Merry Christmas, 2004!
Imagine us getting old enough to be grandparents! Alison and Bert celebrated their first anniversary on August 31 with their three-week-old son, Robert Parker Reiheld. At three months, now, Robbie’s a jolly little soul, seemingly fascinated by every aspect of his world. He’s recently discovered that he’s mobile, able to cover a surprising amount of ground by rolling over. Bert says fatherhood is great fun, but for the life of him, he can’t think why the lad thinks he ought to party all night long. Rob and I simply nod sympathetically--while thinking, “Ha! Serves you right.” Bert and Alison’s academic schedules meshed well this semester, as they shared parenting. Although Alison finds that teaching, grading philosophy essays and feeding hungry baby leave rather little time for sleep, she seems to be holding up remarkably well.
Emily
and Farhang are still in Philadelphia for now. “Just France” continues to
appreciate Em’s expertise, and she loves the job, but a ratty exchange rate makes
international luxury vacation villas even more upscale than usual. Farhang’s
teaching full-time at Villanova, and part-time at Penn. He also managed to find
time to get his first book contract signed, and spend a month as a Visiting
Fellow at several universities in South Africa. Emily joined him there, and
counted animal coups- saw more unlikely wild things in her two weeks than most
locals ever do. Their additions to the family include two new kitties—but not
this one.
That’s
the big news. As for us, the Houseboat is begun! Rob (with occasional help from the cook) is building big pontoon
segments from plywood, and sticking copper sheeting on the bottom, so we won’t
ever have to scrape and paint the bottom. That’s the theory, anyway. That’s two
8-foot-long segments nearly done, and maybe 10 or 12 more to go. Then we’ll
flip them over, hitch them together end to end, put a platform on top, and get
started on the house part. Rob intends “to find out why nobody ever built a
boat like this before.” This time next year, though, maybe we’ll have something
that’s beginning to look like a boat. Or a house? Stay tuned.
We might have been further ahead by now, but for a retired ol’ geezer, Rob’s been playing doctor a lot, covering for local docs, and for the clinic down at Hatteras, a tiny fishing village at the southern tip of the Outer Banks, about a three hour drive from here. It keeps his hand in, though, and helps pay for boat parts. Also, there are the usual joys of home-ownership. Considering the difficulty of rousting up tradesmen to come and get a job done around here, it’s a good thing he’s so versatile!
Retirement,
even if part-time, is great, though. One of the best things to do around here
is to take off on the spur of the moment for a pretty afternoon of canoeing in
our favorite swamp, half an hour north of here. This fellow isn’t supposed to
live this far north, but he apparently didn’t get the memo.
Freelance writing has kept things interesting- lots of excuses to burn aviation fuel going to see what sorts of strange people fly airplanes, and writing the story for a couple of monthly magazines devoted to such things. This summer found us wandering around the EAA airshow at Oshkosh with a purpose and a media pass, and stopping at several interesting spots along the way there and back. The pay’s lousy, of course, but the perks are great, especially when writing about intriguing destination. It’s very nice to have an excuse to stay and eat at places a little fancier than we’re accustomed to.
All
in all, it’s been a fine sort of year. Edenton continues to be a nice place to
live- good people, beautiful scenery, lots of sailboats, and a low-key, but
interesting arts scene. Every now and then, some dear friend or relative shows
up at the door, which causes great elation and excitement. We’re eagerly
anticipating a crowd at Christmas, and hoping spring and summer will bring
more. Maybe you?
Hope all’s well with you and yours. Do keep in touch—we’re eager to hear what’s going on in your world.
Have wonderful Christmas, and a splendid 2005.
207 Queen Anne Drive
Edenton, NC 27932
(252) 482-0624