Holiday Updates

February 19, 2012

Belated Season's Greetings

So, you're of course wondering why a former journalist (emphasis for now on "former") didn't journal his end-of-the-year holiday letter (recapping the past 12 months, like everyone else) in time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, or even Chinese New Year. Well, there's inertia, of course, but there was also fate. One irony of the holidays is that I don't have the time to write season's-greetings messages UNTIL the holidays are upon us or even past. There are the end-of-year work deadlines, the busy-ness of the holidays themselves, but most of all there is life itself: Mom had a fall and then started forgetting, so that took up much physical and financial efforts that ate up a lot of time. Now things have sorta settled down, and so I'm playing catch-up. (This is admitting defeat: In one of my last entries when I talked about my sixth or seventh week of forced retirement in spring 2010, I had vowed to maintain my own blogs religiously.) So what follows is a smattering/hodgepodge of tidbits from 2011 (or so).

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Wife Joan has really gotten into jewelry making -- the silver lining (and copper and bronze and others) of late 2010's break-in theft of her gold, silver, and other keepsake jewelry. Rather than buy new jewelry (the ones taken were irreplaceable and more sentimental than valuable in most cases), she was prompted to make her own. And she does really good work! Joan is in Murrieta/Temecula almost every week, in part to care of the grandkids while daughter Angel does bookkeeping at her husband's exotic-cars repair shop (http://ragingbull-performance.com/) near Newport Beach (Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Bentleys, Aston Martins, Lotuses, even the occasional Rolls-Royce and more), and we were down there every other weekend or so it seemed for grandson Bryce's soccer games (which he played when he wasn't practicing for school band or playing MineCraft, an online computer game, with friends). Now, like his brother Jay, he's into track and has joined a running club.

Granddaughter Kendall was in a magnet charter school "show choir" -- singing-dancing 7th and 8th graders who are frighteningly talented – they performed Dec. 26 at Knott's Berry Farm. Just a week or two ago, however, a series of internal struggles and financial setbacks caused the school to suddenly disband – after only six months in operation and in the middle of the school year, so now both Kendall and Bryce are in another charter school – Ken had been there once before, and it's new for Bryce (whose "general" middle school was overcrowded).

Granddaughter Mariah is in her second year at San Diego State, so we take Kendall and Bryce on occasion to see her or she comes up to babysit them (it's less than an hour's distance), we go to the zoo and museums near her, and I think we see her more now than when we did when she lived in Corona (half an hour or so from our home). Rai is studying communications and is aiming to be a child therapist. (San Diego is also where Bryce and Kenni will attend SeaWorld Camp for the third straight summer – they LOVE it.)

Grandson Jay is a senior at UC Riverside and has decided not to study overseas for a fifth college year (too expensive), so he'll be graduating in mid-June. (How can he be graduating from college so soon? He just graduated high school and middle school. Dang, I hate how time speeds up the older I get…). He's majoring in Media and Cultural Studies and plans to go into video production and more. Check out his vids on YouTube -- search for J-Rome, Jerome Rideaux, or DeauxDeauxBoy.

Although we don't get much chance to see grandkids Miles and Madison, we're delighted when we do. Madison has moved on from middle school, and Miles is very much still into reptiles and more.

Granddaughter Tina married Juan just before July 4th in a wonderful outdoor wedding just outside Sonoma, CA, and afterward, Joan and I took advantage of the wine country of Napa-Sonoma.

Monica and Sky are having fun raising great-grandson Ilus, now 2.

(In case you've lost track of which grandchild belongs to which child, Tina and Monica are the now-grown kids of Andy, who married Joan's son Pol; Miles and Madison are the kids of Matt, who married Joan's daughter Rose; and Jay, Rai, Kenni and Bryce are Joan's daughter Angel's.)

Sister Julie helped lead High Holy Day Services at her synagogue in Oakland, and while Joan and I couldn't attend due to logistics and health, I was able to listen in to a lot of it via Skype(!).

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Well, I bought an iPad early last year for my freelancing when my own laptop(s) died – was very happy with it til I loaned it to Joan (who had first chided me about my considering buying a "toy"); then I let her try it out…and haven't seen it since: She discovered she could watch Netflix streaming crystal clear in car or home via cel connection or Wi-Fi. She's already polished off all of "The Andy Griffith Show," now on to "Bachelor Father" (also via a retro TV network), and I'm guessing will next tackle "The Gale Storm Show"/"My Little Margie," "Pete and Gladys," or of course – wait for it – "I Married Joan" (with Joan Davis and Jim Backus). Part of her goal – or intrigue – is catching up with American culture and history (she also watches political/social documentaries), since she moved here in the early 1960s as a teenager from the Philippines, didn't get to watch much TV, then got busy living elsewhere as the wife of a serviceman. So it's fun for me to "catch up" or relive shows I had never seen or completely forgotten about.

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Reversal of fortunes: Late partner Thanh's mother returned to Vietnam permanently the day after what would have been Thanh's 49th birthday in October (he's been gone 18 years as of last September, seems like yesterday). After losing her son and husband in America and never fully adapting to life here since 1991 (after Thanh and his brothers struggled for a decade to bring the family together here), she went back with the youngest son, who had already re-emigrated for his homeland for the same reason and because -- irony of ironies -- there are more job opportunities for him in Saigon than San Jose and L.A. On the other hand, nephew Brandon whizzed through the high school at Cal State Dominguez Hills (specializing in robotics) and is now a freshman at UC Davis.

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The most overused word in 2011 (in my view): iconic; the next: ironic.

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I've decided for 2012 to be more of an iconoclastic curmudgeonly eccentric (so much easier than putting on airs at my age.)

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After I was laid off from journalism in early 2010, friends threw me yet another professional lifeline and so I'm a tech editor/occasional writer at a nonprofit research center, but because the place depends in large part on government contracts and government funding -- and you know how THAT'S going these days -- I'm not looking TOO far ahead. Then again, who is? Congress certainly isn't. The unintended consequences of their shortsightedness and lack of compromise is jaw-dropping.

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Some of what I've been up to:

  • The Huffington Post (by request) -- scroll down once there to see various blog links.

  • BiNet USA blog (by request) -- here's a recent item:
    http://binetusa.blogspot.com/2011/12/bi-celebs-two-sides-of-good-thing.html

  • "Getting It Right" mission assurance newsletter:
    http://www.aero.org/capabilities/cceo/index.html

  • Hollywood Wiretap (twice-daily newsletter and website update/research):
    http://www.hollywoodwiretap.com

    Best wishes for the rest of 2012; hope the Mayans were wrong (or at least how some interpreted their calendar), but we're doing a pretty good job of living up to (or down to) that prophecy: Glad I'm not a polar bear in the Arctic, a worker in a Chinese iPad factory (or worse), an environmentalist in a backward state or nation (hmm . . .), a Syrian or Sudanese or Congolese (etc.) these days, or the coach of the New England Patriots at the end of the Super Bowl. Would like to be Jeremy Lin for a moment or two. Well, or George Clooney or Brad Pitt. Ah, but there I go again, fantasizing about alternate realities...

    --gn 

     = = = = = = =

    Happy Holidays 2010*

     *OK, 2009 -- I admit it: I completely failed to update my website, blog, and Facebook pages, and I didn't send out season's-greetings cards in time. But I have a perfectly good excuse! … somewhere in my box of excuses … Actually I can honestly claim exhaustion and lack of time — as Queen E II said, it's been an annus horribilis: lots of legal fees (and time in court) related to family matters; lots of layoffs at work (which of course impinged on the workloads of those of us still there); increased commuting to work (no more staying in town) and often another hour each way to Temecula/Murrieta, where the grandkids have moved; some health concerns (and I know a number of you have had many as well); and the list goes on.

    On the other hand: Joan's health has improved; her guava tree gave her enough fruit for her to make some jams; our seemingly dormant tangerine tree suddenly went berserk with so many goodies that two of the branches broke from the weight of them; our (incredible) lemon tree is ready to drop more bushels; our orange tree is ready to heave in February (Joan estimates); we've bought a fig tree and replacement persimmon tree (the first one didn't work out), and the tomato plant seems to be bearing up despite the frigid temperatures and cold rains we've been having. And thanks to Facebook, a number of us "journos" from L.A. Valley College had a somewhat impromput reunion this past summer at Rick Meyer's home in Burbank -- great to see everyone; thanks, Rick and Chris P. (who tagged a bunch of us in a photo, which got the ball rolling).

    In other news: Our new cat (a Mother's Day present from the grandkids) has become quite the outdoors hunter — unfortunately he's been eating all the lizards (which had been keeping us bug-free) and I think a few birds (but we LIKE birds) — but we haven't seen him catch any rats or mice, which was the intent of getting a cat in the first place. (He also befriended a possum.) Of the grandkids: Bryce, 9, is enjoying soccer; Kendall, 11, is enjoying school friends (and her entry into tweenhood); Mariah, 17, is a senior in high school; Jay/BJ/Jerome, 19, is a sophomore runner at UC Riverside; Madison, 12, and Miles, 10, have moved back to Southern California, which makes Rose and son-in-law Matt very happy; Christine JUST got engaged to Juan; and Monica and Sky had a baby — yes, we're now great-grandparents, but distance and logistics means we've only seen little Ilus once. (In other kid news, nearby young friends Veronica and Tony now have little Mateo. We also got to visit this summer in the Bay Area with friends of Rose's: Connie, Ketil, and their three adorable sons, including twins).

    Just got word that the parent company of the publication where I work hasn't been able to sell off some of its magazines (it actually had hoped to sell the whole division, but that didn't pan out), so those publications will cease to exist in the new year and there will be layoffs across the company, I understand. Between changes in technology and reader behavior (going more toward grabbing free tidbits online rather than subscribing to print products) and the collapse in the economy, things aren't looking too good. But we're all in this together, so I'm hoping the powers-that-be can overcome differences to create a “new” New Deal (beyond mere bailouts for Wall Street) to help Main Street and home dwellers keeps the businesses, jobs and homes. We'll see. Any of you thinking of running for office?????

    Best wishes for what will be a very trying 2010.

    – Gary 12/31/2009

    Season's Greetings 2008 ~
    Best Wishes for 2009

    Dec. 11, 2008  (boldface = updated Feb. 13, 2009)

    I guess I got too busy to post something about 2007, but 2008 makes up for it:

    We have a refreshing outlook in D.C. after an historic election, tainted by a dismal economic outlook -- I guess we take the good with the bad.

    Joan settled her case in early November NYC in the falling-traffic-light ordeal (just enough to pay for past, current and maybe future medical bills, and she's still left with a lot of pain, but at least the legal chapter has closed). Almost at the last minute (just a week or so before trial), we found out the whole case might collapse! How, you may ask (and several of you have) could that be? Click here for the details. Meanwhile, she is looking svelt (no bread, no starches, watches her portions) and recently enjoyed her Red Hat Rebels holiday party at the beautiful (if politically dubious) Mission Inn. 

    Daughter Angel married Frank in the Bahamas(!!!) and moved to Murrieta, just outside wine-country Temecula, south of us and north of San Diego. Grandson Jay (Angel's oldest son) is now a freshman at UC Riverside (!), which  he's attending on a track scholarship. Granddaughter Mariah (Angel's oldest daughter) is on the water polo team as a sophomore in the still-new Eleanor Roosevelt High down in Norco (horse/cow country suddenly filled with housing tracks). Granddaughter Kendall is 10 and has discovered musical theater -- already appeared in musical "Beauty and the Beast" and next is "Peter Pan"; she's hoping to appear in "Seussical" after that. Grandson Bryce is 8 and also in "Peter Pan" (I think both kids play pirates) and is addicted to Wii and DS games. Here are pictures from Halloween and fall -- note the beautiful Temecula park and the incredible Temecula public library.

    Daughter Rose and husband Matt are working hard on his nutrition/fitness business New Performance (aka New Performance Fitness) -- http://www.newpfc.com/main/default.aspx (if you type in just newpfc.com at this time, it will first take you to the World Extreme Cagefighting page he's co-sponsoring -- click on the GO TO MAIN SITE link to get the New Perf website). Granddaughter Madison and grandson Miles have moved up north, so we don't get much chance to see them, but we're hoping to at Christmas.

    Son Pol and husband Andy got married again on their 14th anniversary -- but this time it was in the Santa Ana Old Courthouse and recognized by California just before Prop. Hate (er, Prop. 8) was approved, so we'll see if their "legal" status will survive (their love obviously has!). Wouldn't want their marriage threatening mine and Joan's now, would it (per Prop. 8 proponents who want to "protect" marriage. ... Don't get me started...)? Pol continues to work at Sempra energy company as a programs specialist, and Andy is ever more inching toward retirement at the phone company (I've lost track of which one with all the mergers) while having a ball with the Men Alive! gay men's chorus of Orange County -- their concerts are nothing short of fantastic and delightful, including their recent holiday one; they've even had Bernadette Peters and Michael Feinstein as guest artists. Daughter Tina is a schoolteacher in L.A.'s inner city, and daughter Monica is also in the workforce.

    Mom Bernice is keeping ever busy at 82 with classes and singing in a chorus, and Aunt Tessie remains upbeat at 88 despite having her leg broken when she was thrown inside a taxi that came to a sudden stop. Her kids are all well (Jaelline even retired! Michael is still in real estate, wife Wendy is working on her art as is son Danielle -- visit www.vinylart.info or www.danieledlen.com Bruce is still teaching and keeps busy with hiking and sending out great emails).

    I'm fine but wary of the economy and the future of journalism as a way of making a living; Variety is no longer for sale (suddenly) but that doens't mean there aren't layoffs in the offing, and you know about the general diminution of local newspapers and especially the collapse of the Tribune Company (L.A. Times and Channel 5 locally here). Don't get me started about the worth of my 401K and IRAs... Meanwhile, I've continued to teach copyediting at MediaBistro and hope to get back to some freelancing or at least the books...

    While 2008 was an eventful year and 2009 looks economically bleak, I'm hopeful the public will rise to the occasion, be hearty and hardy and jointly work toward resolution of pollution, global warming, economic rebuilding and peace. That would be nice, huh!  -- Gary


     Greetings and Best Wishes for 2006!

    [I attempted to send out the following seasonal letter via an email greeting "card" around Halloween 2005 to a number of people, but because of the particular service's technological limitations, it became too cumbersome to send it widely, so I'm posting it here instead; imagine it's in white letter on a red background, with a Thanksgiving turkey at the top of the "card" slowly turning from B&W into color, with a Passover song playing in the background -- go figure... -- gn]

    Happy belated Halloween (even though I wrote this just before the holiday) -- and just in case: Happy Thanksgiving, Hannukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year's. Sorry I missed sending out Jewish High Holy Days and Ramadan greetings. Finally have a chance to catch my breath and touch base with you now that the busy summer season has ended and before the holiday season gets hectic.

    Matters have quieted down at the Crawford-North haunted house: Things that go bump in the night have usually been a grandchild with a cold climbing into bed with us or Joan losing her balance and breaking her ankle (July 2, the balance problem the apparent result of the traffic light that fell on her about 2-1/2 years ago in New York). Otherwise it would have been son Pol's Dalmatian Chaucer (and his whip-like tail) or African gray parrot Lexi (she/he of the incredible mimicking sort: phone conversations, answer-machine beeps, electric noises and -- my favorite -- smoke detector alarms ... wonderful to hear at 4 in the morning...), both of which were with us a few months.

    Offhand I can't think of any big traveling we did this year other than a trip to see doctors in New York (and take in some shows including "Monty Python's Spamalot" -- great fun), though Joan traveled briefly to Las Vegas for the international convention of the Red Hat Society, a group that has lifted her spirits immensely. (For the uninitiated: The Red Hat Society is for women of a certain age -- ahem -- who go to tea and shop and watch "Menopause -- The Musical" and wear big red hats and purple outfits, all based on the 1961 poem "Warning" that starts something like: "When I am old, I shall wear purple, and a big red hat that doesn't go [with it]." There are now 38,000 chapters! -- And Joan helped start a new one locally!)

    We don't travel much these days in part because of Joan's aches, the expense of going back East for the traffic-light lawsuit, and watching our sheckles now that gas has nearly doubled in price and I'm working five eight-hour days instead of four 10-hour days -- thus commuting more but working the same number of hours. We did go to La Jolla with some Red Hatters, though.

    Of course another main reason we didn't travel was having to stick around for OUR "trial of the century" in the case of our late son-in-law Bryan. (We were on the list of potential witnesses -- even though we weren't witness to anything -- and were never called, but we had to be available.) His "friend" Rafiel Torre was convicted in late August and sentenced in late September to life in prison without the possibility of parole due to the "special circumstance" of killing for financial gain: The prosecutor theorized -- and the jury apparently agreed -- that Rafiel murdered Bryan in late December 2001 in order to be with daughter Angel and live off the insurance money she would have received. (That insurance money is currently tied up in court; a civil court trial date has now been set for May.) Assuming the jury is correct and Rafiel is indeed guilty, this is all very sad but gives us and hopefully Bryan's family a sense of some closure.

    Meanwhile Bryan and Angel's little ones continue to sprout and delight, and they are a constant, poignant reminder of Bryan's energetic spirit, especially his precocious, puzzle-happy son who takes after him genetically in tinkering and "fixing" things. (Don't ask, but we have nail holes in some walls and disassembled clocks and music boxes to prove it...) The two older grandkids from Angel's first marriage now live with their dad 15 miles south of here, so we only see them a few hours every other weekend, but they're doing fine in school and sports (15 and 13). Andy and Pol's girls are still in college but the oldest is looking at graduation next year. As to daughter Rose, she's like a second mom to beau Matt's two kids (about 6 and 9), and who knows... maybe another in the offing????

    In other news: Some of you might recall Lynda K., my friend from Valley College days -- well, she looked me up out of the blue (saw a report on the Web by a fellow with my same name) -- and it turns out she's a writer and wife-mom in Northridge, and has worked on one of the "Star Trek" spinoff shows as a script assistant. Very odd getting together after 32 years, but very gratifying. Also, some of you might remember my late partner Thanh: His family just celebrated yet another birth in their family, and I've lost count as to how many grandkids his mom now has; I got together briefly with them in Alhambra around Labor Day, and I'm invited to a wedding in Vietnam this coming August (humidity! avian flu!) -- not sure that I'll be going, but it's nice to be asked...

    Meanwhile, mom Bernice will turn 80 in early April; a few days earlier in March, Joan turns 60; brother-in-law Alan turns 60 as well in late April (same day as grandson Bryce's sixth birthday); and sister Julie turns 50 in January, so the first few months should be full of celebrations.

    That's about it this time of year. Our hearts go out to all our friends and family members who are dealing with health challenges, and we feel at one with the people of New Orleans/Louisiana and the Gulf States (where Joan has relatives), and Kashmir, and Darfur, and Guatemala, and Iraq/Afghanistan and all the other troubled spots of the world. Remember to vote -- hope springs eternal... Maybe we'll get over national mismanagement, pollution, graft, needless war, needless deficits, environmental degradation, lack of national health care ... But it's Halloween time, so: BOO! Or, just so I'll be more timely this time: Gobble-gobble and Ho-ho-cho (that's a little Yiddish Ho-ho-ho there...)!

    xxxx Gary N.

    As of Dec. 21-22, 2004
    (3rd annniversary of Bryan's death)

    Greetings and Best Wishes for 2005!

    2004 was a busy year -- here are some highlights (and a few lowlights -- don't get me started on the unverifiable presidential election,  huge deficits, needless war, squandered international goodwill, thousands maimed and killed, assaults on civil rights including gay rights, destruction of environmental protection, lack of living wages, outsourcing of jobs ... I'm just glad I live in a blue state ... even if we are left out completely out in the cold nationally in terms of power ... sour grapes ...).

    TRAVEL (love those credit cards!) Waikiki/Honolulu in July (birthdays with family and grandkids), Minneapolis in August (conference and 18-inning Twins-Oakland game with friends), France in September (Paris and Brittany for an Elderhostel tour with great folks), New York City in October (deposition in Joan's falling-traffic-light case [see last year's update] plus we saw "Bombay Dreams" -- delightful); and a weekend ski trip to Big Bear with the grandkids way back in January/February (?).

    Hawaii pictures: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/garybnorth/album?.dir=/8ecb&.src=ph&.tok=phnpe4BBt7pm1kvG

    France pictures: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/garybnorth/album?.dir=/43bd&.src=ph&.tok=phZ1GQCBJljM1kvG

    RELATIVITY We discovered a "new" cousin we didn't know existed: Ralik from Haifa, Israel. He's 30, tall, just got his doctorate in theoretical physics (honest, I swear we're related) and is working with Nobel laureates for three years at Caltech (OK, so a 2nd cousin once removed and the height probably comes from the non-Neznansky side); we've socialized several times and hope to see more of him in between his ... uh ... theorizing...

    THE PHYSICAL WORLD The ceiling in Joan's study collapsed during heavy rains (she was safely out of the room at the time, but the ceiling fan came crashing down as well), and at about the same time several floor tiles buckled and broke in our "family room" (what otherwise would be the breafast area of the kitchen); ironically, for completely unrelated reasons, Joan is moving her study to the family room (the possible theory being that the floor can't fall on her like a ceiling or traffic light???). Also ironically, the tiles aren't repaired but her office has new carpeting, a new ceiling and new ceiling fan. And I'm the one who suggested she use the family room for an office... what was I thinking??? We also had something of a fiasco in remodeling the garage into an office/restroom, but I cry easily so won't go into it.

    MOVING ON The two older grandkids are now living with their dad 15 miles straight south of here for the school year (long legal battle, but their choice), so we only see them once every other weekend (a far cry from almost every day), but we're all adjusting and they're teenagers now so they're in their own world anyway; the two little ones we have regularly and Bryce even attends a great new preschool just two blocks away. Meanwhile, a trial in son-in-law Bryan's 2001 murder (three years ago Dec. 21-22) has yet to occur but might now happen in March.

    RED HATS Joan has discovered the Red Hat Society and is enjoying it immensely. There are 35,000 (!) chapters in the U.S. of older empowered women who wear red hats and purple outfits and love to socialize. She's had a holiday party (even our holiday tree is trimmed in little red hats with red and purple bunting) and, along with her new massage chair (!) is improving from her close call with the walk/don't-walk signs of the world.

    MAY ALL YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS FOR THE NEW YEAR SEE GREEN LIGHTS ALL THE WAY, WITH NOT A FALLING POLE IN SIGHT! XXXX Gary

    = = = = = =

    2003's message:

    As of Dec. 22, 2003

     

    WHAT A YEAR...!

     

    This Thanksgiving was especially meaningful. Consider:

     

    A TRAFFIC LIGHT FELL ON JOAN in New York City March 31 and could have killed her, but she lived to tell about it! (Well, sorta tell: She remembers standing on the corner one moment and then seeing people's feet the next.)

     

    THE BRAVE FIREFIGHTERS kept the Southland blazes from coming down the mountain and hill just above us (pictures will be posted soon). (We voluntarily evacuated anyway for 24 hours because of unbreathable air and high winds that threatened to send embers our way -- one even burned a hole in the shirt Gary was wearing.)

     

    THE GRANDCHILDREN are blossoming and even Bryce, age 3, has started school.

     

    JOAN'S KIDS ARE ALL DOING WELL, and it looks like there might soon be resolution to the insurance lawsuits over son-in-law Bryan's death (to think it's been two years already -- for the latest, click here).

     

    GRANDDAUGHTER MONICA was in a bad auto accident but lived to tell about it (the car engine ended up in the driver's seat, so somehow Monica was able to get out of the way and only broke a foot and arm.)

     

    GRANDDAUGHTER TINA spent the summer as a camp counselor in the Central Valley and found it a great learning experience.

     

    NUMEROUS FRIENDS AND RELATIVES became seriously ill (Gary even had a bacterial lung infection that wasn't responding to medication at first), but have fought their battles bravely and with grace (except Gary, who of course played a Cassandra).

     

    JOAN AND MOM THREW GARY A SURPRISE 50th BIRTHDAY PARTY at the very same place where Gary and Joan married four years before.

     

    DESPITE PAINS FROM HER INJURIES (back, neck shoulder, head, etc.), Joan  forged on with (albeit abbreviated) trips to Mexico and Seattle/Victoria (the latter with granddaughter Mariah and Gary, the former with friend Vickey and cousin Jaelline) as well as a return trip to New York for the first hearing in her legal case against New York City (and the traffic light maintenance contractor). The accident forced us to cancel the second leg of our original trip (to London!) and we probably won't do that anytime soon (it was supposed to be a walking tour of museums) but she'd still like to try Spain or elsewhere as soon as she can.

     

    BIG NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS: Mariah turned 11, Jay turned 13 and Nico turned 15 (he's essentially our seventh grandchild), and if daughter Rose keeps going with her new beau, Joan is expecting to add two more stepgrandkids to the clan!

     

    MOM FELL FOUR TIMES in the space of four weeks and broke or injured her arm, a rib, her knee and more - and still remained upbeat and cheery.

     

    BROTHER-IN-LAW ALAN had an infection that hospitalized him in early November, but he's doing better!

     

    SISTER JULIE has been taking good care of him -- and of course keeping busy with her many projects.

     

    And the list goes on, but through it all (fires, infections, war, economics, etc.), we persevered and kept enjoying the good things out there. After all, it's ALL a matter of attitude!

     

    Love,

    Gary, Joan and Family

    gary@gibbin.org