| During the summer, two of you actually
quoted our last Christmas letter back to us--we've
interpreted that to mean it's ok for us to send out at least one more. The big news this year is that we skied at Thanksgiving--more specifically, that Sue did--and give thanks, we did. For the three of you who haven't heard, Sue destroyed her left Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in a skiing mishap last February. |
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| The ACL is that handy ligament in your knee that holds the top of your leg to the bottom of your leg, and it is quite useful for skiing and most of our other usual activities. In March, Sue had her ACL surgically reconstructed and then looked ahead at 9 months of rehabilitation with a certain amount of terror. | |
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The year was mostly given over to that
rehabilitation, but we were fortunate that Sue was able to work with some of the best
rehab professionals on the planet. Every activity was prescribed. Happily, the
prescriptions were something like this: "Ride a bike as much as you can," and
"Go hiking now." It could've been much worse! Our Vermont condo experiment from last year was a success (ACL notwithstanding, but, hey, one major injury in 60 person-years of skiing isn't so bad). We went up every weekend through the winter, found a ski club of equally crazy people to rip up the mountain with, and fell in love with the Mad River Valley. In the spring we went back to our friendly real estate agent (who is now our neighbor) and bought ourselves a ski house. |
| Actually, "ski house" is a misnomer, since we spent almost every weekend there through summer and fall-biking, hiking, and getting to know the area-but we haven't figured out the right thing to call it. | |
| Anyway, the house is in Warren, VT. It has plenty of guest bedrooms and a cool view of the valley. It's also not far from the Sugarbush ski area, the Long Trail, and the Warren Store. As part of our weekend routine, we are learning how to cook! We've got scrambled eggs and pancakes down, and we're working our way through waffles, but guests are still welcome to take over the kitchen at any time. Doug's got a small workshop set up for skis, bikes, and miscellaneous home repairs, so it may be possible to trade food for edge-sharpening, wheel-truing, or derailleur adjustments. |  |
| On the job front, Sue's company, Ernst & Young, spun off their management consulting business to Cap Gemini, a public company headquartered in France, so she now works for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (hence the new e-mail address)--beyond that, no major changes. | |
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Doug relinquished many of his eclectic management responsibilities following a
restructuring at Torrington and is once again able to focus on Engineering Analysis. He is
also chair of his 25th Reunion Class Gift Committee--so, hey, if you're one of Doug's
college buddies from Bates '76...well, never mind, you've probably already heard what he
needs from you. We hope this holiday season finds you well and having fun. Have a happy new year! |
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