March 5, 2018

Life surely creeps up on a person.  March18, 1982, I began working for a company named Litton, Advanced Circuitry Division.  Thirty six years has really changed life.  That was slightly over half my life ago that I started on the midnight to 7 shift.  The company had just been awarded a contract for the keyboards for the TI 99.

In June of 2002 I left that company.  During those 20+ years while I worked for ACD friends were made.   Children were born and raised.  Children of coworkers married and presents were given.  Some folks divorced and some children divorced.  Having worked with a core group of folks most of the 20 years we knew the names of each others children and grandchildren.  We knew if each other's husbands snored.  We knew things the wives would let the guys eat or not eat.  Preproduction was a close knit group.

It has been 18 years since I left there.  The company closed its doors forever about 5 years later.  Facebook has help reconnect many of the former employees.  This last Saturday there was a reunion for the employees of ACD.  The photos were posted for all to enjoy.  Last night it was fun seeing if I could recognize faces that had morphed into senior citizens.  Grey hair, wrinkles and weight change made it a challenge at times.  There were some I did not recognize at all.  One person's nose was the give away as to who it was under the grey hair and age spots.

Then the little chat notification window popped up.  It was one of the former co workers.  She said she had bad news.  Another co worker's daughter we had watch grow up, go to college, marry and struggle to have a child was dead.  The daughter and her husband had been unable to have children so they had adopted first a baby boy and then a baby girl.  Those babies are now in their early twenties.  That baby boy that had brought so much joy had killed his mother.  My friend's 53 year old daughter was dead and the grandson was in jail.  It has been 24 hours and I cannot shake a dark feeling.  So much pain for the family on so many levels.    Life is just crap some days.

Sending prayers for that co workers family.

Janice