Merry Christmas, Frank and everyone!
(Of course, if Christmas doesn't apply to you, then insert the appropriate sentiment... 
)Been really busy with various and sundry things, but last night called it quits for a few hours, stopped and stayed at my brothers house for a lil' family get-together. Though I missed out on the chat last night, it was for a good reason - our own 60th Anniversary screening of "It's A Wonderful Life!".
What a classic. That, and the infectious holiday enthusiasm of my 6 yr old niece and 3 yr old nephew, made it feel more like a traditional Christmas than anything so far. I've been too busy to be either Kris Kringle or The Grinch this year - just another schmo trying to get by right now...
We've had a tragedy at the marina - a young fella, 25 yrs old, who was staying on his folks boat, disappeared off the docks about 10 days ago, the Friday before last. Surveillance cameras don't show him leaving the docks on foot. Everyone is fairly certain he fell off the dock that Fri night/Sat morn early, and was unable for whatever reason to save himself. He had recently had at least one seizure which left him unconscious, so that is the prime suspect as to what could have happened. Lots of searching by all available methods have turned up no evidence of him at all.
It's very sad for the family, especially at this time of the year which is usually a time for getting together and celebrating, if nothing else, being family. I'd ask y'all to say a good word for the family to the Deity of your choice, if you feel so inclined. As they are friends of mine, I wish them closure, even if it means that the worst is confirmed...
But I don't mean to put a damper on this thread that Frank started! Perhaps the knowledge of loss, of how fleeting life can be, will help remind everyone to appreciate all the wonderful parts of life that we have. It does for me.
I mentioned my niece and nephew, but besides them my extended family has grown by 2 members since Thanksgiving. One sister gave birth to a little girl, and another sister completed a successful adoption, so I became an Uncle twice in as many weeks.
(The family get-togethers are starting to resemble a kid convention. 
)Frank mentioned sailFar's Anniversary - yahoo!
I think that yesterday was 1 year to the day. Wow!
It's been a lot of fun, it's been neat making new friends, learning new things, finding out that my own 'small boat madness' is not at all uncommon. Well, statistically, I guess it still is - but you know what I mean...
I'm certainly glad to have 'met' all of y'all this past year, and want to express a deep thanks and gratitude for everyone's contributions. I know that you've helped make my eventual journey a better one. Heck, I've even used ideas from this forum already.
I'm looking forward to watching how we continue to grow over the next year. Some of us will be gone off on their trips, maybe we'll hear from them how it's going from time to time - how cool is that...
OK, enough of this 'hijacking' of Franks thread...
Mele Kalikimaka!
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