Rick's Christmas Card 1998
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December 25, 1998Happy
Holidays from Pat,
Jason, Gillian,
Tigger & Rick
Well, so passes, almost, another year. It has been one of some change, and some constants, as usual. Some of both of these have been good, and others, perhaps not so. But, with luck , we will draw the right lessons and strengthen our family. Last Mother’s day (which we first thought coronary related), so Ben Hill, his son, Ben, wife Sally and their magazine-editor-daughter, Heidi & I, all trooped to John Muir Hospital that Sun eve, with Marjorie, for consultative discussions about some problems she was experiencing. A very nice doctor could only deduce part of the situation. After waiting weeks for lab tests, we learned that her earlier cancer, remitted before Wally’s death in 78, has returned to stay. On the plus side, this has occasioned monthly California visits and a closer relationship with Mom, Ben and my extended Colthurst family members, even in SoCal. Though she sleeps a good deal, Mom is relatively pain free. We have pleasant, if brief, conversations, when I call to talk. Ben has been wonderful to Mom. He spares no expense for his bride. Through the recommendation of Hospice, he obtained the services of a group of Licensed Practical Nurses, from Tonga, who are extraordinary, in this wrenching process. We hope the New Year will see relief for both Mom and Ben, with answered wishes. Mom still opens all the mail, so I send a daily card with my messages in big print. You can too! Our family: After graduating from UNC Wilmington last Dec, Jason moved to Beaufort, NC, a picturesque port town south of the Outer Banks, near Morehead City, where Marines load ships to the Mediterranean. He purchased a 23’ sailboat and, after living in a house, near the water, he moved his belongings (& himself) to his boat earlier this month. His address: P. O. Box 351 Beaufort, NC 28516. We visited @ Easter & he spent Thanksgiving & Christmas @home. He builds wooden boats and may work on Endeavour, in San Diego, this spring. Gillian was happy to spend time with her brother this Christmas! After a year @ CSU Humboldt, she took a semester off from school, went to Oregon for a job, and started school again in Salem. I visited her last Christmas (we went to the Portland Nutcracker) and again in the late spring. Pat and I visited her for her Birthday (with a Trailblazers game). She had just moved to Eugene, when a house fire (while she was at work) left her homeless and without many possessions. She took advantage of an early return Christmas ticket (via Walnut Creek to see Grandma). She’s working here and starts a college horticulture program in January! Pat continues as a Financial Aid Officer. I’m still with INRI, the Software Mfg. firm, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop-Grumman (under Logicon management). I’m now a Sr. Systems Engineer, with opportunities to design a 21st Century Destroyer. My Golf game improves; I‘m hoping for a kayak for the lake; the grass is greener in our yard, and we look forward to fun travel.
Note .... and then he had a little picture of an island and a palm tree. at the end |
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