The Lewin Family's Holiday Letter

 

Once again, we take pen in hand and try to sum up two years of news and condense it into one page appetizing enough to make you, the reader, yearn to continue. We fielded months of questions as to why the Lewin's Holiday Letter was not disseminated last year and we decided that you deserve an answer: we didn't write one.

Actually, 1997 culminated with Anthony's Bar Mitzvah on December 27. For those of you unfamiliar with the Bar Mitzvah, Anthony reached manhood in the eyes of the Jewish religion and celebrated that event after six intense months of preparation. For those who were able to share that experience with us, you know how proud we were of his accomplishment. Anthony is now half way through the 8th grade and, shocking as it is, will be entering high school next year.

Carol reached her golden milestone in 1997 and has now accumulated enough time and age to retire from UCSD. Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to a life dictated by the rich and famous of Southern California and are currently unable to survive on her retirement if she was to throw in the towel at this time. So she had decided to continue her daily trek to and from work.

1997 also saw the completion of the addition to our home. For those who haven't seen it, we added nearly 500 square feet above the garage and turned it into Arnie's corporate headquarters and communications central: Arnie's ham radio station. From this room, we have a wonderful view of the ocean to the west and southwest, and our tree-lined street to the north. Arnie inherited some ham radio equipment from a dear friend who had passed away this year and has, after a 30 year hiatus, become active again. From the balcony of the new addition, we now sport an enormous antenna farm (see picture just below) capable of sucking most of the "power" from the immediate neighborhood. He claims that communications with any point in the world is not a problem, however extra terrestrial might be a bit of a reach.

1997 also saw the addition of a few more timepieces in the Lewin household. Most all of them chime on the quarter, half and hour and needless to say, carrying on a conversation around noon or midnight can become a real challenge. Also, knowing the exact time has become exceedingly difficult.

The jet-setters, Carol and Anthony, have been busy. Anthony spent a portion of both summers at camp in Malibu, California and reported having a wonderful time and meeting new friends. He even went kayacking in the Pacific Ocean. Carol made her yearly trips to Washington, DC for a work related conference and to visit with Chelsea and her 13 half brothers and sisters. These trips continued into the New York/New Jersey area to visit with her sisters. The three of us are planning an exciting trip over New Years to the thriving metropolis of Williams, Arizona to ride the train to and from the Grand Canyon. Last weather forecast report highs in the 20's and lows near 0. We may follow-up that trip with an excursion to Nome, Alaska in February.

We wish each and everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous 1999.