CHRISTMAS 2012
I guess we can say, once again, that it’s been a busy year here on Cape Cod. Who said “retirement” is relaxing?
Ainsley moved to a new apartment in Rosslyn, VA, a complex that my Uncle Eric lived in in the 60’s. She continues to work with the World Bank. Her second business trip with them was to Costa Rica. I believe my second business trip was to someplace like Detroit. She left just after Christmas last year to go meet her boyfriend’s family in Quito, Ecuador, and she and Hernan spent several days on a trip into the Amazon forest. The two of them visited us here on Cape Cod for her birthday in July, and we spent Thanksgiving with them in DC, where we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner and visit with my niece Christine and her family in Laurel, Maryland. Hernan is finishing up his degree in Economics, and the two of them are looking at graduate school, jobs, etc. We look forward to her short visit at Christmas. It’s hard to remember that she’s a working girl and doesn’t have the same vacation allowances she had in college.
While in DC, Jim and I visited Arlington National Cemetery where Mom and Dad, and too many “Unknowns” are buried. There is so much space still waiting to be filled, sadly. We also went to the Kennedy Center to see “Shear Madness” a show which has been running in Boston for 33 years and in DC for 30. We always enjoy seeing it again, as it incorporates so much topical humor. We also finally walked around Roosevelt Island in the Potomac. There is now a statue of Teddy Roosevelt, celebrating the fact that he started the National Parks; however, I could only think of Teddy Brewster in “Arsenic and Old Lace”, pretending he was Teddy Roosevelt, yelling “Once more unto the breach, dear friends!” and “Charge!”, so I had Jim take a picture of me standing in front yelling “Charge!” Jim would probably just as soon have disappeared, but there were several families with young children there and all the kids suddenly wanted their parents to take pictures of them standing in front, yelling “Charge!” It was too funny.
Jim continues to be very active with the Red Cross in the area of technical support. He spent September in Baton Rouge after Hurricane Isaac, learning the correct pronunciation of city names in Louisiana (which are not usually what you might think, just because you have studied French). In November, he was called to Connecticut to provide technical support for Red Cross operations in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. He is certified in several operations areas and has formed quite a group of friends with others in the Red Cross.
I have been on stage all year, I think. Starting with “Moon Over Buffalo” in January, and finishing with the older Clara in “The Sea Captain’s Nutcracker”, with 5 or 6 productions in between, it’s been a mind-stretch to learn and keep all the parts separate. I can’t complain, though, as I am having the time of my life! I’ve just begun rehearsals for a revival of “Driving Miss Daisy”, my favorite all-time part, to open in January. Labor Day Weekend had me herding middle schoolers in a flash mob for Chatham’s 300th Anniversary celebration. I continued to teach ESL for foreign summer workers, and helped coordinate a Pan Mass Challenge Kids Bike Ride which raises money for the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Sadly, our “Pedal Partner” for the ride, a 13-year-old Chatham boy, succumbed to brain cancer early December.
Our house stays as messy as ever.
Blessings for a most happy Christmas and New Year,
Karen and Jim McPherson
