(March 1, 2013 – posted late due to technical difficulties)

We went to bed last night with dire predictions about the sequester ringing in our ears and I couldn’t help but wonder just what the term “sequester” means and where it came from, anyway.  It sounds vaguely like something monks or nuns might do and, as I drifted off to dreamland, I wondered if the Pope’s resignation had something to do with it.

Whatever “sequestration” means, I get the idea that it is apocalyptic in nature.  Though they are trying mightily, the media can’t seem to hype it enough for me to be too concerned.  After all, just weeks ago, we apparently avoided leaping off the dreaded fiscal cliff.  And way back in 1999, when the end of cyberspace was certainly scheduled to occur, the threats about Y2K came to naught.

So naught, in fact, that I can hardly remember what we were worried about.  I believe the scare was that all of the computer systems around the world would cease to function on December 31^st that year.  There was even a Y2K Meeting of delegates from 120 countries in 1998 to discuss the ramifications that the millennium’s arrival would have.  Of course, in reality, it caused ‘nary a blip on computer screens or otherwise.

Sequestration might be another matter, but I can’t really wrap my mind around the problem.  I’m still stuck in Mr. Tardy’s Senior Problems class at San Rafael High School in 1953.  As I recall, we spent one class period learning the intricacies of writing checks, keeping a check register, and balancing our mythological millions.

In those days, charge accounts weren’t really in vogue and we had never heard of credit cards.  Some of us did know about “lay-away” – a convenience that department stores offered so that you could pay for something over time (usually 60 to 90 days) and when that last payment was made, you could collect your purchase.  The concept of having the use of something before you paid for it was pretty much confined to home mortgages and maybe to new cars.

In our household, we still operate pretty much on that plan.  So when I hear on the news that the sequester has to do with $1.2 trillion in budget cuts, I automatically drift into some sort of la-la land.  I can’t even understand what a trillion is…

Ostrich-like, no doubt, I take comfort in the non-consequences of Y2K.  I really can’t think of anything else to do… except avoid the news and keep an eye on my check register!