HERE IS THE HOLIDAY NEWSLETTER WE SENT OUT WITH OUR CHRISTMAS CARDS THIS YEAR:

Hi to all our friends and family again, we hope you’ve had a good year. Can you believe that a whole decade has passed since the Y2K scare was the talk of the town? Most of you who are on our e-mail list have heard the news as it progressed throughout this year, so for your benefit, we’ll keep it brief.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Jack had another spinal surgery in July. This time it was in the cervical (neck) vertebrae where three of them were fused together with screws and plates. He had a difficult time in the recovery room because his throat was bruised during surgery, and he had trouble breathing on his own. He was on a ventilator for several days and had trouble swallowing for several weeks afterward.. Fortunately he is fully recovered now, eating well and having very little pain. His lower back has been doing pretty well too, so we’re optimistic for the future.
We did a little traveling in October, visiting Charleston, SC and some of the beach towns on the South Carolina coast. The weather was beautiful and warm, so we enjoyed the beaches and sightseeing. Charleston is truly a unique town that’s like visiting the past. Most of the downtown buildings are hundreds of years old, and there are no high-rise buildings anywhere in town. There are beautiful old churches and mansions all over town, and we took a horse & buggy ride around and took lots of pictures. We also visited Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. It was all very interesting, and we plan to go back to Charleston again, probably several times. Now that our backs are feeling better, we’re looking forward to doing more traveling in the future.
We are both playing bridge on a regular basis and getting pretty good at it. It helps keep us alert and gives us an opportunity to socialize frequently. Dorothy is very active in Unity Presbyterian Church choir and the Christian Ministry charity organization. She also regularly attends book club and garden club meetings. This year she furthered her horticultural education by attending classes and getting certified as a Master Gardener. They also have an organization that meets regularly and helps out at the county extension agents’ office. She really enjoys gardening and spends a lot of time tending to our flowers here by the lake. She has really improved the looks of the place with all the beautiful flowers and plants.
Jack stays occupied with his bluegrass music and attends jam sessions that meet weekly in our area. He continues to get on the air almost daily with his ham radio, and he has a weekly schedule to talk to a couple of other hams. One of them is a friend of Jack’s brother, George, in Nevada and the other ham is a teacher that Jack had in 8th grade, who lives in Butler, Pa. The fishing wasn’t very good this year because we had a long, hot summer and there was a massive bass kill in the lake because the water got too warm. Hopefully they will repopulate by next summer and the catch will be better. Jack and son Mike have been target shooting several times this year, along with some other friends from the neighborhood. Jack has a collection of over 20 rifles & pistols, some that are muzzle loaders with flintlocks or percussion caps. It’s a lot of fun shooting those antique weapons. He also keeps busy managing their investment portfolio, as tough as that is in the current economy.
The kids and grandkids are all doing fine and keeping busy with jobs, school etc. Dorothy’s son, Paul, started a new job as a forensic accountant at Bank of America in Phoenix, and Jack’s daughter Judi got a new job as a hospital administrator in Billings, Mt. Jack’s son, John, got a promotion at San Tan Ford in Gilbert, Az., and he is director of parts, service and physical plant at the dealership. He has been hob-nobbing with the Arizona Cardinals football team because his dealership is one of their sponsors. GO CARDS!! Kathy Bernath got a new job within Bank of America as a senior executive in their CountryWide Mortgage division. That’s a new challenge for her, and is keeping her very busy. The rest of the gang is doing the same jobs as last year. Dorothy’s mom, Mary Jo bought a condo near us in Cornelius, so she is now wintering here, and she spent the summer up in Michigan. We’re glad to have her nearby.
Our cats Kia and Willy are doing fine and staying healthy. Kia is 10 years old and Willy is two. Mike & Kathy lost their big golden retriever, Magoo, this year and he is missed by all.
Well, that’s about all we can think of to write about this season, so we’ll say ‘bye y’all and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.