A Time for Everything in August 2024

The month of this August is an embodiment of "A Time for Everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens," as stated in Ecclesiastes 3. 

Having successfully completed her 2024 Boys and Girls Club Summer Camp on August 2, Leni was picked up and driven home by her father Nick the very next day. The following Friday, August 9, Gene Moriarty, along time good friend of ours, passed away. Paul and I attended his Vigil Service and Funeral Mass August 26-27.

In between time, there were also happy occasions. We spent the week of August 20-24 in Seattle, Washington, having pizza and wine at Stephanie and Tyler's Happy Hour in August 22, and going to their Wedding the following day. In the shadow of threatening new Covid in Hui's family, everyone, once recovered enough, was determined to have a great time, celebrating a brand-new life for the high-achieving couple. Nick and his four younger cousins had a complete cousin reunion first time in their life. Meanwhile, I received the first edit of the third installment proof of A Bright Star from the California State Library Foundation. As I did not have a laptop with me this time, I read through Gene Kennedy's corrections and approved them, in addition to answering his query.

August 24 was our departure day. As usual, Paul built in more than two hours for traffic and rental car return. Unlike Thursday night's frantic SeaTac Airport when we picked up Nick, the traffic was smooth, so was our fuel filling and car return. Paul, Nick and I felt visibly relieved to arrive at the quiet airport at barely 8:00 am, well before our respective departure times at 10:30 am, and 3:40 pm. 

All hell broke loose when we reached the Security Check point. There were six serpentine long lines of passengers waiting to be admitted. It took at least one hour to be at the head of the line that was to be continued by another line. The second queue, similar in length to the first one, would take the same amount of time for one to have their IDs, bodies and luggage checked. Instead of using the state of art facial recognition photo scan, all TSA officers checked us with their own eyes. After the checkpoint, we could not find our Alaska gate number, since QR was unable to spit out a printout. All the bulletin boards surrounding us were unusually quiet. Paul had to ask a Delta service desk for help. Instead of using her computer at the service desk, the representative was searching the internet with her cellphone to locate our gate. Fortunately, our flight was delayed 15 minutes, which gave us a pitstop opportunity before boarding the plane, while Nick was guarding our luggage. He was as good as his words to see Paul and me walking the tarmac to the plane. 

We landed in San Francisco miraculously on time Saturday afternoon. Looking at the bright and spacious airport, I felt a blissfully new appreciation of California, after going through the congested SeaTac, its inadequate bathroom stalls, and lack of real time flight information. Over the FaceTime we celebrated Lee Anne's birthday that Saturday evening. It is the Birthday Girl that untangled the mystery of chaos at SeaTac. In her search for Nick's arrival time, she discovered that the airport had been a victim of the cyberattack. To be fair, the Seattle airport did a marvelous job in damage control in the face of vicious attacks and unfavorable working conditions. Offline and calmly, it managed to get its passengers to their destinations eventually. There was no public disorder, thanks to the air traffic control tradition of its city's aerospace industry.

Busy August does not seem to slow down, with our next trip scheduled for August 29-Septermber 3 for Paul's 55th Reunion in Youngstown, Ohio.

Gene, a Friend to Remember

Barely six months after the celebration of his 80th birthday, Gene Moriarty left us last Friday, August 9, 2024. It was known for quite a while that Gene's health was declining, but it is a new string of COVID that was the cause of death.

Gene is the sixth dear friend to depart among our local friends, Sue Reynolds, Ted Grace, Lewis Weinstein (2017), James King, and John Breznak (2021). Each departure has taken something from us, leaving us with more grief and renewed resolve to live a full life. 

In the latest JAMA (August 13, 2024, vol. 332, no. 6), I happened to read Someone Has to Be Around to Put out the Lights  by Joel Jager. It is a very inspiring article advocating the positive attitude toward the disappearing of friends who have succumbed to illness or death. In front of this evitable life cycle, as the author states, there seems to be only two options to avoid such a sad situation: either one dies first, or develops dementia, so they will not know what is going on around you. However, there is a third option as the author's 90-year-old father did a generation ago, i.e., revamping his purpose in life, "Instead of being immersed in the typical diversions of Southern Florida retirement, he began to focus on helping those remaining individuals and their families 'tie things up," usually in some small fashion...In his words, 'Someone has to be around to put out the lights.'"

Now the author and his wife are both in their 80s. Cognitively still intact, they opt to follow his father's footsteps by invoking the mantra of "May I be allowed to be of service" to each other, and their contemporaries that consist of relatives, friends, and acquittances in both big and small ways, such as advice, assistance, guidance, referrals, and listening. Even though they often end their day emotionally spent, they are grateful for the opportunity to be of assistance. Meanwhile they hope there will be others around to help them in their declining and dying days. I admire the author and his father's way of living. 

Gene's Mass at Holy Cross Church

Paul and I are both relieved that we will be able to attend Gene's Vigil Service at the Pacific Garden Chapel, at 6:00 pm. August 26th and Funeral Mass at Holy Cross the following day, 11:00 am. Thank you Gene for your kindness, friendship and wisdom! We will miss you.

Holy Cross Father at the Beginning of Reception

Our Table at the Reception

(Lowe's brother, Jim S and Paul)