Month of Beginnings

For us here “locally” February is the month of beginnings. Brigitte was born this day. On Friday we celebrate the anniversary of our marriage. My genuine entrance into adulthood began when I entered the U.S. Army and left home, which happened on February 21. Back in those days the nation still celebrated Washington’s birthday on the actual date of his birth, February 22. Thus I got my uniforms, had my head shaved, and polished my new boots on my first day, and the second was already a day off. I thought: This is starting out Ok. Then I went to look at myself in the mirror again; I had to get used to my new look. This blog also began in February—and sure enough its first post is titled “Orienting Ourselves in Time.”