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114 Mountain St. Bristol, VT 05443 Dmickey@symquest.com May 4, 2002 Dear Family, This on-line stuff will take some getting used to, and I'm not sure I'm totally in favor of it. In spite of my having worked in electronics for over 30 years, and making my living designing networks, installing servers, etc., I'm basically a Luddite once I get off work. I don't carry a cell phone, and really hate those who try to drive and talk on one at the same time. I don't even use the computer much at home, unless I have to do some work. It's just not the same curling up with your laptop as it is curling up with a stack of handwritten letters. But I guess time goes on and things change... Been a very busy year around here. Others in the family have written about what a fantastic time we had on the cruise. My daughter and her husband and my granddaughter moved from New Jersey back to Vermont. Now, instead of nearly 8 hours away, they're only a couple of hours away. Still haven't gotten to see them as often as I'd like, but I'm working on it. Due to some fortuitous timing, the family was all at my house for Christmas. My sister and family were in Vermont for a skiing vacation, and my daughter's family and I were already here, so my parents and two brothers came up for a couple of days. Had a great time and a wonderful visit. Barely two months later, they pulled off a surprise party for me in my own house. My mother stole my address book when they were here at Christmas, and worked with Carol to identify those who should be invited. A friend lured me out of the house for an hour, and while I was gone, everyone showed up, decorated the living room and prepared for the party. When I got back and walked in to nearly 40 people, I nearly fell over. It was the most surprised I think I've ever been. It was a terrific party, and I still can't believe they pulled it off. I guess payback is what it's about, and now my mother is even with me for their 35th anniversary party. I'm glad riding weather is finally here. Vermont had one of the strangest winters for weather we've had in a long time. It hardly snowed all winter. I think I only had to have the driveway plowed three times all winter. Last year we had the third snowiest month in our recorded history, while this year we had hardly any snow. In April, we had temperatures in the 90s one-week, which was followed by two weeks of snow. The temps are finally back in the 60s this weekend. I'm taking a year off of teaching motorcycling this year. The state, which sponsors the program and dictates how the instructors teach it, changed how the instructors are hired and treated this year. They initially tried to make the instructors "hold the state harmless" in the case of a lawsuit. They backed off a little from that position, but still refused to accept any liability for the instructors. Although quite a few of the instructors accepted those terms, I am not willing to accept the risk. Carol is teaching more than ever and still loving it, but is not happy with the changes either. She's just willing to accept more risk than I am. The program coordinator is working hard to improve things next year, so I fully expect to be back to teaching by then. I was elected Safety Officer for the local chapter of the Harley Owner's Group this year, so it's probably just as well I'll have extra time. It's not a very demanding position, but it does require monthly officer meetings, training for the Road Captains, helping to organize rides, etc. I'm also planning on getting a lot more riding in this year than I've been able to in the past. I'm used to riding at least 15,000 miles a year, but the last couple of years I've spent so much time teaching that I just haven't been able to ride. It will be a nice change this year. My prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones this past year. It seems to have been a particularly bad year for losses. Congratulations to those who've had babies, gotten married, engaged, graduated, gotten new jobs, etc. Hope this finds everyone in good health and happy. -dav- |