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| Michael and Autumn's
Christmas Letter - 2003 |
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| Dear Friends - Holiday greetings from sunny California, the land of wild-fires and film star governors! It’s also where we happen to live. Can you believe it? Another year nearly gone and so many of the people we care about seem to have been left on the edge of the other pressing priorities of daily work and local commitments. Sometimes not even a phone call or an email has kept the lines open. Christmas—with its focus on family and caring—makes us remember those we care about but seldom see or talk to, even if the only way we can show it is with a pre-printed letter. Here is a glimpse into what has happened with us over the past months. We hope you’ll enjoy reading it. Autumn is now into her ninth year of teaching drama at Brookhurst Junior High School. What essential work this is. Many of her students come from deprived homes with social and financial problems. Many have Spanish as their first language. Drama proves to be one of the best ways for helping kids to explore relationships, figure out their identity as they push through puberty into adolescence, and grow in personal confidence with public speaking and self-expression. In the summer Autumn completed her second period of intense residential studies at Central Washington University which will eventually culminate in a Master’s degree in Theater Production. We drove 1000 miles together, through 3 states, stopping off for the night in Ashland, Oregon, for the Shakespeare festival. After Autumn was settled in her dorm I flew home and then returned by air, five weeks later, for the homebound road trip, when we stopped to see another play. During that time we suffered the sad loss of one of our kitties, Pumpkin, as the coyotes prowled the neighborhood for prey. It’s hard to offer comfort down a telephone line. In the spring we had air conditioning installed in the house knowing that the summers here are very hot, and also knowing that in August we would be entertaining family during the wedding of my niece, Jean Roosevelt, to Chris Farnsworth. The wedding was held in a gorgeous hotel in Santa Monica with the evocative and descriptive name—Shutters on the Beach. My sister Philippa was the proud mother of the bride, and for the first time in 6 years all four of us siblings (which includes Robin and Richard) were together. Two days of wedding celebrations, during which Robin and Carol stayed with us, segued into more fun at Disneyland as Richard and his family came down to Anaheim with Philippa and my cousin Judy (who then stayed with us for a couple of days). Chris and Jean are now settled in a lovely Spanish style house in L.A. and we joined them for Thanksgiving, Philippa also making a return trip to the left coast. She made the gravy!! We took our dog, Shandy, over to meet their new, 5 month puppy—and they romped and played until they were exhausted. But with Shandy now aged 10 years, senior dog discipline was soon imposed on the puppy. The year 2003 was also the year in which I took semi-retirement. It’s hard to believe that this time should have come. But as I heard of others of my old friends in England also hanging up the office suit in favor of gardening gloves and golf clubs (or whatever) I experienced some envy. So in May I completed the handover of my data warehouse project to another English programmer, luxuriated in the wonderful party they threw for me, and said Goodbye to the commute, to LA and the pressure of deadlines and status reports. I haven’t missed it at all. Mind you, my attempt to build a home-based business hasn’t worked out as well as I might have hoped so to supplement my income I have got myself qualified to be a substitute (UK—supply) teacher. I find to my delight that the kids at Autumn’s school all think I’m so cool; but I fear the reason lies not in my inherent coolness but in my English accent. No matter, it works! Being at home so much has enabled me to bring the remodeling of the second bathroom to very near completion. The glass walls of the shower have now been installed and it looks fantastic. We have started reshaping our back garden and have a large electrically powered gate at the top of the drive to keep the dog in and bad people out. I have done a great deal of writing. My play Seeds of Doubt had a very good staged reading before a knowledgeable audience in November. After some re-writing I will be pushing it out to theaters looking for a production. And I also have a book under way—on the subject of Hell! More details another time. We have deliberately not spent too much time on stage this year, though I played the role of Pooh Bah in The Mikado in April. Autumn has directed my latest Christmas play which is currently in production, and comedically portrays a wacky psychologist in another of the plays in our annual Holiday Show. More exciting still was her own production at school where she had her 12/13 year olds doing 45 minutes of snatches from Shakespeare. It was stunning to see a 12 year old boy, who only a year ago could speak no English, do the Macbeth speech “Is this a dagger I see before me?” The kids who did the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene were adorable. It was a great triumph. In November I was able to make a 5 day trip home to the UK – the first time in 18 months – to see my mother, Ali and Jonathan (plus spouses) and the grandchildren. It was not possible to see my father near Blackpool but I will be heading up there in July next year when I plan to take a longer trip. I lucked out in Shaftesbury where I was able to attend a surprise 90th birthday party for Marjorie Styche – the doyen of the stage there for over 30 years. I saw nearly all the people I used to know over eight years ago. We had a wonderful time. I am supremely proud of Gemma and Stephen who are now 13 and 11 and are probably the most intelligent and sophisticated kids I have seen for many years. Ali and her family will all be moving to Dorchester next year where Roger is to become the pastor of a small church in the town. Also notable was a very sweet time visiting my 92 year old aunt Audrey in her charming rest home near Salisbury. We see Autumn’s Mom (Gloria) and Bob quite often. Bob celebrated his 70th this year and they kindly asked me to MC the proceedings. They live in a delightful house in a cliff top community that overlooks the ocean and Catalina island. Gloria is as active as ever in stage shows and Bob continues to defy a recurrence of the disease that led to his having a kidney removed last year. Autumn’s Dad (Harry) will not be running for President on behalf of the Libertarians in the 2004 Presidential election— as he did in 2000 and 1996. He continues to write on political subjects, and takes speaking gigs regularly. His wife, Pamela, continues to run her Vintage Baubles internet business: a truly niche market. They live in Tennessee so we seldom see them. That’s about as much about us as I can squeeze on to one piece of paper. But I’ve written this to keep in touch with YOU. Whatever were your highs and lows this year, may your Christmas season be filled with peace and love. The years have passed and the joints begin the creak, but old friendships never die. Every relationship and every memory is precious. I hope you will continue to keep us in your hearts even as we remember and cherish you. With best wishes for a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Michael and Autumn Our contact Information: Michael Buss and Autumn Browne,
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