Dear Friends, December 1998

It is hard to believe that 1998 has gone so quickly -- probably a sign of our passing solidly into middle age.

Karen is now in senior year of high school. Lee teases she has become a "jockette" (this from someone who was the marching band photographer in order to escape high school PE). We all cheered when her volleyball team won their league championship and then the "sectional" (one of six divisions in California) championship. She had a blast as a "middle hitter" and great blocker. She has now passed directly from volleyball into basketball season.

Karen spent Thanksgiving and presumably the Christmas holiday avoiding writing college applications to Haverford, Pomona, Wellesley, and Williams. We believe she will get them done eventually; she claims she works best under pressure...

Paul, in seventh grade, is firmly addicted to the computer. He has purchased two TI calculators (including their most powerful with a 68000 chip -- the original microprocessor of the early Macs). He is his school’s expert on computers, the calculator, and the internet. He dreams of his own PC (a 500 MHz Pentium II would be nice, he says). Earlier this year, he completed Riven (the successor to Myst) and become an advisor on the game for others. Once, when called to dinner, he reported he was late because he was helping a 24 year old school teacher through a difficult section of the game. In an orgy over Thanksgiving, he devoted day and night to mastering the new Zelda video game.

Lee has evolved into the designated thinker for Kaiser Permanente. Having predicted the financial problems of 1997 and 1998, he is now deep into worrying about the organization’s struggle towards financial health in 1999.

The highlight of Lee’s year was 16 days in Paris with Helen in October. We stayed in the 7 arr., near the Eiffel tower. The environment was wonderful -- Paris is full of tremendous museums, sites, places to stroll, and of course, food. There were several patisseries, bakeries, cafes, and a cheese shop within a block of our hotel. We went to a delightful choral concert at Notre Dame and an organ concert in Brussels.

Helen continues in her role of chauffeur, family scheduling coordinator and professional volunteer. Most of her volunteer time this year has been at the children’s schools and with the Oakland League of Women Voters.

We added a kitten to our family this year on Paul’s birthday. Yoda has proved herself to be a delightful cat; she purrs a lot, and specializes in looking cute and innocent when houseplants land on the floor.

Earlier in the summer, we went to Claremont for the fourth of July to see Helen’s parents and to eat wonderful triple chocolate cookies (recipe on our web site). In August, we spent a week exploring Mammoth Lakes with Lee’s family.

We wish you a wonderful 1999!

Yours in peace,