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2021 And 1976: March Through December; Synchronized Between Those Years
As of today, the calendar for the remainder of this year synchronizes, exactly, the days to the dates of March 1 through December 31, 1976.
This was the year in which the first Great Love of my life transpired; in which I was set free from, and brought out from under, the shadow of my parents, Betty and Lloyd; that I received the appellation/epithet/handle/screen name Starwatcher which, decades later, evolved into Starward due to Thomas Jones Jr.'s sonnet on Saint Benedict. On the same day my Beloved bestowed the name Starwatcher, I was also received, with sincere welcome, into the community of our local c.b. channel 22; all that happened on the evening of Saturday, July 10th. On September 9th, I was forcibly transported an hour's distance away to an undergraduate dormitory school, where I spent the next eleven weeks, miserably. On November 23rd, I returned, for a most exquisitely delightful six or so weeks of the extended Christmas break; returning, with great reluctance, to the college on January 2nd, 1977.
So many dates this year will be laden with personal significance. This tends to accelerate in and after April, and then continues at the accelerated pitch for the remainder of the year.
Some who read this may remember that I am afflicted with the effects of a transverse myalitis of the spine; of aneurysms in my upper and lower aorta; gout, arthritis, and a distinct feeling of decline. I do not know if this is the year I will be called to repose in the Lord; or if I will survive it. God's Will is best, and I welcome it gladly. If I survive this year, I doubt I shall see a repetition of the synchronization of the days and dates to the pattern of 1976. The next time will be 2027; then 2032. I think these are both impossible hopes, although our Gracious Lord still grants miracles; my return to the Orthodox Faith is proof of that. I am grateful, more than my poor words can here express, to see the synchronization once more; and to see it as a blessing in the midst of my affliction.
This calendar synchronicity helps me understand, further, what Apostle Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthian Christians: that our present affliction is light compared to the exceeding and eternal weight of glory that awaits us in the Lord. Tonight I feel it, exquisitely. And for the remaining days of this year, March 2nd through December 31st, I can truly say, with Wallace Stevens in his poem, "Final Soliloquy Of The Interior Paramour":
Being there together is enough.
Starward
