Ultimate Blog Challenge - This Day in History

Today's Ultimate Blog Challenge Assignment is to write a post about "This Day in History".

Of course one could google and find out that video footage of the Titanic's wreckage was published. 37 years ago today.

Or...

One could consult one's Facebook Memory feature. Over the course of the time I've been a member, there's always something to look back to. 

Looks like in 2010 I asked my fellow Facebooker for vacabulary help. I was looking for the term that is used to describe "how to drive in a way that saves gas", and they said conserve, coasting, hypermiling, economize. I know exactly what I needed this term for. I was writing what was later to become a blog post, even though back in 2010 I didn't have a blog. I can't remember what I was doing with the text. But anyway. It was about running out of gas in the middle of Death Valley. 

On July 18, 2011 I know I went to the mall, because I posted a picture of a deck chair with the imprint SALE. I'm a bit surprised to see this, because it was the day we learned that my husband's business partner had passed away. However, I had arranged a lunch at the mall with my friend Crystal and her sons. She was an expat from California, who lived in the Zurich area at the time, and who in the meantime moved back. 

So Stephan, the business partner, had previously had multiple stents inserted for the second time in ten years. Hubby visited him at the hospital, and Stephan pledged to finally listen to the doctors who kept telling him to quit smoking, eat healthier, avoid stress, and all the things they recommend to patients who suffer from the high blood pressure, shortness of breath, diabetes and obesity combo.

After he passed every medical test necessery, he got released on Saturday. In the night from Sunday to Monday, he got up to go to the bathroom and collapsed.

The autopsy later revealed that the cause of death was a pulminary embolism, a rare, but known complication related to the procedure.

Of course we were shocked. If he had just died, from a "regular heart attack" let's say, three weeks ago, we would have been sad as well, and his kids were only 14, 12 and 7 at the time, but frankly not overly surprised. I don't wanna say he had it coming, but, well, he had been disregarding medical advice for so long, it was bound to happen at some point, but the irony of having survived a standard, but nevertheless serious intervention, and dying in the aftermath?

In addition to having lost a long-term friend, the business partner part hit hubby even harder. Back when they founded the company, my husband, who is the introvert subject matter expert, made it clear that he did not want to have to deal with order acquisition, money collection, staff recruitment and support, you get the picture. 

Not a problem, his partner said, that's what I was born to do! 

And they lived and worked - more or less - happily ever after for 13+ years.

Until that early Monday morning when we got the phone call from his wife. 

From one day to the next, in addition to his usual workload, hubby found himself alone with responsibilities and tasks he had never had to fulfill before.

I joined a few month later to support him whereever I could, and I'm proud to say that we manage. In the meantime the son and the younger daughter of the family work for us as well. 

On to a happier memory - today one year ago it was hot, actually worse than today, and I was happy for the fact that Colin had new skates to break in. In July, there are only two ice rinks open within a 90-minute drive, one being in the mountains, at some 1,000 meters = 3,200 feet, and that's where we went. I remember sitting in the actual arena, enjoying temperatures of just a little above freezing point.

What happened in your world on July 18?