New Years Eve ONT - December 31, 2025 [TRex]

The ONT 2025 Roll Call of Remembrance

A few Dino musings on this New Year's Eve...

I don't have all the answers. I am just a dinosaur with a small brain and short arms. I am no theologian or scientist. I still struggle to figure out which threads on the blog require pants.

Two common threads unify all living things across history: life and death.

We barely understand either. It is not for a lack of trying.

Was the universe created or did it emerge from a Bing Bang? If a divine creator, what does "created in the image of God" mean? If a bang, what existed before and what caused the bang?

A monkey hitting random typewriter key for an infinite amount of time could type the complete works of William Shakespeare, but where did the monkey come from? At some point, randomness fails to explain life.

What is the essential "spark" that gives life to raw ingredients?

With life, we can observe the result post-spark. We can argue about the boundaries of "consciousness" and "sentience" and single cell organisms, but at least we can observe and discuss and draw reasonable guesses about life and what makes it different from a pet rock.

Death is different.

Once someone is gone, we can't get answers from them about what happened and where they are and what it is like. We don't know what to expect.

Fear of the unknown is an essential human condition. The fear permeates much of our daily life. We don't like unpleasant surprises with bad outcomes. We are afraid of the dark. We are generally a risk averse species.

Death is the ultimate unknown and humans have sought answers for eons.

The Egyptian "Book of the Dead" is a collection of spells, prayers, and incantations written on papyrus scrolls and placed in tombs to guide the deceased's soul through the perilous journey of the underworld to achieve a blessed afterlife.

Hindu reincarnation envisions an eternal loop of birth, death, and rebirth. Karma determines the future path of the soul based on actions in previous lives.

Christian traditions focus on the promise of eternal life beyond our mortal existence.

Faith means taking a risk to believe something we do not know based on what we think we know.

As much as Christian theology revolves around the resurrection story, where did Jesus go for three days after he was crucified? The Apostles Creed says he "descended to the dead." Did he "preach to the spirits in prison?" Did he liberate Old Testament souls that believed before he existed? Did he take a few days of R&R after a busy few weeks at the office? (We will leave a discussion of purgatory for another time.)

I dunno but a lot of people have spent at lot of time, energy and money trying to communicate with the great beyond. We have questions. We want to know what to expect. We want to know loved ones are OK. We are infinitely intrigued by anything we do not understand. We are afraid of the dark.

And yet, a day will arrive for each of us whether we understand it or not.

But we remember those whose days have come. Even if we don't understand everything about how their earthly existence, we still mourn.

We mourn because we miss them. We mourn because we appreciate them. We mourn for unrealized promise. Not every story is a happy story. In some cases, we recall the carnage they caused and mourn what might have been.

We mourn, in part, for ourselves because we know that we will follow someday.

On this New Year's Eve, we look back and remember those among the Horde and those adjacent to the Horde who are no longer among the living. Prayers for all who mourn and who continue to come to terms with loss that does not go away. Prayers for mothers that struggle with the loss of a child before having a chance to breathe a first breath outside the womb. We also pray for those who are left to pick up the emotional and temporal pieces.

We also offer prayers of strength and peace for those confronting their own mortality. May God grant you continual comfort and strength and may you feel the love and support from your Horde family. Please continue to let the Horde know if anything can be done to help.

We remember the caregivers who are angels sent to comfort the afflicted and rarely signed up for the role. There is often nobody else to say thank you or provide relief when you are the last line of defense. Please continue to let the Horde know if anything can be done to help.

On this New Year's Eve, we also look ahead. A flip of the calendar is cosmically arbitrary, but carries the symbolism of rebirth and the promise of new beginnings. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, the turn of the new year also moves a step further through the darkness of winter towards the promise of spring.

We do not have to be afraid of the dark. As John says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." There is hope in the light.

I do not have all the answers. But if you pass from this life and end up in Pittsburgh, please let me know. I have questions.

Here endeth the message.

Those among the Horde and those Horde Adjacent who died in calendar 2025 are listed below. Apologies for any that were missed or any errors but please comment to remedy. Thanks much to MisHum and Annie's Stew for maintaining The Classical Saturday Morning Coffee Break and Prayer Revival Posts.

This is still a New Year's Eve open thread so opine as you wish. Club ONT is open and has an open bar. JQ is pouring drinks for all. The jukebox has been restocked and is free. Food and party favors are available as well. Please do not wear the lampshades.

These people are not Horde or Horde adjacent, but departed in 2025:

Note: The final Calvin and Hobbes comic strip was published 30 years ago today.

Cheers to the New Year! On behalf of myself and The Grateful, we wish everyone a Happy New Year and a magnificent 2026!

posted by Open Blogger at 10:00 PM

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