Kalyna, Maria and Nick

Greetings!

It's hard to condense a whole year down to just two short pages (1), even using a 10 point font.  2006, for better or for worse, has been quite a year.  I hope I can do it justice.

Politically, 2006 will be remembered as the year Americans finally came to their senses.  Most finally realized that the war was wrong, that government corruption was rampant, that massive budget deficits (due to "spending like drunken sailors" and massive tax cuts for the rich) were not just looming but here, and that our very civil liberties were at risk.  They not just realized it, but took action, and threw the Republican bums out.  With luck, in 2007, America can be put back to rights.

My family has done well this year.  No new additions, and the third generation is probably completed at 13 (although Lisa keeps hinting she may be next.....) My Dad turned 80 this year, and my Uncle Mike, his little brother, turned 70.  Both are in good health and still quite active.  My cousin Andy gave us all quite a scare, by tumbling out a tree during deer hunting season.  Unlike most hunters who injure themselves, he was neither drunk nor acting foolishly. Andy merely made a misstep when climbing to his hunting "perch."  He thought he had just sprained and bruised his neck, but x-rays revealed three cracked vertebrae  which necessitated surgery.  Andy is doing well, but will be wearing a huge brace and not laying down any time soon.  And he didn't get a deer!

The rest of my immediate family is doing fairly well.  My mother was slowed down a bit by bursitis of the knee, but she's doing well for a woman of 74 well over forty!  My father's slowed down a bit in the last decade or two, and doesn't hear much any more, but otherwise remains in quite good health. My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.  They had a small ceremony at church,  and then we threw them a big party.  The highlight of the celebration, of course, was a "small" slide show I put together (2).

I've been reasonably well this year, except for a gardening injury which put my left knee out of commission for several months (3). My brother Bill has changed jobs, leaving Eberspaecher (and a 50 mile commute) to work at Ford.  Laurie continues to spend most of her time raising children and running her household, and is working part time for a UPS store (but she doesn't have to wear the brown uniform, much to her children's relief).  Smoochie, aka Belle, has finally settled down a bit, although she is still quite the puppy.  She is clever, but quite devious, and has learned whom she has to obey, and whom she can safely ignore. 

Kalyna, my goddaughter and heir, has turned 14, but has yet to become a complete teen brat.  She seems to have  fairly horrible taste in television, watching innumerable "teen" shows on cable, but enjoys going to the theatre and symphony with me.  She continues to study both the piano and clarinet, play sports, and overachieve in school.  I have yet to convince her to travel anywhere with me, as it might entail missing a day or two of school.

Nick's year hasn't been quite as good.  While both of the girls seemed to grow like weeds this past year, he didn't, and seemed a bit lethargic and listless.  After a medical work-up which included some not very pleasant procedures, Nick was diagnosed with Crohn's disease.  He's been put on appropriate medications and is doing much better.  Nick still doesn't much like school, but he's become interested in reading again, especially Roald Dahl (a personal favorite of mine), and has regained his impish charm.

Maria, aka Fuzz, remains totally fuzzy, living in a world of her own, a visiting ours occasionally.  She still likes school, but it's not the same with Mrs. Ekhout.  Still, she has set a goal for this school year–winning the perfect attendance award (not something her father nor I ever strove for). And she still wants to become a teacher someday, or perhaps a doctor.  Petrusha Elementary school continues to function, with frequent classes, and many new students, including an exchange student from Australia.  Maria quite enjoy making lessons plans, and trying to individualize lessons for each of the students.  This summer PES had their first big class trip (4) on 4th of July weekend to my brother's hunting camp in Harrison, Michigan (5). There were nature walks, and Mr. Nick and Miss Kalyna helped to provide natural history instruction.  I got to drive the bus (my Jeep), and, on an outing to the forest, a school group portrait was taken.

Miss Maria and the students of PES

On a sad note, I lost another friend this year; as we all get older, this happens more and more often.  I met David Holloway in 1987, when he and Christobel were sharing a flat in the East End of London (Whitechapel).   Christobel was in medical school; David was pursuing a career in writing for the theatre and television, but worked mostly as a reviewer and script doctor.  David loved musicals and American television, particularly campy shows like the Golden Girls. He always knew what good shows were on, and sometimes went with me. And he loved to eat and cook–I learned the term "peckish" from him.  David would speak with awe of huge American breakfasts, with blueberry pancakes. After Christobel moved on, David took sole possession of the flat and made it magnificent, with a well designed kitchen, and full of lovely things (some of which I had brought for him from my travels). 

David had spent much of his adult life living with the AIDS epidemic.  Many of his friends died in the early years, and he provided help to AIDS sufferers.  He refused to be tested himself; it was a political stand, I think.  And in the end the disease claimed him. A friend tells me that a bench with David's name and details on will be placed outside the Actor's Church in Covent Garden, where his ashes have also been laid together with a rose bush.  I think he would have appreciated it.  And I know that I will have to go and visit.

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I did get a chance to do some visiting this year.  I trotted (well, limped) around the globe a bit this year, and had a good time doing it.

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1. 1.OK, probably more like four..... I will write a longer, fuller version, of course, with photos, as I did last year.  Copies will go out to a few friends who are still computer-free; others will receive a pdf version through e-mail, or will be able to download from my site here.
   

2. 2.I spent a more than a month going through old photo albums and scanning old photos.  This was no small feat, as my family takes LOTS of photos. The result was a twenty minute presentation, with music, and slides flashing by at 3 seconds per.  There were 419 slides with anywhere from one to seven photos per slide.  I've put the show onto my website here.
   

3. 3.While walking in my yard, I hit my foot against a hose guide, and severely twisted my left knee.  It didn't hurt the day I injured it, but, two days later, I could barely walk. More than once, when I thought it had finally gotten better, I would stress it out and the pain would return. This made travel a bit of a challenge..
   

4. 4.Photos here.
   

5. 5.We spent the 4th of July holiday weekend there with both sets of grandparents.  We took walks, visited the flea market, played badminton, and set off lots of fireworks.  Maria has a limit on how many of her friends she can bring with her on trips: Nick and Kalyna surprised her by packing almost her entire school into a couple of spare duffle bags of theirs.
   

Main 2006 Page