Surrounded By Friends And Family

At a recent gathering with friends I heard the unfortunate news that a longtime mutual friend had recently passed away.
Nobody had many details. All that was known was that a friend, younger than us, was gone.

In time, I went online to find his obituary published in a suburban Boston newspaper.
He left behind three children and an ex-wife.
He is survived by both of his parents, his two brothers and his only sister.

The notice mentioned that he, “died unexpectedly in his home”.
There was no mention of being, “surrounded by family and friends”.
I always look for that in the announcement when someone passes away.

Being surrounded by loved ones is, in my view, a great way to live, and just seems, particularly at the time of last departure, like the way, if given a choice, that I’d like to go.

At that same gathering of friends where I heard of our friend passing away we discussed our high school and college days.

One friend mentioned all the hard work he put in during his high school years.
We graduated together and I mentioned to him that I always thought high school was a breeze and that I didn’t recall studying at all. I seemed to remember it more as a ‘just having to show up to pass’ kind of thing.

Afterwards I felt bad about contradicting him, and perhaps appearing to belittle his efforts.
It bugged me a bit, but I didn’t have time to address it with him before we headed out of town to visit our granddaughters.

When in Boston we were excited to see the progress the 5 year-old is making towards learning to read. Her moms have made it fun by using letters on tag-board that fit in a pocket to form words for her to read.
S “sss”
I “i”
T “tah”

S-I-T.
“Sssitah”
“Sit”

She seems to be learning quite a few words rapidly with this system.

We also noticed though that her not quite 2 year-old little sister likes to play the game too and may be learning her letters along with older sister.

We laughed at the thought of a child as young as two learning the roots of reading, but then the lightbulb flickered on over my head.

Family Social Science was a major emphasis of my studies at the UofM.
The courses I took placed very little credence in the stereotypes typically listed for birth order placing higher priority on the relationships formed within family units instead.
But I’m beginning to wonder if perhaps there may be some benefits gained by when and where one is born.

In the movie, A FEW GOOD MEN, in the courtroom scene where the prosecutor, Captain Ross (played by Kevin Bacon), in an effort to dispel the notion that Code Reds - when Marines punish members of their own unit - occur, questions witness Corporal Barnes (played by Noah Wylie). Ross asks Barnes to show him, in the Standard Operating Procedure Manual for Rifle Security Company Guantanamo Bay, where the section on Code Reds is.

Barnes says there is no section in that book on Code Reds.
That is true, Code Reds are not in the manual since they are not an official Marine activity.

Representing the defendants in the court martial trial, and attempting to show that not all things that the Marines do in Guantanamo Bay appear in their Standard Operating Procedure Manual, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (played by Tom Cruise) then asks Barnes to show him the part of the manual that outlines where the mess hall is.
Barnes explains that that is not in their either.
At meals times you just followed the crowd.
You just learned from the others that lived there and knew where the mess hall was.

You may have seen this logic question that NatGeo published a few years back.
Which way is this bus heading?
Left? Or right?
Researchers at NatGeo have found that very few adults can answer this question correctly and most that do get it correct admit that they only guessed the correct answer.
Yet 80% of 10 year-olds know the answer and can tell you why they answered correctly.

Kids can answer it because they are more inclined to ride buses or at least interact with them far more often as a routine part of their day.
Can you answer the question?

Perhaps you have seen this other logic question.

If not, it can be difficult to figure out.
Once you’ve been exposed to the answer though, it becomes very simple.

You need to connect the 9 dots with 4 straight lines without lifting your hand from the paper once you start until all 9 are connected.

What does any of this mean?

Well, I think it helps explain why high school was so much easier for me, the youngest child from a family of five, than it was for my friend, the oldest child in his family.
By the time I set foot in Lincoln High School I had been exposed, second-hand, to so many of the experiences that were new to many of my friends. I’d learned so many of the lessons by osmosis from my brother and three sisters that preceded me.

Plus, the added bonus of being the fifth of five was that my parents applied very little pressure by the time I came along. They’d pretty much seen and done it all with my older siblings and while I shouldn’t say they didn’t care, they definitely didn’t sweat the small stuff, so neither did I.
So, things were pretty much a breeze for me.

We gain so much from friends and family. More than many realize.
Trivial facts.
Academic knowledge.
Life lessons.
Friendships, and enduring love.

It all works out for the best as long as we stay surrounded by friends and family.

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In North America 80% of children will correctly tell you that the bus is travelling to the left since there is no door visible from the side we are viewing. The door to enter the bus is on the back side away from our view and would be on the left which is the front of the bus.

In Australia, where the driver sits on the other side of the bus so the door is on the opposite side, most children will tell you correctly that the bus is heading to the right.

Here is the solution to the other puzzle.

  

Godspeed Jeff Svendsen! You are missed, and I'm honored to have called you my friend.