#99 - My 39th Wedding Aniversary

Today is Saturday, June 16, the 167th day of 2018. There are 198 days left in the year.

Today is also my 39th Wedding Anniversary which I share with my wonderful wife Mary.   Early this morning she texted me a picture from our wedding where we were smiling, toasting each other.  I remember the day went by fast, going by in a blurr for both us.  And as we look back now, the last 39 years feel the same, and we wonder how did all go by... so fast.

Now, many of you may not appreciate this, simply because you are not as old and wise as I am now, but he 39th wedding anniversary is an extremely important one.  You see the clock has started ticking and you only have one year left to think up something really special for your 40th.  Failure is not an option here, guys, for the alternative, well, let's just say it's not pretty.  So please put the word out on my behalf.  I'm accepting suggestions now.

After we exchanged anniversary cards (we had already given ourselves our anniversary gift) I did a few of the simple things that make her happy.  I made her coffee, fed the dog and then took the dog for a good walk.  This allowed her to relax, have her morning coffee, read and eventually take her time getting ready for an early lunch we had scheduled at a new spot nearby.

Upon my return with the dog, I went out into our courtyard with a second cup of coffee,  For the record, it was a beautiful morning in the Boston area, sunny, comfortable, with a slight breeze.  I was flipping through the Boston Globe on my IPhone, when the very last article caught my eye, the one you have all seen before, "This Day in History".  Honestly, I never go here, but today, being our anniversary, I dove in with great curiosity to discover all of the tidbits of the day'. 

I discovered that today is Phil Mickelson's birthday.  He is 48.  Now I am not a golfer, but Phil has always been a class act who has carried himself well, so I always end up routing for him on those summer days when I turn golf on in the afternoon, purely as a background for taking a well deserved nap.

On this day in 2008, Tiger Woods, playing on a throbbing injured knee, won an epic US Open after a 19-hole playoff at Torrey Pines with Rocco Mediate.   I can't be certain, but I suspect I actually nodded off on this one as well.

I learned that the Ford Motor Company was incorporated on this day in 1903.  I suspect that this may represent the official birth of the American Automobile industry, so that seemed pretty cool.  That industry is 115 years old, but I also reminded myself that it almost crash and burned in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, but the Obama administration stepped in to support it, and soon it came roaring back.  Imagine that, a so called liberal administration helping corporate America for the good of all.  How is that for a story?

On that same day that Tiger won that playoff, a California Supreme Court ruling that overturned the state’s bans on same-sex marriage became final.   I have written about gay rights several times before, for as I have explained, I have a horse in this horse race.  I have a gay son, of whom I am extremely proud, and I simply want him to have all the rights and all the respect that all Americans deserve.  So this was a good one, I will remember this one on all my anniversaries to come.

Perhaps the best one though, goes back 160 years.  In 1858, while accepting the Illinois Republican Party’s nomination for the US Senate, Abraham Lincoln said the slavery issue had to be resolved, declaring one of his most well known lines, that ‘‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’’  We could use an Abraham Lincoln today, the gentle man who fiercely held the moral compass for an entire country, and despite the intensity of a devastating civil war, never let go, understanding the importance of keeping the fabric of the country together.  Honest Abe was so good for us, he deserves to be remembered everyday, not just on my anniversary.

But then I came to the very last item on the list, the most recent one, the one that read:

In 2015, real estate mogul Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign with a speech at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

I remember it well, the picture of the Donald descending from the heaven's above, on an elevator no less, with Melania dutifully leading the way, with Neil Young's 'Rocking in the Free World' blaring in the background.  Besides the fact that Neil likely didn't authorize his music for this purpose, it was disturbing scene then, and its just become more terrifying since.   You recall right?  Yes this was the Donald's controversial speech where he stated:

"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. ...They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

The Captain of hate and vitriol was just getting started.  That was three years ago today and its been downhill ever since.  

I admit, until this morning I had no idea that this event had occurred on our anniversary. That's probably because at the time, I ascribed so little probability to his success as a presidential candidate.  That's because I was certain that our country would never in a thousand years elect such a hateful, dishonest, morally bankrupt shell of a man.

But it turns out I was wrong, it turns out there are many others in the country that don't share my sentiment, and I was clueless.  My disappointment in our country is profound, and I am unable to shake it, burdened by the belief that the harm this man has caused our country will linger, long after he is gone.  

For the time being I will do my best to focus on the thing that is best in my life, the love of my wife of 39 years who accepts me for who I am.   I love my wife, and I look forward to all of our anniversaries to come,.  And for her benefit as well as my own, I promise  I will focus all my attention on all the other good things that happened on this special day, on This Day In History.    These are the ones that will carry me forward.