Holiday Letter 2008 - Part Two

Sweltering Day in Ephesus, July 2008

Takashi: I never liked kids, particularly little ones. I have no parental genes. That’s what I thought ---- until Kahlil arrived in our family. In May when I first met him, I suddenly discovered my grandparent genes! How cute THIS BABY is (still don’t care about other babies). I now understand what humans have been doing since the beginning of history --- overindulgent grandparents!

We had exciting international trips this year. I for the first time visited the north-east region of Japan, and specifically Chusonji-Temple in Hiraizumi, which I have always wanted to go since I was nine or ten. My father and I talked about going there. I don’t know if he eventually made it there when he was alive. If he didn’t, it is my “Hajj Badal” (going on Hajj on behalf of someone else) for him. In June-July, Charlie and I spent a week in Istanbul and ten days in Spain (Barcelona and Madrid). We enjoyed each city enormously --- although I have to admit that I had more fun when I visited these cities years ago. Yes, I miss my youthful days of adventure.

On the professional front, I am looking for a job again and we will most likely move from Portland around June-July 2009. We don’t know where we will be going, but we hope the next city will be a brighter, warmer one (our preference is California, but it’s entirely up to where I get a job). Bad news is that this move may not be our last yet; in December 2005, a (Desi) Indian guru with a long beard stopped me on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles and told me that I’d be moving around until I reach age 55. Good news is that I would be growing professionally with each move, so he said. Let’s hope that our next move would bring us happiness, joy, and a lot of new friends.

Charlie: The kids are both in school and on track to graduate. Both have been on their own financially for 18 months after I finally realized they should be using their own resources. (Now looking at my own stock portfolio in November, yikes, I’m reassured that Andrew and Caroline will be employed and taking care of Dad in his declining years.) Our grandson Kahlil born March 29th is gorgeous, healthy, happy, and blessed with two parents who love him. We guys babysat him in August when all the kids visited. Takashi never anticipated having “a family” and he continues to amaze me with his empathy and skills. By the way, we had our ninth anniversary on October 10th.

What a dramatic year of CHANGE. I’m writing this just after Obama’s smashing victory (53% of the popular vote with a delicious rearrangement of red and blue states). A year ago I was visiting Lyme, Connecticut and the wonderful house I grew up in, and my cousin Jim Thach who was battling cancer (sadly he died at age 71 in February). Besides losing Jim, I mourn family/friends Mary, Sita, Vickie, and Uncle Ted Sheafe.

I enjoyed not worrying about looking for a job and it meant I did a lot of traveling. In May I walked through Machu Picchu, the Incan citadel in Peru after prepping for months by taking long walks so this aged body wouldn’t collapse scaling all those HIGH stone steps. Wherever I visited (solo or with my partner), I met terrific people and launched great friendships.

The political season was my passion. For weeks I volunteered here in Oregon doing data entry at Obama HQ with a group of partisan, funny, dedicated people. With the election over, my question is, where do I redirect my energy? I’m going to the gym more, busily collecting Jewett car memorabilia, and posting reminiscences and articles on my blog (http://charliemetro.blogspot.com/). It beats flooding the in-boxes of friends.

My favorite image from 2008 was Lin Hao, the nine-year-old Chinese elementary student who survived the earthquake only to go back and save two classmates, who in August carried the national flag into the Olympic stadium with US basketball star Yao Ming.

With the kids in Flagstaff, Nov. 2008

Lin Hao and Yao Ming

Holiday Letter 2008 - Part One [Post #900]

Holiday Letter 2008 -- Part One [Blogger's Note: This is Post #900.]

Every year at Christmas I write down the highlights of the year and mail the "Holiday Letter" to friends and family. With adult children and a partner, it's been the recent custom for THEM to write about their own year as well. So, here's the latest. Hugs, Charlie



Andrew: This year I became an uncle and am still in school. I worked in construction doing concrete; will probably do that again next year or look for a new trade, plumbing possibly. Roxy, my dog, is doing fine, and she now has a puppy to play with so is less hyper.

A Construction Management (CM) grad can do many jobs, but the job I am looking for is in the management of the construction, the day-to-day operations, the planning of the project. Official titles I could hold include owner, contractor, estimator, or superintendent. I can make some money as there is always construction, commercial, civil, or residential. I will not be tied down by one spectrum of the economy because construction management can transfer over from different types of construction jobs. What really matters is the real-life experience. More experience equals more money.



Elyas: December 21, 2006- A 25 year old Ethiopian comes to the U.S. to get his Masters in Animal Science at The University of Georgia. That Ethiopian was me. Since arriving, I’ve had the opportunity to celebrate two birthdays, two New Years, two Christmases, and other holidays. During my stay in the States, I got to teach a

class and get on an assistantship, thereby reducing the tuition fees my American Uncle would have to pay. I like sharing the financial burden. Also, I got to see much of the U.S., a dream come true, and to see history in the making with the first African-American President-elect. Mom and Dad back home in Ethiopia, you have no idea how much I love and miss you and know that you are always in my prayers, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

I'm graduating in May of 2009 and have already started applications for a Ph.D. It is looking promising so please do keep your fingers crossed for me :). Still have to put the finishing touches on my Master’s thesis. With a Ph.D I believe I can work in Industry as a nutritionist, doing feed formulation, research, etc., in pretty much any ruminant-related industry or even a zoo.



Hello everyone. My name is Kahlil Hernan Komadina and for most of you, this is the first time you have met me. I was born on March 29, 2008 weighing a healthy 9 lbs 4.5 ounces. My parents chose a water birth to help my transition into the world and it was an amazing and empowering experience for all. I still see my friends the midwives once a month as they were some of the first people I ever knew, other than my mom and dad of course. I have to say that life is pretty good and I love being spoiled with attention and love. About a month ago I got my first two bottom teeth and I love biting things including the cats’ tails. Now that I have learned to crawl forwards (for a while I could only crawl backwards and it was VERY frustrating) I keep my parents on their toes and the cats running for cover.

Many people wonder about the origins of my name. Kahlil means “friend” in Arabic and I was named after the Lebanese poet named Kahlil Gibran. My dad Kasey Komadina chose the middle name Hernan after one of his favorite DJ’s from Argentina, Hernan Cattaneo. My last name comes from my dad and his family’s Croatian heritage.

My personality is really starting to show and everyone who meets me is impressed by how friendly, smiley, and chill I am. It really gives me an edge when talking to the ladies (I am a big flirt with the girls on the Northern Arizona University campus). I hope to meet you all soon but until then, I hope my parents and grandparents keep you posted on my progress.


Hey this is Caroline here wishing you Happy Holidays and a Wonderful New Year! What a great year filled with adventures and experiences. First, I am still enrolled in school and yes it is hard with a young baby but we are managing the different schedules. I am really enjoying my class called the Global Village. We learn a lot about political activism and social justice movements, as I am passionate about these fields; this class is by far my favorite this year.

Being a mother of a young baby is lots of fun. Yes it is hard work and very emotionally and physically exhausting at times, however, it is downright some of the most fun I have ever had. Kahlil is so mellow yet goofy, curious and strong. Watching him grow and learn is beautiful and heartwarming. I look forward to so many things with this child yet I remind myself to live in the moment and to cherish each day with him. As much as I have loved being able to stay at home and see each moment of Kahlil’s development, I just got a job with a river rafting company working on the planning aspect of their clients’ river trips. It promises to be an engaging and fun job.

I am optimistic and believe Obama is a smart man and will help heal many of the wounds which afflict our country and the global community. I truly am happy in the many roles that I have, student, daughter, sister, friend, and now mother. I look forward to the future and all the ups and downs which I eagerly await; especially the day when I am reading a book to Kahlil and he can follow the adventures being read to him not just trying to eat the book! Love you all.

Calling All Pakistanis

December 3, 2008
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN, Op-Ed Columnist, The New York Times

On Feb. 6, 2006, three Pakistanis died in Peshawar and Lahore during violent street protests against Danish cartoons that had satirized the Prophet Muhammad. More such mass protests followed weeks later. When Pakistanis and other Muslims are willing to take to the streets, even suffer death, to protest an insulting cartoon published in Denmark, is it fair to ask: Who in the Muslim world, who in Pakistan, is ready to take to the streets to protest the mass murders of real people, not cartoon characters, right next door in Mumbai?

Click here to continue reading.

Conservatives Expected to Split Episcopal Church

December 4, 2008
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN, The New York Times

WHEATON, ILL. — Conservatives disaffected from the Episcopal Church are expected to declare on Wednesday that they are founding their own rival Anglican province in North America, the biggest challenge yet to the authority of the church in a five-year battle over the ordination of an openly gay bishop.

Click here to continue reading.

[Blogger's Note: I was born and raised Episcopalian, attended Episcopal prep school and college, and was active in Wash DC's wonderfully open St Stephen & the Incarnation Church. I say "Goodbye but don't even think of taking your property" to those who can't accept a gay bishop or women priests, or welcome gay unions.]

Peace Corps outlook foggy with budget pending

By: Sophia Li, Brown University "Daily Herald"
Posted: 12/3/08

When President Bush promised in 2002 to more than double the size of the Peace Corps within five years, volunteer applications to the program skyrocketed.

President-elect Barack Obama made a similar promise during his campaign to raise the present number of Peace Corps volunteers from 7,876 to 16,000 by March 2011, the program's 50th anniversary.

Click here to continue reading.

[Blogger's Note: I was a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher in Ethiopia for three years, 1966-1969. I worked at Peace Corps hq in Washington DC three separate times: Volunteer Placement, 1972-1978; Recruitment 1979-1983; and finally, Budget 1993-1995, and Africa Region 1995-1998. Thanks to my friend and former colleague John Coyne for alerting me to this article. FYI, Blogger added the photos.]

Ted Kennedy endorses Obama for President...

Humor & Wisdom: ""Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences..."

Obama's Use of Complete Sentences Stirs Controversy
by Andy Borowitz, Huffington Post

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama's appearance on CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect's unorthodox verbal tick, which had Mr. Obama employing grammatically correct sentences virtually every time he opened his mouth.

But Mr. Obama's decision to use complete sentences in his public pronouncements carries with it certain risks, since after the last eight years many Americans may find his odd speaking style jarring.

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it "alienating" to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

"Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement," says Mr. Logsdon. "If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist."

The historian said that if Mr. Obama insists on using complete sentences in his speeches, the public may find its elf saying, "Okay, subject, predicate, subject predicate -- we get it, stop showing off."

The president-elect's stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

"Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can't really do there, I think needing to do that isn't tapping into what Americans are needing also," she said.

Andy Borowitz is a comedian and writer whose work appears in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and at his award-winning humor site, BorowitzReport.com.

thanks to my friend and former colleague Jean M for sending this to me.