Seasons Greetings

Happy Hanakkuh
Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
etc (there are many wonderful holidays at the Winter Solstice)

As the year draws to a close, Christmas Day provides a opportunity to reflect on the years blessings. As can happen in any year, it has been a year of incredible joys and bitter dissapointments; of opportunities lost and opportunities found; of transitions started but not completed. Many of the years joys were found in the emerging lives of my children, and this weekend has been a wonderful opportunity to share in that joy.

Christmas is a time of sharing, and one of this weekends joys was sharing the making a gingerbread house (a GIF picture of which is shown in the upper corner of this page). Everyone lent a hand. Sherry and Lisa (Devin's girlfriend for almost two years now) made the frosting and added snow and Christmas lights at the end. Sam and I assembled the house. Devin and Shandi helped out with decorating the house. It was our family at its best. The house was a present of sorts for Linda Blohm's family. Linda and her family loved it. We hope you enjoy the pictures.

Devin seems to have found a wonderful friend in Lisa, and they seem to be moving steadily down a path towards greater happiness. Lots of people are pushing at them now; wondering when they are going to set a date. The tradition of such pushing is strongly set in our family and culture. The discomfort and embarrassment it causes are probably a good thing for them, and it is certainly amusing to watch. What matters is that they are doing well together and enjoying the growing bond them are building. Both are doing well in work as well. Both of their companies seem to have survived the .com bubbles bursting, and both are doing well with their companies. The seem to have found a genuine bond away from work, however, that is wonderful to see. It was great having them down this weekend, as it has been wonderful seeing them at other times of the year.

Sam is a high school senior this year, so we're approaching the end of the college application season. Sam's approach to college seems to be a very balanced one. He wants an excellent music school at which he can develop both his teaching and performance skills, but which has a diverse range of people and majors. Music is his thing, but he wants to explore, which is exactly what one should do in college. He certainly hasn't hurt himself with is SAT scores (1420), grades, and general school and community activity. Even his rock band works for him now that it has a recording contract and semi-regular performance dates. He currently has applications out to Yale, University of Michigan, Boston University, DePaul, Northeastern, University of Illinois, SUNY Potsdam, and one or two others.

The process continues. The applications may be in, but auditions remain, and Sam continues to learn and practice his audition solos. It is a lot of fun listening to him learn and practice his double malleting. Very impressive, and the improvement is quite obvious. He has been very good about getting back to it several times a day, even given the attraction of his brother's Christmas gift, a new version of Tony Hawke's skateboarding video game. He has played it a bit, but has also done other things, especially including practicing. It has been a great year for music. A whole run of impressive concerts by his Rock Band (10 songs and a CD coming out), Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Bell Choir, Chamber Choir, and various other musical groups.

Rebecca continues to do well in school. She is a full semester ahead now, and briefly considered doing an internship this coming spring. After talking to her advisor she has picked a different course and will continue on towards a Winter, 2002 completion, with plans to stay on at University of Michigan in Spring, 2003 to work in the department. The commitment to do so will apparently help her get better assignments over the next two semesters and push her on towards grad school. The highlight of her fall has been analyzing a rock she found on a field trip in her minerology class. A very complex sample, and apparently at least 3 billion years old. I suspect the analysis will continue. The summer's highlight was a trip around much of the U.S. (they got as far west as Yellowstone National Park) with her mother.

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As for me, well, there have been lots of changes. I started the year working for a startup company, Empirix. Empirix survives the dot com bust, but my job doesn't. That and other changes have caused me to change the direction of my life. I have books to write, and moving back into university teaching gives me time to write them, so I'm off doing that at Oswego State University. I'm not home much. Oswego is a long way from Wappingers Falls. But I am getting the writing done, and I love teaching. It is better even that writing and research. That is something to say, coming from me.

In any case, we wish you all a happy and wonderful 2002. Peace and love.

The Wappinger's Foulgers

December, 2001