My 2018 Year End Letter (Finally)

Introduction

Well I have got to put procrastination aside and finish my end of year letter.  Or I could ask ‘do I really have to write it’ and of course the answer is yes because it is on top of my to do list..  And since I am not very adapted to sending out the end of the year greeting cards here goes - -    

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. -- there you have it. 

Buzzard bottom,

This years Buzzard Bottom at the High Country Motorcycle Campground near Ferguson NC in May  had extra meaning this year and I had to go. 4 wheels not 2 wheels :( .  As my good friend Doug in NJ had passed on in March.  He was loved by all of his MC friends.  And it was a great celebration of his life.  His daughter came down from NJ 1 day. She brought a bottle of his favorite Whiskey that he always had with him.  She wanted to meet his friends.  You could easily tell that she was moved to tears as it had a tremendous meaning for her.

Then on to Tom and Susans and the grandkids in Canton NC.  Susan gave me a concentrated knitting lesson.  I have my hat nearly done, I  have one more closing stitch to do for completion. I have got to get it finished, Move it closer to  the top of my to do list. 

On  the way home from Canton NC all hell broke loose. 

About 3 miles south of Richmond KY on I75 as I was in the outside lane working my way through traffic my timing belt broke. And of course the car DIED. Fortunately I was on a slight down hill section.  I managed to work my way though 3 lanes of traffic to the right side shoulder of the road.  Called my towing service.  Had the timing belt replaced at a local shop by the next day about noon.  Fortunately it did not happen in the I40 mountains in TN.  THEN . .  as I was merging from I74 traffic into I265 traffic in Indianapolis my 4 cylinder car suddenly became a 3 cylinder car.  It was extremely tricky driving in traffic particularly at intersections.  But I made it home, about 100 miles.  Turns out later my local mechanic figured out that the guts of one of the spark plugs had fallen down into the engine apparently screwing up one of the valves.  No pressure no vacuum.   We decided it was probably not worth the money to rip the engine apart and either replace of fix the engine (95 Ford Escort held together with duct tape with 200,000 + miles) . .  so we are trying to get along with 1 car.  It is working but will probably  seriously impair my future traveling.

Brandy 1 year

As I do my morning ‘a walk in the woods’ I nearly always miss Brandy walking with me.  On December 4^th the missing  was extra as it was 1 year since her passing.  So I sat down on the bench next to her grave on memorial hill and had a brief talk with her. 

Kids mom memorial Service

My kids mom (my x) passed away this spring and they were holding a memorial service for her in MN on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation in northern MN, 1^st part of November.  They asked me, or maybe the better wording is- insisted,  that I come up.  I was reluctant at 1^st but finally, with Pattys encouragement I decided to go.  So NC Tommy picked me up and we drove up.  Stayed at Son Bruce and Ruths house in Bemidji MN, and at AK Maries and Brians rented house on Lake Bemidji, and at my kids Uncle and Aunts cabin on the  Pike Bay - Lake Vermilion on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. Went to AK Grandson Davids  birthday dinner at the Fortune Bay casino.  I did not do any gambling because I could not find a cheap quarter slot machine.   I got to see my kids and some grandkids and many others.  I was sorry that OR Jeff could not make it.  It was a great experience and I am really glad that I went and thank my kids for insisting that I go. 

Lives come & go AND life goes on

This has been a year where my saying has really come into play. . . and makes me realize that I am getting closer also.   My MC friend Doug in NJ passed away as I mentioned previously.  Also at our yearly High School Alumni Banquet my HS classmates and I were talking about our Classmate Tom who was not there.  It turned out he passed away shortly after the Banquet was over.  Also my, x wife, mother of my kids, passed away.  As we get older and live longer it is common for people we know, and have made impressions on our life, to pass on.  And my ‘proverb’ “Lives Come & Go AND Life Goes On” is in play.  I came up with this phrase several years ago.  From my research, some with educators who would/should know, it is not a known ‘proverb’ so I will claim authorship.  In a way it is kind of crude. . . but it explains life very directly in a very simple phrase. 

The Tippecanoe River State Park Fire Tower

The Tippecanoe River State Park nearby (4 miles) has kept their old Fire Tower and it is a popular visit.  It is on my yearly list to climb it. 110 steps, on my birthday.  This year, 2018, I climbed it on #85 and as usual they added more steps.   They seem to do that every year.   This year Marie and grandson Nathan (AK) came down and they climbed a couple days later. . . I watched them :) .   If I see any rangers I always like to comment to them that I notice every year on my birthday that they have added more steps. . 1^st they look puzzled. . . then they get the drift and laugh. 

Windows 10 and MSoffice

Last year, 2017, my kids gave me a new laptop for Christmas.  They thought I needed a new computer as my Vista computer was about 10 years old.  The new one had windows 7.  MS had stopped free updating free to Windows 10. But I found a devious method to update it to Windows 10, free.  However I have had so much trouble shifting from Vista to Windows 10. Of course everyone has stopped updating stuff to work with Vista. .  so there are problems at times. However since my Vista computer is still working fine I am having a hard time shifting over to Windows 10 and so far the VISTA problems are not terrible.  As you get older it is harder to learn new things.  Anther example would be shifting from my flip cell phone to a smart phone.  Which I have not done. 

Hearing aide

I know that my hearing has been deteriorating some over the past years.   At least that is what others tell me.  The VA med that I go to up in Mishawaka had a new hearing clinic so I went last summer.   After their test, they said I could use a hearing aide so I got one. A high tech one with rechargeable batteries.  And like the reports indicated that I had read. . . I started hearing stuff, creaks, noses, squawks, etc. that I had not heard before and maybe didn’t want to hear.  They are working good though and I can hear better. 

Health

I managed to stay out of the hospital during 2018.  My Doc says my keep alive pills are working pretty well,  My health is pretty good, but I can tell I am getting older and slower.   I still do my ‘a walk in the woods’ about a mile, nearly every morning.  Except this summer I sort of stayed out of the woods and walked the local road.  It is the 1^st year up here that I did not have a tick bite.  Plus I do my lower back lumber PT’s most every morning.   Which appears to work well. I only had one spell which did not last long.

DNA

When we were up in MN in November the subject of DNA came up.  Of course, like everyone, I had heard a lot about it.  Lots of people are getting tested.  When I got home Ancestry.com had a discount so I bit the bullet and took the test.  Since I had been through life with a ‘German’ name. . . I was considerably surprised with the results.   The main thing though, is now, I wont have to feel bad at all going to the Fiddlers Hearth in South Bend on St Patrick’s day thinking I was not Irish.  I am actually more Irish than German.   

That’s about it till next year.  If you made it this far, and even if you didn;t, I wish you a great year in 2019. 

I will see if I can add a few pictures from the year. 

Tom E Anspach  tom41n@centurylink.net . .  574 946 4267

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Lets see if I can pick out a few pictures from 100’s in my 2018 Picture file. 

St Patrick’s Day at Fiddlers Hearth

 

Brother Johnny’s idea implemented on Mom & Dads stone

Dangerous looking crew

I did it at 85, will I be able to continue it?

Granddaughter Eden went to Juneau Alaska                                 Jeff & Eden in Juneau AK

My English Pipe                                                                  Mr Misfit came back for Halloween

Remembering Brandy                                                   The Homeless Feral Cats Lodging out  on the Porch

Fish Bait. . . my favorite near Bemidji MN                      View from my kids Uncle Jim and Aunt Beckys cabin

                                                         on Pike Bay - Lake Vermilion MN