2024: The Year in Review
Southern Cross and Northern Lights
The Sheehan World has survived another year!
Kathy Sheehan and Chuck Dingee started off the year by flying off to Tahiti in late January to mark Kathy’s aborted voyage there in 1993 and to celebrate 30 years of marriage. They spent a week on a chartered catamaran, watching the black-tipped sharks, rays and other water creatures while snorkeling in the crystal clear water of the lagoons, dining on “poisson cru” with the best tuna ever, and searching for pareos and monoi oil.
Chuck got 3rd-degree burns on his feet from the sweltering heat, humidity and sunshine but otherwise adapted to the environment and new snorkeling gear. The weather forecast was for rain and thunderstorms every single day, but the pair, along with a third crew member, enjoyed sunshine all but one or two days.
And even though there was zero wind and the jib sail was the only canvas that went up (for about 2 minutes during a brief squall), being on the water and anchoring in Bora Bora, Raiatea and Taha’a was fantastic.
We also spent 5 nights or so on land, on the beautiful island of Moorea, where we dined on more poisson cru, land crabs, guava, passion fruit and other delectable fruits. We circumnavigated the island several times and were awe-struck by the beauty of Opunohu and Cook’s Bay.
In addition to seeing the Southern Cross for the first time, the Year 2024 also delighted us with not one -- but two spectacular shows of aurora borealis from our deck in Bellingham. The Northern light show was in all directions, not just to the north, but east, west, south and overhead. We’ve seen them a half dozen times or so in our 30 years here, but never so colorful.
Of course, we were disappointed with the US election results in November, but there’s always Canada or Ireland to head off to for the next four years.
We also mourned quite a few people who have passed on to their next resting place in 2024. We will add their names to our obituary page, but before we turn over the calendar to 2025, these are the people who have touched our lives in wonderful ways and will be missed.
Kathy learned of three former co-workers, Mario Bonilla, Jo Collinge and Jane DeNeui who left this earthly world, as well as Don Pember, her committee chair in her University of Washington graduate program.
Four people whose spirituality inspired her, Marceille Kobel, Ruth Lynch, Lorina Hall and Sylvia Gralewski, also died during 2024.
And both Chuck and Kathy mourned the loss of James Taylor, “the Singing Painter” and friend of the Orcas, who died in December.

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