Tuesday, December 23, 2008

The 2008 Christmas Letter!

2008! What a year!

As I sit down to write this little recap during the rush of “the Season”, I am reminded at what a really incredible year this has been: the Olympics and Michael Phelps, blustery Hurricane Ike passing right next to Dallas, an earthquake a mere ten miles from the house, and one of the most historic and optimistic presidential elections in our lifetime….!

Personally, this year’s journey has been a good one as well. The documentary I directed last year, “Flying for Freedom”, has become the best-selling documentary at my company. The owner is so fond of it, that he has allowed my producing partner Monika Watkins and myself to begin work on a kind-of sequel. Thus a lot of this year was spent producing and shooting “Resurrecting Moton Field – The Birthplace of the Tuskegee Airmen”. Thanks to our great working relationship with the Airmen as well as with the National Parks Service, we went to Tuskegee several times, capturing the story of how this little historic airstrip was almost lost to decay and time, but instead had a grand opening in October, becoming one of our nation’s newest National Parks. Look for “Resurrecting Moton Field” to be finished around the end of February. (Go to
www.amspictures.com for more info. Shameless plug, I know…)

The rest (or perhaps the majority) of my work year was spent overseeing two TV shows on the Veria network, which is now not only on “Dish Satellite”, but also on Verizon FIOS, as well. Along with producing a second season of “The Art of Living Gallery” (chronicling how creating art can be actually physically healing…), I also directed “Natural Companions”, a show that highlights all-natural and holistic health care…. for your pet! Both were fun, difficult, but overall two shows that I am extremely proud of. (Go to
www.veria.com for a preview of each).

Juan has had a busy year, becoming a part-time real estate agent! Since the students who normally lined up to learn English have become scarcer and scarcer, he decided to put his spare time to good use and got his license this past summer. During his normal working hours he still tests bilingual children to see if they need to be placed in a special education classroom setting. And in the evenings, he’s showing houses, signing papers, and really enjoying this new part of his life.

My folks are doing very well, and in fact we had a lovely dinner with them just last night, as Juan’s mother came into town and we all went out for dinner and a Christmas concert with the Irving Symphony Orchestra. True, there is still that dang Spanish/English language barrier between our parents, but Juan’s a good translator and over the years we have all learned how to “shortcut” some communication.

As for the rest, I am still on the neighborhood’s Homeowner Board. We also continue to enjoy our twice-a-month “Game Nights” with our good local friends. And twice a year I head out with my two friends Eva and Geoffrey for a “hot” and “cold” trip. This year’s “hot” trip was Orlando in the summer, and just a week ago we spent our “cold” trip in Memphis, visiting Elvis’s tacky but endearing homestead.

My sister has started a new web-based business, so if you’re looking for some original, beautiful note cards (featuring her incredible photography), check out
www.notecardphotos.com . As for her boys: Robert is in the middle of his Junior Year at Purdue, and baby Blake is now 16 and has not only his license but also his own car. (How is it that everyone else can get older, while I stay a youthful….. forty-six….?)

The end of 2008 will be family-filled for us, as my father is taking ALL of us (sister, her boys, and her partner included…) down to the Galapagos Islands for a ten-day cruise. So right after Christmas we will be storing the cold weather gear and donning swim trunks and sunscreen at the Equator, looking for rare turtles and funny-named birds. This should be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, I’m sure.

Okay, time to wrap it up. You know, each year I get less and less cards, with greetings seeming to be replaced by e-mails and text messages. I’m thinking, though, that I will continue to get “the letter” out and done every year in some physical way or another, because as I do get older I do relish more and more the people that I have bumped into during this crazy life. Fashions change, political figures change (buh-bye, Bush), and waistlines only seem to get bigger… but my enjoyment of life and all the great things that God has created and allowed me to dwell in will never falter.

May His peace surround you at Christmas time, during the New Year… and of course, for the rest of your life.

Merry Christmas….!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Happy Holidays

Hey! Look at me! It's my first blog....!
(An old dog CAN learn new tricks.....)