Xmas newsletter 2007

Alright. I got the message from my daughter through my wife that if I want a real blog I've got to start writing some funny family stuff. Here was last year's Xmas newsletter which we've been putting out for about 15 years.

It’s Xmas 2007 from the Amabile/Mattimore Family
Hi again from the Luddites who are now probably the only clan that continue to send out a Christmas epistle through the U.S. Postal service. This will likely be the last anti-Xmas newsletter you’ll receive from us with a U.S. origin. Our new address is Jean Amabile/Patrick Mattimore, 100 Rue De Geneve, 01170 Gex, France. Our respective e-mails are kidlawyerjuvi@hotmail.com and patrickmattimore1@yahoo.com.

After 31 years living in the Bay Area, Jean decided it was time for a change. Pat, who had wanted to move 25 years ago, was finally just settling in to the perfect job, but agreed to go along with the program. In the course of a month or so, Jean retired from the public defender, rented a house in France, bought a car, got a new job, went to China, packed the house and moved. Pat is stuck picking up the pieces and will follow on December 18. Jean's new job is with an organization called International Bridges to Justice. At the moment, she is probably on a bus headed to work listening to French tapes.

Here are the two most frequent questions and the most frequent comment we get about the move: (Actually, we get lots of questions about why Jean is bringing Pat along but she has been kind enough to deflect those)…
• What will Pat be doing? This is an intriguing question usually asked by people that don’t know us well. There are at least two implications contained in this seemingly innocuous question- (1) that Pat was doing something previously and (2) that he will be doing something once again. The lawyers among our readers will recognize at once that the appropriate objection to the question is that it assumes facts not in evidence.
• What do the kids think about the move? Our immediate unstated answer is “Who Cares?”, but our more reflective considered response is “Who Cares?” Liza apparently thinks it’s great because (a) she has already planned a side trip to Salzburg or Strasbourg or whateverburg over the holidays and (b) it will be much cooler to crash with mom and dad for several years in France than it would have been staying in San Francisco when her student visa expires in Canada next year. Willie will no doubt be looking for ways to enrich his personal economics with a trip to Amsterdam before returning to Canada.
• “We really envy you guys.” This is curious. Most of our friends have at least as much dough as we do and could do exactly what we are doing. What people really mean to say is that they really envy the thought of what we are doing, but no one in his or her right mind would actually do this. Ummm, the right mind part is accurate but here’s Pat’s typical proposed daily schedule:
6 a.m.- 6:30 Walk the dog (Duke has miraculously survived into old age and will cost approximately three times as much to get to France as either adult)
7 a.m.-9:30 Walk or drive the Peugeot to a French café. Read the International Herald Tribune, bastardize the French language with an order of a latte and croissant. Check e-mail on laptop
9:30-11- Find a quaint spot in which to run
11-2:00- Shower, lunch on cheese and bread (no wine). Write a bit about something of which the writer will know little but profess a lot
2:00-4:00- Hiking in the French or Swiss Alps depending on mood and where the Peugeot ends up that day
4:00-4:10- Practice French (maybe)
4:10-6:30- Rendezvous with spouse in Geneva for hobnobbing or convince her when she comes home that way too many things were happening to cook dinner and clean so that we will need to eat out
Evening until bedtime- Recover from strenuous day.
Jean’s routine will be similar except that she will be working hard all day to support Pat’s lifestyle.
Liza is a fifth year senior at U of T. Hopefully you won't hear from us next year that Liza is a sixth year senior at U of T. Life is comfortable for her in Toronto. She's got her grandmother's fur coat to keep her warm in the winter.
Willie is a sophomore at Queens University. He continues to pace himself so that he just passes his courses.
Both kids and the dog will be spending Christmas in France.
Please consider inviting yourself as well. Alors! A bientot.

Back to the present. Here's more Tull.