Jack Runs the Trains
(*see wikipedia.com if you don't know what Festivus is)
I have already gotten out the aluminum pole and I have aired my grievances from 2010. I am going to skip the Festivus feats of strength and if you haven’t heard from me yet then I must not have any grievances with you. Of course you already knew that...
2010 has been a pretty eventful year for us. Ginny has just finished her presidency on the Board of Advisors for the Pacifica Resource Center. They have a new executive director this year and that has taken quite a bit of Ginny’s time. Luckily (or because of the hard work by the search committee), the new ED is really working out well. Ginny and I created a new company this year when I retired from Deloitte in July. It is called ProSigma Services. Ginny is the president and I am working for her now. I think we just formalized a reporting structure that has been in place since we got married. She is management and I am labor. My partners at Deloitte suggested that I still need adult supervision in my job, and Ginny is perfect for the job. She manages the company, the books, and signs all the contracts. My job is VP of Client Services. I am doing sales of our staffing solution services and our consulting services to law firms and corporate law departments. So far look promising for the new venture.
My recovery from partial knee replacement surgery in 2008 and neck surgery (four vertebrae fused) in 2009 continues swimmingly. Well I’m not really doing much swimming but my recovery is going very well. The doctor says it is a miraculous recovery (a Festivus Miracle!). For those of you betting on me losing weight in 2010, I have bad news… you lost more money then I lost weight. So with inevitable determination, I am stating for the record I will lose 20 pounds in 2011. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Amongst all the changes, we did manage some travel this year. A trip to Ireland was our overseas trip this year. Ginny worked out some “home exchanges” so we spent several days at the K-Club Golf Resort in Kildare Ireland and a few nights in a renovated farm house that was several hundred years old (still it had satellite and internet service) outside of Cork Ireland (really outside of Cork, the dirt driveway was about half a mile long and the dirt road that took you to the driveway was at least a mile long). The scenery, people and weather were all splendiferous (truly great). We drove over 600 miles during the week we were in Ireland. We also had a touching spreading of my sister Linda’s dad’s ashes at the Blarney Castle (please don’t ask how she got the ashes there). We also spent a week in Sedona Arizona with my sister and brother-in-law Linda and Bill. We saw the red rocks and took a helicopter ride out over the Grand Canyon – it was spectacular! Our summer vacation was in Ocean City, NJ. We managed to see almost everyone in the family. Also it coincided with the wedding of our good friends, Andrea and Sam. We attended Ginny’s 40th high school reunion (it was sort of mine as well but I didn’t attend Upper Merion HS for my senior year). We spent thanksgiving at the in-laws, Joe and Lois’ place in Norristown PA. Ginny and I attended a Green Legal Matters conference in New Orleans where I spoke, and briefly met the mayor of New Orleans Mitch Landrieu. We also spent a few days ‘26 miles across the sea’ on the ‘Island of Romance’ in sunny Catalina, on our first Company retreat. Of course we spent a couple nights in Brooklyn NY with Kelly, Matt and Jack.
Kelly and Matt are doing very well. Matt popped the question the day after Christmas and they have become engaged to be married. We are so happy for them and very pleased to have Matt in the family. They are doing a splendid job of raising our grandson Jack, aka, the Tank. They are visiting here for Christmas (and Festivus) and we quite enjoy having them with us. Jack is a funny kid and very cute if I do say so myself. I call him little tank and he calls me big tank. He loves the Christmas train set we have here on Danmann Ave. Today we played with the radio-controlled helicopter and he seems to be better at it than I am…no surprise. Ginny, aka GG (short for Grandma Ginny), has been spending lots of quality time with him, looking at Christmas lights, decorating the Gingerbread House, singing, giggling and having a jolly old time. For those getting this letter on papyrus (paper) you can see video of Jack and Ginny doing some gift wrapping at http://www.notes-fromthe-john.blogspot.com. (You can also see past holiday letters posted there.)
Hope your Holidays were wonderful, all your Festivus grievances are resolved and that you - Have a Happy and Healthy 2011!
With love from,
Ginny & John, aka Grandad.
I can do what Grandad does!
Our first ProSigma company retreat- Catalina Island
GG & Jack
Jack and GG build a snowman with mommy
Matt Olney (aka daddy)
Ginny kissed the Blarney Stone in Ireland
Happy Thanksgiving in Norristown PA 2010
Bill, Ginny, Linda, and me in Sedona AZ
Tank and Grandad having serious lunch at Carl's Jr.
Kelly Janes (aka mommy)
Dixie Chick hiking girls (Ginny's walking group)
