December 2018

Dear Friends and Family,

            Greetings from the nation's capital, home of the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals and the sometime-in-the-future champion Washington Nationals. We join with other Americans in longing for the time when America is truly great again: John Winthrop's "city upon a hill;" Frederic Bartholdi's "liberty enlightening the world."

            Our holiday season is clouded by the death of James's father, at age 90 in Taipei, after a long battle with COPD, lucid and mostly comfortable almost to the end. James was grateful for a final Facetime visit a few days before. His mother, age 88, is in relatively good health for her age and has two of James's older siblings in Taipei to help her transition. James plans to travel after Christmas for the funeral and other family business. Ken posted a longer tribute on his Facebook page, along with a link to the video tribute that James made a few years ago.

            Ken and James celebrated their fifteenth year together with a much-needed weeklong vacation to the trending destination of Portugal. James continues as an IT consultant with Total Resource Management in Alexandria; Ken is in his 25th term of writing Supreme Court Yearbook (CQ Press) and the tenth year of his blog Jost on Justice. He posts breaking news on Twitter (@jostonjustice) and on Facebook; he also continues to do occasional radio hits and to write occasional reviews for the online Washington Independent Review of Books. Ken's other major trip was with AJ to Houston, our 28th MLB ballpark, for the Astros' home opener, complete with the presentation of the World Series trophy and the raising of their 2017 pennant.

           

            Andrew (AJ) and Robbie continue to be happy, healthy, and productive living in their Arlington home with their two-year-old golden retriever Henry. AJ entered his fourth year at Clark Enterprises helping to manage the investment portfolio that will eventually be given away to charitable organizations and universities throughout the Washington, D.C., area. Robbie completed her fifth year at Crowell & Moring and her first full year as counsel at the firm. She continues to represent clients in the medical device and health insurance industries and has assumed more responsibilities within the firm. AJ and Robbie took vacations to Bermuda, Santa Barbara, and Hilton Head.

            Nicole and Lily have moved into a bigger apartment in San Francisco's Outer Sunset neighborhood after significant milestones: Nicole completed her three-year program for a master's degree in creative writing at San Francisco State University, with graduation exercises in May at AT&T Park (!). Lily has been promoted to production and technology manager at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, with the benefit of additional vacation time. Nicole continues to teach playwriting to young people in several different settings. Her play, Sucia, a modern Cinderella story, was produced at SF State in March; another of her plays, Intimates, was shown as a staged reading at Custom Made Theater in November.

            In these difficult times, we gain strength and comfort from our many friends: near and distant, virtual and actual. Please know that we wish for you and yours much joy during this holiday season and health and happiness in the coming year.