It has been a roller coaster ride for many of us. We’d intended to acquire tickets for all our family & friends to an upcoming Taylor Swift concert, paid for by heavy retirement fund investments in FTX crypto currency, but that hasn’t worked according to plan (as you can tell, I’m back to just making things up for this update: that is a good sign of healthy imagination compadres).
Phil said goodbye to his biliary drain tube in January, after 9-months, and Lucy after 12.5-years. Lucy “The Bullie” was 13 and battling numerous issues (including dementia). Yes, we still miss her (every day). In March he was able to take & pass the annual wildland fire Field Test and was poised and ready for the upcoming fire season (an extremely active one here), but a hernia repair operation in April + a series of biliary infections hospitalized him for ca. a week in May (and then June & August too), with outpatient procedures in July, Nov. and Jan. 2023. It KO’d him from any fire availability. Next year will be better.
We were able to attend the wedding of our goddaughter/grandniece Emily and Colton in the Phoenix area in March, followed by a trip to Pacific Beach (the first of three times this year: yep, making up for previous postponements. The Sept. trip included a Dodgers at Padres game [gee, our two favorite NL West teams], imagine that. November we finally stayed in a cottage on the Crystal Street pier, and we’d do it again).
Some family and long time friends visited Santa Fe this year: Pat Medici/Hal Marcus (El Paso); Carolyn/Larry Eppler (Tonto Basin days); cousins Steve & Patrick Riley (NoCal, once-upon-a-time Glendale, CA)- now that was some special train trip from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO; Steve & Jackie Norris (Denver); Julie & Tony “Ranger” Wilson (Scotland) for this Christmas.
In August Phil did a solo visit out to SoCal (had some Southwest Airline credits expiring) for a Senior Bulldog Luncheon with high school classmates, alums & other chums: it was pretty special (see photo below). He was exposed to (in the ABQ airport), and came down with, Covid (though fully boosted). He says he would do it again to be able to see everyone (and hear “happy birthday” being sung).
Phil helped teach a Jornada Research Institute course on Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) investigations in Albuquerque in May. In addition to a Tularosa Basin Conference in June, a long planned (pre-pandemic) Site Steward Foundation tour of some Tularosa Basin archeological sites finally happened in early October. Ex-FBI & Friends breakfasts, national Incident Management Safety Officer calls, ARPA snapshot training presentations/calls also helped fill the year.
Last year Justin transferred to the Albuquerque office of the NM Public Defender: one-year and still chugging along there. In late Oct. Phil ventured to first-half of Ranger Rendezvous (RR) in Tucson, visiting sisters & family around Queen Creek enroute. He did get to see some of his friends & colleagues at RR, but missed seeing some others = many more to see in the days ahead.
In the span of a few weeks, Phil lost three NPS and State Historic Preservation work-mates. We’ll be thinking of them and their loved ones this season: knowing they’d want us to ALL have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS (and Happy Hanukkah, Kool Kwanzaa, Super Solstice, etc.) and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Meme continues to be a caregiver extraordinaire and rock-climbing aficionado.
PMA all-the-way, everyday…
We LOVE YOU and hope to see you soon!
Phil & Meme
