Lecco here, July 8, 2008. This is a completely random and unnecessary update. For the record, Andrew Houston and I have so manipulated the following note originally written by my father that very little of the original intent and narrative remains. I'm sitting on the 8th floor of the Steinhardt building at NYU in the least functional recording studio in the Western Hemisphere trying like hell to set up a functional monitor and midi output device. Frustrated beyond belief - have been here for hours. My friend Tom Stroll and I just spent the night at the prestigious Gramercy Park Hotel, courtesy of my wonderful and ridiculous Uncle Michael. Highly recommended stay. Oh, and I recommend Sam's Falafel over Mamoun's any day, no matter what any of the locals tell you. I gotta go now, I'm keeping someone else off the computer. She's pretty, too. SCREW TECHNOLOGY! Back to the old note.
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This is the year I bought magnifiers. You know, those 15 dollar half glasses that you can peek over available at pharmacies and bookstores? I need 1.5's to prove that my arms are not shrinking.
These magnifiers, in a sense, symbolize 2003. As many of you know, Kathleen discovered that she had breast cancer. For nearly half the year, she braved surgeries, pneumonia, exhaustion and radiation. While she needs full sized glasses, she clearly peeked over this life change with an incredible strength and recovered with bricks, patios, plantings and other visions of the earth and of her back yard. Well into November she worked and recovered. Her attitude was forthright and undaunted. She saw clearly.
She and I do well. She still hates living in the City of Schenectady, I still like it. The happiness of the kids keeps us unmoved. We still agree on almost everything else and the big things we have ever fought over, we still do. But, you know, its different when you can look over halfies.
We see the kids pretty clearly. Sophia is in a continuous blossom. She has directed videos, stage managed an elaborate and complicated production of "School for Scandal," and has learned how to run sound, lights and the theater program at Schenectady. Lecco is more of a process of perfection. God is he incredible. He has also been caught red-handed screwing around with this wiki. Two great parts in the High School's theater program and one coming up in the production of "Little Shop of Horrors." Many of you know of Meghan's second year of adventure in Ecuador. She sits in a swirl of oil companies, international activists and natives. Some of that swirl has even made the New York Times.
Everything changes. Even though much of the year was defined by Kathleen's battles, there was much to remember fondly besides the kids. Through my lens was a great year at work for Proctors with a financial surplus and expansion plans where they should be. While family travel was limited, I had a lovely visit to Ecuador and Kathleen had a great visit with her sisters and family in the mid fall. More importantly, many of our dearest took the time to visit us here...Lorenc/Smith, Terreberrys, Kidders, Flaxman/Anzideo, Nelsons, Golyas, Berlin, Danielson, Miner, Lucas, Schmidts, Shepherds, Gollnitz, Dows, Teresi, Monroe-Cassels, Abdella, Livengoods, and others.
We learned to cut bricks, build sheds; record digitally; draw human figures; play Ginestera; drive (well, Sophia sort of learned!); write down compositions, play Dorothy and install crown moulding. We even learned how to buy a house full or oriental rugs in three hours (call if you really want to know the story.) All this, plus we watched all seven seasons of Star Trek:Next Generation and have a good start into the second season of M*A*S*H. Media literacy (tied to a genetic predisposition for staying up late and eating popcorn together....may that last a lifetime!)
What do I see now? Kids coping with all the things they face....pregnancy (Meghan and Sophia), law school, drug addiction (Sophia), horrible withdrawal symptoms(Sophia), stealing money for more drugs (Sophia), undergraduate applications, trees, flowers, shrooms (Sophia), sexy girlfriends (Lecco), pimping (Lecco), success (Lecco), perfection (Lecco), the discovery of tantric sex (Lecco), performance of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 for the homeless in western Boznia-Herzogovinia (Lecco), attempted homicides in drug-related dealings (Sophia) and the adoption of eleven kittens for a battery of psychological testing(Meghan). Kathleen and me are keeping a reasonably stable base from which they can continue to jump and looking at each other and starting to imagine a life when sex can happen anytime, anywhere. It's a good thing I don't need magnifiers for that! Did I mention that Lecco is successful, and I am well hung? (woooo, doggie!)
These letters, while not as personal as we like to be (we left out a lot about how amazing Lecco is), at least force us to consider where we are and what we can and can't see. As time continues to pass, that means more and more to us. So, keep us on your lists!