Numerology

Today is the 9th anniversary of a "party" at work. Our unit staff did not take themselves too seriously. Perhaps that was why we were successful at what we were doing. This was an impromptu happening. The date was September 9, 1999. We didn’t need a reason for the party- just a theme. "Please come with some prop or costume that used the number 9. Prizes and food were promised but were insignificant compared to the chance to be part of the event.
I had heard of a party someone had thrown on August 8, 1988. The costume had to have some reference to the number 8. So what we lacked in originality we made up for in mirth. Here was the poster advertising the party. The Solar System used to have 9 planets until Pluto was demoted. Every one put their work aside for 60 minutes over lunch. Here are some of the entries… while it was not the most creative…Jowanna came as the 9 volt battery... it took some effort. Diana was pregnant and read a long poem she wrote about having enough children to field a baseball team (a wishful fantasy). Jan was on cloud 9. The cotton on the bottom of her shoes took only 30 seconds, but was effective and fulfilled the requirement for participation. This was more fun than turning your odometer over at 99,999. It was worth some laughs.. a needed commodity at times. Those were the days we remember. -James

R.I.P Darkroom 1994

I just found this picture of my studio/playroom. This was the end of my darkroom era. The sink is now splinters. The enlarger is in the attic. The slides are being digitized, as they are collecting dust. All the boxes of slides on the shelf would easily fit on a DVD.
(BTW, the Amiga computer shown went the way of the dinausaurs and the dodo bird. It went into the dumpster, too. It was odd man out in the Macintosh-PC-Amiga struggle.)