The Time Has Come (10/12/27)
My wife and I agree with the feeling expressed by many residents in this retirement community that as we grow older, time seems to advance more quickly. It is difficult for us to recognize that another year is coming to a close, that it has been over 10 years since we left Japan and entered this community, and almost a year since we moved to the assisted living unit where we now live. Checking my records, I find that it was 30 years ago, on September 1, 1980 that I began the “Daily Word” telephone service in Japan. After the service was taken over by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, I was given a telephone card, which enabled me to record messages from overseas, and, depending on my schedule, sometimes I used messages that I had used before. However, the number in parentheses at the end of my message is the particular number for that particular message. According to my records, from the beginning of the “Daily Word” telephone service until I left Japan, I had composed and transmitted 6,290 different messages. After my “retirement” in the summer of 1999, I began the “Timely Words” computer item here in Florida. The “Timely Words” messages were not changed daily, and this is the 1360th new message in that series, which makes a total of 7,641 messages over the past 30 years. I also am amazed at that number and am very thankful for the encouragement and assistance in many different ways of many people over the years, but I feel the time has come to bring this service to a close while I am still rationally able to make that decision. I have recently celebrated my 83rd birthday and continue to enjoy the agitation that accompanies the composition of the messages. However, more time and mental stimulation are required now and I feel that the end of the year is an appropriate time to end. I will be happy to read any letters or comments
clarboff2@aol.com my postal address is: P.O. Box 1034, Penney Farms, Florida 32079, U. S. A. (1360)