Has it really been 50 years?

On Sunday evening, Catherine and I took my parents to dinner to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

50th.

We chose Contigo for our dining establishment, because I think it truly reflects who my parents are: not too fancy but very discriminating. As with most nights with my folks, the conversation flowed easily, sometimes all four of us on the same topic, sometimes my Dad and me on one thread, while my Mom and Catherine chased another or vice versa. During one of my threads with my Dad, another common event happened, which was his referencing a luminary from the past whom I had never heard of. For this momentous occasion – 50th wedding anniversaries are momentous! – he unveiled a doozy: Claude Shannon, who wrote the mathematical theories that comprise information theory. Naturally, I listened for a bit and then pronounced Shannon’s ideas to have been made irrelevant by the Internet. Um, I was wrong. On getting home I read more about the guy and while most of his ideas are over my head, his theory clearly remains very, very relevant. But back to my folks and the evening. We all had a grand time and I look forward to many, many more get-togethers.

Congratulations Mom and Dad!