Merry Christmas 2016
Once again a year has slipped by in the blink of an eye. There have been sad times, glad times, peaceful days and tough days, golden days in the great outdoors and warm days with family and friends, on the go or at home. And here we are, still upright and looking towards 2017!!
I got tired just trying to remember all the travel this year. I will tell you about some and Bruce will relate other journeys.
We went to Kauai twice this year…how lucky is that? The first trip was for two weeks with our pal Gail in January. While there, we also met up with Michel and JoAn Maurer and two different cohorts of theirs for hiking; and eating, of course. Our second trip in November was primarily to attend a writer’s conference on Kauai, but we did sneak in an extra 11 days to venture to Molokai (again with Gail). Our first visit to this sparsely populated, laid-back, down-home island was an insight into what Hawaii must have been like fifty years ago before the influx of tourists, plastic grass skirts and Roberts of Hawaii busses lined up at every lookout. Not much to do on Molokai other than to appreciate the warm air, spectacular vistas and seascapes, lounge by the pool and in the hot tub and…you got it…to eat!! We did meet an “elder” who is the keeper of the history of the Halawa valley and ancient Hawaiian culture. Bruce walked up to the waterfall through the valley…while Gail and I nursed our ancient hip (mine) and back (hers).
After the first trip to Kauai in January, we headed off for our annual two-month sojourn in Hoi An, Vietnam. This year the highlight was having two special young women join us. Bruce’s granddaughter Keryn came to do some work in nutrition with both Reaching Out and Children’s Education Foundation. Ann Wittmeyer, the daughter of a Vietnam veteran came to walk in her Dad’s footsteps. Bruce was happy to guide her to Nha Trang where her Dad had served. Ann also joined us in our humanitarian work, lugging huge suitcases full of gifts from her colleagues in Buffalo, New York. With Ann, we visited the Hoi An Home for the Aged and the Kianh Foundation for disabled children. Ann was also very generous with gifts of cash to local children of disability in An Bang.
May found us in Whitehorse, YT, where Gail and friends had arranged a whole week of book events for us; a CBC radio interview, an evening at the library, a book club presentation and two dinner parties. “Whitehorsers” are a warm and welcoming bunch and the surrounding area is beautiful.
Sesame, our 12-year-old Vietnamese “grandson” arrived for the summer in late June. It was such fun. We explored every beach on the island, had adventures to the IMAX theatre in Victoria, the Shaw Ocean Center etc. Sesame also signed up for sailing lessons at the club, two weeks of sailing, in colder conditions than he is used to. He was such a good sport and seemed to really get the hang of it. Bruce was also able to rekindle his old love of model trains. They set up a layout in the garage and spent many happy hours there together. At the end of July, Sesame’s mother Quyen and his little brother Gao arrived. Full house and more adventures! We did everything “Salt Spring” and also ventured off-island to the forestry museum and to Duncan to have a bowl of pho. The boys loved all of the cars and going through the car wash!!! It was delicious having them here and watching them absorb Canadian culture.
I will now cede the computer to Bruce for his “two cents.” Happy Christmas to you all.
Love, Elaine
Bruce:
2016 was a mixed bag for me. On the positive side were the travels and adventures Elaine described above. Add to that a trip to old Savannah, Georgia in April to attend a reunion of the survivors of Company A, 4th Battalion 23d Infantry – my fellow Vietnam veterans. Our numbers are thinning but each annual gathering is a time for renewal of the bond that lasts a lifetime – the brotherhood of soldiers. This year was special because it marked the 50th year since the battalion first deployed to Vietnam from Hawaii.
I almost burst my buttons with chest-swelling pride in April when the novel on which I had worked for two years, Finding Lien, was released by Black Rose Writing of San Antonio, Texas. Not a bad achievement to publish a work of fiction with a strong social message when one is in his 70’s. I wonder how many more I have in me. Actually, I’m working on a sequel now and, with luck, will see it in print in a couple of years.
A trip to California in June to see my kids and grandkids was also a highlight. Unfortunately, I arrived at a time when my youngest daughter Vicki was in the ICU at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas. It was the last time I saw her alive.
So, on the negative side of the ledger for me were several sad events. The most profoundly crushing occasion of my recent years was the loss of my daughter to the unholy trinity of mental illness, homelessness and substance addiction. She died of acute liver failure on the day after my 74th birthday. Elaine and I made another trip to California in September to conduct a family gathering in memory of Vicki. That was a bittersweet moment, filled with remembrances, warmth and embraces from our family.
Another cheerless day was in June when I signed papers transferring the ownership of my beloved sailboat, Mahalo Nui, to a new owner. Regrettably, it was time. I found I was only using the boat about ten days a year for the past two years and just couldn’t justify the expenses of moorage, maintenance and insurance. The new owner has, however, promised me the use of the boat whenever I want.
The final heartbreaking episode of 2016 for me was the calamity that occurred on November 8th. As would any thoughtful person, I worry about how the US election is going to shape the pathway to the future, not only for America but for the planet and the global community. It is my hope that the American people, every one of whom knows by heart the covenant that ends with the phrase, “… with liberty and justice for all,” will use their voices to hold the new government to that standard.
Best Wishes and Happy New Year to all.
Bruce
