***********Season's Greetings!*************************Christmas 2010 **********
Where did this past year fly off to?! 2010 was a year in which I had more visits with doctors than I care to think about. In September, I experienced a sharp jolt of pain in my chest while exercising on the treadmill which, to be on the safe side, led to my having a cardiac angiogram from which my cardiologist ruled out that I had any heart problems. In August, I developed a hernia just above the umbilical hernia that I've had since 1996 and I 'bit the bullet' on Dec. 2nd and had both of them surgically repaired (thus the reason I'm late in getting my cards out this year) by a Hannibal surgeon, Dr. Bukstein, who is a well-regarded and very skilled surgeon. He and I developed a quick rapport with each other and Dr. Bukstein showed interest in the few details that I shared with him regarding what I euphemistically call "My Second Vocation in Life". My mother was kind enough to come to Hannibal for two days to take care of me and left me with some of my favorite 'farm food' by fixing a skillet of hamburger hash to spread on toast. Just after I wrote last year's Christmas Letter, I learned that my leukemia (CLL) is in Stage 1 and, at this time, needs only to be observed and monitored. From my recent visit with my doctor on Dec. 13, I found out that my leukemia is essentially unchanged over the past year and that "things look great" for now. So, all in all, I feel pretty good and I still thank God every day for each additional day and I continue to place my life in His Hands. Johnathan, 29, and his wife, Carissa, are still doing well in Washington State. Johnathan accepted a position as Financial Advisor with Edwards Jones in January and did so well during the year that he was given his own branch office in November (see Johnathan's profile page web address below). Carissa still enjoys her job as an ultrasound technician and has found a new use for her craft as Johnathan and Carissa announced the exciting news in October that they are expecting a child next June, making Mernell and me grandparents for the first time! Holly, 25, is still enjoying life in New York City and waitressing tables at Bette Midler's New Leaf restaurant. Last Christmas, a video was made as a Christmas gift for me of Holly performing a dance to Beyonce's song 'Daddy' which was very touching to me and my family members, which Johnathan downloaded onto You Tube. Holly also performed in an excellent dance video with her group, 'Taste Ladies' (see these web addresses below). Holly is still currently active with some choreographers from her modern group "The Movement Collective" and plans on performing some of the works in upcoming dance festivals. She had also finished filming a short film "Henry" playing one of the dead haunting girls this past June and just signed on to a touring burlesque dance company "Viva Glamour" presented by CaRu Entertainment. Holly was the only family member who made it to a Cardinals game this past year when, at my urging, she watched them played the Mets in New York in July. (The game was emblematic of their season as the Cardinals were trounced, 8-2.) 2010 was a year of 'replacing broken things' for me, including my 19-year-old push lawn mower, my 18-year-old (sole) window air conditioner unit, and my 22-year-old vacuum cleaner. I've told a few that my collection of 'antiques' has become fewer. In May, I splurged on myself and saw the estimable actor Hal Holbrooke perform his signature performance, "Mark Twain Tonight" right here in Hannibal. Due to a seating mixup, I got a better seat than the one that I purchased, only about 20 feet from the stage, and had the honor of sitting beside former U.S. Congressmen Harold Volkmer and his wife. It was truly mesmerising to see Hal Holbrooke actually ply his craft on a Hannibal stage. A special young woman who is like a member of the family, Emily, became married to a man named Micheal, in a ceremony that my mother described as 'perfect'. My friend, Donna, from Springfield, MO, was nice enough to come up to Hannibal on the 4th of July and spend the afternoon with me, seeing some of the sights in Hannibal. My mother's sisters, Bea, Ferne, and Jane, once again gathered at their childhood home in September and, along with my mother, myself, LaRue & Virginia, and Bea's son, Rob, and his wife, Judy, and some of my siblings, a fun family reunion was had by all. My beloved Great Aunt Phoebe passed away in March just after reaching her 96th birthday. As I told her son, LaRue, Phoebe put a smile on the faces of many people during her many years as she was well-known for her quick wit and contagious laugh. In May, we were saddened when my brother's wife, Kay, lost her mother, Mrs. Baxter, who was known for her elegant grace and charming wit. My cousin from California, Sheryl, lost her husband, Rudy, in June. When they were at the farm several years ago, Rudy paid me the compliment that he thought that he'd enjoy reading the memoir that I wrote in 1993 after I told him about it. One of the first--and very dear--friends that I made since moving to Hannibal in 1991, Sherry King, lost her courageous battle with pancreatic cancer a year ago in December. Sherry was a woman who always had a cheerful disposition whenever our paths crossed and was always nice enough to laugh at my humor. And, finally, my best friend in Hannibal, Gene Stevens, passed away at age 94. It is safe to say that Gene was the biggest St. Louis Cardinals fan that I'll ever meet, to the point that he religiously followed the Cardinals' progress in spring training games and often disagreed with Manager Tony La Russa's pitching decisions. In March, 2001, Gene went on and on, telling me about the great exploits of some Cardinals rookie by the name of Albert Pujols which, admittedly, fell on my deaf ears at the time. It is fitting that Gene died on August 12th as the Cardinals then fell out of their first place battle with the Reds and went into a major swoon from which they would never recover. One story that I've enjoyed sharing with many about Gene needs a little set up. Because Gene had macular degeneration, he got around on an OATS bus which would take him to Walmart for lunch on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (on Mondays, a maid came to his apartment to help out and on Wednesdays, Gene went to the Armory to dance with the older set). I usually stayed on the Internet computers at the library until the markets closed at 3 p.m. before I headed to Walmart to meet up with Gene for an hour or so in which we would 'cuss and discuss' everything under the sun (which we began to do 10 years ago), particularly politics and Cardinals baseball. One day, as I approached Gene's booth, his step-granddaughter, Teresa, was with him and she had just told Gene and then she told me that she had such a terrible headache that morning that she went to a doctor and had a CT scan done as a precautionary measure, which turned out to be negative. I told Teresa, "You know, I have headaches, myself, on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Fridays." Teresa asked, "About 3 o'clock?" I thought for a second and deadpanned, "More like 5 o'clock." Teresa and I then turned to look at Gene and we could see the wheels turning in his head. Finally Gene replied, "Well, it must be catching because I have headaches on those same days myself," which led Teresa and me to laughing riotously! These individuals (and others who have left us in 2010) will be greatly missed by many. P. S. Upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse Alert: On the night of Dec. 20-21, 2010 (Monday night into Tuesday morning), there will be the best total lunar eclipse from the U.S. in nearly 3 years! Eclipse begins @ 12:33 a.m. CST; Totality begins @ 1:41 a.m. CST and lasts until my favorite moment @ 2:53 a.m. CST when the darkened left limb of the moon suddenly catches bright sunlight; and the show ends @ 4:01 a.m. CST. Adjust for your time zone, if necessary.
I hope that you and your family have a prosperous 2011!
Greg
Johnathan's Edward Jones Page: http://www.edwardjones.com/en_US/fa/index.html&CIRN=520459
Holly's Dance Video, 'Daddy': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GXsjtgWd6U
Holly's Taste Dance Crew Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUrAkRRWOeo
My Flagship Web Post (since 2002): http://www.writers.net/writers/16294
My Cliff Notes Blog Page (since 2005): http://www.blogger.com/profile/7227366
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