1984
Dear Friends,
It is that time of year again. A time you
have all been waiting for. Sit back and relax while you read the sequel to last
years widely acclaimed CHRISTMAS LETTER 1983
this years smash hit CHRISTMAS
LETTER 1984. The title just came to me one night in a nightmarish-like dream.
You will recall from last years letter that
we had decided to commit ourselves; to an annual Christmas letter, that is. We
knew that was the best way to obtain peace and happiness. We promised you all an
annual report on our newly acquired superiority. So, it is with "tongue in
cheek” that we send this Christmas greeting. (If by chance you missed last
years Presentation, additional copies are available with a SASE)
1984 started out like a rock but as
it
rolled down the mountain of life it gathered no moss. I like the way
that
sounds, don't you? Pat has changed jobs again and the new job promises
to be
even better than her last one. (That's why she changed) Now she is with
Project
Quality. She is still working with district #186 it Lawrence Adult
Center which
is so close to home that she can come home for lunch Project Quality
evaluates
the adult education Programs throughout the state. She has mastered the
use of
her new trash 80 computer. They sent her to school to learn how to use
the word processer and out of a class of at least one she was the top
student. We were
all very proud of her. Her new job is on a ten month basis so she
will have two months off in the summer to be with Krystal. This new Job also
has the added benefit of Paying lots more than what she was making when she
wasn't working.
In February of this year Pat was offered a
job in Dallas Texas. The position was with one of the largest banks in Dallas.
The salary was about twice what she makes here, so we thought we should at
least go down and take a look. As it turned out the trip was a kind of paid
vacation. The interview lasted all day. We liked the idea of the salary
increase but we just weren't ready for the fast lane in Dallas. Housing costs
were out of sight. We could get a real nice little Place in the
slums for under $80,000. It just wasn't the place for us!
You should remember Krystal was Put into a
first second grade split class last year. We were somewhat concerned but it
worked out well. She liked being with the older kids. In fact her
boyfriend is an older boy. He is in third grade now. They correspond regularly
but she hides the letters. I feel she is a little young for serious
entanglements but you know how it is with this new generation. This year she is
back with her friends in second grade. She is doing so well that there is no
doubt that she will be able to apply to Harvard or Yale for' college if she
wants.
This year has also brought a new addition to
our house. Some of you probably didn't know that we were expecting. The arrival
took place October 13th. We are now the proud parents of a one proud turtle.
His name is Timathy T. Turtle. The T. is for Terrapin. He is a most beautiful
green and yellow, Red Eared Slider. Now some of you probably remember your pet
turtles. They were about the size of a half dollar and cost about the same.
Times have changed this one is about six inches across and costs considerably
more. Next time I will check before I make promises. Timithy T. Turtle
lives with Krystal in a 20 gallon aquarium half full of water. Now before you
get a picture in your mind of a seven year old sharing an aquarium with a
turtle, let me clarify myself. Timithy T. lives in an aquarium. The aquarium is
in Krystal’s room. A couple of weeks ago we had a weekend guest with us. He/She
(I forget to look) was a white guinea pig from Krystal’s class at school. Shep
wanted to play with him but we decided that wasn’t a good idea. All in all,
Krystal is growing bigger, better, smarter, and prettier with each day and I can
say that with prejudicial honesty.
My year has gone stupendiously. I had
planned to win a seat in congress but my ‘write in’ campaign fell a little
short. I only got one vote. I guess the judges couldn’t read my name on the
other ballots. I can’t understand what happened. I even got beat out by Wilby
Nogood and he died two weeks before the election. I think he got the sympathy
vote. You can be sure that this is only the beginning of my political career.
Don’t forget! I write Christmas letters!
I am still house doctoring while I wait for
a political appointment. I also started teaching again. I am teaching a class
for the Adult Education Department. It is a 12-week class on basic home
maintenance. It has been very successful and I will be offering it again next
semester.
I am also taking a correspondence course
from the Institute of Children’s Literature. I have only completed one
assignment but it promises to be rewarding. You will probably be seeing my name
on Time Magazine in the near future as the most promising childrens author of
1985. I think I have made more than my share of promises.
I am going to wind this up for now as I am
expecting a call from the resident at the White House down the street.
UNTIL NEXT YEAR AND CHRISTMAS LETTER 1985
MERRY CHRISTMAS
AND
HAPPY NEW YEAR
MAY THE GLORIES OF THIS
HOLIDAY SEASON FILL YOU
WITH THE LOVE AND PEACE AND
MAY THEY STAY WITH YOU
THROUGHOUT THE COMING NEW
YEAR 1985.
WITH LOVE AND LIGHT,
I
AM,
DULANY, PAT, & KRYSTAL
AND SHEP & TIMITHY T. TURTLE
The next letter jumps all the way to 1999
Christmas 1999
Condensed version ( I know; Thank God!)
Doorway to the new Millennium
In
preparing to write this, I looked back at that notorious first Christmas letter
I wrote. It started like this:
Dear
Friends,
For years
Pat and I have read the wide varieties . . . . . . . . . . . Next year we can tell you about all the good things that have happened in 1984.
This year we will just have to tell you the truth!
A
long time has passed since then. At that time, Krystal was just entering
school. Now Krystal has entered a new school but this time she is the teacher!
Looking back on this year, it is obvious that our life revolved around these
changes. In May of this year, Krystal graduated from Augustana College in the
Quad Cities with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was certified to teach English
in the upper grades. So, the early part of the year was devoted to graduation
and all that goes with it. We had a nice party here and many of her previous
teachers came to wish her well. In July, The Florida statewide job
fair was in Tampa. She flew down to that and on the second day she was offered
and took a job at Lee Middle School in Orlando. She is now teaching 6th
grade English.
With
the summer half over, now we had to get her moved to Florida. The end of July,
she and Courtney drove back down to Florida. She had new teacher orientation for
the week before school and in her spare time they had to look for an apartment.
They lived in the Marriott near the airport at the school districts expense. The
end of the week, Kim and I drove down to take more important stuff (computer)
and to pick up Courtney and bring her back up north. It was a quick three-day
trip. As soon as we arrived home, I had to start packing Krystal’s furniture to
take down in my small trailer. The trailer was open so I shrink wrapped
EVERYTHING! Once I had it in the trailer, I shrink wrapped the trailer with all
its contents. It was certainly a site but I wasn’t taking any chances. It was a
long drive. So, the first week of August, Pat, Kim and I headed for Florida.
Moving
day, Krystal went to work; we went to move. We were aided by Wil and
Elizabeth in this labor of love. Now picture this, a trailer full of furniture
with shrink wrap holding it together, an apartment up a flight of outside
stairs, the temperature was typical for Florida summer, high 90’s, humidity that
made fog look dry and four overweight, over 50, movers. Kim was the only one
that looked up to the task. As it turned out, removing the plastic wrap was as
difficult as moving the stuff up the stairs. But we did it and just as the last
item was in place, Krystal came home from work!
In
the 1984 Christmas letter, there were only three of us. Kim was not even born.
Now she is in 7th grade at Franklin Middle School. She came home
from school the other day telling us she was voted “the student most likely to
succeed in life”, also voted “the best student in her class”, and voted “the
biggest flirt”. I’m still not sure which one held the highest regard! We do
know, she is an excellent student and gets high marks (Straight A’s) on her
report card. But, I’m still not convinced that was the highest of the three!
She spends most of her time on the computer either gaming or communicating. She
has friends all over the world. It certainly makes it a small world. She
e-mails, chats and even has a voice chat program that they use to hear each
others accents. She e-mails pictures and I assume it won’t be long before she
will some how set up a picture phone. That’s my Kim truly in the computer age.
She is always showing me how to do something on the computer. I can see in her
eyes she is thinking “Dad, don’t you know anything about computers?” She has
always been the one that had to show the teachers how to do something on the
computer. Sure glad we have smart kids to take care of us.
On a more serious note, November 21st, Pat received a phone call from her (ex)sister-in-law,
Judy, who told Pat that her brother, Jerry (age 54) had died of a heart attack
that morning as he was getting out of bed. In talking with Jerry’s wife, it was
apparent some harsh feelings were still there. This was echoed in the obituary
that left out surviving siblings. Pat was glad she had made peace with Jerry a
short time before. This was a sad end to an already sad chapter in her life.
This once-a-year letter brings with it peace, love, and joy
for the very Merriest Christmas for you and your families and to wish everyone
the most prosperous and happiest of New Years. Bring on 2000…we’re ready for
the New Millennium!
God bless each and every one of you!
Love and Light,
Dulany, Pat and Kim
(and Krystal in Orlando)
