As another new year approaches, I am once again reminded of one that I shall never forget. The year 2000...
I had always anticipated the coming of that year. It had always seemed to be looming way ahead into the futuer. I was born in January and had computed the math in my head even before I had ever entered high school I think, to try and get a picture of what it would be like for me in the year 2000 as I would be about to turn 44. Where would I be then, I often wondered? What kind of work would I be doing, what kind of car would I be driving, just what would life be like for me then, would I still even be here then? These were some of the many questions that I would ponder and day dream about from time to time.
Foremost in my mind I suppose was the thought that I may just not be here to see that year arrive. After all, it did seem that several of the men in our family didn't have the good fortune of living a very long life. My father had just turned 31 when he passed away. He had a brother who only lived to see 32, and a nephew who had only made it to 16. The thought of all of this would sometimes put fear inside of me but, I have come to learn now that life is something that no one is guarenteed no matter who you are or what age you happen to be.
Well, I did make through high school alright. Sometimes it appeared as though I never would. The time seemed to go by ever so slowly back then. Finally, there it was, another big year that I had longed to see get here, 1975, the year I was to graduate.
Oh my, I thought, still 25 more years to go until the year 2000 is here. Gosh, and I haven't even been in school for that long period of a time and look how long it took me to get through all that. I have plenty of time, I thought. I have my whole life ahead of me now. I can now do whatever I want, go where I want to go and just enjoy each day one at a time. So, like a bird set free, I set out to do just that...
They say that time flys when you are having fun. Well, then I must have had a ball because, before I knew it, the years had soon melted away like snow on a warm April sidewalk. It was nearly the year 2000 already. Where did all the time go, I wondered? Those 25 years seemed to pass by about as fast as the space shuttle, leaving its launching pad. Now here I was, already making plans for that ominous year 2000 that had always seemed to be so far off.
Ronnie, a buddy of mine, and I, had decided that we would drive out just across the Ohio state line into Richmond, Indiana and visit with his twin brother Donnie, and his family. We hadn't seen Donnie in quite awhile so, we thought we would just head out that way and bring in the new year with his wife, Dana, son Dillion, and he. It would be a fun time, we thought, so we did just that.
All was going according to plan. We had sat around the dining room table, playing Euchre and 500 Rummie and having a few nibblies to go along with our beers, as the day and evening slipped away from us. All the while, feeling a bit reluctant of all the chatter about Y2K..
We had all rushed into the living room about every hour to see how each country would bring in that awsome year and to see for ourselves if there would be any black-outs. There would be a major black-out but it would come about three years later than predicted and would have nothing to do with Y2K.
Finally, it was our turn. We all gathered into the living room around the T.V. set for one final time that evening and made ourselves comfortable. It was time to see the New York City ball fall and watch the east coast folks go crazy with celebration. I kicked off my shoes and settled back into the huge recliner. Dillion went into his bedroom and brought out his pet rabbit and sat down in the floor, next to my big comphy chair. Wow, what a huge rabbit he was too. It was a beautiful angora bunny. I asked Dillion if I could hold him and he proudly handed him over to me. He was so soft and cuddly.
We were getting more and more excited by the minute, as we all sat around and listened to the television announcer count down the time and talk about the huge crowd that had gathered there in Time Square. "One more minute," someone shouted!
"Only thirty seconds now," I heard Dillion exclaim! Thats about the time I felt it. That wet and warm, murky sensation, seeping through my trousers. Oh my... what a puddle I ended up having in my lap, as I leaped from my chair and high-tailed it into the bathroom. I never knew a rabbit could hold so much liquid. I realized that Mr. Bunny Rabbit had just given me a golden shower to welcome in the year 2000.
How Ironic it was too. As it turned out, the year 2000 was one of the worse years that I can ever remember having in my entire life. In early December of that year, I ended up having a heart attack. December the 28th, I went into the hospital for a double by-pass surgery. Thankfully I did get through it all just fine.
Was it an omen? Who knows but, here comes another new year...look out!
GCJ