Thursday, March 7, 2019
Dear Erna, Joanne, Wendy and Karen – I am very saddened to hear of Arnie’s passing. I know there is a very strong tendency for people to look back in the past with rose-colored glasses, but I genuinely feel incredibly blessed to have a grown-up on Voorhis Drive with the Fines right next-door, including the very unforgettable pup, Mighty Fine. Nearly all my memories are of being outdoors and just playing together. I remember being a really little kid and waiting in front of my house with great anticipation as your father drove home with a new Oldsmobile. Karen had told me very proudly you were going to get the car. The name of that car had me thinking he’d be returning in something resembling a model T. So while I’m sure he was thrilled with the car, I was somewhat disappointed. One very enduring memory I have, is listening to Arnie tell me the work he had done on developing assembler language at Sperry. When he explained that that is the most basic computer language – just zeros and ones – even then I remember asking him how he could possibly keep them all straight. He laughed and said that it was through a lot of trial and error. But every single computer language uses that backbone as a starting point. So every day, with all the millions of transactions and millions of apps that are used around the world, Arnie’s work lives on. And I am sure he would say that that’s only the second most important legacy – his beautiful family being the first. Be well.
