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A Personal Review of the Naughts


        Everyone seems to be making lists of the greatest good things, worst bad things, middling mediocre things, etc. of the decade, so I guess I may as well join the crowd. First I want to go on record as realizing that the first decade of the 21st century ends when 2010 ends, but nobody else seems to care, so why should I? Anyway, here is my list of the biggest personal events, several good and some not-so-good, that occurred during the decade of the naughts. Except for the last item, the list is arranged chronologically.
        I finally talked Barbara into retiring in 2000. It has been great having her home all the time! Also in 2000 we took the first of two cross country driving trips. We spent eight weeks on the road; actually six, because we spent two weeks in Manheim with Barbara’s mother. This time we went around the periphery of the country, eastbound through the northern states, down the east coast to Florida, then westbound through the southern states.
        In 2001 the bottom dropped out of the stock market, sending our investments into a tailspin. I wouldn’t say it was the fault of our new President, George Bush, but it was a big disappointment after the way stocks soared during the Clinton administration. Probably a coincidence.
        In 2002 I retired from my part time job of preparing income tax returns.
        We took our second cross country driving trip in 2003. On this one we toured the heartland for six weeks.
        In 2003 and 2004 I did free income tax returns at the Cerritos Senior Center. This was the last of the tax business for me!!
        Early in 2004 we decided to move to Pennsylvania, and by November we were settled in an apartment in Lititz. In retrospect it was a great idea, although I was a little leery of it at first – it meant leaving some good times and some good friends.
        In January, 2007, we moved to Luther Acres – our best idea of the decade.
        In 2009 the country breathed a collective sigh of relief as we emerged from the administration of George Bush. For us personally, 2009 started a recovery of the money we lost in 2001. It was Obama’s first year. Another coincidence?
        During the naughts Barbara lost her sister and her mother, and two good friends died in California. We miss them all.
        On the bright side, we were able to fan flames of friendship from embers that had been buried for 60 years, and also to make many new friends at Luther Acres. With the exception of advancing arthritis, balance problems and a few other things that keep happening to that old-looking gentleman in the mirror, the naughts treated us fairly well.

                          HAPPY NEW YEAR

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