The Martin Family 2018
2018 has been a Great Year. In the Spring, family from all over the continent joined us in Napa for Nazy’s surprise birthday party. The setting, like the birthday girl, was beautiful and the festivities were fun and exciting. I also joined the Adams Family boys in Alaska where Tiger and I flew on a seaplane while everyone else caught lots of fish. In Summer (and at the very last minute), Melika convinced an unborn baby girl to move into delivery position. The amazing Azelle joined the planet shortly thereafter. In Autumn, we traveled to Montreal and then Boston for wedding celebrations where we saw beautiful brides, handsome grooms and charming family. Later we visited Darius, Christiane and (the lovely) Leandra in Washington State where we learned that the cadre of Martin Family grandchildren will skew toward the girl side in early 2019. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Ixtapa, Mexico with The Adams Family where we swam with dolphins, snorkeled with facemasks and enjoyed sunsets with reckless abandon.
In non-people news, we responded to a mandatory (wild fire) evacuation (in the Winter) by moving away from the fire prone part of Santa Barbara into the Tsunami alert zone (in the Summer). We did that even though the old house wasn’t at risk: the fire department had parked a fire engine in our driveway during the threat. After moving, we eliminated all remaining storage units and, in the process, found our treasured thimble collection and a trove of VHS tapes. (Nazy points out that “Dan discarded our ‘useless’ VHS player” during the move.) We reestablished the aquarium, sold our ‘investment’ house (think ‘apocalypse&rsquo
and banished a pesky gopher who had severed the irrigation system, thereby generating water bills larger than the federal budget deficit. It was..
“.. unbelievable, Nazy.” I affirmed. “It wasn’t simply material for The Weekly Letter, it was fodder for an epic poem. When I’m done, school children will write papers comparing me (favorably) with Odysseus.”
“Isn’t Odysseus the one who was always lost?” Nazy asked.
“But his wife was very patient,” I replied. “They didn’t have GPS at the time,” I thought.
In June, Tom and Melika hosted a combination birthday and gender reveal festival in nearby Ojai. It was a typically understated event – spanning three days with musical accompaniment from multiple bands. For some reason, NASA refused to go along with Tom’s proposal to paint the Moon appropriately. Now home with three children under the age of five, Melika is anxiously awaiting expiration of her maternity leave and a return to the comparatively simpler life of a corporate attorney. Tiger and Arrow are good friends and both love (the amazing) Azelle.
Darius and Christiane began their second year in Washington State auspiciously: they bought a house. They have just moved to Trickle Creek Boulevard. (I’ve suggested that they rename the street Trickle Creek Way -- or Lane.) After noticing that Mel and Tom had children 25 months apart, Darius and Christiane were determined to be quicker. Accordingly, a baby girl will arrive in Trickle Creek less than two years after (the lovely) Leandra’s birth in Lebanon. (The lovely) Leandra is happy, growing and very verbal in three languages. We will see them all in Santa Barbara at Christmas.
After several years dealing with the vicissitudes of entrepreneurship and contract work, a high-tech Silicon Valley firm finally convinced Mitra to take a full-time job. She works from home even though the company base is in San Francisco. Mitra visits the Bay Area, which she loves, frequently. And, she’s also been to Bellingham where she is on the Board of a college. She still teaches Tango on occasion and has licensed the Tango Challenge program for use around the world. Stefan is studying indigenous spiritual practices with deep interest and passion. They both come to Santa Barbara frequently to play with (and advise) the children.
In non-people news, we responded to a mandatory (wild fire) evacuation (in the Winter) by moving away from the fire prone part of Santa Barbara into the Tsunami alert zone (in the Summer). We did that even though the old house wasn’t at risk: the fire department had parked a fire engine in our driveway during the threat. After moving, we eliminated all remaining storage units and, in the process, found our treasured thimble collection and a trove of VHS tapes. (Nazy points out that “Dan discarded our ‘useless’ VHS player” during the move.) We reestablished the aquarium, sold our ‘investment’ house (think ‘apocalypse&rsquo
and banished a pesky gopher who had severed the irrigation system, thereby generating water bills larger than the federal budget deficit. It was..“.. unbelievable, Nazy.” I affirmed. “It wasn’t simply material for The Weekly Letter, it was fodder for an epic poem. When I’m done, school children will write papers comparing me (favorably) with Odysseus.”
“Isn’t Odysseus the one who was always lost?” Nazy asked.
“But his wife was very patient,” I replied. “They didn’t have GPS at the time,” I thought.
In June, Tom and Melika hosted a combination birthday and gender reveal festival in nearby Ojai. It was a typically understated event – spanning three days with musical accompaniment from multiple bands. For some reason, NASA refused to go along with Tom’s proposal to paint the Moon appropriately. Now home with three children under the age of five, Melika is anxiously awaiting expiration of her maternity leave and a return to the comparatively simpler life of a corporate attorney. Tiger and Arrow are good friends and both love (the amazing) Azelle.
Darius and Christiane began their second year in Washington State auspiciously: they bought a house. They have just moved to Trickle Creek Boulevard. (I’ve suggested that they rename the street Trickle Creek Way -- or Lane.) After noticing that Mel and Tom had children 25 months apart, Darius and Christiane were determined to be quicker. Accordingly, a baby girl will arrive in Trickle Creek less than two years after (the lovely) Leandra’s birth in Lebanon. (The lovely) Leandra is happy, growing and very verbal in three languages. We will see them all in Santa Barbara at Christmas.
After several years dealing with the vicissitudes of entrepreneurship and contract work, a high-tech Silicon Valley firm finally convinced Mitra to take a full-time job. She works from home even though the company base is in San Francisco. Mitra visits the Bay Area, which she loves, frequently. And, she’s also been to Bellingham where she is on the Board of a college. She still teaches Tango on occasion and has licensed the Tango Challenge program for use around the world. Stefan is studying indigenous spiritual practices with deep interest and passion. They both come to Santa Barbara frequently to play with (and advise) the children.
For last week's issue, please click here
Family Photos
Tiger in Alaska
Arrow … cool
Leandra 
Azelle
Nazy, Tiger and Azelle
Leaving the Hospital after Azelle birth
Christiane, Darius and (the lovely) Leandra
Dan and Nazy
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