His and Hers: Looking back
I read an article once about a radio call-in show whose host decided to dedicate his final December broadcast to polling his listeners about what they thought was the biggest news story of the year. A woman called in and said that her son told her he was gay. It was difficult for her to accept at first, but she certainly couldn't stop loving him. The show's host hurried her along until he was able to hang up and move to another, hopefully more relevant, call. The next call was a man who said he had lost his job and struggled to support his family, though with the love and support of his wife and their friends, everything worked out okay.
The show went on like that. The host wanted people to argue about the most important world event, but they persisted in telling their own personal stories. The host finally came to the conclusion that although politics, wars, natural catastrophes, and precedent-setting legal cases affect masses of people, every person is an individual who feels pain and joy in a unique way for unique reasons. I think three major things have dominated my thoughts this year, as far as world events go: the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. presidential election, and the tsunamis in Asia that have so far killed more than 135,000 people. In 50 years, however, when my grandchildren ask me what I remember about the year 2004, I'm not sure any of those things will immediately come to mind.
This week's His and Hers asks the question our grandchildren may one day ask:
What is the most significant thing that happened in your life in 2004?
Curt's response
I'll remember that 2004 was the year my heart started skipping beats. The condition got so bad that one day I feared I was having a heart attack. I spent two days in a hospital in Arizona. It was maybe the scariest experience of my life so far.
Mrs. Happy's response
I will certainly remember Curt's heart episode and following saga forever, but fortunately I have the luxury of putting all that in the back of my mind now that everything is resolved. My most memorable and most touching 2004 memory is certainly my 30th birthday and the events surrounding it, primarily the incredible surprise party Curt so thoughtfully planned to the utmost detail and the beautiful card my mother painstakingly made for me with her own two hands. This will go down as the year I felt especially adored.
