Contact Light, 2006

Contact Light, 2006 Year-End Edition, from John M. Burt and the Burt Family
960 SW Jefferson Avenue, Corvallis, Oregon 97333 USA (541) 753-6094 john_m_burt@hotmail.com // katheburt@hotmail.com
This is a Blackberry House publication


Note: The first words spoken from the Lunar surface, even before "The Eagle has landed", were "Contact light," meaning that a light in the cockpit indicated that the legs of the lander had touched down. This publication exists to maintain contact, and hopes to spread light.


Well, that was different. No two years are alike, of course, that's part of their charm. This one could have been more charming, though.

Last things first, the December windstorms that left literally millions without electricity across the Pacific Northwest did indeed take out our power, but only for a few hours. Kathe was visiting a friend in Portland that night, and their power was out for longer. but they were only inconvenienced, not harmed.

By the way: Also left without electricity for at least part of the time were: daughter Biftu (Asnakech) in Portland, daughter Sarah in Portland, son Jake and daughter-in-law Claire in Lakewood (Washington), brother David in Seattle, brother Tom in Corvallis, John's parents in Monroe (Oregon), aunt Anne and uncle Wes in Corvallis, cousins Mike and Jen in Corvallis, and a couple million other folks.

Some brittle ailanthus branches broke off, as they usually do, but none of our trees blew down. Altogether it was a minor incident., not worthy of mentioning in this letter, except that it happened so recently. As for the rest of the year....

John's grandfather died. He was John's mother's father (John’s father's parents died a long time ago), 92 years old and married 73 years to Grandma. It wasn't unexpected, it wasn't untimely, and there isn't a lot to regret at the end of a life like his. On the other hand . . . Grandpa died.

Waldy turned 18 this year, and has worked at his first job. Interestingly, it's the same as John's first job: washing dishes at Darrell's Fine Food on North 9th Street. Same location, too. Late update: he has just traded up to washing dishes at a classier place.

After years of ill-health, Tesfaye has had a major improvement in his condition and we have every reason to expect that he will do well in the future.

Biftu continues to live and work in Portland. Michu (aka Mestowet) continues to live and work in Dallas, Texas. We’re looking forward to seeing them both this Christmas.


John flunked out of nursing school but is taking steps to get back in the program and/or back on the horse. Unfortunately, the nursing school program is fairly inflexible: Nursing 101 in Fall term, Nursing 102 in Winter, Nursing 103 in Spring, so he has to wait until Spring term of 2007 to re-take Nursing 103. On the advice of the faculty, he'll audit Nursing 102 to help get up to speed, and then make his plea to be allowed to take Nursing 103 for credit. In the immortal words of Bullwinkle J. Moose, "This time for sure!"

When the kids were little, we referred to prostheses as "robot" parts, as in, "he has no arm, so the doctor gave him a robot arm." They were greatly amused when I referred to Kathe's numerous gold crowns and gold-framed tooth as "robot teeth". A few years ago she acquired new hip joints which set off metal detectors, and in November she added "robot eyes" when her lenses, impaired by cataracts and light-refracting wrinkles, were replaced. She'll still need glasses, but her new lenses are a definite improvement over the old ones. When they put the new lens in her left eye, she was greatly impressed by how much more light it let in, but she was accustomed to it by the time she'd recovered enough for surgery on the right. As of this writing, she still doesn't have a new eyeglass prescription because her eyes have not yet completely healed and thus her vision is still improving slowly, but she can already see well enough, using an old pair of glasses, to read and drive and otherwise carry out what nurses call "the ADLs" (Activities of Daily Life).

And speaking of hip joints, John's father didn't have a very good time with his broken hip, but he continues to recover, literally one step at a time.

On the bright side, also seen recently at John's parents' place is a new baby. John's cousin Mike and his wife Jen, who have lived in an apartment in the barn off and on, are by all reports really enjoying parenthood, as well they should.

Last year, much of the roof was replaced with a new set of shingles that ought to last for decades. This summer, much of what remained was replaced. Once again, Kathe's son Jake did most of the work. It's such a pleasure and a comfort to hear the rain falling and not having to worry (much) about where it might be leaking.

I reckon those are the highlights of the year. For more details, try John's blog: http://john_m_burt.blogspot.com


//The Magic Eight-Ball says, "God bless us all -- no exceptions."\\