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Christmas Letters

 

Every year I send out a year-summary letter. Here they are, 1994-2013.

Dear «name», December 11, 1994
I think I'm getting into the habit of not doing as much as I used to. In previous years, I'd worry if I had a few nights a week when I wasn't doing anything---now I look forward to having a few free nights.
Not that New York isn't as tempting as ever: meals out, plays, galleries, museums, and special events coax me onto the subway and into the city. Rental videotapes of movies, indexing, computer-games, and reading keep me happily at home. I even found myself sending out about a dozen resumes, trying to find more work. For the first time in 5-6 years, I earned less this year than last year, even though the number of jobs for this year is the second-highest ever. And some of the index-jobs this year were pretty junky, done for a relatively cheap rate since they were more clerical work than anything else. Maybe I won't have to worry about artificially tapering off before "retirement" 10-15 years from now---there won't be any more work by then. But then, some of my friends who worked only freelance have had to get fulltime jobs because their freelance work just didn't support them any more.
The only "away" time was the usual 5-day trip to the Adirondacks, where I made a point of climbing Mt. Ampersand to try to get good videos from its top, only to climb into a cloud and find I had to take pictures of frozen streams and ice-covered tree-branches. And there was only a fog at the top of the mountain; even then we weren't alone: five others were freezing along with us at the top, and we met six others on their way up. By golly, if you're going to climb a mountain, you're not going to let a cloud stop you!
Through the Village Playwrights I read the part of a miserable minister (no, no one said it was type casting!) in one playwright's full-length play, and had one of my own ten-minute scenes acted (poorly, sadly, by a second choice for a lead actor, but that was more the director's problem than it was mine) as one of seven scenes another evening. Kind of a kick.
I've been looking into the Internet for about ten months, and it's always an adventure. Interesting to exchange messages with California, Atlanta, Arizona, and Connecticut for the price of a local connecting call. But like so much else on the computer, I have to be careful about getting sucked in and spending DAYS, not even counting hours, roaming around in computer-territory. There's just no end to what's available somewhere in the corners of the Internet.
There were other mini-vacations, of sorts, this year: a family of five from Milan displaced me from my apartment for about a week, and then my sister and her husband and my nephew kicked me out about a month later. It's a good thing I have a tour-guide friend whose place is vacant most of the summer. But everyone enjoyed the Bronx Zoo, Statue of Liberty, various observation platforms, plays, and even the subways.
Other visiting friends and family from Ohio, California, Illinois, Paris, and Arizona livened up the year. Another great thing about NYC: everyone just loves to visit here! And I get to eat out with them, too!
Only in the last few days did winter really arrive. We had a few snow flurries just before Thanksgiving, but otherwise it's been more like an extended autumn almost to the middle of December.
More adventures coming up: I've yet to see our new eight-story 3-D IMAX theater, nor the new Virtual Reality flight over NYC at the Empire State Building. Going to the opera for the "Peter Grimes" opening tomorrow at the Met, and have tickets ($75!) for "Showboat" in three weeks: New York's a great place to be if you spend the money to enjoy it---though I did not buy the $100 catalog from the art exhibit I saw on Thursday. My most expensive dinner this year was $95 at Lespinasse in the St. Regis, and it was worth every $20 bill. Unfortunately, I don't seem to be able to stuff myself as much as I did in the past, so there's no reason to go "whole hog." Half, maybe. Maybe next year I'll get back to Europe and check on the food there.

Dear «Name», December 9, 1995
Another year! The busiest (and, thankfully, highest-paid) indexing-year yet! Which means I paid off a number of old debts and signed up for another astounding trip in 1996: 3/21: Fly to Buenos Aires; 3/23: Fly to Ushuaia: Board the 240' Livonia, 32-Estonian crew, 38-passenger capacity (last year only 16 passengers), leave. 3/25-26: Falkland Islands (penguins/albatrosses), two stops.
3/30-31: South Georgia whaling center, Shackleton's grave, seals, penguins.
4/7-8: Tristan Da Cunha, neighboring Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands.
4/14: St. Helena, Napoleon's exile-home, tropical birds on volcanic island.
4/18: Ascension Island and Boatswainbird Island; unique seabirds; green turtles.
4/26: Cape Verde Islands, Africa/Portugal culture and markets, 300,000 people.
4/30-5/1: Canary Islands: Tenerife and Gomera, Spanish fruit and flower markets.
5/3-4: Madeira: roses, magnolias, camellias; fig, orange, and lemon trees; wine.
5/9: Plymouth, bus to London, fly to New York. $5500 including dues and taxes.
Approximately 10,000 nautical miles, with 33 entire days at sea between islands, the longest stretch: 7 days, during which we cross the equator around April 21.
Passengers mostly from US and Canada, 2 people from Australia; good food aboard.
Internet is losing interest: so much is just junk and advertising. Briefly I'd considered indexing it as a commercial venture, but there's just so MUCH of it, and it's growing so FAST, that the idea quickly became impracticable. Sent some pieces of my "Indexing Handbook" out, but it aroused no interest at all.
Village Playwrights is still great fun. I wrote two acts of "post-modern confusion" which were nicely received in September, then, after my five days in the Adirondacks in October, indexing-heaven broke loose and I've been working full time ever since. Worked 160 hours in October, an absolute all-time never-to-be-challenged record. But the third act WILL be written. Playwrights have taken to calling on me to read their stage directions, so I'm amiably involved.
Visitors from Japan afforded me the opportunity to resee "Cats" and "Miss Saigon," while "The Heiress" and "Indiscretions" stood out as new plays. LOTS of off-Broadway and lesser stuff, mostly forgettable, but Audience Extras is fabulous for getting practically anything for $3/ticket, including "Swinging on a Star" and "Smokey Joe's Cafe," which wouldn't be worth $60 but are OK for $3. Getting a Parisian friend for a visit over Christmas week, and a bi-coastal pal from LA and I have been seeing shows, museums, and eating in great restaurants, the most expensive of which was the $225 Paul Bocuse seven-course champagne-blast at C.T., unfortunately not QUITE worth it. $195 would be better spent at THREE evenings at the Beard Foundation which I attended 14 times this year. FAB!
Aside from my creepingly increasing arthritis, the death of Dennis's mother from a stroke, another long-time friend from a brain tumor---and for the first time in many years no friends died of AIDS---it's easy to see time flying past.
A rosebush (bequest from an AIDS-dying friend in 1985!) on my windowsill sports one huge red bloom, three still-unclipped drying blossoms, and two healthy buds. It's going to be a colorful season. And it WAS a colorful autumn: the year's dryness produced the most intense fall foliage I can remember. The climb up Mt. Snowy (and a detour by a lake at its base) was blazingly brilliant.
Politically and socially, the world seems to have become crazier than ever. Progress seems to be measured by two steps forward and three steps back. Just when I think most of the wackos must have died off, a new generation replaces them. I'd hate to count the number of times I've felt relieved I've already lived most of my life, because the framework for what's coming up looks more and more catastrophic economically, ecologically, financially, and even spiritually. There'd better be a change before 2000, or we're not even going to get there.
Even though so much work makes me grouchy, I'm still thankful for so much: attentive friends, challenging projects, exciting travel, surprising events like the jammed Mark Morris dance "preview" at BAM last night, the prospects of a lavish dinner tonight at Le Bernardin or C.T.---even the fact that I have heat after a few days of little or none! And 50 days of Atlantic Ocean coming up!

Dear «Name», December 19, 1996
1996 was NOT the best possible year. Though the 17 days in Argentina; the Falkland, South Georgia (great penguins!), Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena (Napoleon's exile), Ascension (egg-laying green turtles!), Cape Verde (DRY!), Canary (mountain rainforests), and Madeira (had LOTS of Madeira, m'dear) Islands; and 7 days each in London and Paris were all very entertaining, the 33 solid days on a ship (thankfully with a very GOOD stabilization system: I didn't miss a single meal [even though the food was almost uniformly dull or even BAD] due to seasickness) were not the most invigorating---thank goodness I found a Scrabble partner for 3-4 games on slow days, and I brought VERY long books to read: Dickens may not be EXCITING, but he sure takes a lot of time to read. My new laptop computer allowed me to take 130 solid pages of experiences and thoughts WITHOUT having to transcribe them when I returned from the trip. Many sightings of whales, dolphins, and seabirds livened days out of sight of land, and I had my first OFFICIAL equator-crossing ceremony complete with crew dressed as cannibals and savages throwing passengers into a vat of saltwater by order of King Neptune (the KGB man among our Russian crew). I looked forward to and enjoyed using the Channel Tunnel twice, had good food and saw fun plays in London, while enjoying GREAT food and FABULOUS opera in Paris. That all occupied a good chunk of the year: March 3 to May 6.
June 29 marked my friend Dennis's kidney failure and subsequent hospital and nursing home stays. July 16-23 found me in Akron starting the painful transfer of my mother from a nursing home there to a nursing home near my sister in Florida. Both carried emotional traumas that remained through the rest of the year. Mom gives the best advice: "Don't get old!"
On the brighter side, September 27-October 2 returned me to old friends in the Adirondacks, though it was too early in this weird year (I think there were only TWO days with temperatures over 90°) for most of the trees to have changed into autumnal colors. But it's going to be a hard winter: the tails on the squirrels and the dog-furs are all thicker than ever before.
As for next year, friend Ken and I have our deposits paid for a trip June 15-30 to northern Spain (INSIDE Altamira cave) and southern France (INSIDE Lascaux and 5-6 other caves), amazed that (if you pay enough) the public CAN get into these treasures that have been closed to the public since 1963. We'll spend a few days in Madrid before the trip and I'll spend a week or two in France afterward, depending on my workload, money, and friends.
New York continues to be exciting: da Vinci manuscripts, lectures on European royal collections at the Metropolitan Museum, dance and opera and plays on, off-, and off-off Broadway, lots of incredible meals (with some disappointments, like the new Cellar in the Sky), and finally last night I presented my first attempt at interweaving my slides and videos of the Atlantic Ocean Islands trip---and everyone almost nodded off, so they chickened out halfway through! I guess it's true: you had to have BEEN there to really appreciate travels.
Everyone knows I'm not interested in politics but thank GOD Bill Clinton won again: I won't have to think about leaving the country for ANOTHER four years---by which time New York's rent control may be history and I'll have moved into Mitchell-Lama housing, which I hope is NOT the same as rent control, but city subsidized nonetheless. GOT to start thinking about (well, I HAVE started thinking about it, but I've got to start DOING something about) getting rid of SOME books, travel souvenirs, and assorted STUFF so that I can move WITHOUT trying to cram three VERY crowded rooms into two possibly SMALLER rooms. Should take at LEAST four years to do that!
Indexing is slowing down---just as I am! By the time I'm ready for Social Security (assuming we still HAVE Social Security!), I'll be earning below the amount above which they start reducing Social Security payments. Talk about planning ahead! Hope all has been well with you and yours!

Dear «Name», December 15, 1997
1997 seemed to start a phase of intensive traveling for me. The 16-day June trip to the painted caves of Spain and France was notable for the group of 27 congenial Americans (in fact, Ken [who went on the trip with me] and I [and two other trip participants] are dining this very night at the Brooklyn Heights home of the Yauchs, a couple we met) on the trip, which had an expert French-American tour leader and a thankfully expert French tour bus driver---there's nothing like sitting in the seat behind the driver and literally being driven over the edge of a cliff: the front wheel of the bus was so far back that he could suspend the front of the bus over a drop while making a completely safe turn. Is that why narrow European country roads don't have guardrails? The ten caves we visited were totally engrossing: I try to rationalize my disappointment about not being able to photograph or videotape inside any of the caves: I could concentrate on looking at them. For those who know and watch Sister Wendy's art commentaries---she entered Lascaux II, the contemporary reproduction, while we were admitted to and marveled at the sacrosanct original---you could get a glimpse of what our entire trip was focussed on. Truly a touring high-point. Matched only by a total of twelve Michelin stars in five Paris restaurants in four food-licious days! Urp!!
So then, as night follows day, I wanted to go to Tibet (where the food was ghastly). What else? But the trip to China and Tibet that I'd planned for 1998 was being offered for the last time from October 13-November 4, 1997! "No one wants the Tibetan extension," said Overseas Adventure Travel, and I could only conclude it's because the Chinese government makes travel to Tibet very difficult and travel in Tibet terribly restricted. Our Chinese guide told us lots of lies (starting at the first: "Tibet is 96% Tibetan," when clearly Lhasa has a majority of Chinese as well as the majority of the population), but he could never manage to lessen the impact of devout Tibetans burning yak-butter candles in the Potala, prostrating themselves at the Jokhang, and holding ancient ceremonies at the monasteries of Drepung, Sera, and Samye, all of which left breathtaking impressions. I stood on a corner in Lhasa and for 15 minutes videotaped nothing but fantastic faces. Returned to Xian after 16 years to see vastly enlarged terracotta-warrior exhibits (and even bought a CD-ROM of them!), was fascinated by the 1700-year-old Buddhist carvings and paintings in Dunhuang, the Middle-Ages look of the Kashgar market, the exotic qualities of Turpan and Urumqi, the new museum in Xian, and the unbelievable bustle and traffic-jams of Beijing. Not to mention skyscrapers in the now-Chinese Hong Kong, which we barely avoided hitting in the worst 747 takeoff ever! Everyone will be relieved when they open their new airport next year!
Where am I off to next? Thought you'd never ask: Florence! Seven days for $700, a great Alitalia price, for Mardi Gras in February, 1998!
On the other hand, my friend Dennis died in March, my mother is slowly (but, blessedly, not unhappily) declining in her Florida nursing home under my sister's attention, my indexing income continues to decline, and my arthritis pain continues to increase (despite trials of glucosamine and hill-grown Chinese herbs). So, what else is there to do but travel?
Pay attention to my computer: upgraded to 133mhz, 64mg RAM, 2gig disk, CD-ROM. Went to the '97 Internet World show at the Javits Center yesterday and found nothing (except candy) of interest. Only in New York: restaurants, another Metropolitan Opera subscription, ballet, 12-hour modern-dance marathons, great public libraries (how could anyone ever think of replacing books by computers?), and incredible Degas, Monet, Schiele, and *diamonds* exhibits in the museums and galleries. Now all New York needs is a good snowfall and the Christmas season will be complete.
Hope all has been well with you and yours; best wishes for 1998!

Dear «Name», December 12, 1998
1998 started with lots of TRAVEL and ended with lots of WORK, and not really that much time between for anything else!
Flew with John to Florence February 19-25 (Feb. 24 being Mardi Gras), when I got spritzed with shaving cream on the way to Florence's most expensive restaurant. None of the food was that great, sadly, but the museums, churches, palaces, exhibits, galleries, and tours were marvelous: much better than my one-day stay there back in the early 60s, AND many restorations had been completed in the meantime, so many of the treasures looked even better. Some lines for the major exhibits, even OUT of the prime tourist season: weather dramatically fine.
Susie drove me to Letchworth Park in western New York State May 19-22, for a great visit with the troupe that started at Hemlock Hall on Blue Mountain Lake and progressed to Garnet Hill on Thirteenth Lake. Letchworth is the Grand Canyon of the East, with three sets of spectacular waterfalls (under the top one of which a doe dramatically struggled for about ten minutes before she managed to swim free). Amazing underknown attraction right in New York.
June 18-24 saw Ken and me flying to Chicago to stay with five others from our last year's trip to the French caves. Our host and hostess had a luxurious home on Lake Michigan (private bedrooms for each of us!) and even supplied me with a car to try the local Great Adventure park and a nearby restaurant on my only day apart from the group: six outstanding restaurants on each of our six nights there, with Wright house-tours, trips to the zoo and the Hancock Tower, and other local sights in U.S.'s second city, made great by great company.
St. Mary's High School's 45th anniversary reunion drew Charles and me to Akron July 16-22: the reunion wasn't the greatest ever, but I got a chance to spend a full day in Cleveland's Cedar Point, the densest agglomeration of roller coasters anywhere: I managed 8 in as many hours, and two meals as well, urp!
June-end saw the start of my biggest indexing job ever: ten detailed indexes for each of seven literature textbooks for grades 6-12, EXTRAORDINARILY complicated to include "sales points" for the Texas School Board criteria, which produces indexes useless to anyone but the sales force and my pocketbook. I've just passed the $40,000 mark in billing and have a few months' work still to go! Arranged to get the payment next year: maybe I'll just retire then! Not to mention that I continued to supply indexes for most of my regular customers in "my spare time." Been working overtime, something I'd gotten unaccustomed to.
BUT the money gives me the temptation to plan some sort of super-trip next year: have been considering Costa Rica, but then figured, "Well, if I'm going to Costa Rica, might as well see what Panama, and Nicaragua, and El Salvador, and the rest of Central America is like." Haven't had time to plan in detail.
That doesn't mean I haven't been enjoying NYC: summer saw a run of special lunches at fine restaurants fixed-price at $19.98, so friends and I started going each Friday until Labor Day, and now it appears many are keeping these low prices throughout the year, so Mildred and I are looking to start weekly trips again. More opera, galleries, exhibits, friends, plays (the Male-Swan-Lake production being particularly effective)---we even have tickets for "The Lion King" in January! "On the Town" a great success with a perfect seat at half-price! (Though, at $40, half-price is pretty much full price anyplace else.)
Had visitors from Japan, Australia, and France through the year---that always helps in seeing New York from a fresh point of view. Had a new companion for a number of months, but that died off in the last few weeks: disappointing, but someone usually comes along about every ten years, so I haven't long to wait. My arthritis continues to worsen: just had an x-ray this morning to prove that it's taking over my left shoulder, and I'm beginning to feel a few twinges in my knees climbing my three flights, so I'll be pleased to move into an elevator building in the next two or three years. Other friends' healths are in much poorer shape, so I should still be thankful for my relative good luck.
My sister Rita continues to visit my mother in her Florida nursing home: she got her grandchild and it looks like she's going to get the other goal she set for herself: seeing in the millennium. Can't believe it: only 384 days away!

Dear «Name», December 7, 1999
FEWER THAN TWENTY days to the millennium! And we haven't yet been clobbered by Y2K! Let's "get rid of" the good news first: May 20-June 10 found me in Scotland, where I toured (on my own) northern Scotland from Cape Wrath to John o' Groat's, the Orkneys and the Shetlands, and spent three harrowing days on and around St. Kilda (look THAT up in your atlas!) in a small sailing vessel on which even one of the NATIVES got as seasick as I did in the gale-force winds and waves that delayed our return by a day. June 11-14 was "calmer" on Iceland (driving a SnoCat in a white-out snowstorm on a glacier, reading at midnight in the glow from the just-set sun), and I took lots of slides of Greenland as I flew over it on my way back to JFK.

Spent ("only" $220 a day, on average) October 8-26 in southern France and Paris, mostly eating (addicted to the Michelin guide: ate at five 3-star and five 2-star restaurants---and other good meals, too) and driving around. Saw a Bejart ballet (poor) in the Paris Opera (Garnier) and a "Marriage of Figaro" in the newish Bastille Opera (pretty poor). Started planning for my January 7-31 trip to Bangkok, North Vietnam (Hanoi and Haiphong), and Cambodia for Angkor Wat. And a seven-day trip to Santa Fe for the opera in August. And maybe India in the fall. If we survive the break of 2000.

Sadly, my mother did NOT get her wish to see the year 2000. But she wasn't really "there" enough to realize she would miss it. With her stubbornness, if she'd retained her strong will, I'd bet she would have made it. Went to Akron for her funeral for a few days toward the end of August, re-seeing some relatives in good circumstances, others in sad health straits. Also at that time a long-time friend, Pope Hill, went into the hospital and then into a nursing home for his worsening arthritis and diabetes. Helping clear out his apartment reminded me of so many similar occasions in the past: not the happiest of times.

But New York continues to enthrall: operas and galleries and restaurants and a new Conservation membership that took me back to zoos in Central Park, the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn (Staten Island's zoo gets left out), and the New York Aquarium, which also happens to be in Brooklyn.

Too much index-work earned me too much money at the start of the year, so I semi-retired for the end of the year, which seemed to cause lots of problems. Work gives a "framework" for my activities; without it I tend to "waste" too much time watching too many videotapes and playing too much FreeCell (a computer solitaire). Haven't really yet gotten into the spirit of "throwing out" books and other stuff in preparation for my move into my rent-subsidized co-op for which I've been on the waiting list for what seems like ten years. But it's still about two years off, so "I've got time." HA!

I really feel like I'm slowing down; tiring out: content to let others make detailed plans for parts of trips; found myself taking naps on the trip in France; actually chose NOT to go to an opera last week. Satisfied doing two or three activities during a day, instead of four or five as in the past. May only spend 4-5 hours in a museum instead of 6-7 as before. Eating less and less still adds to my weight. My health and blood counts are good, but only because my doctor obligingly writes prescriptions to keep cholesterols and triglycerides down. Maybe not my wisest decision, but eating remains among a decreasing number of pleasures in life. Also find myself thinking gloomy thoughts, like these!

Looking forward to a New Millennium! Oh Brave New York, and I'm still thrilled to be right in the middle of it all. Less work, more travel, and more JUST PLAIN RELAXATION seems to be my prognostication for upcoming Year 2000!

Dear «Name», December 7, 2000
So, what's everyone going to be doing for the REAL turn-of-the-millennium in a few days??? I'm very disappointed that last year's anticipation hasn't overflowed into this year---I guess it shows how important computers have become in everyone's mind: the computer turn-over held the world's attention at the expense of this year's real flip of the millennial (artificial) clock.
My prediction of "less work, more travel" at this time last year came truer than I expected: roughly half as much work (thank goodness I don't have to worry, since I can now---starting to receive Social Security in a few months---officially consider myself semi-retired), and LOTS more travel!
1) Asia: Thailand from south to north, with peeks at Burma (Myanmar only if you insist) and Laos at the Golden Triangle; Cambodia for Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (with 2400 feet of bas reliefs that were so gorgeous that I wanted ALL of them---and the next day found a book that reproduced them all!) and a half-dozen other temple complexes (and some pretty poor food at good hotels and scruffy local restaurants); and North Vietnam for Hanoi, Halong Bay, and Haiphong (Ha-Ha-Ha?) for even worse food and an excruciating cocktail pianist. Went with Fred, a great travel companion met at a James Beard House dinner.
2) South America: When an Iquitos-to-Belem Amazon River Adventure was advertised at half-price, I couldn't resist. I'd returned from Asia on January 31 and had nothing planned until Prague on May 9, so I filled April 12-May 3 with the Amazon---and parrots and sloths and iguanas and snakes and Victoria amazonica waterlilies and the Manaus Opera House (remet a couple I'd traveled up the Atlantic Ocean Islands with three years ago on a similar Russian ship), with a few days in Miami Beach, catching up with the Everglades and the Zoo.
3) Europe: Prague is very inexpensive (except for one restaurant on top of what they call the "Fred and Ginger Building" because it looks like Astaire and Rogers dancing) and terrific for Art Deco buildings. Enjoyed a side trip to Marienbad in a fairy-forest setting. Perfect weather with John May 9-16.
4) Africa, which Ken and I flew over on our way to the Indian Ocean volcanic remains of Mauritius and Reunion (just like Hawaii, they're on a hot spot that assembly-lines volcanos: Mauritius older and inactive, Reunion with old craters and a new, southern-most vent that erupted the day after we left (June 22) and three days after we walked near some of its steam-like smoke), became the "June continent." My laziness blazed in Mauritius: ringed with coral reefs, we didn't bother to swim, snorkel, Aqualung, parasail---just took a boat to a submarine that descended us 30 meters to peer at fish and a sunken mini-scale Titanic. But we did get to Alain Ducasse's Spoon des Iles for a $170 dinner, whose mention got me into his New York restaurant for a $243 ahead of many others (I know, I know: many others also asked "WHY??"). What can I say? Eating is one of my greatest pleasures in life and (hold on!) it was WORTH IT! We started in London so I got to see the Millennium Dome (Disney does it better) and the "Eye" Ferris wheel, a half-hour thrill. Art Nouveau exhibit in the Victoria and Albert Museum almost worth plane-fare to London.
5) North America: Fred loved the Santa Fe Opera, so we shared a trip to New Mexico July 29-August 5 for five operas (quite a range of talent!) and lots of desert scenery and a comprehensive tour of Los Alamos, where I was much impressed with museums. Good food too, in contrast with four prior trips.
When I realized I'd been to FIVE continents in FIVE months, I added a few shots from Australia and Antarctica and announced my Seven Continent Slide Show, which has been very well received (maybe it was because I paid for dinner out, since my dining-room table is loaded with unfiled trip souvenirs I've been too busy to put away). And have returned to the business of New York: galleries, museums, restaurants, plays, operas, friends, paying bills.
Plans for next year with Fred include the Yangtze River (May) and Moorea and the Marquesas (October). WILL I be tempted to add Turkey in January or February? What about Vienna? When will I see Angel Falls? Tune in next year!

Dear «Name», December 7, 2001
Exactly one year ago I closed my last Xmas letter with the following: "Plans for next year with Fred include the Yangtze River (May) and Moorea and the Marquesas (October). WILL I be tempted to add Turkey in January or February? What about Vienna? When will I see Angel Falls? Tune in next year!"
In January and February I did all the paperwork that started my Social Security checks coming (how sweet it is!!) monthly and enabled me to ride the subways half-price. Worth getting old---er! So, as a reward, I joined a group going to western Turkey February 27-March 17. Great bus-tour of Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Konya, Antalya, Myra, Halicarnassus, Didyma, Kusadasi, Ephesus, Pergamon, Troy, and Gallipoli.
Worked a bit, then March 29-April 13 went with Fred to Tucson for a bus-tour to Mexico for Copper Canyon for views and Chihuahua for meals.
Enjoyed New York, then May 27-June 21 flew with Fred to Shanghai (with Pudong, very progressive), Hangzhou, Beijing, Xian, Chungching (only the largest city in the world at 30 million!) for a four-day Yangtze River cruise (great food and vistas!) to Wuhan, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, with a side-tour to Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam. Fabulous trip, fascinating places, great sights and sounds and tastes and smells. Incredible China!!
July 9 with Ken to Vienna: cheap central hotel, expensive wonderful meals, lotsa wine and museums (and a new medical condition for me: a heel spur!---VERY uncomfortable). Then four days in Cracow and back to NYC July 23.
Museums, plays, friends, lunches, dinners, movies, galleries---and then the disaster of September 11! Could see (and smell) the smoke from the north tower from my window---on the Promenade, John watched it collapse obscured by a cloud of smoke. Unthinkable! Very concerned about flying, but I'd already paid for the freighter-trip to the Marquesas and surrounding air-flights, so I went on October 10----but the first question asked of travelers is always "Where are you from?" and when I said "New York City," I'd get this sad, sympathetic gape followed by the inevitable "Were you there?" or "Did you see it?" So I lived with the catastrophe and its aftermath through the 40-day trip to all six inhabited Marquesan islands, two atolls in the Tuomotos, six days in Fred's time-share in Moorea, three days in incredible Easter Island (with a terribly sad history of its own due to overpopulation and ecologic calamity), overnight in Bora Bora (its airport code is BOB! my own airport!), three days in Papeete (it may be over-touristed, but its mountainous interior had the most astounding assortment of flowers and trees of the entire trip), five days in Fiji (a bit much but I tried and tried, yet couldn't visit nearby Tonga, American Samoa, Vanuatu, or New Caledonia due to unreliable transportation), climaxing with three days in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, THE island paradise of the trip: inexpensive, wonderful snorkeling, great food, friendly beautiful people. Back to NYC November 18 (and STILL smelled that rotten, smoky stench from the still-burning World Trade site when I went to two downtown restaurants), to catch up on newspapers and news and friends and begin work on a huge indexing project which will keep me occupied full-time at least through the end of February.
Yesterday took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and went down to Wall Street for some errands and viewed the ruined site: some ruined auxiliary Center buildings haven't even begun to be removed yet, and there's a startling eight- or nine-story free-standing remnant of one of the towers---maybe it'll be kept as a Memorial? Had hoped to escape much of the aftermath with my last trip, but it's all still VERY much part of New York City. Just heard the weather report today: it's now 71° outside! Extraordinary.
No trips planned at the moment because of the uncertain final deadline for my $40,000 project---so much for my worries about declining work-loads in my semi-retirement years! Still trip-tasks to accomplish: four couples from the freighter, viewing my 4-hour video, requested copies---and paid for them!
Difficult to look toward 2002: ANYTHING could happen! Happy holidays!!

Dear «Name», December 5, 2002
The first big snow of the year, here in New York City, is falling (more like sleet than snow in the 28° cold outside) and is predicted to reach six or seven inches by the end of the storm. I'd always been disappointed that NYC never received as much snow as Akron, Ohio, where I greatly enjoyed snowy winters until I was 21 and relocated to NYC.
Big news this year? I'm MOVING, only two blocks away but 17 floors higher, with an 11x6 foot balcony looking over southern Manhattan to the left (the Brooklyn Bridge and the East River smack in the middle) and most of the borough of Queens to the right (including five lit-at-night bridges and a large chunk of Brooklyn). It's a maintenance-subsidized co-op with a lower maintenance than my current rent, but with more space and, I hope, quieter neighbors. Spending a lot of money on new furnishings (so if anyone is looking for a comfortable bed-with-a-view, I'll have it), but since this will probably be the last apartment I'll ever live in, it's worth it. Note the new address: 101 Clark St., Apt. 20K, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2739---interestingly, they tried to automate the mail-delivery in our 431-apartment two-building complex, so MY APARTMENT is the only location to have those particular last four digits in the zip code, but they haven't succeeded in making it work yet. Since I signed up on the waiting list for these buildings in 1989, you can imagine I'm excited that the move is actually taking place. I figure it'll be completed about the middle of January---what a JOB it is!
Lots of work (and, thankfully, income) this year, so I didn't spend QUITE so much time on travel: 1) March 29-April 9 with a good-trip-plan-making Ken to Costa Rica for spectacular Caribbean animal- and bird-life on the coast, in the rain forest, and near the volcanoes; 2) September 2-9 on a rainy low-cost luxury liner with Fred (well, the New England and Canadian coast was rainy, not the liner itself) cruise to Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, the Saginaw River, Quebec City, and Montreal, with a train-ride back to NYC; and 3) October 2-16 to Venezuela with Ken to see Caracas, Mérida with its record-breaking téléférique, the Caribbean coast for cocoa and sugar plantations, and one of the greatest sights in the world: Angel Falls, as high as three Empire State Buildings piled atop each other, with an incredible storm of water blown into our faces (making cameras impossible, but I risked a ten-second videocamera shot just to show the sheer volume of water leaping from the tepúi [mesa] above us---because the falls are so HIGH, it's difficult to comprehend the QUANTITY of water that produces that "delicate-from-a-distance" impression in photos) from a viewpoint still quite removed from the base of the falls. We had great luck with a heart-stopping airplane fly-by on our way to Canaima, the base of tours to the six or seven waterfalls cascading into Lake Canaima, and a rainstorm which made our motorized-canoe voyage to our viewpoint possible. Truly one of the most extraordinary sights in the world, and incidentally the LAST destination on a long-treasured list I'd made years ago---which doesn't mean I have no more destinations, but I've seen what I've always considered the MUSTS.
Now I can truly say NYC has EVERYTHING: just visited its new Museum of Sex (called, of course, MoSex), viewing prohibited to those under 18 years of age. I'm in the process of catching up on all the "hit" plays which won't be on discounts for years, and seeing my share of the new opera productions, gallery shows of art and photography, and eating MORE than my share of food in the fancy restaurants---though I must say it's becoming easier (and more necessary!) to leave large portions of food uneaten: they really DO serve too much, usually, for aging bellies to accommodate.
The World Trade Center's replacement is still a large matter of discussion, while documentaries and exhibits keep the memory of 9/11 TOO fresh in all our memories. Got a free air purifier from the government to clear the air in my apartment---over a year after the fact. And there's more security---
Hope all will go well for you, your family, and your friends in 2003!

Dear «Name», December 9, 2003
"The first big snow of the year, here in New York City, is falling (more like sleet than snow in the 28° cold outside) and is predicted to reach six or seven inches by the end of the storm." That was the first sentence of LAST year's Christmas letter, dated December 5, 2002, and by coincidence we had a twelve-inch snowstorm starting December 5, 2003. So much for global warming?
January 29th was the big day of my move to 20K at 101 Clark Street last year, so all of December and January was devoted to moving OUT, and most of February, March, and April was spent moving IN. But the view is endlessly exciting: barges, ferries, tugs, and pleasure craft on the East River; parades of clouds during the day and particularly at sunset (and even a few sunrises); incredible vistas of approaching, striking, and leaving rainstorms and snowstorms---it's like being in the middle of a snow-globe with as much snow falling below as above and to the sides. I positioned my desk and computer right at the bedroom window so I can glance out, like now, at the buildings, bridges, traffic, pedestrians below, sky and clouds above. I'm very content. The interior, unfortunately, is still in a state of flux: having lived in the same apartment 30 years, I still expect to find things in their OLD places!
Switzerland and Alsace, with Ken, were delightful May 17-June 9---my favorite Swiss city of Lugano has now been replaced by Interlaken, near the incredible Lauterbrunnen Valley. Great leisurely dining, driving, and sightseeing between Strasbourg and Colmar. June 16-27 saw Fred and me in northern Spain, from Bilbao (the best thing about the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao was an unforgettable lunch crafted by one of the greatest names in modern gastronomy, Martin Berasategui) to Santiago de Campostela, a place of pilgrimage for over a millennia. November kept me in the states: DC, Maryland, and Florida with old friends Paul McLean in Homestead (showing me great birds, animals, and sites in the Everglades and the Keys), Laird Ward in Windermere, Avi Golub in Naples, and my sister and her family in Satellite Beach for Thanksgiving. Now to catch up with everything in NYC before traveling to Malta January 12-26 and some more South Pacific Islands (Norfolk, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Manihiki, Christmas---just LOVE those names!) from Auckland to Hawaii with Ken February 26-March 21 on the MV Discovery. And that's only the first quarter of next year.
One of the major items to catch up with is my new Dell computer, bought in October and still not installed, probably because I'm petrified with premonitions of frustrations, problems, agonies, and exasperations with all the new programs and facilities, which of course will be wonderful when they all WORK.
As usual the Metropolitan Opera has its ups (high hopes for the upcoming "Werther" and "Benvenuto Cellini") and downs (already seen "Tristan and Isolde" and "La Juive"). The Metropolitan Museum is better with da Vinci, El Greco, Romanticism, and its annual Christmas tree. Galleries and restaurants are always a kick, and I just found out that the take-out egg foo yung right across the street is excellent, down the block from the best pizza. When will the Heights get some high-class dining to match its upper-class population?
New York City is still the only place for me: I miss it when I'm away, and as appealing as my frequent trips are, I wish I could take all the good things here with me: dance, art, food, even shopping---though I found out that NO place for shopping can compare with the endless malls all over Florida.
As for negatives, I refuse to dwell on the economic, ecologic, political, lying, stupid, money-grubbing, election-stealing disaster in the White House, may his non-political future be soon and much more horrid than he's made ours.
On the brighter side, I hope my view soon looks out on the promised 1776-foot tallest building in the world, on Ground Zero, still painful in the past.
May 2004 (how futuristic these years sound!) be good for you and yours.

Dear «Name», December 8, 2004
New York City continues to be THE best: my two-year-old apartment is wonderful, despite my first leak (thought I'd left those behind on Hicks Street, but my kitchen and hall and entryway were soaked from a leak FOUR floors above), and the views are endlessly fascinating---but I can honestly say, at the moment, I don't know for whom the flag is flying at half-mast atop the Brooklyn Bridge.
My last scheduled trip, to the upper Amazon, was cancelled in November due to a bad health-break on the part of my friend Paul, but next year is busy already with Ireland for 15 days in March, Madagascar for 20-some days in May, and Yellowstone and the Tetons for a couple weeks in August---so far.
January's 15-day trip to Malta was even better than expected: good weather, fantastic older-than-the-Pyramids-and-Stonehenge ruins, stupendous wave-washed cliffsides, and even companionable fellow travelers in the group of 35. But March's 26-day island-hopping cruise from New Zealand to Hawaii was sadly disappointing: it rained almost the whole time in beautiful Auckland, three of the six "new-to-me" islands were cancelled due to ship's engines' malfunctioning and weather, and a key helicopter flight over Kauai was eliminated, bizarrely, because of the need for a US Customs' inspection of the ship on its first visit to a US port, in Honolulu. So much NOT to do on the ship that Ken and I played dozens of Scrabble and Monopoly games, but at least we were on the most-winning Trivia team. Finally, an 8-day trip in June to Rome was blazingly hot and very expensive because the euro averaged about $1.25, but we saw most of what we wanted to see, though I was sad Roman museums weren't as lenient with photography rules as Florence's were.
Work still rolls in: more indexes this year than any year since 1999, though many were tiny. With time on my hands I started reading books again, making inroads on my want-to-read list of 55 books, reading more in the last four months than in the last four years altogether. And NYC's restaurants and museums and plays and dance and galleries still captivate. Happy 2005!

Dear «Name», December 8, 2005
Lots of ups and downs this year, "arranged" mainly by month, it seems:
+ January: I started monthly travel-slide shows at the Heights-Hill Older Adults Center: good audiences, my travels (and slides) really appreciated.
- February: Still aiming toward an ultimate Website: 20,000 pages, 10,000 slides, 100+ hours of travel videos, but it takes a long time to get going.
+ March: Ireland trip, my good-weather luck holds out for Fred and me.
- April: Kodak Carousel projector-light goes out; STILL trying to fix it!
++ May: Madagascar for lemurs; incredible trip WAY out of the usual way!
+++ June: Big indexing contract for what turns out to be a 25% raise for me.
-- July: Second of two root canals; this can't possibly happen every year.
+- August: Trip to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone with Ken great; emergency ambulance and hospitalization expenses $1000 I'm still trying to get insurance to pay. Amazing how "small" events can occupy so much hassle-time.
+ September: Find a 6.25% 10-year CD at Ridgewood Savings; saved for it.
- October: Buy a big new TV screen but nothing works on it; still doesn't.
+ November: Thanksgiving Day gift: Locate US#1 stamp I'd "lost" for 4 years.
+ December: OCMNTRAL (Ho Chi Minh Trail) solved: NY Times says I'm a genius.
So I'm still hard at work on the big indexes, looking forward to starting my Website, and went to four museums and exhibits last week in a "slow" period, New York still being incomparably fascinating. First snow of the season Sunday after an unnaturally warm autumn---so now we get an unnaturally cold winter?
Health and energy good, food in great restaurants more and more expensive, and I don't even order wine anymore: the prices are too outrageous. Just have a kir. Three trips already planned for next year; still finding places we want to see.
Two old friends from Milan visiting over New Years, and I might actually take comprehensive NYC bus-tours with them---it's about time I got to know the city.
Notice I refrained from kicking political butts? Just my marvelous restraint.
Still lots to talk about: hope 2006 is equally + and not quite so much -. Hope!

Dear «Name», December 9, 2006
1) Feb.12-23: Norwegian Dawn cruise with Fred and 2 friends to Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize, & Cozumel; relaxing trip/good food/great sights.
2) Mar.30-Apr.20: All over Morocco for prehistoric stone carvings with Ken and fabulous Moroccan guide from Italy; exhausting trip/desert walking/revisits.
3) Jun.13-26: Germany bus-tour with Fred: rushed/soccer/Dresden fabulous.
4) Jul.14-30: Kenya and Tanzania with Ken and good group: new and revisited places/balloon ride/prime videos of lions against our car in Ngorongoro Crater.
5) Oct.1-13: Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania on Danube River cruise to the Black Sea: varied group/Veliko Tornovo/unusually good weather on my luck.
6) Nov.9-16: Chicago with Ken, visiting Isensteins, seven special dinners.
Note there's only one day between these: never do that again!
7) Nov.18-Dec.3: La Paz, Bolivia, bus to Lake Titicaca, Lima, Nazca lines over-flight, Iquitos with Paul to go up the Amazon on air-conditioned Esmeralda for birds, monkeys, sloths with awful gabby group. Totally completely exhausted!
Haven't caught up yet from last trip, next one (to Japan and South Korea) isn't until March, thank goodness. I'm getting too old for this!
Worked lots in January, then refused most jobs because this year's income will be enormous with amounts I had to have distributed from my Keogh and IRAs. Indexing very slow to pick up: hope I have some work in 2007.
Finalizing my will caused major psychological problems, mainly connected with my over-ambitious web-site [ homepage.mac.com/tmeiselbach/zolnerzone/ for those interested ] on which I've already spent over a half-million dollars of my own time and over $50,000 in hard cash over years of preparing for it, and it'll take at least five more years to get anything near complete. In my fantasies, it will cause a revolution in web-content in the future.
My health is good when I finally recover from my travels; feeling very lucky while many people all around me have major, major health problems. BAD!
Still delighted with my apartment: next year I'll be here more! Best luck!

Dear «Name», December 7, 2007
1) March 2-21: Japan with Harvard/Yale/$$$$ group; a day in South Korea; but at $786/day, just too outrageously expensive. But, I admit, ALMOST worth it!
2) August 3-17: Helsinki, Estonia, Latvia, Kaliningrad, Lithuania, "bargain" at $504/day, thanks to poor dollar; expensive trip with a good small group.
3) Sep.25-Oct.7: Ukraine on ship from Odessa to Kiev; good company & sites.
4) November 5-22: Mayas: Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemale, Belize.
The very best guide, itinerary, and group of 14 I could possibly imagine! Great!
5) December 12-17: Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao: short and near and sweet.
6) Jan.18-Feb.2: Patagonia. For those as compulsive as I (NO one is as compulsive as I!), you may note that last year's seven trips are succeeded by this twelve-month period's six trips. Already scheduled in what I plan (I'm getting too old for this!) to be 2008's quota of five trips are the following:
1) Mar.17-Apr.1: Trinidad, Tobago, and the three Guianas, now known as French Guiana, Surinam, and Guyana, with friend Paul part of the time (I hope).
2) May 24-June 6: Iceland and Greenland with friend Steve. 3) & 5) TBA
4) Aug.??-Sep.??: Centered around Ken's triumph: our 9/9/08 reservation at El Bulli, arguably the best restaurant in the world (with reportedly 800,000 applications for 8000 seatings--I don't know how he did it, but CONGRATULATIONS!
Indexing very slow to pick up: only five jobs this year; hope I have some work in 2008.
The website [ homepage.mac.com/tmeiselbach/zolnerzone/ for the interested ] is making GREAT progress at an AGONIZINGLY slow pace. Now I think it'll take at least TEN more years to get anything near complete. In my fantasies, it will actually someday BE complete.
My apartment is currently a shambles: they're cutting a step in my wall so I don't have to step over a 6-inch sill to get to my balcony (to ease use of my wheelchair in about thirty years, of course), and it's too cold to work with concrete because the temperature's below zero. Hope they finish before I leave!

Dear «Name», December 9, 2008
Again, this year seemed consumed with travel---actually a good thing, because on some recent trips I've been EXHAUSTED: getting too OLD for this!
1) Jan.18-Feb.2: Patagonia, great weather, good sights, lots of glaciers.
2) Mar.17-Apr.1: Trinidad, Surinam, French Guiana, and Guyane, where my slide camera finally broke completely, forcing me to go DIGITAL, which I'm still trying to figure how to use and present; but EDITING possibilities are GREAT! And, with Guyane, I've visited EVERY continental country in Western Hemisphere!
3) May 24-Jun.6: Iceland and Greenland with Steve, for geographic and culinary adventures amid MORE glaciers: Greenland definitely out-of-the-way.
4) Jul.8-22: St. Petersburg: incredible city, fabulous museums, great tours to surrounding areas, one of the few cities in the world worth this much time.
5) Aug.28-Sep.22: Spain (El Bulli just the teensiest bit disappointing) and France (Michel Guerard: Eugenie-Les-Bains is still the world's best restaurant!)
6) Nov.11-22: Egypt (Aswan and Abu Simbel and Alexandria all NEW to me) and Amman, Jordan to Petra, one of the great (and, sadly, BUSIEST) sites of world.
In my "spare" time, managed all EIGHT indexes this year, up from last year's five; and as usual lots of New York's plays, museums, gallery, and FOOD!
My website has improved to a Google-able zolnerzone.us for the curious.
Next year's trip list will definitely be smaller: leave Feb.2 for Tunisia for 15 days, and Apr.2 for Nepal and Bhutan, an "always-wanted-to-see" wonder, for 23 days, which may be a problem with altitude and length of trip. I really AM slowing down---which will benefit my savings, which travel has been reducing.
Astounding how many INTERNATIONAL (well, only France, Italy, and Japan) friends are delighted with Obama's election (not Dale, my Mormon Egypt roommate).
Aside from a ghastly few hours (Medic-attended) in Charles de Gaulle airport, an infection in Barcelona, and minor foot problems, my health is good.
My apartment, now heading for its seventh year, is still absolutely divine!
Friends are mostly good; some died and some are ill. Best wishes for 2009!

Dear «Name», December 14, 2009
Being an obsessive-compulsive has wins and losses. I took 7 trips in 2006, when I turned 70. So, "naturally," I took 6 trips in 2007, 5 trips in 2008, (with some slight cheating, but I accepted it), which meant 4 trips in 2009:
1) 15 days in Tunisia (Feb 2-16), partly battling the flu which took over the entire tour bus. Interesting, out-of-the-way, OK even though a repeat visit.
2) 23 days in Bhutan and Nepal (Apr 4-26), Bhutan fantastically beautiful and friendly, with a lovely group of 6; Nepal OK for a repeat visit: Kathmandu has become a destroyed India-type city; Pokhara has a charm that 1970 Kath had. The white-water rafting and three days of hiking in Nepal about slew me: ROUGH!
3) 22 July days in Britain (Manchester, York, Chester: lovely places) and Wales (Cardiff, Nant-Ddu, Rhossili, Betys-y-Coed for Eisteddfod, Portmerion: all meticulously planned by Ken) relaxed, low-key, "something totally different."
4) 16 Sept. days in far-north Labrador on a ship with great Canadians and Steve, seeing three polar bears au natural, great meals in Ottawa and Montreal, and two new places to add to my "been-to" list: Nunavut; St. Pierre et Miquelon.
So that means 2010 "should" have 3 trips: 1) 22 May days in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (maybe alone, quite pricy, but I always wanted to tour "The Five Stans." 2) 19 Fall days to Dubai, Ethiopia, Uganda (chimps), and Rwanda (gorillas), with Ken, again pricy, but I'll be spending less than in any of the previous four years. 3) TBA.
Indexing work is still dying: only four jobs this year, but I've put my resume into a freelance service which might bring in more next year, I HOPE!
My website www.zolnerzone.us from Google is still growing slowly. Try it, you may be offended, but you may like much of it. I hope to fill many gaps soon.
New York City, and my apartment, are still totally fabulous; with a long time between trips now, I'm looking forward to a total reorganization of travel souvenirs for easy accessibility. I'm always pleased to review past adventures.
Yes, I'm getting older; yes, I'm slowing down; yes, I'm healthy. WONDERFUL!

Dear «Name», December 10, 2010
For you who bothered to read my 2009 letter, 2010 did succeed in having 3 trips: 1) 22 May days in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan: quite pricy as a single, but it was a good group and rewarding trip, even with stomach problems and generally poor food. 2) 19 October days to Dubai, Ethiopia (fabulous Axum and Lalibela), Uganda (chimps), and Rwanda (gorillas), with Ken, again pricy, and this trip's health problem was a massive hematoma caused by a broken blood vessel in my groin when I slipped in the jungle and did a painful split on my way to the gorillas (none of us was amused). 3) 8 painless comfortable July days with friends in Martha's Vineyard: the "dessert" trip of the year. My two trips in 2011 are still unknown: West Africa? Libya? Indonesia?
Indexing is REALLY dead: only ONE job this year, and I've listed my resume in four freelance service organizations, to no avail yet.
My website www.zolnerzone.us from Google is still growing. And, hurrah!, Google actually accesses it when the topic is specific enough.
New York City, and my apartment, are still totally fabulous; my apartment reorganization has been put on pause, but my display shelves are now in place.
Sadly, friends are dying, other friends are gravely ill or in nursing homes or rehabilitation centers. One of the dismal consequences of aging, though now that my hematoma is ALMOST gone (after six weeks!), MY health is again adequate.
Restaurants aren't as much fun now that my cardiologist told me in February to avoid all alcohol, but I still order good Healthy Heart meals at home and try to keep up with new and old-favorite restaurants.
Am I the ONLY one finding "new" TV and movies just plain junk? And the political situation totally depressing: public stupidity at a new all-time high?
Good "Angels in America" revival last month, and high hopes for some new Metropolitan Opera performances early next year; well, SOME signs of hope!
Here's hoping we all find promising signs for a better future in 2011!

Dear December 16, 2011
Isn't it nice when you get what you asked for?
For you who bothered to read my 2010 letter, 2011 did succeed in having 2 trips: 1) 23 May-June days eating 14 Michelin-starred meals with Ken in France; 2) 20 July-August days in eastern Turkey, culminating with a unique Commagene burial on Mt. Nemrut near Mt. Ararat---astounding, hitherto-unknown, site.
West Africa is still much to be desired in 2012; a trip with Ken to the boot of Italy (all Naples and south) is on for March 19-April 9; late-December is under consideration for Cuba (Ken's wish) and Gujurat (my desire). So maybe 2012 will end up with 3 trips---though I certainly don't consider "increasing the numbers" for subsequent years. I'm getting older, and more easily tired, and more distressingly sick-on-trips: I had stomach problems in Turkey, it seems, not because of the food, but because I kept extracting my dental bridge to remove food fragments with my unwashed fingers!
Indexing is still relatively dead: only TWO jobs this year; though I'd listed my resume with two freelance service organizations, nothing came from them. As a surprise, I have THREE jobs scheduled already for 2012.
My website, www.zolnerzone.us from Google, is still growing. And, hurrah!, Google actually accesses it when the topic is specific enough.
New York City, and my apartment, are totally fabulous, as always.
Sadly, more friends have died, and other friends have been in and out of hospitals. It's one of the dismal consequences of aging, though MY health is still remarkably good.
Restaurants are constantly opening, and adventurous, and I continue to order tasty and varied Healthy Heart meals at home.
Most "new" TV and movies are just plain junk, but Roku (putting Netflix-streamed movies onto my large TV) has taken up a lot of the slack.
The political situation is even more depressing: is public stupidity really at a new all-time high?
Here's hoping we all find promising signs for a better future in 2012!

FOR THOSE WHO INSIST: 2012 LIFE SUMMARY

Well, it was, all-in-all, a pretty nothing year.

According to my "plan," I did ONE trip this year: Puglia, Italy, in

March and April. According to plan, I'll do HALF my 2013 trip in December

and half in 2014 (how that will account for half of a half, I don't know).

As in all years, I encourage people to read my website, which has been
greatly enlarged in the past year: www.zolnerzone.us via Google.

It goes without saying (which is why I'm saying it) that this year saw
my first stroke, or mini-stroke, or cardiovascular accident, or--something.

It also goes without saying I had absolutely NO sexual adventures.

I did start digitizing my slides, but who the hell cares.

Continuing as usual, the year contained theater, opera, ballet,

movies, television, and long, exhausting walks (of fifteen minutes).

And restaurants, most of which weren't all that interesting.

The number of indexes continues to increase: last year 3, this year 4.

At least, thanks to incapable Republicans, Obama won again. yay

And I do have to admit that Roku is truly the invention of any year.

Is that all there is? Yes, indeed, I think that is all there is.

12/10/13
Dear
2013 might actually have been more interesting than 2012.
I threw out my Panasonic printer, so I don’t have page-edges to tear off anymore; that advance came with my desktop Dell dying---all my work is on my Dell laptop, and to make things more confusing I spent $1000 on a terabyte Toshiba computer that will house all (17,000 of) my newly DVD’d travel slides. My travel presentations have grown to a monthly Wednesday afternoon show at the old-folks home followed by the same show here Friday evening for those who can’t take an afternoon off. Attendance has been gratifying.
So that means I continue to travel: May 9-21 found me in St. Kitts (and Nevis), Grenada, Dominica (great wooded island), and Haiti (with a spectacular Citadel on a mountaintop in the north near Cap Haitien). December 25 (why do I find that date easy to remember?) will find me flying to Mumbai, to return on January 18: at last a trip to Ajanta and Ellora. For those interested in my prior trips, I again suggest looking at zolnerzone.us on the Internet.
Today was spectacular from my window: earlier it was snowing for the first real time this year, and now the sun bounces off the clouds obscuring the top of the 1776-foot World Trade Center---amazing how many days the people on the top floors can only stare out their windows into clouds.
Sadly, a number of friends and relatives can’t enjoy anything any more, having shuffled off their mortal coils and left my phone for Spam calls.
But the number of my indexes increased from 4 last year to 5 this year.
I keep getting $25 orchestra seats in the Metropolitan Opera weekly drawings, and I just bought tickets for late January to see “Twelfe Night” (no misspelling there) and “Waiting for Godot.” TV supplies maybe one good program a week, but Roku fills any spare time with great binge-watching.
Restaurants are still interesting, even with my continuing diet. My favorite meal is still from the Park Plaza: the Big Mess, with eggs, bacon, ham, cheese, potatoes, green peppers, and other goodies in, yes, a big mess that lasts for two whole meals. The Park Plaza was popular for my sister and her cousin who visited here this year, for the Games Group that met here twice, and for Paul who will visit later this month. My sofa-beds are useful.
My health is decent, notwithstanding a four-day stay in the hospital after I fainted in the steam room at the gym in April. Thank goodness my health plan paid every single cent of the $26,000+ expense. I continue to go to the gym, moaning and complaining, twice a week: it helps keep me fit.
Maybe I’m missing something, but you can always e-mail me for more information. Best wishes for 2014.