[Main] [Next Year] [Previous Year]
The annual Kessler newsletter has been on hiatus for a few years while all the media attention has been sucked up by the large orange swirl in Washington, D.C. But now that that era is mercifully coming to an end, or at least getting turned down somewhat (hopefully), it’s time to resume. So strap in for the Kessler year in review.
And what a year. In summary, let’s just say, “don’t let the door hit you on the way out 2020”. I have this saying: “Nothing is so bad that it couldn’t be worse”. But here’s to hoping 2020 is as bad as it gets. But you know that whole story. So let’s skip to what’s really important. What happened to us this year!?
First and foremost, the biggest news that trumps (ahem) all other news by a longshot, is in June, we become grandparents. Tucker James McCormick Kessler came into the world, and is quite possibly, the best baby that ever existed in all of time. Certainly the cutest. Of course this event resulted in us having to determine what the grand boy will call us. Marion went with ‘Abuela’, in a nod to her Mexican heritage. I, on the other hand said, (quite jokingly I should point out), that he should call me ‘Dude’, which has stuck, and just goes to show that one should always think through the ramifications of ones ideas before saying them out loud. I’ve managed to morph it into ‘Grandpa Dude’ and hopefully, by the time he starts talking, just Grandpa. But we’ll see. Although I must admit, I will enjoy seeing people’s faces if he refers to me as Dude when we’re out in public.
We were part of the ‘birth deployment team’, responsible for pet care while Daniel and Rebecca were in the hospital. (COVID rules meant that those who check in, can’t leave until everyone checks out.) So we had bags prepped for about a week, just like the expectant mother. We got the call around 4am on June 3rd and hit the road for Seattle. We made it in record time, without even speeding (any more than usual anyway), then settled in for a few days of waiting for the baby to come home. Like kids waiting for Christmas. And we were just as happy as kids at Christmas when the ‘gift’ arrived home. We’ve been able to go up and visit about once a month since then and it’s been wonderful watching him grow and change so much in such a short time.
In January, my small health care technology company (Care Innovations) was bought by a very large health care technology company (PRA Health Services), which lessens quite substantially the ongoing imminent threat of the company going out of business. In a pandemic year with the economy tanking, this is some comfort. In fact, our product, in conjunction with the new company, is being used to conduct one of the COVID-19 vaccine trials, which is pretty cool. The only downside is that PRA’s corporate color theme is a bright shocking pink (vs Care Innovations’ much more muted dark blue and orange). And every time I go to our web site or open a corporate Powerpoint I feel like I’m being assaulted (or, frankly, that I’ve stumbled onto a porn site). The marketing people really ought to take a look at this.
Speaking of jobs, Marion had to leave her job at Take Care Move Assistance, not so much because the care facility side of the business had to shut down because of COVID, although that is the case, but because the people on the moving side of the company, especially the young men who, as all young men do, believe they will live forever, wouldn’t wear masks consistently. Including the guy who tested positive and SHOWED UP FOR WORK. Come on people! So very reluctantly, Marion had to tell them that since she didn’t want to infect her loved ones or the people she was helping move, she would have to resign. She’s dedicated, but not to the point of killing old people to prove the point.
We (along with everyone else) have spent most of the year hunkered down at home. Luckily, we enjoy each other’s company. It was especially important that we do when nearby wildfires made the air quality so bad we couldn’t even go outside for over a week. Another of 2020’s many gifts. I suspect some marriages didn’t survive. For a time, Portland had the worst air quality in the world, hitting a high of around 480! For reference, anything over 300 is considered “actively hazardous.” Everyone thinks they want to be #1 but we’ve found it really depends on what game you’re playing. And what are you supposed to do when air is “actively hazardous”? Try to breathe less?
Rain or shine we’ve been taking daily walks (on smoke free days anyway) through the neighborhood, instead of the park paths (too narrow, too many unmasked people) which has had the benefit of passing neighbors repeatedly enough that we’ve managed to introduce ourselves. We’ve finally met people a few houses down from us that have lived here near us for 20+ years! Not that we’re anti-social. We (well mostly me) are just not big fans of other people generally speaking. We’re keeping a map of the neighborhood with everyone’s name on it so that in a few weeks, we can still remember what their names are.
We did manage to get away for a week in September and drove up and around the Washington coast. The weather was a little dicey but we are long time Northwesterners and a little rain didn’t slow us down. It kept the crowds down, which was good. Very understandable why the vampires chose Forks WA for their home. If you want to avoid sunlight, it’s the place to be. And by the way, there’s a town that knows how to milk a bit of movie fame. It was great to get a change of scene after months in the house. And we may just have to retire to Port Townsend when the time comes.
Other than that, we spent the rest of the time trying to watch every show on Netflix and Amazon Prime. We’re just about there. We found we especially like British police shows, because the dialogue is intelligent, it’s fun to see other cultures, and they solve crimes without shooting people despite being burdened with a society that provides universal health care and social programs that support the poor and downtrodden (socialism!). Let’s see you do that Chicago PD. We recommend Endeavor, Scott and Bailey, New Tricks and Broadchurch (Millah!) to get you started.
That about wraps it up. As always, to all our Christian friends, Merry Christmas. To all our Jewish friends, Happy Hanukkah. To all our grinchy and scroogy friends, Bah Humbug. To all our pagan, druid and wiccan friends, Happy Solstice. To all our atheist friends, Happy Day Off. And to everyone else, happy whatever it is you believe or do. We don’t judge.
Peace, love and joy everyone and here’s to a happy, healthy, prosperous and fully vaccinated 2021.