Looking Back

If you want to get somewhere, you need look forward, keeping the course. Looking back can sometimes

I had never seen this photo until recently. On the back,

in my mother's handwriting, it says "Bill." I have to

assume this is the first picture of me. 

slow you down.

Today, I am looking back.

Back at the past 18,994 days and wondering, "where did they go?"

As a kid, we all wished time away when we "couldn't wait for [insert exciting event here]."

Then, as we grow older, somewhere after college, we realize that time has somehow sped up. Some days may seem to drag, but suddenly a month, a season, a year has past.

Sometimes time is going so fast I want to be Fred Flintstone and use my feet to put on the brakes.

But I can't slow it down, so I'll just enjoy the ride and smile at the highlights of the last 18,994 days.

What will the next 18,994 days bring me?  Most likely I won't see that many more.

But I will keep looking ahead and moving forward, because tomorrow is another day.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

Significant Historical Event

November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 59 days remaining until the end of the year. Christmas is just around the corner.

Historic events on this day include:

• 1895 – The first gasoline-powered race in the United States. First prize: $2,000
• 1898 – Cheerleading is started at the University of Minnesota with Johnny Campbell leading the crowd in cheering on the football team.
• 1947 – In California, designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Spruce Goose or H-4 The Hercules; the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built.
• 1959 – Quiz show scandals: Twenty One game show contestant Charles Van Doren admits to a Congressional committee that he had been given questions and answers in advance.
• 1983 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan signs a bill creating Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

There are hundreds of other important and significant events took place on November 2.  But none of them are as important and significant in my life as the birth of my mother.

My mother, Freda Jane, was born 84 years ago today to Peter and Flora (Parker) Kivel.  She was the seventh of eight children.

If it wasn't for this historic event taking place, I would not be here. You would not be reading this blog. The world would be, for some, a little different.

Eight anniversaries of her birth have passed since she died, but today isn't a reminder that she's gone. It's a day to remember, more than usual, all the time that she was here.

BareNakedBill.blogspot.com

Birthday Boy

Last July I celebrated the 11th anniversary of my 39th birthday. For readers scratching their heads or reaching for a calculator: I turned 50.

My 50th Birthday Cake... a camping bear!

I spent it camping in Canada relaxing and enjoying the summer's warmth. Really, it was just another day.

Today is my great-nephew's eighth birthday. He's been celebrating for a week!

Last weekend his parents loaded up he and his sister (who secretly idolizes him) along with two of his friends into the SUV and headed to East Lansing for an MSU hockey game. I'm sure hot dogs and nachos were part of the birthday/hockey game celebration. (MSU lost in a shoot out. Boo!)

Then, of course, there was fun at school where he shared birthday brownies with his classmates -- and Gram who is the elementary secretary.  Maybe the kids sang Happy Birthday to the birthday boy.

Yesterday, was a family celebration with a couple great-grandparents, two pairs of grandparents, a great-anut and a couple great uncles, mom, dad, sissy and the family dog. He was bouncing around the house, filled with excitement.

I should have a tenth of that energy and be so excited about another birthday.

It's fun to watch him, and all my great-nephews and nieces, growing up. Some change their looks during the weeks and months between seeing them.  Others are growing up before my eyes.

I count my blessings I can be part of it, and it's a joy to be part of birthdays that are not just another day.