Twenty-Ten

I’ve lived more years than books I’ve read. But, one I read this year, “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” was special. It was based on the author’s childhood in the 50’s and 60’s which incredibly paralleled my own experiences. The narrative made me laugh to the point of annoying those around me on the plane and on the beach which conveniently allows me to tell you we have been all over the place again this year. We traveled to Hutchison Island (FL) to see Guy & Marilyn, St. Louis multiple times to hold Finley, Parker, and our new grand baby Harrison-born 12/28/09, Cabo to antagonize our good friend Joey, San Francisco to experience new things with Jo & Joel, southwestern Michigan to antagonize Joey some more, north of Seattle to attempt being nice to Joey at her daughter’s wedding, Hawaii to see if Joey would actually pick us up at the airport, Napa (not the auto parts store) for an incredible weekend with Joel, Jo and Jo’s parents, St. Francis Hospital, and before the year ends, to Toronto. Now, you’re probably wondering why I have included St. Francis as a travel destination. Well, that would be the same reason you take your Ferrari to get a tune-up every time it rains. You see, Julie’s mother is 99, approaching her 100th birthday in May 2011 and she just needed to have her bolts tightened up and fluids topped off four times this past summer. When you are a high performance vintage machine, a little maintenance is required. VROOOM!

As for our three amigos, life has been kind, yet challenging for each of them. Kyle had a BIG year. He met an incredible woman in NYC named Casey, a.k.a. Cupcake, a nickname she earned at Joel’s wedding. After she finished her hand surgery fellowship, they decided to move back to her neck of the Canadian woods in August to a little town named Toronto. They just became engaged over the Thanksgiving weekend! Sorry ladies, he is our last available son. Kyle is learning the travails of being an ex-patriot and Casey is very busy starting her practice.

Oh, did I mention Joel is married? He tied the knot May 1st with a remarkable lady, Jo Chien, in the Santa Cruz Mountains! All who attended are sure that they will never again experience such a wedding and reception... which included the Stanford Dollies dancing to the Stanford “Scatter” Marching Band, a show choir routine, a bhangra dance. an amazing Kyle-produced video and lots of overflowing laughter and love. If there had been an earthquake, I would not have felt it. Jo is an academic breast oncologist at UCSF and Joel continues to do well at Google. We returned in October to spend the weekend with the two of them and Jo’s delightful parents, David & Chia-Chia, to visit Marin County and Napa. It is such a beautiful part of the country. I can see why people want to live there in spite of the taxes and the Terminator. If I had to work again, it would be a joy to work for/under/over/around either of them. It’s safe to say, “I’m not qualified”.

Brian, Brooke, and our three grand kids are doing what a family does when Dad is in his third year of anesthesiology residency. Brian works long and extra hours, their phenomenal Mom improvises and optimizes the resources they have, and the kids stay healthy while loving Mom & Dad. It sounds like a simple formula, but it has a lot of moving parts. So, if the federal government wants to find a way to fix its finances, they should call Brooke. If it wants to show it cares, they should call Brian. If the government is looking for its future, the kids will be there to straighten things out in about twenty years.

In closing, just like the Thunderbolt Kid, we have a great family, live in a great country, can freely worship our God, have great friends, the opportunity to grow, learn from our mistakes, and live a bountiful life. I could go on and on, so please read the book so I can keep this letter to one page and a 44 cent stamp. I’m not cheap, but I am German. Anyway, I gotta go. Julie is coming home soon from another easy day at IUPUI and I have so many things to do. She has no idea what it takes to run a household!


Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!