End of the World

(From our meeting January 8, 2012)

Does anybody remember the concrete bomb shelters that people built in the 60’s when everybody was afraid of a nuclear attack? Or what about the TV show, The Twilight Zone, where a family built a bomb shelter with enough food, water and emergency supplies for a few years. A bomb exploded and they locked themselves in. We could hear their neighbours banging on the door begging and sobbing, “Please let us in.”

They remained steadfast. They were afraid if they opened the door they’d perish. At the end of the show, they discovered they’d forgotten a can opener.

When will the world end? Remember at the turn of the next century, the year 2000? I still know people who have six months of emergency supplies in their basement. And what if we survived and actually still lived then the computers wouldn’t be able to rollover to the year 2000. Corporations spent billions of dollars to protect their data.

When my then programmer son-in-law told me that I needed his help or I’d lose all my data, I said, “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard. It’s bull. If you can programme a computer to do everything else, don’t tell me it won’t roll over to 2000. If it isn’t the Emperor’s New Clothes . . .”

When my niece asked me, “What are you doing about the Y2K problem?”

I said, “Absolutely nothing.”

“But you’ll lose everything.”

“It’s bull.”

“You’re crazy. I’m telling you.”

“Listen I’m not giving any energy to this right now.”

“But . . .”

“Two minutes after midnight I’ll give it exactly two seconds.”

Now, December 21, 2012 according to the 5000 year-old Mayan calendar the world is coming to an end. How appro on my mother’s birthday.

Years ago, when I attended Mass on Friday morning with the school children, the priest asked them, “When is the world going to end?”

After numerous opinions from the children, he finally said, “The world will come to an end when you die.” How profound.

Johanna, who had Cancer for twelve years, told me when she was first diagnosed, her neighbour visited her. “She actually sobbed. I felt so sad. And two weeks later she died in a car crash and I’m still here.”

End of the world? I don’t think so. My books haven’t been published yet.