This has been a mixed year for us, full of wonderful ups and a few downs; we'll focus on the former, but mention the latter in memory of two people we've lost. First, the fun stuff, family news, and travel tales. "WE JUST WENT AROUND THE WORLD!" How many times can a person say that? David served as Academic Dean of the fall 2010 voyage of Semester at Sea, and Janna worked as the textbook coordinator. What an adventure: Canada, Spain, Morocco, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii and home. For those of you who didn't follow our blog, but might be interested, click here:
http://semesteratseafall2010.blogspot.com
It was everything you can imagine: thrilling, difficult, exhausting, exciting, and absolutely (to use the Semester at Sea word) "amazing." Our minds are full of rich images; here are just four, to tantalize you.
Our other major news is the arrival of Austin, our first grandchild, born in October to Janna's daughter Krista and her husband Chad. Yes, of course, he's cute, smart, adorable, and probably a genius.
Not to let his sister get all the glory, Kirk was nominated as "Teacher of the Year" (he teaches physics and physical science in a magnet school in Charleston, SC).Those are great highs, but they were moderated by two deep losses in 2010. In June, David's elegant mother Peggy died in her sleep at 94, and his brother-in-law Tim Kehoe died of a heart attack in California. Both enriched our lives in countless ways, and for that, we are grateful.
Janna's family is well, multiplying happily (new grandchildren and great-grandchildren), and all the daughters joined Helen to celebrate her 91st. birthday this year.
So here it is, the section you all await: Silly Moments of Gratuitous Celebrity Worship. Can you identify anyone? (No cheating -- answers below):
1. Archbishop Desmond and Leah Tutu (our shipmates on the fall voyage)
2. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
3. Vint Cerf, VP of Google and one of the fathers of the Internet
4. Julian Bond, civil rights activist and former head of the NAACP
5. José Andrés, Spanish chef extraordinaire
6. Cheryl Mills, Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
7. John Grisham (with the not-yet-famous Nancy Tramontin)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you and your families, and may 2011 bring you health, peace, safe travels and some celebrity moments.
David and Janna
