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 1999 …

April 24, 1999

On my birthday I’m 48 years old.

This was a great birthday! I’m happy with what I’m doing and even happier that I know what I want to do next.

I want to write for a living. It’s something I like to do (and am reasonably good at) and I’ve concluded that when I’m done with the corporate world I will do it full time. I’ve started doing a little freelance work on the side, and have found that I really enjoy writing.

I realize how very fortunate I am to have a wonderful family and friends and a beautiful and loving wife. And our little house is so cozy! The fireplace has made such a difference! This year we intend to get started on turning the room over the garage into a guest room.

And for now I’m pleased with what I’m doing at work. I waited a long time and worked very hard to get to do what I’m doing now. I’m running a small group called Market Intelligence that includes competitive intelligence, market research, and the corporate library and I’ve got a terrific staff to help. At this stage, I really enjoy working with employees, helping them learn and grow.

But I’ve also come to realize that I don’t want to do it forever. My work takes more of me than I want to give to it. Over the past year I’ve spent a significant amount of time travelling for work, keeping very long hours, and adjusting to the continually revolving door of re-structuring and management and policy changes.

The past year has been a busy one for me personally, too. Patty’s Dad has been in the hospital a couple of times, and while he’s OK now, he’s weak from his illnesses. And Anne found out in December that she has breast cancer. That has been a blow to all of us, which has been lessened somewhat by the courageous way she has dealt with it. She’s about done with chemotheray and will go right into radiation treatments.

Our big trip this past year was a bike tour down the Danube River, from Vienna to Budapest. It was a wonderful tour that we will remember the rest of our lives. We saw storks and heard co-koo birds, spent time with Eva’s family in Slovakia, and explored Budapest and Prague, which are now among our favorite cities. After the bike ride, we took Eurail to Prague then crossed Switzerland on the Glacier Express.

We spent a lot of time with friends this year, including Christmas in Stillwater with the Struthers, Boldings, Patty’s college friends, and Diggs in Duncan. Our Easter Party has several special guests, including Mari and Martin and Mari’s little Mommy. We kept our gourmet dinner club going with Kevin and Julia, and enjoyed several outings with our special group of friends, including Drakesbad, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

In the news the past year was bittersweet for the world. Most people were struck by the death of Princess Diana in an auto accident. We watched the funeral on television (in the middle of the night) and closely followed the investigation. She was beloved by so many people!

The U.S. economy is enjoying a prolonged period of prosperity, but a sizeable portion of the world is still lving in economic resession. Several Asian economies and Russia are still in pretty bad economic shape, but signs of improvement are showing. Businesses all over the world are consolidating; including oil and telecommunications companies, retail stores, and banks.

Use of the Internet is commonplace in the U.S. and most homes now have a personal computer. The Internet is used mostly for email, but electronic shopping is growing.

People are still killing each other in the Middle East and Ireland, and the U.S. is bombing Yogoslavia and Iraq. And just last week two high school students in Littleton, Colorado show and killed 24 of their classmates and a teacher at Columbine High School.

President Clinton got caught with his pants down, then lied about it on national TV. His mistress, Monica Lewinski, said he did it and she had the soiled dress to prove it. So we went through an impeachment trial that threatened to tear the country apart. Fortunately, the Senate didn’t vote to impeach him, so he got away with cheating and lying. But Hillary will probably punish him enough to make him wish he hadn’t done either.

Several European countries have united to form the European Union, and they have a new unified currency called the euro.

The sports star this past year was Mark McGuire, who smashed Babe Ruth and Roger Maris’ home run records. He wound up with 70, and Sammy Sosa ended with 66.