Dale Says

For more than 20 years I’ve been writing summaries of what’s going on in my life and in the world around me on my birthday. Here’s an excerpt from 1996 …

April 24, 1996

On my birthday I’m 45 years old.

I am so fortunate at this mid-point in my life to have a loving relationship, great family, terrific friends, a wonderful house, and a generally fabulous life. When I stop to think about how things could have turned out I realize how incredibly lucky I am. I gave myself to someone early in my life and that person let me down. For many years that disappointment and hurt kept me from opening myself to the possibility of loving again. But now I’ve taken another chance and it’s wonderful! Loving another person (especially someone like Patty) is incredible!

International travel has been one of the greatest surprises for me over the past several years, as each new country offers a new perspective on life. Over the past year I have had business trips to London, Scotland, Spain, Poland, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. Patty and I travelled together to New Zealand (and hiked the Milford Trek), Rio de Janeiro, Ashland Oregon, and to Oklahoma and Nebraska to see our families.

We lost a good friend last year when Steve Watson died of AIDS on December 29. He was a talented and wonderful person and his death has created a huge void in our lives. We spent a lot of time with him the last few months and helped his family through his last Christmas and with the arrangements and estate. That has created a bond with his family, which is helping ease the pain of losing him and has helped speed up the grieving process. We also have a few pieces of his art and some of his furniture, which helps us feel as though he is still with us in a small way.

Patty’s Dad was very ill last summer, but he has managed to get back most of the strength he lost. He has been a real source of inspiration to me, as he had every reason to be upset at what has happended to him, but instead he is very positive and charging on.

In the news, there were several big murder trials this year. The O.J. Simpson trial dragged on for months and ended in the acquittal of an obviously guilty man. The Menendez brothers were tried for killing their parents; their first trial ended in a hung jury, but the second ended with guilty verdicts and life sentences. The trial of the Oklahoma City bombers (Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols) and Richard Allen Davis (who has admitted killing Polly Klaus) are just beginning.

The Internet is the hottest technology topic. A lot of people are buying personal computers and “surfing” the Net. Few people have figured out what to do when they get there, but the Internet is beginning to replace TV as a source of entertainment.

The U.S. presidential primaries wound up with Bill Clinton and Bob Dole winning; Clinton should win the election this fall unless he does something to screw it up.

After several years of mailing bombs to an assortment of people, they finally caught the Unabomber. He turned out to be a former U.C. math professor, living in a hermit’s shack in Montana.

The summer Olympics will be held in Atlanta this July. We plan to go, and we’re really looking forward to the experience.

Several legendary figures died over the past year including George Burns, Gene Kelly, Edmund Muskie, and Erma Bombeck. Ronald Reagan recently disclosed that he has altheimers.

The hottest movies the past year have been Dead Man Walking, Braveheart, Il Postino, and Babe. Popular TV shows include Friends, Seinfeld, ER, Murder One, and Chicago Hope.