Mom (Magie)
Here's Mom one Christmas (among the rubble), probably watching her goofy granddog.
What else can you say about a woman who climbs trees with a chainsaw so she can cut them down? What can you say about a woman goes para-sailing in Puerto Vallarta for her fifty-fifth birthday? What can you say about a woman who goes off to Africa with her kids and their friends a month before retiring in her seventieth year? (If you want to know about the Africa trip, you'll have to visit my travels pages.)
Ma retired on 6 July 2001. Now she's free to take classes, putter in her garden, travel, re-landscape the yard, bicker with the hubby, ... Just don't look for her to be doing grandmotherly things like baking, knitting, stamping, crocheting or other "crafty" things. She has taken up some volunteering. On Wednesday afternoon she goes to Stanford Hospital and acts as a patient advocate in the emergency room. She's now in the Master Gardener program, so she took a bunch of intensive training and continues to take classes and seminars periodically. She's doing volunteer work for them like setting up and manning booths at various faires and expos, answering questions on the info line for the county extension, running trials in the test gardens, pulling weeds, setting up demonstration gardens, etc.
Oh! The day she was cutting down that tree?... we taught her to sing "The Lumberjack Song" from Monty Python's Flying Circus -- subliminally!
Bob, Mom's Hubby
Bob's the kind of guy who cancels his subscription to the Wall Street Journal 'cause the financial info is not detailed enough. He's the only guy we've ever met who gets excited talking about selling mortgages on the secondary market. He's also the only guy we know who has over 100 (one hundred) different kinds of mustard -- which were procured for him by brother Jeff (see below).
Brother Jeff
Jeff is a wacky kind o' guy. He's old enough to know better. Better than what? Almost anything! He enlisted in The New Army, but he's feeling *much* better now. He graduated from UCB. He was one of those over-paid, well-optioned, Silicon Valley engineers. Yet, he lives in Fremont, in the same stupendously chea... um... inexpensive apartment that he's lived in all those years since he was a College Hire.
His furnishings are hand-me-downs and Christmas gifts from family members who just can't seem to deal with his mode of living(?). His computer is an old, refurbished laptop running Windows 98 that he uses to dial-up to NetZero.
And this guy designs ASICs for high-speed routers and cable modems! Like I said, a wacky kind o' guy.
What does he spend his money on? He likes going to the opera, the ballet, concerts (classical and such), posh dinners or brunches, and the theater. Oh, and he took his sister (me!) and his best friend (Richard) to Africa for the total solar eclipse in June 2001. He has a girlfriend, but she's just not into these things as much as he is, so if you want to go do those kinds of things, want someone to attend with you, but have no takers, send him mail. He might just be interested.
He's retired now. What is he doing in his retirement? He's going to see a lot more movies. That's always been one of his interests, but now he can catch two or three a day without making his girlfriend nuts. He's also getting more and more fit, but I'm pretty sure that this is not my brother any more. I'm thinking that he's been abducted by aliens and an imposter left in his place.
Sparky
I can't possibly have a "Family Page" without mentioning Sparky, my four-legged child and granddog to my Mom. She was diagnosed with cancer in April 2001 and, statistically speaking, should have been dead in March 2002. As of February 2003 she was still going and going and going and going...
Sparky
Sparky's final day was 5 March 2003. We miss her terribly.
Sparky's Uncle Scott
(Bob's nephew)
...and all 'round nice guy. If you need a pleasant fellow with a strong back (arms, etc.) to help you move or dig or construct, Scott's your man! Scott's also pretty ana... ummm... tidy! around the house. Mom barely recognized her place when Scott was done house-sitting while she was on field assignment. Holy cow! The vacuum cleaner was always out when I dropped by -- and never in the same place twice! Not a spatter on the stove, a blotch on the floor, nor shaving entrails in the bathroom sink. He even eradicated the stupid meal moths that tried to take over the house. When he was renting a room from me he was quiet, considerate, clean, helpful, ... Not once did I find a toilet seat up!
C'mon gals! He's a non-drinker, a non-smoker, and has his engineering degree from Stanford. He's into photography and likes listening to live music in small venues. He has a classic Corvette that he restored himself plus a more contemporary Corvette that he usually drives. He's very fit and works out at the gym almost daily. He's definitely a city boy. Don't even think about taking him camping if it involves sleeping on the ground. OK, so he's from New York and works for Microsoft. He still deserves to meet a nice woman.
Dead Relatives
I've been working on my genealogy
I've been working on my genealogy
I discovered that William is a very popular name in my father's family. My great-great-grandfather, William Tindle, served in the Missouri State Militia Cavalry in the Civil War as did his older brothers, brothers-in-law, and his wife's first husband. One of his brothers and his wife's first husband died in the war. Great-grandfathers on both my mother's and father's sides homesteaded land in the west. One of my great-grandfathers on my mother's side worked on the Panama Canal from 1905-7. One of my great-grandmothers on my mother's side was a telegrapher before she married.