In case USPS Santa missed your mailbox chimney: “Oh, easy for Leonardo.” –Dylan Thomas, in A Child’s Christmas in Wales As we age and mellow like fine French wines, it seems like there’s more material for the Foster Yule missive. The more memories one makes, the more to remember. Blessings of a good year: a benediction. Jo & I went to Clearwater Beach, Florida, in February. Longtime Spalding Institute friend Steve M Buck drove over from Ft. Lauderdale and we feasted Cubanically. We day-tripped to St. Petersburg to see the Andy Warhol exhibit at the Salvador Dali Museum, the Palace Of Weird. Foodtrippers, we ate our way up and down the coast. We celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary June 14, week-ending up in Chicago, taking in a fine Edward Gorey retrospective and prime Renaissance & medieval masters at the Loyola University Museum of Art. Crosby, Stills & Nash played in Peoria March 12. Backstage passes (courtesy of Janalee Croegaert with her brother Dan Sutton allowed Megan Foster Campbell’s first and Martha’s second meeting with Graham Nash ten years and a day after they first met in Manchester, England. Jackson Browne did a superb solo show July 8. Splendid sessions featured Lyle Lovett Oct. 26 and the Peoria Symphony Orchestra playing Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Williams, & Jean Sibelius Nov. 22. We travelled to St. Louis July 9 to see sister & brother-in-law Claudia Foster Kane & Bill Kane & the Impressionist show in the museum there. Unfortunately, in our hotel suite, I sat in a chair that went east as I went west & really spinal-crackered my back. So despite my long scunner of surgery, I enjoyed just that on Sept. 25. Maybe another’ll follow. Aquatic & walking therapy have helped. I slept on the couch for 12 weeks, but back in our bed Nov. 1. Sunday Masses renewed & likewise Thursday jams in A Fine Kettle of Fish, born 1962. Martha still cartoons dead rock stars & helps with household chores. Since 2012, Megan has taught art history at ICC, where Jo & I worked for 12 and 34 years respectively. She’s lectured to community groups on the WW II “Monuments Men,” who saved art from Hitler’s destroyers. She, Frank, Madeleine, and Emma live seven minutes west. We share celebrations with them, Sunday dinners, gourmet journeys to Chicago and Effingham, a family Thanksgiving for 21, Martha’s 45th birthday Dec. 3 & Christmas ham feast tomorrow. Jo’s making her galaxy-famous Gruyere scalloped potatoes even as I write this. Madeleine took her first Communion at St. Mary of Lourdes in May, given by our dear Franciscan pastor Fr. Neri. On Sundays, we & the three Campbell girls share a first-row pew. Often Jo lectors & ministers. On Nov. 4, I began a blog with a co-editor who’s 24, Brandon C. Hovey. So far I’ve posted on John Lennon, George Harrison, Dorothy Day, Timothy Leary, and Joe Bernardin. Writing’s still fun. Check it out Dec. 24. That night we’ll watch Alastair Sims’ Scrooge & listen to Dylan Thomas reading Welsh Child’s Christmas. Jo & I are in four enriching monthly book and study clubs, sharing two. Most go back over 20 years. A Far Westfarthing book group friend & former student Dr. Melody Green afforded me an opportunity to give a Tolkien presentation to Urbana Theological Seminary staff and students Sept. 20. Twas good to meet Craig A. Boyd and Laura Schmidt and Megan Taylor there. Our Far Westies group, including Jo Foster, Melody, Christine Wallbom, Adam Roloff, Adam Smith, Susie Magarity, met with Milwaukee’s Burrahobbits with Jeff and Jan Noble Long and David Hoose for a second annual smials summit at Starved Rock State Park’s lodge Oct. 11. We will share our 39th annual Marquette University ’68 Honors Program reunion there next summer, with folks we met 50 years ago, including Brenda Peculis, Julie Franz, John Franz, Dave and Paula Hoose, Cathy Ghiardi Miller, and Frank Schmidt. Make new friends but keep the old; silver threads entwined with gold. August 8-10 marked my 50-year reunion of Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute class of 1964. We celebrated many longtime friendships & revived some dormant ones. Life’s been good to us so far.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:57:43 +0000
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