It is often said that life is something we live forward and understand backward. Forty years out of high school is a lot of living, and I think I am actually beginning to understand some of it.
One of the smarter things I did was to marry my wife, Arlene, 35 years ago. I highly recommend grandchildren to give you a perspective and understanding on life, and of course, one usually has to have children to do that. Our son Matthew is married to Tara, and their daughter Madison…”Maddy”…is a stunning 16 month old who lights up every room she toddles into.( Maddy will be a “big sister” in late April.) Our daughter Candace is engaged to be married to Jonathan.
We have lived in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland and moved to Florida over five years ago. After 25 years of working 24/7 and living on airplanes for high technology companies…mostly in planning and corporate development…I went into government in 1994, working for the State of Maryland. I served in a dual capacity as Director, Investment Financing Group in the Department of Business & Economic Development, and as Director of the Maryland Venture Capital Trust. After five years of working in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor…a “tough duty” station…I have continued working for Maryland on a consulting basis since late Summer, 1999 from Delray Beach, Florida…another “tough duty” station.
If you don’t have a map, Delray Beach is just north of Boca Raton in Palm Beach County, and about 60 miles north of Miami. After more than fifty cold and snowy winters we became convinced that we had somehow lucked out and landed in Paradise. Azure skies. Coral blue-green oceans. Palm trees waving in the breeze. A Tommy Bahama lifestyle. And a weather phenomenon called Hurricanes.
Hurricanes? What Hurricanes?
Despite being visited by two nasty, 115 MPH howling ladies named Frances and Jeanne three weeks apart this past September, we are still convinced this is Paradise. We were very lucky to escape any serious damage to home, limb, or psyche but now we understand that Paradise may entail a bit of risk. This deceiving beauty can have a demanding price to pay now and again.
But you can keep the ice and snow; we’ll take our chances…and we’ll take sunny and 80 degrees most days in January and February!
Like I said, you live life forward but understand it backward.
Love to hear from “Y’all”…you can reach me in cyberspace at blankron@hotmail.com
