2025 in Review

2025 was a year filled with challenges and frustrations, yet with progress on the personal front.

January was a particularly difficult month.  First, the inauguration of Donald Trump and his immediate implementation of Project 2025, which he said he knew nothing of and would never put into action.  As usual, Trump lied and while his lackeys help carry out his perverted agenda, his supporters are either pleased with the turn of events or clueless as to the implications, as those of us with historical knowledge witness the rise of fascism in the United States.  Second, our furnace died during a cold snap.  This necessitated an expensive replacement.  The flip-side is that our natural gas usage has dropped as the new heater is far more efficient.  It’s also quieter.  Third, we encountered some major plumbing issues with our bathroom which required cutting into the living room ceiling to address.  This was not only disfiguring to the ceiling, but it was also expensive.  The good news is that the bathroom is now in the best condition it’s been in since we bought our house in 2008.

The new bathtub drain as seen from the living room. The hole has since been patched.

Later in the year, we also decided on something we’d been putting off for years: getting the ductwork cleaned.  Having peered into the vents and cold air returns, I knew they hadn’t been cleaned recently – it’s possible they were never cleaned from the time the house was built in 1941. The before and after difference was striking not just in the reduction of dust, but in furnace efficiency.  My sinuses appreciated the change as well.  

In February, Daniel and I were able to get away from the toxic atmosphere of the United States for a week in Spain, a country which survived nearly 40 years of fascism.  The trip was memorable enough that it inspired a new composition. 

Outside Sagrada Familia

In March, we returned to Daniel’s native Puerto Rico for the first time since 2013.  It was a lovely trip and, in many ways, was like stepping back in time.  We visited three shopping malls while there, and all three places were busy and cheerful as if we’d suddenly found ourselves in the 1980s. 

A few snaps from Daniel's hometown, Aguadilla.

The food court of Plaza Las Américas Mall.

Our summer was fairly uneventful until September, when we took a quick trip to Minnesota to spend a weekend at the Mall of America.  As with the malls in Puerto Rico, the MoA was active and entertaining – although we didn’t wind up buying much.

At the Museum of Illusions in the Mall of America.

November marked some interesting developments.  Trump and the GOP lost nearly every election.  Although it was an off-year election and the impact was minimal, it’s a hopeful harbinger for 2026.  While on vacation in Palm Springs, we learned that the Supreme Court had rejected the appeal from that lunatic, Kim Davis, meaning marriage equality is safe – at least for now. 

Some snaps from our time in Palm Springs.

 

Throughout the year, our dog Brownie continued to mature and mellow.  He still has his zoomie moments and suffers from separation anxiety.  But several trips to Camp Bow Wow have shown him to be very well-socialized.

Our Brownie...

We attended too many concerts to recount individually.  The most interesting ones are recounted in this blog.  My purchases of recorded music slowed to a crawl, in part thanks to the downsizing of Sony Classical – a mere shadow of what was once a formidable label.  I’ll have more thoughts on that in a future post. 

The greatest highlight of this year was making contact, thanks to my brother Robert, with our uncle John – who, to the best of my knowledge, I’d never met.  John, a former Naval officer, is the last surviving member from my father’s generation of the family and has been a font of information on our history.  He’s also an utterly charming gentleman and a delight to spend time with.

With my brother Rob and our uncle John.

John in his Navy days.  

He eventually rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander

 and served on the USS O'Bannon

I continued the quest I began in earnest in 2021: getting myself into better shape.  After initially hitting a plateau, my weight is once again headed in the right direction – downward.  In November my doctor gave me a clean bill of health: vitals, blood work, all where they should be, although he advised me to try and lose those last 15 pounds. 

Despite the good health news, I did something this year I’ve wanted to get done for quite some time: making my final arrangements.  The helpful staff at Lakeview Cemetery made everything easy: I’ll be cremated and my ashes placed there near my mother’s grave.  I’ve even purchased a headstone.

Planning one's own interment may seem heavy. But it was a pleasure to work with Lakeview Cemetery Memorial Advisor (and fellow Brush High School alum) Petronilla Ragland.

When I tell people about about making my final arrangements, I get the oddest reactions.  But I have a realistic and unsentimental view of death: it’s the one thing that we all have in common.  From personal experience I know what it’s like when a loved one dies unexpectedly.  The survivors find themselves having to make decisions about which they may have varying degrees of confidence.  Did their loved one want this, or another alternative?  Embalming or cremation?  A formal funeral service or an informal celebration of life?  What kind of burial?  What kind of marker did they want?  What, if any, religious symbols?  Last, but not least: How to pay for it?  By making these decisions myself and paying in advance, I’ve relieved my loved ones of the burden of making those decisions, and of the cost.  Further, I have some control over the process while I’m alive – and the legality of what I’ve stipulated will remain in force after I’m dead.  Naturally, I hope the need to carry out these plans won’t come for quite some time.

See you around in 2026.