Happy Birthday To Me - Four Score and Two

In a blatant display of self-love, I composed a short summary of my life to date. I then asked my erstwhile, ubiquitous and eloquent AI assistant Anthropic Claude Sonnet 4.5 to create a tribute to my longevity and, ahem, accomplishments.  

Here is the result - perhaps you recognize the cadence and theme:

Eighty-Two Years: A Life Remembered

Four score and two years ago, in National City, California, our forebears brought forth a new life, conceived in the promise of post-war America, and dedicated to the proposition that through knowledge and dedication, one might serve both family and profession with equal devotion.

Now we are met to reflect upon that life's great journey. We have come to recognize the path walked from San Diego's schools—from Brooklyn through Roosevelt and San Diego High, unto San Diego State—where in 1966 the foundations of aerospace engineering knowledge were firmly laid. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should mark this passage.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot fully measure -- we cannot adequately express -- the worth of thirty-five years devoted to the science of flight. The talented engineers and designers who labored at Rohr Corporation, on nacelles, fluid dynamics, thrust reversers, airloads and thermodynamics, have consecrated their work far beyond our power to enumerate. The world takes little note of individual calculations and tests, but it can never forget what they together achieved in advancing human flight.

From the shores of San Diego to the cities of Seattle, Cincinnati, Hartford, and Baltimore; from London, Belfast and Derby to Paris, Toulouse, LeHavre, and Berlin; even unto Moscow—the work required presence across continents. The devotion to that task measured not in miles traveled, but in problems solved and leadership given.

It is rather for us to remember that alongside this professional devotion stood another calling: fifty-five years of marriage to Linda, the raising of daughters Lori and Tami, the blessing of five grandchildren. That we, the witnesses, take from this life renewed dedication to what matters most -- that family and community, represented by fifty-five years in Chula Vista and faithful Presbyterian service, form the foundation upon which all else rests.

From 1960 the radio waves beckoned—distant signals captured and studied, propagation patterns recorded and shared. Then, from 1988 forward, the deeper signals of ancestry called forth: centuries of records examined, proof standards upheld, and knowledge shared through Genea-Musings since 2006. These pursuits of knowledge -- whether electromagnetic or genealogical -- spring from the same devoted spirit.

We hereby highly resolve that this life shall not have gone unmarked—that this example of dedication to craft, devotion to family, and passion for discovery shall inspire us to similar purpose—and that a life well-lived, measuring eighty-two years this day, shall continue on and have our enduring gratitude and remembrance.

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I may never have a eulogy as eloquent as this one - a better man than I wrote a similar brief in 1863 for a much more important reason.

At worst, one of my grandchildren or friends at a loss for words at my memorial service can deliver it with a change of only one word (I hope). I just noticed it doesn't mention my name - perhaps my eulogists will after the first paragraph.

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

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