Another Special Day

About 340 days ago I published my initial blog entitled A Special Day to commemorate both New Years Day and the numerical oddity of 1/1/11.

Well, here we are in the same year and we have another repeating number in the date, 11/11/11.  Knowing that next year will bring us 12/12/12 and then nothing similar until 2/2/22 which will mark 10 years between these special days, I thought it appropriate to touch again upon the topic.

In the original piece, I commented about the 10 year+ span between the two 2011 dates, next year's 2012 date and the 2022 occurrence from the perspective of how our lives might be different.  To hammer home that point, think about how life has changed just since 1/1/11 for the following people.

Herman Cain
Jerry Sandusky
the victims of Sandusky
Joe Paterno
all the Japanese people living near the Fukushima nuclear plants 
the couple hundred American soldiers who have died in Iraq/Afghanistan
the families of those soldiers
the Occupy Wall Street protesters
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou
All the Greek people facing significant cuts in their pensions and salaries

Such dramatic changes and the corresponding stress and anxiety as compared to the often heard complaint about the routines that we all face in our daily lives.  Sometimes hectic, sometimes boring but still routines.  It makes one wonder that if push came to shove, would we choose to continue our routines or choose the thrill of having our lives turned upside down?

Of course, one could say that one man's hectic schedule is another's boring routine.  Regardless, it is important to take time to step back and look around.  One of my favorite movies is Ferris Bueller's Day Off.  At one point in the movie, he looks at the camera and says something to the effect that "life moves pretty fast and if you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it".  I have been fortunate enough that I have found the time in these last 10 months to NOT miss

My daughter play water polo
My wife find a new job
My son start to mature at college
My dad battle back from a fractured hip
My yearly family vacation in the Poconos
"Good mornings" to the dozens of deer, rabbit, fox, skunk, cats, cows and even 2 horses that I have met on my morning route
Moon lit pre-dawn mornings
Spectacular sun rises
The first growth of spring in our backyard
Summer barbecues (cooked by my son!!)
The first frost on the car windows
October snow

Nothing spectacular as compared to running for president or fighting on foreign soil or living in a tent in a park in New York but all events that can enhance the answer to "what's new?"  It is certainly better than "nothing", or "same old thing" or my least favorite, "same shit, different day".

Finally, let's not forget that today is also Veteran's Day.  Or, more importantly, let's not forget the actual veterans that served their country.  Especially those just returning from our most recent foreign conflicts.  It is bad enough that we send, mostly kids, off to hostile environments, but when they return to face high unemployment, foreclosed homes, divorce, children they never met, poor medical facilities, and a group of politicians that say all the right things but do very little to smooth their transition from the military world to the civilian world, well, it makes one wonder if we should stop pretending that we honor their service and sacrifice and admit that they are merely hired guns.