51 Years

Peter and I met in September 1965 at a small Quaker liberal arts college in Indiana. If we then had been granted a peek into today, we would have been astonished at how things had changed!

We both took electric typewriters to college, the latest technology then.. Now we write on incredibly powerful computers, tablets, and phones (!). We both loved photography and mostly shot slides, which took a week or more to be developed and returned to us. Now we take photos with cameras that still look like those we used long ago, but provide us with instant images to share electronically.

In the summer of 1968, I spent several weeks on the back of Peter's BSA 441, touring England, Wales, and Scotland with him and one of his friends. I still have slides I shot on that trip with my half-frame Olympus Pen-F, my first serious camera, and will share some of them on Blipfoto later. A few years ago, Phil and I had an amazing week with Peter and his wife, Glenda, on their boat, cruising the inland waterways of southeast Alaska. The high point of that wonderful week was having four or five orca whales frolic right next to the boat, an experience I'll never forget!

Phil and I had supper with Peter last night on the deck of Sirens, one of our favorite places to eat here, overlooking Port Townsend Bay. He and Glenda returned a few days ago from this year's 3-1/2 month sojourn on their boat in Alaska, and she was away, visiting her sister, so we didn't see her this visit, but will do so next time.

As always, the conversation flowed over a wide range of subjects -- college memories, the upcoming Presidential election, books and writing, our children and grandchildren, aging and death, Tesla cars, our parents, Phil's woodworking, and more.

A round I remember singing in Girl Scouts seems an appropriate way to end this journal entry: "Make new friends, but keep the old -- one is silver and the other gold."

(Many thanks to Phil for the photo!)

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