All of a sudden it is time to wish all you out there seasons greetings from the senior Georgia contingent of the clan! Note the choice of term, “seasons greetings”. Some of you may not get this epistle before Christmas, and I just want to make sure I’m covered. I don’t know why, but everything just sneaked up on us this year. Maybe it is because holiday promotions and marketing have generally been pushed up until Halloween and we have become so conditioned, that Christmas has moved down toward the straight line of the everyday rather than being that exciting peak we looked forward to every year.
Right out of the hat, our year started with a bang (no, no one was shot). We just had the whole crew (except for Diane and the Kansas Division) over for New Years. The Mays (Karen and Barry) with Alaina, Alyssa, Jonathan, and Caitlin; Bruce and Pam with Robin and Greta, and George and Karen (KRO) with Ellen. The house was filled with wonderful aromas, and Jurassic sounds. The guys, Bruce, Barry, George and Dad initiated the annual Mays-Barker New Years Best Ball Classic at one of the local golf courses (or should we say “golf curses”?). Suffice it to say, while the day was gray, the air was spiked with ample color.
In March, we masterfully dodged the bullet known as the “blizzard of the century”. Down here in Georgia (south of the mountains) “blizzard” is defined as snowfall in excess of six flakes, which is incidentally, coincident with the total halt of vehicular traffic. We were instead witnessing the genesis of that storm as it blew ashore just north of Englewood, Florida, where we were visiting Gordon and Martha in their March “digs”. It tore up a lot in southwest Florida and of course, spawned a bunch of tornados as it worked itself north. We were forced to stay an extra day, which was spent in Ft Myers. It was fun visiting Florida as a tourist. What a great trip!
While we have been in Athens for two years, we have not forgotten the Washington area. In 1993 this represents both bad and good news. Well, not really bad. What is bad in this case is good for others. That is, the wheels have come completely off the Washington Red Skins (Native Americans?) since we left. Don’t know if the events are any way correlated, but the Atlanta Falcons, who seldom beat the Red Skins (or any one else for that matter) may be enough better they may do it today. Now that is a low point. On the positive side, we had a delightful reason to revisit the area this fall, with the marriage of Alan Olson, the youngest of our friends Dave and Eileen. Joyce had Alan in kindergarten. It was really a festive occasion, and one in which we had the opportunity to visit with many of our former neighbors. In addition the timing was such, that we were able to use our invitation to the French Embassy to witness the launch of SPOT 3, on closed circuit TV.
At this point, we are about ready for Christmas, I guess, and we are planning a second New Years Gala with the second Annual Mays-Barker New Years Classic. Talking of future plans, we expect to see all of you in Athens in 1996, when this city hosts the Olympic soccer venue. You won’t be able to stir them with a stick, but if you are early enough, we have a room (competitive prices and guaranteed right of first refusal).
May your new year be great, and we look forward to sharing our news with you next year.
Joyce and Bob