My 2005 Christmas Letter
Season's Greetings ********************* Christmas 2005
Before I give you a review of 2005, I must mention an experience in 2004, notable to astronomers, that I omitted in last year's Christmas letter. On June 8, 2004 occurred the extremely rare event of Venus crossing the sun's disc called a transit of Venus. The previous time that Venus passed directly in front of the sun was in 1882. I first learned of this 6-8-2004 celestial event when I was a teenager around 1970 and I noted at the time that this event would occur only three days before my 50th birthday. I traveled to the farm to see it (clouds permitting) as it would be in progress at sunrise and within 45 minutes of being over. I stepped outside two hours before sunrise and was disappointed by the solid cloud cover. An hour later, I got up and set up my telescope to hopefully project the sun's image onto my clipboard that I've had since high school. My mother got up to watch it with me and although most of the sky was overcast, the northeastern horizon was clear and we were able to clearly see Venus's silhouette on the sun's disc projected onto my clipboard and I obtained some priceless photos of it. It was a very surreal feeling to witness a celestial event that I first learned about 2/3rds of my life ago. The next transit of Venus is on June 5, 2012 and then follows a 105 1/2 year wait for the next one on December 11, 2117.
My children had another good year with Johnathan, 24, spending four months on naval deployment in southeast Asia and Korea during the summer. He and Carissa came home in April and we saw the Cardinals hang on for an 8-7 victory over the Astros. On our way back home from the game, my '87 Cutlass Ciera failed to live up to its moniker 'Trusty Steed' when its alternator failed in St. Charles at 11 p.m., my having to stay in a motel overnight and Johnathan's friend, Mark, was great enough to come down to give Johnathan and Carissa a ride back to Hannibal as they had meetings to keep the next day to firm up plans for their wedding next June here in Hannibal. Their time in 'paradise' in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii will be coming to an end next year as Johnathan is being transferred to the naval base in Everett, Washington.
Holly, 20, is finishing up her senior year at Stephens College and made the honor roll again. I and some of my family members saw her perform in a few dance programs and Holly will be graduating with a degree in Dance next May. (I would be very remiss if I did not give Holly's mother, Mernell, a special mention as she has been able to pay for the full amount of Holly's college education due to my becoming disabled from work in 1990 as I receive a disability annuity that barely pays for my meager subsistence.) Holly, Brett, and I saw the Cardinals play a game against the Giants in August that was shaping up to be the worst game that I'd seen in my 40 years of going to Busch Stadium as they were losing 4-0 going into the bottom of the 9th but, incredibly, with many fans having gone home, the Cardinals rallied for 5 runs in the 9th inning for an exciting victory, making it, by far, my best game at Busch, especially since it was our final game at this venerable stadium.
In February, I was saddened to learn that my good friend and Doniphan co-worker, Carl Jennings, had passed away. Carl was a kind and humble man, a dedicated worker, and he did his sizable share in making the Doniphan office an enjoyable place to work. Carl will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
In August, after some 'encouragement' from my family, I did the unthinkable and for the first time in 18 years, I bit the bullet and bought a 2005 dark blue Malibu, taking advantage of the GM employees pricing, $2,000 rebate, and the $2,400 cash back earnings on my GM credit card. It will blow a big hole in my budget until 2011 but I truly needed a car that I could rely on.
We once again enjoyed seeing my mother's sisters Bea, Ferne, and Jane during their annual August trek to Missouri.
It is with great sadness that I close this letter with news that some of you are aware of: my father passed away on November 11th after his long struggle with Alzheimers. It was fitting that he passed away on Veteran's Day as he was an enlisted sailor in the Navy. As I wrote to my former employer in an e-mail: "My father was not a man of many words but when it came to exemplifying a life of strong character, high principles plus the frequent 16 hour workdays common to family farmers, my father spoke volumes." It still does not seem possible that my father no longer lives at home with my mother and, as I have told some of my siblings, "We have seen many other families waiting to be reunited with their departed loved ones and now it is our turn to do the same." We thank the many people who have helped our family during this very difficult time.
We hope that you and your family have a happy and prosperous 2006!
Greg, Johnathan & Holly
P.S. Following Mernell's suggestion, I now have a blog page that summarizes the essence of my writing effort since 1991:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/7227366
Before I give you a review of 2005, I must mention an experience in 2004, notable to astronomers, that I omitted in last year's Christmas letter. On June 8, 2004 occurred the extremely rare event of Venus crossing the sun's disc called a transit of Venus. The previous time that Venus passed directly in front of the sun was in 1882. I first learned of this 6-8-2004 celestial event when I was a teenager around 1970 and I noted at the time that this event would occur only three days before my 50th birthday. I traveled to the farm to see it (clouds permitting) as it would be in progress at sunrise and within 45 minutes of being over. I stepped outside two hours before sunrise and was disappointed by the solid cloud cover. An hour later, I got up and set up my telescope to hopefully project the sun's image onto my clipboard that I've had since high school. My mother got up to watch it with me and although most of the sky was overcast, the northeastern horizon was clear and we were able to clearly see Venus's silhouette on the sun's disc projected onto my clipboard and I obtained some priceless photos of it. It was a very surreal feeling to witness a celestial event that I first learned about 2/3rds of my life ago. The next transit of Venus is on June 5, 2012 and then follows a 105 1/2 year wait for the next one on December 11, 2117.
My children had another good year with Johnathan, 24, spending four months on naval deployment in southeast Asia and Korea during the summer. He and Carissa came home in April and we saw the Cardinals hang on for an 8-7 victory over the Astros. On our way back home from the game, my '87 Cutlass Ciera failed to live up to its moniker 'Trusty Steed' when its alternator failed in St. Charles at 11 p.m., my having to stay in a motel overnight and Johnathan's friend, Mark, was great enough to come down to give Johnathan and Carissa a ride back to Hannibal as they had meetings to keep the next day to firm up plans for their wedding next June here in Hannibal. Their time in 'paradise' in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii will be coming to an end next year as Johnathan is being transferred to the naval base in Everett, Washington.
Holly, 20, is finishing up her senior year at Stephens College and made the honor roll again. I and some of my family members saw her perform in a few dance programs and Holly will be graduating with a degree in Dance next May. (I would be very remiss if I did not give Holly's mother, Mernell, a special mention as she has been able to pay for the full amount of Holly's college education due to my becoming disabled from work in 1990 as I receive a disability annuity that barely pays for my meager subsistence.) Holly, Brett, and I saw the Cardinals play a game against the Giants in August that was shaping up to be the worst game that I'd seen in my 40 years of going to Busch Stadium as they were losing 4-0 going into the bottom of the 9th but, incredibly, with many fans having gone home, the Cardinals rallied for 5 runs in the 9th inning for an exciting victory, making it, by far, my best game at Busch, especially since it was our final game at this venerable stadium.
In February, I was saddened to learn that my good friend and Doniphan co-worker, Carl Jennings, had passed away. Carl was a kind and humble man, a dedicated worker, and he did his sizable share in making the Doniphan office an enjoyable place to work. Carl will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
In August, after some 'encouragement' from my family, I did the unthinkable and for the first time in 18 years, I bit the bullet and bought a 2005 dark blue Malibu, taking advantage of the GM employees pricing, $2,000 rebate, and the $2,400 cash back earnings on my GM credit card. It will blow a big hole in my budget until 2011 but I truly needed a car that I could rely on.
We once again enjoyed seeing my mother's sisters Bea, Ferne, and Jane during their annual August trek to Missouri.
It is with great sadness that I close this letter with news that some of you are aware of: my father passed away on November 11th after his long struggle with Alzheimers. It was fitting that he passed away on Veteran's Day as he was an enlisted sailor in the Navy. As I wrote to my former employer in an e-mail: "My father was not a man of many words but when it came to exemplifying a life of strong character, high principles plus the frequent 16 hour workdays common to family farmers, my father spoke volumes." It still does not seem possible that my father no longer lives at home with my mother and, as I have told some of my siblings, "We have seen many other families waiting to be reunited with their departed loved ones and now it is our turn to do the same." We thank the many people who have helped our family during this very difficult time.
We hope that you and your family have a happy and prosperous 2006!
Greg, Johnathan & Holly
P.S. Following Mernell's suggestion, I now have a blog page that summarizes the essence of my writing effort since 1991:
http://www.blogger.com/profile/7227366
posted by supersweet101 @ 2:30 PM
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