The Best Thing We Ever Did

Sometimes I think these four people are the best things we ever brought into the world.


On second thought!!!!!!!

Memorable Road Trips of the Past

Here are some memorable road trips from the past:

Here we are in October 1976, just outside Madrid. Kathy, Bonnie, Jimmy, and I are driving our Fiat station wagon from our first Navy tour in Rota, Spain (where we had lived since 1972) to our new duty station in Gaeta, Italy.

This photo was taken at Mary Yarman's in Sarasota, Florida. My mom (far right) and our family were on a trip from our most recent duty station in Ottawa, Canada, to a special vacation at Disney World. We stopped to visit a number of friends and relatives along the way. Kathy and I, along with our four children, were en route to our new duty station, back in Rota, Spain! The year was 1987.

The Road Trip (April, 2007)

Here's Jimmy relaxing before the Road Trip begins.

Here's the gang getting ready to leave on the Road Trip. From left: Bonnie, Ellie and Alia, Aidan, Jono, Jimmy, and Kathy.

Here's a silly version of the same picture.

Happy Birthday, Bonnie!

Today Bonnie celebrates a birthday with a few more candles than the one we commemorated with this picture!

There may not be as many balloons for this one, but there will be plenty of sushi and other Japanese goodies to mark the occasion.

Here are a couple more pictures of Bonnie at a much earlier point in her life. Notice her feline friend. Cats were an ever-present part of our children's home life, no matter where in the world home was.

The anchor symbolizes the reality of a life of travel when your father is in the United States Navy. Bonnie's journeys have taken her around the world. Born in Spain, she spent many years there. She also lived in Italy, Canada, Japan, and Australia, as well as visiting other countries.

So, in closing, we say to our beloved birthday girl:

¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Buon Compleanno!

O-Tanjoubi Omedetou Gozaimasu!

Yom Huledet Sameach!

Dinner March 30, 2007

The night after Bonnie's arrival, we shared a wonderful dinner with her dear friends, Shay and Shawn, and their family. The delicious dinner was prepared by our nieces, Pam and Jill, two of our resident culinary experts!

Bonnie, Jono and Alia arrive in Denver.

After two long days of travel, crossing the International Date Line, and spending a night at the Narita Hilton outside Tokyo, Bonnie, Jono, and Alia make their long-awaited arrival at Denver's International Airport.

Jono and Alia, shortly after arriving in Denver.

Back at Nanny and Sabba's house with cousin Pam.

In Nanny and Sabba's living room with cousins Pam and Jill.

Checking out Pam's bedroom before retiring for the night.

We are so blessed and happy to have Bonnie and the children here for an extended visit. In a couple of weeks, Ellie and Aidan will arrive, and when Jimmy and Hannah join us, our family will all be together in one place for the first time in five years. We will be thinking of Rory and Ryan, who were unable to make this trip, but will be with us in spirit.

Another One Just (Almost) Like the Other One!

My "new" 1994 Ford Taurus, the third since coming to Colorado. My family sometimes makes fun of my sticking with something I have grown used to. I buy the same wallet every time, the same watch, the same glasses, the same car. Our first Taurus is still going strong with close to 200,000 miles on it. We gave it to some friends who were in need of a car. The second one (visible in the background) has 130,000 miles and will serve as a good spare, which will come in particularly handy with all the visitors arriving in April. This car, although 13 years old, has only 65,000 miles on it.

Hannah's 26th Birthday Party

Hannah's surprise at her surprise 26th birthday
party. She didn't know about the party or that
her cousin, Pam, was in town.
















The gang's all here to celebrate Hannah's 26th.





















A yogurt cake with berries on top for the
birthday girl.

Our Profile Picture

This composite was prepared by Bonnie to

be our profile picture. The colonial costumes

were worn to a Beethoven Birthday Party a

few years ago, sponsored by our local classical

station. It was loads of fun.

Aidan in Denver with Sabba

Our grandson, Aidan, on a visit to Denver in September 2006.

Thanksgiving 2005

Halleluyah. Hodu LaAdonai Ki Tov, Ki L'Olam Chasdo. (T'hillim 106:1)Hallelujah. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good: for his steadfast love endures forever! (Psalm 106:1)Shu o-Hometataeyo. Shu ni-kanshaseyo, Shu-wa megumi fukaku, Sono itsukushi-me-wa tokoshieni taeru koto-ga nai. (Shihen 106:1)
!Aleluya! Alabad al Senor, porque el es bueno; Porque para siempre es su misericordia. (Salmos 106:1)We give thanks for each and every one of you. We have so many things to give thanks for, and we often forget to give thanks or even to be thankful for them. Thanks be to God for this one day we Americans set aside to give thanks and to remember all of our many blessings.

We give thanks for our parents and their parents and the ancestors who came before them.

We give thanks for parents who raised us in love. For parents who stayed together their entire lives. For parents who loved one another. For parents who taught us right from wrong, both in word and in deed. For parents who provided for our every need. For parents who made us proud to be part of the families we were born into. For parents who mirrored God for us.

We give thanks for children whom we had the privilege of raising in love.

For our eldest, who found her husband in Nihon (thanks be to God), who is raising two wonderful children, a boy, the Lord gives, whose middle name rings with his ancestry and his mother's Spanish birth, and a girl whose middle name is redolent of lilies and her Mom. For her fiery determination to do what's right and to be all she is meant to be. For her faithful communication via email (with pictures) every week. For her husband, a loving, intelligent, industrious husband and father. For his job as an engineer.

For Australia, where they live.

For our son, for his kind and gentle soul. For his artful insight and insightful art. For the wife who has been prepared for him but has yet to find him (and him her). For his loyalty and faithfulness to friends and family. For his love of music and his ability to create it. For his work in information technology.

For our second daughter, who also found her husband in the Land of the Rising Sun (Shu-ni arigatou gozaimashita!), who is so far blessed with one son, whose middle name is a mighty mountain! For her merciful spirit and cheery countenance. Her smile lights up a room and a father's heart. For her husband, a loving, smart, solid husband and father. For his work as a pastor in his father's church.

For our youngest daughter, a special, special young woman, who has overcome signficant handicaps. For her loving, caring, compassionate spirit. For her "stick-to-it-iveness," her perseverance that has enabled to her to triumph over the obstacles set in her path. For the amazing family with whom she lives. For the county program that makes this possible. For the taxpayers who have made this possible. For the committed people in the day program in which she is involved.

We give thanks for our siblings.

For my brother and sister, whom I see too seldom but always think of fondly and thankfully. For growing out of our youthful squabbles to a place where we fully respect and appreciate one another. For their spouses and their families and the provision to lead prosperous and blessed lives.

For my wife's sisters, both here and in heaven. For the two we know well and the one we never knew. For their husbands and their fine families, two daughters for each sister, four young women to be proud of. For the privilege of having one of those nieces share our home and brighten our lives with her presence.

We give thanks for our aunts and uncles.

In Hebrew, uncles and aunts are spelled with the same letters as "beloved." For our beloved ones, who have always been there for us, who have often served in loco parentis, who have shared with us their love and their vast experience, who have often made for us and given us the things we needed, both for us and for our children. For aunts and uncles who are present in the body and those who have departed this earth.

We give thanks for our cousins.

For our cousins, both near and far, both close and less close. For the annual reunion and the aperiodic reunions on both sides of the family. For my Denver cousin, because of whom we have spent nine nonpareil years in Colorado. For the husband from Madrid whom she met there, who is now proud to be an American citizen. For their two tall sons! For the many years we have spent together and the blessed months we spent sharing a roof!

For cousins we email. For cousins we snail mail! For a cousin in Florida who (with her daughters) was so much a part of making my childhood happy and memorable. For her daughters and their children and children's children. For cousins we visited as children who are now gone. Requiescat in Pace.

We give thanks for our friends.

We give thanks for one another, husband and wife, because we are one another's best friend. For our childhood friends and classmates. Both of us were blessed with an amazing array of wonderful friends who blessed us and helped us get through childhood. We don't often see them, but we think of them often. With our schoolmates, we spent more time than with nearly any other group in our lives. We appreciate them. For friends who stood with us in thick and thin, when things were going well and when things were not. When we did things to be proud of and when we did things we were not so proud of.

For shipmates in a 25-year naval career. For the U.S. Navy, through which we earned a living, served our nation and our fellow Americans, saw the world, and met many people from many lands, living in Espana, Italia, Canada, and Nihon (Japan). For the love and acceptance of those wonderful people we met around the world. For the cultures and languages, which reflect the ways they have been blessed by God, which represent the paths they have followed, the ideas they have believed, the things they have accepted and rejected in their varied histories.

For my leaders in the U.S. Navy, a finer group of humans it would be difficult to think of. For my favorite duty stations and those that were not my favorite. For the Owls of the Sixth Fleet (you know who you are). For my favorite boss, who now lives in Oregon and we still haven't been out to visit (we're thankful in advance for the time we'll have together). We shared wonderful times with our Chaplains and their families. For my co-workers, from whom I learned so much, and who covered my "rear flank" more times than I may care to remember! For Allied navies, with whom I served in Japan and Canada and Australia.

For our Japanese choir (and for our beloved choir director in high school, who taught me to sing, that I might participate with such a group), with whom we sang western classical music: e.g. Bach, Handel, Mendelssohn, Campra, Mozart. A more courteous and giving group of people we have seldom encountered. They treated us like royalty. There were our friends, our teachers, our guides, our companions during five enchanting years in their country. For the beautiful music we made together, and the composers who wrote it so many years before. For the conductor who treated us with such respect and who communicated with his eyes when our language failed us (all of the non-English-speaking choir members, in fact, often communicated without words).

We give thanks for our teachers and professors, who taught us so much (some of which we have even managed to remember!)

We were fortunate to go to school during a time when real subjects were still being taught. We had teachers who drilled us, who cared enough to make sure we learned something. We are thankful for those who devoted their lives to ensuring a particular body of knowledge, understanding, and skills were transmitted to the next generation.

We give thanks for our brothers and sisters in the church.

For those who raised us in Spain as we awakened to "the things of God." For those who are likeminded and those who are not. For those with whom we have shared our lives in a huge household. For pastors and teachers and elders and deacons. For Chaplains faithfully serving the U.S. Navy around the world. For students and teachers and all the things we've learned together. For Youth with a Mission and the people we met through them.

For those who continue to be committed to us though they live in far off Richmond. They have been a combination mother/father, aunt/uncle, dearly beloved whatever designation is used.

For our Saturday night Torah portion study and worship service and the congregation, that with its name proclaims our debt to Israel, that with its name proclaims our attachment to Jacob, that with its name proclaims that the only reason we have any hope in this life or the next, the only reason we know anything about the Divine, is because of his chosen ones, the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We are thankful for their faithfulness. We are thankful that they said, "We will do and we will hear." For the pastors, who are so giving and who have become such close friends in such a short period of time. For all of our friends in this congregation, with whom we have broken bread many times in the past and look forward to many times in the future.

For the church where we are privileged to teach a Hebrew Roots class on Sunday. For the members of that class who have become like family. For our fellow teachers who are so dearly loved and treasured.

For all the churches, chapels, groups, studies, and assemblies with whom we have had fellowship over the years.

We give thanks for our Jewish brothers and sisters.

For the kindnesses they have showered upon us. For the scriptures and the knowledge of God that has come to us through them. For our fellow students in our Torah B'Ivrit classes. For our friends in "intentional community," a group of conscious learners who have blessed us considerably. For our beloved Hebrew teacher, mentor, and friend, who (along with her entire family) has taught us so much. For the friends met in Boulder, for the father of the Jewish Renewal, for those met at the "Orchard of Hearts." For our friends in Action Israel and Chai Night and at Chai Life Expressions. For our beloved friends from the Hebrew Educational Alliance.

We give thanks for our employers.

My employer and his family have become like family. For them, we give thanks. For a means of providing for our family. For an employer who is often more concerned about his employees than anything else. For my wife's place of employment and co-workers.

I must bring this to an end, because we are going to my cousin's for Thanksgiving dinner. We are thankful for this tradition, which goes back many years, even back to her mother's hosting Thanksgiving dinner in Ohio.

We give thanks for all those people and things we have forgotten to mention.

I managed to avoid using names so as not to leave anyone out. Nevertheless, I know there are literally thousands of other things that could be mentioned for which we are thankful. I'm sure you could too. We are thinking of each and every one of you today, and we are thankful for you.

I conclude this letter as I concluded my speech upon retiring from the U.S. Navy in Japan (at which 25 members of our Japanese choir were in attendance and honored us with the singing of the Hallelujah chorus). I know there must be less than desirable things in my life, but I cannot think of any. As I give thanks, I can only think of good things, of positive things.

When I retired I said, "There must have been people with whom I didn't get along, who didn't get along with me, but for the life of me I can't remember them. I am left with nothing but good memories of my naval career." For that, and all these other things, and many others, as well, we give thanks!

May God bless you all richly and grant you His complete and perfect Shalom......

Written from Denver
Thanksgiving 2005

Give thanks in everything! (Thanksgiving 2004)

Thanksgiving 2004

Give thanks in everything! (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

This story arises out of a couple of events that happened in my life this week. It reflects how important is our attitude to our lives. Are we thankful for all the good things that have come down from heaven or are we constantly grasping for more and complaining about how little we have? As we have learned in our study of the Hebrew roots of our faith, the Jewish attitude is to give thanks to God in everything, to bless God for every good thing in life, to acknowledge that all good things come from God, whether through natural processes or miraculous processes. The birth of a child and the earning of daily bread are just as mighty miracles as the parting of the Red Sea (see the quote from Heschel at the end of this email).

So that has become more and more the way we think and the way we are. The process long precedes our acquaintance with Heschel or our ability to put it in words, but there it is. Anyway, the other day I was driving to the office and a cat bounded across the road in front of me. It wasn't much more than a kitten, and it seemed to be jumping for joy. It seemed to take an extra-high leap not caused by anything other than an essential joy of being and an ability to leap. This kitten put a smile on my face, and I blessed God for this marvelous creature He had made. Then a few seconds later, the thought came into my head, "That was a black cat! Some people would have considered that bad luck and immediately begun cursing the day they were born. Such a difference an attitude came make."

It reminded me of the military people we met overseas. We spent 20 years of a 25-year Navy career living overseas (or at least outside the U.S.—the two years in Canada weren't exactly over any sea). We heard of people (and even met a few) who never left the comfortable confines of the base or ship. Whether in Spain or Japan or Italy or Canada, there were those who minimized their contact with the local culture, food, language, and sights. We, on the other hand, took every opportunity to become acquainted with all of those, and everything else we could soak in about those countries and their peoples. Particularly in Japan, we were able to meet many wonderful people and participate in their lives. We sang in a Japanese choir, joined a Gourmet Club, taught English, shared our lives in our home and in the homes of our Japanese friends. Those who chose to stay on base would constantly complain about life outside the U.S. and would say, "there's nothing to do here; we hate the food; we hate the people; we don't speak the language." Yet, we never had enough time to do all the things that presented themselves to us outside our doors. Attitude. Thankfulness or ingratitude.

The most graphic example happened this morning on the way to Sunday School. Hannah and I were driving across town (Kathy had been called in to work unexpectedly at 3:30 in the morning). Out of the blue, Hannah says to me,"Dad, I wish everyone in the world could be as fortunate as we are." I was almost moved to tears. Here was Hannah, who was born with a rare syndrome affecting her appetite and emotional control. Because of the syndrome she will never be able to have children, which she loves more than anything in the world except perhaps dogs and horses. She will never drive, likely never marry. She will never be truly independent (she lives outside our home but in a host home with another family, who take care of her). Throw in a mild case of bi-polar disorder, and Hannah has enough problems to give her a hundred excuses to complain, but rather she says, "Dad, I wish everyone in the world could be as fortunate as we are."

Hannah often says to us that she is thankful that God put her in our family, that she has the best parents in the world. Last night Kathy asked her whether others might think their parents are the best in the world, too. Could they have the best parents in the world, too. Hannah matter of factly answered that they could--the best parents for them. We call people like Hannah "special." Some may think this a euphemism, but it is not. She is special, and we are so thankful that God put her in our family. We have learned so much from her.

Last night we made it up to the Longmont Symphony. We try to go at least once a season, and always take Hannah, because she loves it so much. My former professor of Music Appreciation plays viola and we always like to say hi to her. Last night was a lovely combination of French Impressionists, Debussy and Ravel: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and three Nocturnes by Debussy and a Piano Concerto and Bolero by Ravel. What a marvelous gift music is. What infinite variety and undescribable pleasure comes from the ability to manipulate sound waves in such a diverse but pleasing manner.

Well, that about does it for this short vignette into our lives in Denver.

Love to all and Shalom

I will close with a quote that I believe applies: "Wonder or radical amazement is the chief characteristic of the religious man's attitude toward history and nature. One attitude is alien to his spirit: taking things for granted, regarding events as a natural course of things. To find an approximate cause of a phenomenon is no answer to his ultimate wonder. He knows that there are laws that regulate the course of natural processes; he is aware of the regularity and pattern of things. However, such knowledge fails to mitigate his sense of perpetual surprise at the fact that there are facts at all. Looking at the world he would say,"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes" (Psalms 118:23). —Abraham Joshua Heschel, God in Search of Man, A Philosophy of Judaism. NewYork: Farrar, Straus and Girous, 1955.