Fireworks bracketed our last day in Juneau. We saw them at midnight, when the Fourth of
July began, viewing them from the home of our hosts, on Douglas Island, high
above the Gastenau Channel, and from the air we saw the annual Macy’s display
on the East River a few minutes before we landed at ten that night. Had there been fanfares along with the
fireworks, it would have been entirely appropriate, for our two-week visit to
Juneau was a spectacular success.
My wife and I tried to analyze the reasons for our
enjoyment. First of all, our hosts, the
son and daughter-in-law of the couple celebrating their 60th
anniversary, were meticulous in their planning of the celebration, no mean feat
considering that it took place over a two-week period for 21 people ranging in
age from 14 to 82 in two successive venues, a rustic lodge on the mainland and a luxurious
villa on the heights of Douglas Island.
There was plenty to do: whale watching, where we saw several
whales breaching, zip lining, a visit to a botanic garden, a visit to a nearby
glacier, an all day sail down a fjord, where we saw the glacier at the head of
the fjord calve several times, deep-sea fishing, and so forth. And if we tired of these activities, we could
simply gaze at the magnificent scenery right outside our windows. And of course there was plenty of time for
old-fashioned schmoozing, the best part of all, for it was the participants in
the celebration as well as the couple, Ina and Allan Gartenberg, who were its object, that provided the
greatest pleasure.
It was a privilege to spend time with people who were
so fond of each other. The couple’s sons and their spouses clearly enjoyed being in each other’s company, and
it’s no exaggeration to say that those friends of the couple who attended the celebration loved them – no surprise
in view of the couple’s warmth, humor, and compassion for others. Those of their friends who attended the
celebration have supported them in days of grief as well as joy and in the
process have become attached to each other. They've become part of the Gartenbergs' extended family.
In a recent article in the Times, Tim Krieder wrote about the obsession of so many of us with
being madly busy, with scarcely any free time.
“My own resolute idleness has mostly been a luxury rather than a virtue,”
he writes, “but I did make a conscious decision, a long time ago, to choose
time over money, since I’ve always understood that the best investment of my
limited time on earth was to spend it with people I love. “ His essay, which I read while flying back to
New York, resonated with me, for we had just spent two weeks in the company of
people we love. Like Mr. Krieder, I
can’t think of a better way to have spent my time, which for the young as well as for the old, is all the time that's left.
2010-2012 Anchises-An Old Man's Journal All Rights Reserved
Chosing free time instead of more money has always been the philosphy of my life. Work does not make us free even if it is a work we enjoy. Retiring early with less money gave me the chance to do volonteering which is a better kind of job. We work all the same but we do what we vant, when we want, with the people we want, that happen seldom with a paid job. So since 8 years I have my group of women and still enjoy organizing it, even when it is difficult. Wally
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear. Long may you continue to do so.
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