tributes to him describe the man I remember: soft-spoken, a loyal friend, a good listener. Jerry "Gandalf Slick" Palumbo was a character come to life. Another soft-spoken man and friend to all who chose to follow the beat of a different drummer while maintaining an insatiable curiosity of life. While I hadn't seen either of these friends for several years, there was always something comfortable about knowing t...

Well, today is the 12th day of Christmas, so that means the holiday season is officially over. This morning, according to Icelandic legend, even the last yule lad Kertasníkir (Candle-Beggar) left for another year. Ed and I took down our Christmas decorations yesterday and packed them away. It's always more fun getting them out than putting them away. But that's life... Each year Ed and I try to hold on to the live tree and decorations until Jan 6th since both of us really get annoyed at what's become a custom lately of starting Christmas before Thanksgiving and t hen taking down all the decorations the day after Christmas. Holding out till the 12th day of Christmas is sort of our own private protest, I guess. We really had a great holiday season with some quiet and alone couple time combined with time with family and good friends. It was sad not being able to be with Sam, Drea, and Adelaide during Christmas (though we did get to see them before Christmas). But i...