Sunday

Just checking in. Several items of good news.

4 made it to her destination, albeit without her checked bag. And without having much sleep in her 24 hour odyssey, she was able to convert to the local time that first night. Hopefully, they will be able to track down her bag. She was supposed to meet her host family today. She says that she'll try to blog on Monday.

1 and Matt successfully completed their Green Bay half this AM in under two hours! Great job. Congratulations.

The rest of us made it through another day.

Lots of graduations in the last couple of weeks. Such events make memories for lots of people. The graduates themselves. Their families. Close friends. How about a top ten list of the significant days of an Everyman's (Everywoman's) life:

1. High school graduation.
2. College graduation.
3. Wedding day.
4. Kid's births.
5. First day on first "real" job.
6. Purchase of first house.
7. Early death of a parent, sibling or close friend.
8. First "new" car. (Maybe, first car, too.)
9. First air plane ride.
10. First trip abroad.

And just for yucks, a second 10 which have to occur after age, say, 40:

1. A child's college graduation.
2. Sale of the last "family" car.
3. Divorce.
4. Career/job change.
5. Selling a house/moving.
6. Death of the parents.
7. Cubs winning a World Series. (Just seeing if you're reading!)
8. Diagnosis of a significant medical condition.
9. Experiencing a natural disaster (flood, tornado, fire, etc.)
10. Retirement.

These are kind of interesting thoughts. I've come to believe or appreciate that a person makes little decisions each day, and over a long period of time, those little decisions create a path for one's life. Some of the decision points are chosen. Others occur. I've never been smart enough to play my life like a chess match where you make each move in anticipation of moves further into the game. Much of the time, I think I was oblivious to the fact that I was even at a fork in the road. As I look back in time, I would never have guessed that I would be exactly where I am today.

Too maudlin for a Sunday.

Back to Everyman. Wikipedia doesn't even capitalize the term. If not capitalized, how do you know that you are talking about a person as opposed to a crowd? Anyway, there was some morality play called Everyman, but I have not read it and I know nothing about it. But I have often used the term to describe that indistinct person walking down the street. He is no one in particular, but he is also each of us.

My pal Pete has a lawyer friend Jim from Creighton law school whose nickname is "Orp". Actually, Orp was undergrad at ND when I was there, although I did not know him. Anyway, the nickname comes from some law school 101 class where they describe the action and/or thought process of an "ordinary, reasonable, and prudent" man. Ergo; Orp.

Another great day here. I'm out to enjoy it.

Be careful out there.