Merry 2001 Christmas-Letter-Writing Season Again :
The good news: JoAnn has a new, fun job in the field of milk microbiology at the CSU Veterinary Hospital. She has visited a few dairy farms in the course of her job and has had at least one dairy cow fall in love with her at each location. On some days, she also gets to go to work early and swab canine rectums for research purposes.
The bad news: Tom consumes large volumes of milk and therefore does not want to know the liquid’s origin or what this liquid might or might not contain upon leaving the source. Tom does not want to associate thoughts of this liquid with Petri dishes or canine rectums. In addition, if JoAnn’s job develops in a fashion similar to other animal-related jobs she has held in the past, she is likely at some point in the near future to enter the house with a full-grown dairy cow on a leash, claiming that the beast needs a temporary home.
Our yearly excursion took us to Billings, Montana, for a viewing of our new nephew Erik, his brother Iver, and their parents, Deanna and Mike. We then commandeered a luxury vehicle from their garage to tour the scenic huckleberry country of western Montana. If you ever drive this route, we suggest a stop at The Land of Magic Dinner, located somewhere in the vicinity of Livingston, Montana. Please rate the meal and report the results to us as we did not bother dine there; we just liked the name.
Tom’s solo travels included trips to sub-exotic locations such as Hannibal, Missouri, birthplace of Mark Twain and the site of Becky Thatcher’s Fine Antiques and Collectibles. A Halloween night flight into Chicago resulted in a messy collision with a reckless bat. We hope Santa Claus has better radar. Our Christmas advice consists of the following: do not attempt to clear up a bat strike with your windshield wipers.
JoAnn has spent the last half of 2001 assisting her father, Jim, who is battling an aggressive brain tumor that at one point immobilized his left side. A couple operations, some radiation, and a lot of rehab put him back on his feet, and he continues to fight the tumor with intermittent oral chemotherapy. We apologize to those of you who may have wanted to hear about Jim a bit sooner than now, and we appreciate the support and prayers so many of you have already provided.
Merry Christmas Letter
