Our 2000 Christmas Letter

                                                  December 12, 2000

We labored long and hard (and fruitlessly) in California for the Republican cause (I am the 5^th District, Mendocino County Republican Party representative), and Alice and I are finally pleased and happy with the outcome, but we know we have many friends and relatives who aren’t.

As usual, 2000 was a traveling year as well as a political one.  Alice and I began the year on the road visiting family and friends in Southern California and Nevada, and then sightseeing in Arizona and the Southern California desert area.  We both visited the Grand Canyon for the first time as adults, and revisited parts of Route 66 we had traveled in the 60’s while going from one military assignment to the next.  We also hiked and biked over desert trails and visited a variety of places such as London Bridge, Hoover Dam, the Andy Devine museum, Indian cliff dwellings, the Early Man dig, and a whole lot more.

Then we returned to Gualala, to get to know this wonderful place that so many tourists brave Highway 1 to visit.  While I dabbled in real estate at Banana Belt Properties in Anchor Bay, Alice carefully made sure that I showed her every potentially desirable parcel in the area. Alice also continues to marvel at how well her business, Vulcan, Incorporated, is performing and expanding.

Alice has been active in Soroptimists, and I am a Lion.  We also are active in the Garcia Grange in Manchester, where I was one of the youngest members in the late 1950’s and find that over forty years later I am still one of the youngest members.  We both enjoy seeing my old friends and neighbors, and also appreciate our new neighbors who are all interesting and wonderful people.

My personal highlight of the year was working on the Reunion Committee of the Point Arena High School Class of 1960 and helping with a celebration in August of our 40^thReunion.  Of the 28 graduates, five passed away, 18 were located and contacted, and 12 made it to the Reunion.  The Reunion dinner in Gualala, and brunch the next day at our house, was pure pleasure for Alice and me.  We plan to have the next Class of 1960 reunion in August 2004, the Friday evening before the next multiyear class reunion.

Not to be outdone, in November Alice’s school, Reseda High in the San Fernando Valley, had its 40^th too, and after the reunion dinner/dance in Van Nuys, 84 of us cruised the Mediterranean and vacationed in Spain and Greece for over two weeks.  We began in Barcelona, and then toured Pisa, Etruscan ruins, and Pompeii in Italy, followed by Crete, Santorini, and Rhodes, then our favorite, Ephesus, Turkey, and finished with several days in Athens.  The weather was great, and nothing was crowded.  We felt like we had the Mediterranean to ourselves.

The newest addition to the family, Wade Kelly Combs, was born July 3.  Wade and his parents, Scott and Tracy, visited us a week ago and we were pleased and surprised to see how big and strong he was at five months. He got up on his hands and knees, and then crawled backwards.  We were able to visit all eight grandchildren this year, although it has been almost a year since we saw Melicia and Leaha in Las Vegas.  The other grandchildren, Savannah and Kevin Mone, and Travis, Michael, and Ashley Combs-Beard, live in the Bay Area and we can visit them on a regular basis.
  

Alice also has three “adopted grandchildren,” two Mexican-American sisters, ages 6 and 8, and a 10-year old boy, and she tutors each of them in reading for an average of six hours apiece each week.  A year ago she joined a volunteer tutoring program, and tutored the 8-year old girl and the 10-year old boy twice each week.  Alice soon determined that more tutoring was needed and developed an intensive program on her own for each child that included training in phonetics, a lot of reading, and fun activities like cooking, nature and beach walks, hot tubbing, swimming, and bike riding.  Alice broke down in tears when the boy demonstrated a dramatic increase in reading ability; he now has a strong appetite to read the “Harry Potter” books Alice introduced him to.  She added the six-year old sister since she could tell by her beautiful sad brown eyes she yearned to be tutored also.  Alice knows that she has already had a big impact on the future success of each of her “grandchildren,” and continues her tutoring program for them year round.

On this happy and hopeful note, Alice and I close this letter and hope that each and all of you have the most happy and joyous holidays and send our best wishes for the new millennium.  

Our 1999 Christmas Letter

                                                                                                            22 December 1999

            

            Now that it is almost here, Alice and I hope that you and your family are eagerly awaiting the start of the new millennium in the same frame of mind that we are - expecting nothing but a continuation of all that is worthwhile and wonderful in this remarkable journey of life.  As proof of our confidence, bordering on arrogance, that nothing terrible will happen, Alice and I will travel to Los Angeles to greet the new millennium.  Since Los Angeles just has to be in the top 10 list of places that deserve an Apocalyptic moment when righteous judgment is made, I am sure that many of you feel that we may need your prayers to protect us as we spend the Eve of The New Millennium in the belly of the beast.  Fear not. We will spend it in the company of dear friends, who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Somehow, I don’t think we will have anything to worry about.

            The past year was another hard-travelin’ year, although we didn’t do anything as challenging as the four-month bicycle tour to Europe we did in 1998.  Our travels this year began in late March with a week in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas, followed by a week in Branson, Missouri.  Arkansas was pretty, and peaceful, and we seemed to be about the only Californians there.  We felt right at home, because just about everyone we chatted with shared our low opinion of our National Embarrassment.  We got to Branson, Missouri, just as the entertainment season was starting there, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Branson is like Las Vegas, except it is not crude, rude, nude, lewd, and you don’t have to be stewed or a prude dude (don’t stop me now, I’m on a roll!) to have a heck of a good time.  In fact, the jokes were funnier, every performance was done with high energy and professionalism, and the prices were “rageous.”  My favorite show was the Oak Ridge Boys concert, and Alice’s favorite was Remember When, because we became part of the show, including having to “neck” in the back corner with the spotlight on us.  My funniest moment was when the solo fiddler in Spirit of the Dance got his legs caught in the fiddle’s microphone wiring, had to stop fiddling while he got untangled, and yet the fiddle music continued. I never knew the Irish had invented “fiddle-synching.”

            After a couple of weeks back home in Gualala to rest up (and repack), we went for a five-week vacation to the Caribbean and Florida.  We spent a total of two weeks on Dominica, the Nature Island (not the Dominican Republic). Among the highlights was a grueling six-hour hike to the Boiling Lake and back.  Imagine a pot on a stove 100 feet wide, 95 feet deep, boiling water bubbling in the center, enormous clouds of steam constantly rising, with an average water temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit.  Some hot tub!  

            Signs of volcanic activity were all over Dominica, and we even snorkeled among bubbles coming up from the sea floor in an area aptly named Champagne.  We also spent a total of eight days on Guadeloupe and Terre-de-Haut in Les Saintes.  We finished the last two weeks of our trip in Florida, in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale, which included a short cruise to Nassau, The Bahamas.

            The first big highlight of our year occurred July 3, when Alice’s youngest daughter, Debbie, married Joe Cosentino at the Saint Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco.  It was a beautiful wedding, Debbie was gorgeous, Alice was radiant, and Joe’s friends and family showed how highly they esteem his loyalty, thoughtfulness and friendly nature by coming great distances (Boston area) and in great numbers for the happy occasion. Alice and I stayed the week in a small hotel in the Fort Mason Officers’ Club near Fishermen’s Wharf and enjoyed good company and sightseeing with Alice’s cousin Sue and husband Bob from Colorado.

            For the balance of July and August, some friends and relatives accepted our invitations to visit us in Gualala. Alice and I took advantage of my high school reunion (Point Arena Class of 1960) to have many friends and relatives join us the next day following the reunion to celebrate our 10^th Anniversary of the Honeymoon that started at the Presidio in San Francisco on the 5^th of August, 1989, and continues to this very day. 

            At the end of August, we started another trip, this time for two months.  We started at Niagara Falls, as many other honeymoon couples have, spent a week in Calabogie near Ottawa, and nearly a week in Montreal.  We then visited friends and experienced the fall colors in Vermont and New Hampshire.  Hurricane Floyd hit us in Vermont, and we had to leave one place we were staying because of no electricity.   We moved on to the Boston and Cambridge area, walked the Freedom Trail, covered Harvard like two undergraduates, stayed a week on Cape Cod near Hyannis, enjoyed great whale watching (one Humpback came so close, we smelled its bad breath), came away feeling like we had a much deeper understanding of our history and of what freedom is and means - we really learned a lot, and we really enjoyed the learning experience.

            We also got to spend some time with Debbie’s in-laws, and a finer, warmer bunch of in-laws cannot and will not be found. Joe’s parents, Bill and Julie, hosted a second wedding reception which was great fun and was extremely well attended. In addition, they invited us for dinner twice at their lovely home in Reading, Massachusetts, and at the second dinner we were joined by their two tall, beautiful daughters with their families, and Joe and Debbie.

            At this point, our trip was far from over. Alice indulged me by allowing me to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass, and the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, we both enjoyed the Norman Rockwell museum in Stockbridge, Mass, and Alice visited two homes she lived in up until she was nine years old in the Ithaca, New York, area.

            A chill in the air reminded us that it was time to leave for the last part of our trip, the Virgin Islands.  A week on St. Croix was about as good as it gets, and then we moved on to St. Thomas, then St. John.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Jose headed to join us on St. John, so we left for Tortola, cut a week from our vacation, and returned home to Gualala. We were not back long when the final big highlight of our year occurred.  On 10 November, Alice’s oldest daughter, Jeanette, and husband Kieran, had a baby daughter, Savannah Leigh.  Alice and I tried to help with the newborn by entertaining her two-year old brother, Kevin, by taking him to the zoo and to parks.

            With less than a month remaining until Christmas, we already visited my step-mother Ruth and brother Ron and his wife Kathy for Thanksgiving in Fortuna and will soon leave again to visit Bay Area friends and relatives including my two older boys and their families in Vallejo and Concord. In addition, we are traveling to southern California to visit Alice’s father George and wife Edna, and her brother Rob and wife Melinda and family, and many of Alice’s friends.
  

In summary, it has been a busy year, it’s not over yet, it’s a big world, we haven’t seen it all yet - guess we better get going.  So next year, for the most part, we are going to take a good look at Gualala and Northern California.  We’re going to try to find out why so many people come up here to rent our house while we’re off somewhere else in someone else’s house.  Therefore, since you know where we are, and where we will be, you should plan on spending some time with us.  The book is open, and we are taking reservations now. 

707-884-3741

mcombs@pacific.net

www.vulcanincorporated.com

Happy New Year !!

Our 1998 Christmas Letter

                                                                       31 December 1998

Not much happened this year, except we both retired, took a four-month bicycle trip to Europe, and lived at various times in Oakland, Alameda, Hayward, Gualala, and with whatever friends and relatives would take us in for a day or two or more.  At present, we are living in Walnut Creek in the home of Jeanette, Kieran, and Kevin, while they are visiting Kieran’s parents in Northern Ireland.

First, about retirement.  Our goal was to retire at 55 years of age, since only four months, different parents, and other extraneous differences prevent us from being identical twins. Translation:  we’re roughly the same age.  Alice didn’t make it, but I did.  In fact, Alice is working harder in her version of retirement (except for the bike trip), and is making me work harder for her, than I ever did for any of my real bosses.  She seems to have a mysterious power over me that none of the others ever had.  

About the bike trip.  We were not bicyclists.  But we are now.  In fact, I could write a book, and I think I shall.  Why shouldn’t the world (and us) benefit from all the experience we gained overcoming all the mistakes I made.  While Alice pored over bicycling books which covered Germany, England, Wales, and all of Ireland, and made plans that would have made the D-Day planners jealous, I cruised the Internet and found us two folding full-sized (26”) bicycles with canvas bags we could take on the flights with us as luggage, plus two large panniers and two small backpacks that we could put everything in that we would need for our four-month holiday.

We left San Francisco on June 9 for Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.  We waited at Dover for ten days before we gave up on getting a free flight to Europe and took a Continental flight to Paris. From Paris we immediately went by train to visit my oldest son, Bruce, and granddaughter Leaha at his Army base near Heidelberg, Germany.  On the evening of 23 June we set out along the Neckar River, followed by the Rhine, the Zell, the Mosel, the Tauber, and the Zen.  After 800 bike miles, several train trips, one bus trip, and lots of castles and museums, on 3 August we caught an Air Force flight (a “hop”), from Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, to Royal Air Force Base Mildenhall, Suffolk County, England.

Mildenhall is near RAF Bentwaters and Woodbridge, where I was the Budget Officer from 1970 to 1975.  I wanted to share my memories of my favorite bases and job with Alice, but both bases are casualties of peace and are fenced off from the public.  We enjoyed visiting my good Budget buddy, Arthur Sharman, and his daughter Valmai, in the charming coastal town of Walberswick, and visiting the Streetfarm, where Marilynn and the boys and I lived in Saxmundham.  

On 13 August we went to London via train, and had a wonderful week bicycling all over what we had been told beforehand was an unfriendly city for bikes. We went to the “theatre” for “Beauty and the Beast” and “Miss Saigon”, and Shakespeare at the New Globe Theatre. Also toured Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London, visited Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, and did many other memorable things too numerous to mention.

Next we went to Windsor Castle, then a farmhouse in the Cotswolds near Cheltenham, followed by more Shakespeare at Stratford-on-Avon (“The Merchant of Venice” - what a performance!”).

Next stop, the Isle of Man via ferry from Liverpool, 31 August, just in time for the famous - but unknown to us - motorcycle Gran Prix races.  We cut short our planned stay, leaving the roads to hundreds of racers and racer wannabes, and arrived in Belfast by ferry on 2 September.  Among the highlights of Northern Ireland - the friendliest people in the world, visiting with Kieran’s parents and family in Keady near Armagh, the Giant’s Causeway, and scenery rivaling Scotland.  

Then we went to the Republic of Ireland, and on our trip around the Ring of Kerry from Tralee to Killarney, we found more of the friendliest people in the world and more spectacular scenery. Highlights - The Skellig Islands, a couple of forbidding rocks eight miles off the coast where Christian monks operated a monastery from the fifth to the twelfth century and helped preserve Western civilization; the Bog Village, which showed how the Irish used peat for fuel; and Alice coasting down mountain roads at 35 miles per hour after we had pedaled uphill for hours.  Better than an E-ticket at Disneyland.  Remember?

We went by ferry to Wales on 25 September, and spent a week in Laugharne near Carmarthen, Wales, where Dylan Thomas lived and wrote and drank…and where Alice and I spent a wonderful week at a time-share exchange holiday park. We then went to Bath and its Roman ruins, followed by another highlight, Salisbury, which we had prepared for by reading “Sarum”, by Edward Rutherford.  Salisbury Cathedral occupied us for three days, and we also visited Old Sarum and Stonehenge.   

During the fourth month of our bike trip, I became tired, homesick, missed the kitty cats we had to leave behind when we sold the ranch, and was eager to get back to California.  Alice was just the opposite.  She was ready to do another four months, or more.  She knew that she had a lot of hard work to do for her company, Vulcan, when she got back.  If I had known the work we had ahead of us, I would have voted to just keep on pedaling too. As it was, we went back through London to Cambridge, then returned to Germany via a hop from Mildenhall.  One last visit with Bruce and Leaha at Heidelberg, then back to Dover via a hop from Ramstein, and on to the Bay Area and to Gualala.

We have many pictures, and detailed stories, which we hope to share when (if ) asked.  As always, more later - happy holidays (belatedly) - and best wishes for the New Year!

Alice and Michael 

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

Ajijic street art

        Alice and I started thinking and planning retirement not long after our marriage in 1989. In the early 1990’s it looked like we probably would need to find an economical place to retire, because Alice’s business, Vulcan Incorporated, was struggling against tough competition, and I was struggling to stay employed during the period of defense cutbacks following the collapse of the Soviet Union. As we say in defense contracting, “Peace is Hell.”

        That’s a joke, you hyper-sensitive Leftists.

        Our motto in the Air Force was, "Peace is our Profession."

        It wasn't a joke.

        Like Teddy Roosevelt said, "Walk softly. But carry a big stick!".

        Anyway, we started developing our retirement criteria. Besides inexpensive, we wanted a great climate, and all the comforts of home. We also were looking for an area where we could lead an active lifestyle, and enjoy an interesting culture. Many parts of the world were attractive, but we quickly ruled out many places too.

        Europe was variously too expensive, and in Eastern Europe where it was less expensive, the winters were too cold. On the basis of the five years I lived in England (1970-1975), I would have voted for the United Kingdom or Ireland as my number one choice regardless of weather or cost of living, but Alice would never be happy with the cold, damp winters. Or the occassional cold, damp summers.

        Africa was interesting, but the political instability and threats of intense sporadic violence scared us off.

        We felt the same about Asia, plus Alice vetoed any Muslim nation because of their treatment of women. That eliminated one of my favorites, Turkey, where I had lived a year across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul in 1964-65.

        Australia and New Zealand scored high marks with us, but cost of living wasn’t much lower than in the United States, and the vast distances to travel to visit family and friends were daunting.

        South America was a great unknown to both of us, but the political instability and social problems in South America were constantly in the news, and left us with a vague feeling of uneasiness about living there.

        The Caribbean interested us, but seemed too expensive, plus the politically stable parts were too touristy, and the less expensive, less touristy parts were too unstable.

        Canada was out. Climate.

        That left us with Mexico and Central America, and the warm but less expensive parts of the United States. We eliminated the United States because “We’ll save that for when we’re old.”

        Central America? We don’t know much about it, it’s probably a lot like Mexico, except it’s further away.

        “Mexico, here we come!”

         A friend told us of a marvelous bed & breakfast, Los Artistas (now under new owners), operated then by two gay fellows, the “two Steves,” in Ajijic, on the shores of Lake Chapala, near Guadalajara. As confessed in an earlier post, Mixed Company, Alice and I have a stereotypical prejudice about gays. We believe they are the best Bed & Breakfast proprietors, although we have stayed at many “straight” B&B’s we thought were great too. It’s just that we have never had a bad experience at a B&B operated by gays.

        I hope someone will read this and be offended and let me know, thereby validating another of my stereotypical prejudices that there is nothing complimentary I can say about gays that won’t offend someone, usually a straight Liberal.

        The Guadalajara area had already been brought to our attention because of its year around mild climate and its large colony of American and Canadian expatriates and retirees.

        Right after Christmas 1995 we left for a week in Mexico. We were picked up by taxi from the Guadalajara airport and whisked to Los Artistas in Ajijic. Our hosts were warm and congenial, the room “The Studio” was very nice, and the grounds were well kept and inviting. We soon found the meals were excellent also. Everything lived up to our stereotypical expectations.

        Ajijic was a marvelous combination of small Mexican village life with a community of Americans and Canadians on the shore of Lake Chapala. The lake itself was a bit of a dissappointment. It was in a lovely setting, with mountains on the other side, but from the shoreline to a point a half mile or more out in the lake it was covered thickly with water hyacinth.

        I'm sure that someone someday will find a use for water hyacinth (has a limited use as cattle feed), or a way to control it, but as far as I know, no one has. As it was, all boats could do was plow through it, and small outboard motor boats could barely move in it at all. Sometimes the wind shifted and blew from the land, and the water hyacinth was blown out into the middle of Lake Chapala, but the periods of clear water didn't last long.

        We rented horses and rode through Ajijic and along the lake shore, and through a park. As usual, my horse was a bit of a head case, and I never was confident that he would stay on good behavior. He did, but he kept me worried.

        Alice got a smile or wave from everyone we met by unfailingly greeting them with a cheery "buenos dias."

        We spent a day with a real estate agent looking at houses in Ajijic and were impressed by what we saw. The houses were relatively inexpensive, and were large and comfortable. From what we saw in the furnished homes, life would be as comfortable as in California, with the very welcome added benefit of an affordable cook and house keeper.

        We made reservations for New Years Eve at a very nice restaurant at an Ajijic hotel, and dressed up very formally for the occassion. After the Maitre'De met us at the door and seated us, our waiter appeared and Alice wished him a cheery "Feliz Ano Nuevo." He almost hurt himself trying to hold back laughter, but he couldn't hold it, so he burst out laughing.

        We looked at him with puzzled expressions, and when he finally regained his composure, with words and a pat on his rear end he indicated Alice had just wished him a "Happy New Asshole." The Spanish word "ano" (pronounced "ah'-no") in English is "anus," and the Spanish word for "year" is "año" (pronounced "ah'-nyo").

        What she should have said in greeting was "Feliz Año Nuevo," but if she had we wouldn't have shared such a great laugh.

        On New Years Day the two Steves kept trays of delicious hors 'devoures available for their friends and guests all day as we participated in the All-American tradition of Bowl Game watching. Los Artistas had a large satellite dish for television reception, so we started with the Rose Parade, and then I think we glanced at the easily forgetable Cotton Bowl, with Colorado stomping Oregon 38-6.

        The highlight for me, and seemingly for most of the guests, was the Rose Bowl, USC against Northwestern. It was a very exciting game, and when Northwestern went ahead 32-31 in the fourth quarter, it was obvious that Northwestern was the favorite of most of us watching. In fact, as a Californian, I may have been the only USC rooter there. However, their joy was short lived as USC scored the next ten points and won 41-32.

        The bowl games ended with the Orange Bowl where Florida State beat Notre Dame 31-26, with an incredible fourth quarter comeback. Again the large midwestern contingent watching at Los Artistas was disappointed.

        Alice had no interest in the bowl games, as usual, but she was having a great time in the company of several other "football widows," which included a lesbian couple she particularly enjoyed chatting with.

        We returned to our home on our five-acre ranch in Livermore, and developments at work for both of us soon had our full attention. Later in 1996 I was laid off at Power Spectra and scrambled to find work as a temporary employee, including several months at Nummi in Fremont before getting on as an Internal Auditor at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland.

        Alice's company, Vulcan Incorporated, continued to struggle against its fierce competitor until early in 1997. Happily for Alice, the competitor went bankrupt and she was able to sign their top salesman to a sweat equity deal that has since made Vulcan very successful.

        We had forgotten totally about retiring in Mexico, and when we finally retired in 1998, Alice's first grandchild was almost a year old and we chose to retire in Gualala to stay close to family and friends.

        Now many years later, Mexico is a fond memory as we start each new year wishing each other a "Happy New Anus!"

Please click on the label below to see all my articles on this topic.

Our 1994 Christmas Letter

December 10, l994

Here is the sixth newsletter from the Combs’ Oak Creek Ranch. For a while we thought we couldn’t keep up with the mortgage as we had some tough times. Since last December Alice took a substantial cut in pay, and Michael feared a Lockheed layoff until March when the fear became a reality.

However, better times are here! Alice’s business is doing better along with the rest of the California economy, and Michael is now happy to be the assistant controller at Power Spectra in Sunnyvale. While Michael was between jobs he tried brokering businesses with an agency called Business Team. He signed up a half dozen listings which Alice has taken over in her “spare” time from Vulcan.

We never got out of the country since last Christmas, but spent some time in the states of Hawaii and Washington and covered California from Eureka down to Garden Grove. Next year should be more exotic with Mexican and Caribbean travel. We also haven't been skiing since last Christmas, but we expect to do a little of that, too, this year.

Last summer Alice’s mother admitted to having memory problems. A brain tumor was discovered and operated on in October. Even though the growth is benign, there are still major mental problems. She comes in and out of various stages of mental awareness, and we are most grateful when she is aware and feeling positive enough to joke and smile.

Our five children and their five offspring are all doing fine. Bruce recently got back from military duty in Haiti. He noted how the media has so many incorrect "facts." Evelyn, Melicia and Leaha are all looking great, and in a recent picture we were amazed how much Melicia looks like Evelyn. 

Jeanette and her Irish fiancé, Kieran Mone, are planning a Catholic wedding next April 29th at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. They just bought a house in Marin which they will be moving into just before Christmas. Jeanette is still at Cigna, but now she has her own private office with a view!

Scott and Tracy are keeping busy with their three children, Ashley, Mikey, and Travis (l-l-94). Ashley will learn what being a flower girl is like next April 29th at Jeanette’s wedding.

Debbie is back from her foreign travels, and now doing the 8 to 5 routine. She would like a challenging job to apply her education and skills, and all we can tell her is that it will come in time.

Jeffrey is now happily applying his DVC degree and training at his job with a heating and air conditioning company. He has a special girlfriend named Stephanie, who Michael and l are dying to meet when she comes down for Christmas from Washington state. Also, Jeff has a regular haircut!

We hope you all have a joyful Christmas and 1995.