December, 2012
Dear Friends and Family,
WHY? Why, in a world where we’ve seen the expansion of electronic messaging of all kinds and the contraction of actual postal items being physically handled across the globe, when I can know via Facebook and its kindred programs your every movement and thought in an instant, am I still, thirteen years after I wrote my first Xmas letter, typing my thoughts into a computer and sending you an actual piece of paper that contains my reflections on the year that’s almost past, and on the future that lies before us?
Well, for one thing, it’s tactile. There’s something to be said about actually holding paper that has words on it for one to read. An electronic reader and a computer screen will never take the place of a real book, newspaper, magazine or letter as far as I’m concerned. I feel more connected to what I’m reading when I can actually feel the paper it’s written on. For another, people like to get “stuff”. Witness the madness that ensues at shopping malls across the country this time of year. I truly get excited when I see something of a personal nature in the mail. It’s a gift that I didn’t expect, and will be enjoyed as soon as I open it. Finally, it’s the only way I can keep track of what our lives were like the past 12 months, which was the original intent of these letters in the first place. Like every year, it’s been busy with all kinds of activities. Unlike years past, this one was filled with some pretty significant milestones.
You could, if you were so inclined, call this The Year of Tina, and you would not be out of line in doing so. She was the one who had the biggest pile of milestones in the family. In the past 12 months she got to shake hands with Joe Biden & Michelle Obama, got the braces off of her teeth, received her Girl Scout Gold Award (along with a pile of congratulatory letters, including one signed by the aforementioned Mrs. O.), got her Life Membership from GSUSA, graduated from Central Bucks High School West & Middle Bucks Institute of Technology (MBIT) and started her first year of college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. She’s studying mechanical engineering, running sound for the campus theatre group and dating a guy studying computer science (we met him via Skype, which makes me feel old on several levels). She communicates with us using the tech we can handle (phone for Gail, texts for me), and seems to be enjoying her school, her friends and herself. So far, so good.
Gail’s year has been one of unusual changes. For the first time in a long time, her schedule is not as tied to one or more of her children’s activities. With Tina now living in Troy for the school year, and no longer active in our church, Scouts, the SCA, the Bucks County Aquarium Society or the 4H, there seems to be less ink messing up the spaces in her calendar. Still, she keeps busy with singing in the choir at Family of God, acting as a delegate for the Girl Scout service unit, going to meetings of the Aquarium Society and being available to help out whoever is in need of her expertise in crafting, Scouting, etc. She also takes care of Tina’s bearded dragon, Falkor, while she’s away (I’m mostly in charge of Princess, who celebrated her own milestone this year when she turned 10). Gail celebrated a milestone by going to her 40th high school class reunion and having a grand ole time in the process. The one thing that she wishes was off our To Do list is the fallout from the car accident. Our attorney is still trying to get the last few bucks out of the insurance companies through arbitration. Things would’ve been settled if not for the fact that the arbitrator both sides could agree on up and died before we could meet with him. Sigh. On the positive side, in February she had surgery on her left hand to alleviate the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused by the accident. It was a rousing success, giving her a freedom of movement she hasn’t had in years. Otherwise, she seems to be adapting to the Empty Nest Syndrome quite nicely.
For those of you who aren’t Janice’s friend on Facebook, let me just let you know that she is alive and thriving in our nation’s capital, working for the Dept. of Justice, attending and working at various conventions and seeing a guy who treats her well. We saw her here when Tina graduated, and in DC when I was in town for an audition. It’s nice to be related to someone who’s pretty together.
Our grandson Zachary is three. Due to Kate’s divorce action and the resulting acrimony between she & her husband, neither of them talks to us. Kate never did call us-it was always Chris who did that-and he won’t call us now because we’re “her family”. All of our information on how he’s doing is third-hand. We’ve seen him once this year. It hurts.
Your author has had three milestones this year, none of which is related to any of the twelve or so television, film or stage projects I’ve worked on. In March I quietly turned fifty, getting a very nice gourmet cake to celebrate with from the Culinary Arts Teacher at MBIT, courtesy of Tina (Gail got one for her birthday as well). In August, Gail & I, frustrated by the fact that no one will cast me in anything that involves my actually saying words, formed a film production company, Glimmer Productions. We’re looking for projects for me to be featured in that will use a lot of the underutilized local talent that this area has in abundance. I’ve already got some ideas brewing, and I look forward to being able to bring them to life. I’m also pretty sure that due to recent events I’ll be working more than I have been, and mostly in New York. If all goes well, I may have a lot more to write about next year.
The third milestone I share with Gail. We celebrated out tenth wedding anniversary this past August. It hasn’t always been easy, what with both of us both pretty damaged from our first marriages when we started, and Lord knows that the lack of a steady income hasn’t exactly helped. Still, we laugh often, and manage to get through those obstacles in front of us. Most importantly, we’re there for each other no matter what, and in the final analysis that’s all that really matters.
And so, that’s the highlights for 2012. It’s been a year where our ever-present past stopped by to say hello more than once. It’s been a year where we’ve struggled to keep our heads above water, and it’s been a year when we’ve gotten some room to breathe. We’ve seen some old friends, made some new ones and for the most part enjoyed the company we’ve kept. As always, the door is open if you happen to stop by and knock. We’ll hopefully see you live and in person, or if not that way, we’ll get to glimpse at your electronically transmitted musings. If neither of those things happen, we’ll always have the tactile reality of 2013’s Xmas letter to look forward to. Until then, take care and God Bless.
Peace & Love,
Gail, Mike, Tina, Princess & Falkor
“I hope you don’t mind that I put down into words,
How wonderful life is while you’re in the world.” Bernie Taupin
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