Sep 05, 2021

  Living in Unconditional Love (26) 

“Love flows from God to humans without effort: 

As a bird glides through the air without moving its wings- 

Thus, they go wherever they wish united in body and soul, 

Yet separate in form.” 

–Mechtild of Magdeburg 

My wife Eileen died from esophageal cancer in February 2020 one year after being diagnosed, 60 years to the day that we met on Long Island. Then my brother Tom became ill, and I spent a total of six weeks being with him in Ohio, but he died in October 2020. My sister-in-law Sue Mahoney died from Covid-19 in January 2021. On top of it all stood the pandemic, locking everyone down for over a year. 

09/05/2021 Where did the summer go? I am writing this during Labor Day weekend, and it seems like yesterday it was Memorial Day weekend. My daughter Barbara is here for the weekend, and then next weekend the Luma display in Binghamton will bring Janet, Barbara, and some nieces and nephews here for a day or so.  

Luma is unique to Binghamton in the United States. Several large cities in Europe have similar shows, but none in the US other than Binghamton. The downtown buildings are photographed and then using computer graphics, storyboards are made and then created for the buildings. Powerful projectors are setup, and the result is wonderful stories played out on the buildings, using the building façades including pillars, doors, windows, etc., as basis for the action. Creatures crawl out of windows, around pillars, through doors, buildings seem to shift, fly apart, and rebuild, and more. It is marvelous to see. They are limiting the crowds by using e-tickets that are free and asking that you limit your time to 80 minutes (it usually takes under an hour to see all), but it will repeat until after midnight. There are good videos on the topic. It will be shown both Friday and Saturday nights. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, and right now things look good. 

Funeral services for Sr. Lois Barton were held at the order motherhouse and were live streamed for us who could not travel there, on Friday afternoon. It was sad that this dynamic person should have her life abruptly ended, and the tributes were very moving. I will miss her presence and just the knowledge that she was there. 

I felt myself retreating a bit this week, sitting around more, but the next couple of weeks, starting with this coming weekend will be busy. Luma (I will not personally attend due to Covid) with lots of family on Friday and Saturday, and I will leave for Orlando next Sunday for the induction into the Simulation Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The attendance will be limited, and my son Dan and family will be there. Best of all, I will meet baby Mackenzie in person and have a chance to see little Maria in action. We will be together in a multi-bedroom unit so we will be able to limit contact with the outside. I have heard it will be live streamed for those who cannot attend, which will be great for the rest of the family. 

I feel very humble to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It was started in 2014. Six of us are being inducted, four from last year, including me (Covid prevented an induction ceremony) and two from this year. That will bring a total of thirty in the Hall of Fame, which is in the Orlando Conference Center, where the largest trade show for simulation is held every year the week after Thanksgiving (except for last year) (normally over 500 companies have booths and about 15,000 attend). It is still planned for this year, but it will be smaller. I still consider myself just an engineer who was incredibly lucky to have had all the opportunities I had. Yes, my partner and I started our own company, and it is still going strong after 25 years, and I did rise to the highest level possible within engineering at Link, being on the Technical Director’s staff for many years, responsible for all major proposals and research in the visual areas of Link Flight Simulation, especially in the visual display areas and I have 18 patents. Of course, being in the industry for over 60 years and still active at 87 helps. But to be chosen from the hundreds of thousands that worked and are working in that industry is amazing to me. 

But most of all I thank my wife Eileen for the support she gave me that allowed me to do the many work-related activities over all the years. 

Meditation  

Gentle One, You hold me in the palm of Your hand. I rest there and find comfort during that rest. I am amazed at the love poured out when needed, and I find comfort just gazing at the wonder of Your beauty revealed out my windows and in the garden. The comfort in knowing that Eileen is happy, and all is truly well, and I still have things I can do in this world to bring peace and comfort to others is a joy and a reassurance that life is still good.