Ho, Ho, Ho, and all that Jazz – “…and not a creature was stirring not even a mouse…” Ha! That’s what he said all right, and we thought that would pretty well describe 1984, especially after last year. – No Way! – a quasi-orchestrated three phased Chinese fire drill was more like it if you ask me, and how was yours? We trust it was good, and that you are all well as we bring you our Yule “log” of the year that was. The year started innocuously enough, I mean, after all George was heading for his last semester at Florida and wedding plans for Karen Owens (K.O.) and George were set for early August, now what could be more benign than that? It looked like the only real problem would be finding enough to say in this annual epistle, however as the year unfolded, this particular problem never materialized.
February – Diane announces she and Jeff Houston will be married – when, next fall? No, in April! No words can adequately describe the next two months. Suffice it to say what I thought to be the price of the dress was in fact only the price of the headpiece.
April – It happened in Charlotte N.C. with the meeting of the entire clan including Bob’s mom, escorted by his brother Dick’s wife Sela. She hadn’t seen the crowd since the “crumb grabbing, door slamming “ days, and it was good to have her as part of the “zoo” for a few days. It was a garden wedding, and Charlotte in the spring with dogwood and azaleas in full bloom, was something. Diane and Jeff will be starting their life on a small (5,000 acre) wheat farm in Tribune, Kansas (Rand McNally G-6)
May – We are off to New Orleans and Bill Olson’s wedding in true New Orleans style, what a ball. Sort of fun attending someone else’s wedding for a change. At the end of the month, George (as announced) graduated from the University of Florida – A moment of silence please. – When he said: “Dad, I am sure glad to be out”, I said “Son, I have you beat by several orders of magnitude!
June – Karen and Barry move to Atlanta – we take two girls for a month (relative), a week actual. It used to be we waited for kid’s naps so we could do something productive, now we wait for their naps so we can take ours – ah, that’s the way it goes.
July – Or sometime in here, Sherry Mitchell, Joyce’s cousin from Colorado Springs dropped in for a visit. Always nice to catch up from friends and family. Wish more of you would stop by.
August – George and K.O.’s day. Bob’s mom made it down for this wedding also, great. The wedding in our church, was beautiful and went off without a hitch, uh, more or less.
September – Helped move K.O and George to Quincy Florida, where George got a job with a forestry consulting firm. The rented house had a beautiful view, said George, but no garage. Translated this means a 100-yard deep front yard on a 30% slope and no driveway – Groan! Vignette: lamp, small table type at that, inching it’s way erratically up the front lawn – in reality, Joyce with a lamp shade on head – long on efficiency, short on visibility.
October – Somewhere between August and September, Bruce and his fiancé Pam, are you ready for this? Announced their wedding to be held in October. It was to be a small affair with Dad as best man. Bob’s mom couldn’t make this one (that’s okay ma, two out of three “ain’t” bad). The wedding was in the evening in the old Georgian Hotel in downtown Athens, GA. What a delightful setting. Interesting all three weddings in completely different environments, that made it nice.
November – St. Regis merged with Champion International. Significance, other than we are now Champion? Y’all have to wait until next year and check our post mark.
Love,