It is Christmas at the White House!
It has been another eventful year for the White folks.
This has been a remarkable year for us. A year of great joys and sorrows, but a year of
great achievements, interesting travels, great fishing, and new opportunities.
James Ryan White
We were thrilled to learn that we were going to be grandparents. We received a phone call that Tammy
had undergone an emergency C-section. Our grandchild had become unusually quiet, and Tammy visited
her doctor, and after a few tests, it was determined that Ryan was in trouble. Apparently due to a
tear in the placenta, Ryan lost a lot of blood. When he was born, he was barely alive. After
further tests, it was determined that he had severe brain damage. Poor little guy never had a chance.
Ryan was born on October 27th, and died on November 1st.
We were amazed at the poise and character that David and Tammy demonstrated. They have a very strong
faith in God. They felt that nothing happens without a reason, and that they were blessed by being able
to spend some time with Ryan, and to get to know him. Betty and I are so proud of these kids we could bust.
For additional pictures of Ryan, click
here,
or click either of the pictures above.
Our Kids
Misty bought a car this summer and moved herself to Portland, Oregon where she is attending medical
school at the
National College of Naturopathic Medicine.
She is working on her Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine degree. The first quarter is over and we hear rumors of a high honors in her classes.
We are so proud of her. Betty was fortunate to visit her in Portland in mid October and to
meet all of her wonderful roommates that are also her classmates. She and Misty made it to Mt. St. Helens and other
Portland sights, but the highlight of the trip was sitting on the front row of Cirque Du Soleil.
David and Tammy are living in
Kennesaw, Georgia which is just north of Atlanta. David got tired of leaving home each Sunday afternoon and returning late Friday night.
The frequent survivor miles were not worth being gone from home so much. In May he quit his job and is now
working for the Social Security Administration in the Marietta office. Tammy still works for Cingular Wireless and is glad David is not
traveling all the time. They continue to improve the landscaping and work on their cute home.
Our New Place
After three years of searching, we finally found a fixer-upper to buy. It is a two bedroom, two
and a half bathroom townhouse that
is located about 20 miles south of here. It has open water views from all three floors, has
excellent boat dockage, great fishing off the end of the dock, and is located within a mile
of some of the world's best tarpon and bonefishing, as well as as easy access to the reef and beyond.
I put most of the pictures and description of the new place
seperate web page.
Getting this place in livable condition
and getting moved in will probably occupy us
most of January through March.
Fishing
This has been a great year for fishing. Betty finally caught a lobster. We got so good at tarpon
fishing that we got the time down between hook-ups to under an hour. We caught so many fish, I
even had to come up with a
seperate web page
to show them all.
Travels
We took several interesting trips this year, including a trip to Ft. Jefferson to visit the
Dry
Tortugas National Park,
a trip to
the Bahamas, a trip out west, and other places. I created a
seperate web page
to show some of the travel pictures.
Life in the Keys
Bob
spends a lot of time managing our stock portfolio and chatting with virtual
friends on the internet in stock
chat rooms. One of the things he does is post his
holdings and portfolio performance periodically.
The market was very kind to us this year, what with an annualized gain of over 60%. Bob has
been considering getting a license to become a money manager or financial
planner. Betty likes to get out of the house. She is still selling real
estate with Schwartz
Property Sales, Inc. and had a good year. We fish
every chance we get.
We don't know what next year holds for us. Fixing up the
new townhouse and getting moved in will probably keep us out of trouble
through March. We are planning on an extended trip out west this summer - we
want to spend several weeks sponging off of John and Linda Heaton at
Menkhaven.
We will see what the new
year will bring, but one thing is for sure, we are going to have
as much fun as the law will allow.
We would love for you to be a part of it. We really love company, since we don't
fish unless the weather is absolutely perfect, and it seldom is perfect. Besides, there are lots
of things to see and do that we haven't done yet, and company gives us an opportunity to get out of
the rut. If you have
ever thought about a trip to south Florida, take a look at your calendar,
mark off some dates, and drop us a note and tell us when you are coming.
We will always have an empty bedroom, and we have a convertible you are welcome to use.
Well, this letter is getting out of hand, so I had better
wrap it up. We hope your year has been fun, profitable, rewarding, and
fulfilling. May this holiday season find all of you as prosperous and healthy
as we are.
ADDRESS
Home/Work: 186 Harborview Drive, Tavernier, FL 33070-2662 (305) 853-5606
FAX/Email: (305) 853-5606 / whitej7@ASME.org
This page was last updated on 12/20/03.
