Christmas 2004 - New Year 2005

 

 

 

Life is so resilient, and so fragile.  Success takes foresight, experience, planning, and luck.  These apparent contradictions best explain 2004 for me.

 

I am older now, that is one certain uncontroversial fact.  So much of 2004 has been uncertain and controversial that it makes it necessary for me to hunt for solid foundations in a shaky world.  Family, friends, faith (in God or the earth and universe), and the benefits of hard work are some of the things I think we can count on if we are lucky.

 

I am 53 years old and I know I have been lucky.  I have lived long enough to see life’s good and difficult patterns repeated often enough to wonder why some of the bad patterns just won’t disappear.  I guess it is so the next generation gets a chance to learn these patterns as well.

 

There have been loses this year, and though the Christmas letter might not seem to be a place to dwell on these, it is just the right place in my mind to document the value of these loses.

 

My friend Paul Christensen and his family lost their father Harvey to cancer.  What a terrific family man.  I got to share Harvey because Paul was my first roommate in college, and they took me in on a frequent basis.  Harvey taught me how to use an acetylene torch.  I don’t really use it now, but my own family tradition says that my Grandfather “Toots Haigh” was the first blacksmith in California to use acetylene.  It really meant something to me to learn about this with a real experience.  Thanks Harv.

 

One of the plant ecologists that I work with also died of cancer.  I worked with Ann Armstrong both professionally and as a volunteer.  I still work with her son John who is an expert at computer map skills.  Her passion was the native plants, and she did much to spread that passion.

 

My sweetheart Maria found out she had breast cancer a few months ago, and thankfully I still hold her in my arms.  It has been, and still is, quite brutal but I am nothing but thankful for every day we have together. The future looks bright, and well worth the high price of admission.

 

So ladies and gents, don’t forget your colonoscopy if it is due.  And ladies do your self exam.  We love you too much to let this slide.

 

Did you think this last year was missing any fun?  Wrong!

 

Maria and I made a trip to Akumal, Mexico at the end of March.  It was a stellar good time.  We did it all on our own, no all-inclusive anything.  Of course we cheated a little because Maria speaks Spanish.  That doesn’t mean she knew how to bargain.  The first bargaining lesson came when we bought her a wide brim hat.  The poor vendor had to watch me teach his sweet gullible customer how to get the price down to normal.  After that first lesson, she was a master.

 

I managed to lock the keys in the rental car and the day was sure to be shot, since we were 40 miles from a locksmith, with limitless complications standing between us and the keys that were sitting on the car seat.  Maria went door to door looking for a wire coat hanger, and we finally found one at the nearby snorkel park.  I almost figured out how to make it work like a slim-jim but, no-luck.  So we called a cab and waited.  When the cab arrived I used broken Spanish to explain what a bozo I had been and asked if he had any ideas.  (Maria lets me struggle with Spanish but helps when I get stuck).  That was the right question to ask.  He opened his trunk, pulled out a screwdriver and rag, we jimmied the top of the door open and I maneuvered the coat hanger to the “coat hanger proof door lock” and made it work.  Needless to say the cabbie lost his fare but collected a good tip for saving the day for the gringo.

 

There were lots of other great times that I have posted to the web if you are interested.  Go to http://www.myxyz.org/phmurphy/PatsTrav1.htm (don’t forget the caps in PatsTrav1) then click on the Mexico Vacation for pictures and some streaming video.

 

The favorite food of the trip was a sauce made from corn smut called huitlacoche, or cuitlacoche (pronounced wheat-la-coach-a).  It is an Aztec delicacy that we loved.

 

Work this year was very satisfying.  I finished up a large project for Colorado State Parks and made progress on a large wetland project in the mountains near Eagle Colorado.  My volunteer project on the Buffalo Ranch in South Dakota continues.  My affection for the PDA (personal digital assistant – a palm size computer) continues to grow.  I love having maps, with GPS positions, and data forms all in one little device. 

 

May the New Year bring you new delicacies and new adventures.  Life is so resilient, and so fragile, and so precious.

 

Love,

Pat