Holiday Greetings, 2022!
We planted the first tree on our property on a Saturday morning early in the spring of 2008, about half a year after moving into our home. A neighbor from the next block pushed his wheelbarrow holding a large root ball of a sugar maple and Gregory shoveled a hole that would allow it, over time, to grow taller than our three-story house. Yellow leaves in fall always brought smiles as did the promise in conversations with friends that someday we would tap the tree and make syrup for ice cream treats. Several years ago, a lightning strike late at night produced a direct and pronounced BOOM, creating a blue flash that lit up the inside of our home. We rushed outside with a lantern to see if the house was damaged. Only much later would we determine that the storm was the cause for the slow dying of the maple.
In October, we bid a farewell to our faithful friend who had provided shade on many a summer day and smiles when watching squirrels lapping at dripping sap from an opening on a branch. With a final cup of coffee under the tree and a nice conversation with a woman who was canvassing for the midterms as our city worked to produce a massive voter turnout, we picked up one last leaf and pressed it in a book. The next day it was cut down and we moved forward with digging another sizable hole to plant an Elizabeth Magnolia tree, which will produce wonderful yellow blooms. We purchased and drove Elizabeth home in our convertible, racing alongside an SUV with a large window decal of a waving Queen Elizabeth. It seemed perfect serendipity for the change underway. Soon James will sand down a ‘cookie’ cut from the base of the maple tree which will be fashioned into a clock. The tree will long be a part of our home.
During the pandemic we were cheered during one of daily walks upon seeing a home near the Yahara River that had changed their front door to a glorious bright red color that was further enhanced with a nicely scrolled-metal screen door. Gregory remarked that our home should have a welcoming color too, and James asked what that might be? So, in July we had custom-made glass screen French doors installed and hours later started working on a project that included sanding and priming the ancient wooden doors. Our home now sports a ‘Flirtatious Yellow’ entry of warmth and care.
We regrettably did not get our 2021 Holiday letter into the mail, but had it landed in your mailbox, you would have read of our dismay with the vaccine-deniers while at the same time writing how this home and those of our close friends adhered to recommendation of medical professionals. We both grew up in small towns and did not attend the richest school districts in our respective states but did have science teachers grounded in facts. We are grateful to the many scientists and policy makers who shared an understanding of the virus and for their capacity to better manage the pandemic. This year we were able safely again to participate in some of our favorite pastimes.
We had tickets to see Sense and Sensibility at American Players Theatre in Spring Green, WI (an outdoor theater). After a day that started cloudy and gray, sunshine and only a few puffy clouds ushered in showtime. The book by Jane Austen came to life with fast-moving scenes enabled by seamless set changes conducted by what was assumed to be the household staff. There has never been a performance from over the decades at APT that was not delightful. But this year, for us, it was far more impactful. It was the first large public event we have attended since 2019.
We again opened our home to friends who were vaccinated, and the sounds of laugher rang out on each floor. Gregory’s broadcast friends spent a late summer weekend here, the first such gathering of these decades’ long friends since 2019. They gathered in the podcasting studio on the third floor and regaled each other with stories and moments of broadcasting fun since they all met as young men in Wausau for school. Days later the recording was fashioned into an episode that was uploaded on Doty Land (Gregory’s podcast, the address above). The weekend always lines up with a Sunday parade that passes along our corner block, which draws kids arrayed along the curb with an eagerness to catch the candy thrown their way. We served coffee and James’ homemade popovers as we enjoyed a leisurely morning on our lawn. We still laugh over a memory from years ago when watermelons were handed out from a float and the cry of “Daddy!” came from a little girl who was handed one that was half her size.
On our neighborhood walks throughout the pandemic, we often found ourselves having the nicest chats with a couple, Jane and Dennis, who would be seated on their front porch. Those conversations and laughter turned into invites at each of our homes. It was truly surprising to know it was 11 PM around our kitchen table and the talking had not stopped for the previous five hours. Nothing is better than great food, and kindred spirts around a table. It was those nights and easy laugher-filled encounters with others that was so hard not to have in our lives during the pandemic. If there was one continuous upbeat aspect all year long, it was being with others again.
Each year at Christmas we decorate our home to reflect an old-fashioned Victorian holiday—excepting the lit candles on the tree! (James is still angling for a kitchen torch and reminds Gregory of how much safer it would be from those candles! Gregory, the fire phobe, continues to be a roadblock). The running joke in early October is when will the first box of decorations make its way from the basement? We wait until the week before Thanksgiving to make the magic happen, and this year again there are four decorated trees. (Not as many as the Governor’s Mansion, but we are working on it.) One in the entrance way near to the wooden staircase wears a top hat and scarf like Frosty; then there is a large one in the living room with family ornaments with a smaller version on the first floor, and one on each of the top two floors. As much as the mood of the Holidays brings smiles this year, we were especially excited while preparing for a perfect gift to give the youngest people in our lives…twin boys. Giving gifts makes for the best smiles.
As Gregory mowed this fall it occurred to him that at the age of 10, he received his first radio as a gift. He often tells the story of sleeping on the floor of the living room Christmas night and waking on December 26, 1972, to hear from the radio that President Harry Truman had died. Less than a month later that radio would alert the family to the death of President Lyndon Johnson. (James thinks the radio was perhaps hexed.) Since the boys are soon to be the same age in early 2023, and with Gregory’s eagerness to create the joy about ‘those magic airwaves’, we searched out an AM/FM/SW radio that would have great reception and extras. Such as memory storage for station selections. (Even Gregory’s shortwave unit does not allow for that feature.)
Then Gregory started writing ‘the young persons’ guide to radio’ with a drawing of how AM signals travel, how best to hear stations from Denver or Pittsburgh after the sun sets, a couple memories of his days behind a studio microphone, and how to understand the clock on the front of the dial. That clock reflects an understanding that when the boys rise for school in Wisconsin, guys in China their age are going to sleep. It is that clock which allows for shortwave radio to be better understood. We added an atlas so that places from Little Rock to Lithuania can be located. James added lists of radio stations in Wisconsin and personalized the gift by writing about George Rowe, his second great-grandfather, who was a DXer in Charleston, Maine. James made some log sheets so that a record can be made of when a signal is received, what frequency, and what was on-air, such as music talk, or sports. Then we put it all in a binder and will have the family over before the 25th to watch a new generation of radio enthusiasts be born. We’ll also share it with another friend: a doctor who works with some of James’ guardianship clients had mentioned to him that she was trying to get her 9-year-old son to have a hobby that was not internet related. Upon hearing what we planned for the twins, she asked for the link to purchase the same radio and we forwarded her our written materials, too. These are some of the reasons we are really excited about this time of year.
Just before the pandemic and lockdowns began, we were able to successfully purchase the other half of this Victorian house. In the time since, we had the entire electrical grid redone. We discovered the old gas tubing for when the 1890 lights, as well as the knob and tube system that replaced those, and which had significantly deteriorated. Now, with LED lighting, it costs a fraction of the electricity that used to power the house, and the place simply glows. We are fortunate not to be any closer to the airport or we might have jets landing in the yard it is so bright! We insulated and finished the attic and have created some lovely space to relax in up there. While there are computers up there, no work nor phones are allowed in that space.
While not pretending to be one of the Property Brothers, James continues his work as a legal guardian. This pandemic was not easy on his clients. He lost five of them to the disease between Thanksgiving and New Years’ last year. James has taken on more clients since, one of whom will be spending a bit of time in jail soon for his 7th and 8th offense of driving while intoxicated. Having to learn about how the criminal justice system works has been an interesting twist to his work.
James has also been quite excited to have access to streaming services to enable him to watch and hear original programming in both French and Spanish (and at times Italian and Catalan). He was speaking with a friend in France recently who said, “It is like they installed French 2.0 in you”. All of James’ slang has been brought up to date and is current. He can now keep up with the best of teenaged speakers in that country with out difficulty! (You have no idea how quickly a language changes when you aren’t in close contact with it.)
James has also been quite spoiled by his friend, Helena, who lives in Toulouse in the South of France. He and Helena met because her ancestor was the B.B. Clarke for whom the park across the street from our home was named—she found us when she discovered Gregory’s blog, Caffeinated Politics, where he had written about the namesake. James and Helena have since corresponded regularly and share phone calls when Helena has the chance, and even more importantly, they both relish in a good read. France has a policy which makes postage for books and reading materials leaving the country quite affordable, and Helena has generously been sending James her paperbacks as she finishes them. What a delightful package to receive in the mail every now and again. Everyone should have a fellow bookwork with a giving-heart. Thanks, Helena, for the wonderful hours of reading. A good book is always the right size and never needs returning!
James and Gregory have also been enjoying peaceful walks on the restored prairie grounds of a local monastery. Lisa, a social worker with whom James often works, has joined them recently in a nice meandering through the oak savannah and tall prairie grasses, on the lookout for the deer and wild turkeys that reside there. It was fun one evening in particular to see a rafter of turkeys picking acorns high up in the oak trees. In case you are like the crew of WKRP in Cincinnati, we can say that turkey’s do fly, though not as far as some of the other large birds. We do not recommend dropping them from a helicopter just the same. Oh, the humanity!
James continues to find peace and inner harmony in the kitchen. This year, as for the several last years, our friend Linda and her mom Myrt (now in her 90s) have raised a bountiful garden and have shared quite a number of tomatoes with us in fall. This year, James had enough to make several sauces, soups and more. The sauce went in to our Election night feast which Gregory organizes for our watch party. He likes to carb load so we had lasagna followed by garlic bread and then a country jam cake. I think Gregory believes the diabetic coma will make the pain of Election night seem less offensive.
As we prepare for the first measurable snow of the season, expected to arrive later this evening, we are grateful that the freezers are full and the pantry well stocked. This keeps James’ inner Yankee at peace, in case it turns out to be the ‘big one’ that would keep us blocked in for days. His apocalyptic pantry planning was particularly useful during the pandemic; he would shout, “You see. We aren’t crazy! We Mainers just know how to plan ahead!” We purchase red angus beef from the brother of one of James’ colleagues, and Thanksgiving means we can get enough turkey to celebrate life’s little victories about once a month. Stop by sometime if you are in the area—with a little advanced notice, James can whip up a mess of something and we can share in an evening of laughter and conversation.
May the spirit of the season be yours, now and always,
James and Gregory
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