A quick note from Debbi…
Another year has somehow flown by – compelling me to ask, “where the heck does the time go??”
As usual, it has been another event-filled year for Willie and I and the twelve legs. No, we haven’t added any more legs to the household – after all, isn’t 12, plus two humans, enough? Both cats and our sweet collie are fine. Rocket, our little black cat and the smallest animal in the house, still runs everything and everyone in the house. Carrie and Cleo spend their time trying to get away from him, so things are normal around here.
Willie is now part owner of a racecar – yep, you read that right! He and
two other guys went in together on a little Miata, which they race in SCCA. They raced as far south as Virginia this year and as far north as New Hampshire. Willie’s skills as a racer have improved immeasurably and by the end of the season he already had several top-ten finishes – not bad for his rookie year of racing! He just loves the sport and completely comes alive behind the wheel. We’re already talking about next year’s racing season!
My business is continuing to grow, although not without some bumps along the way. However, I am still having a lot of fun and my revenue continues to grow year over year, so I’m ready to head into year three as an entrepreneur!
Willie and I finally returned to Italy this year – we spent two weeks in Italy in November, starting out in Venice and making our way down to the Amalfi Coast and then Rome. Bellisimo!! We visited with the Bifulco family in San Giuseppe, which was a wonderful time, as always. We had a cool little Smart car as a rental and Willie practiced his newfound driving skills as we made out way south – driving in Italy is certainly an event!
All of our parents continue to be healthy and we are looking forward to another Bifulco/Meeks
Christmas gathering this year when my parents fly out from Arizona. And speaking of gatherings, we had the Bifulco clan here for Thanksgiving this year – lots of love, food and wine. We had family from as far south as Alabama and as far north as upstate New York – what a great time!
And now, a few words from Willie…
Season Greetings from 33,000 feet
Since I've been navigating the blue skies pretty much the entire year for work-related reasons, traveling from one coast to the next, I've taken the next logical step. I've successfully completed the FAA's highest rated in-flight pilot's study course and have been unofficially awarded the much acclaimed passenger-pilot license.
Since the beginning of the year, not unlike Santa's pending mission, I've navigated about 75,000 miles and have received a fully authenticated provisional passenger-pilot license for the MD-80, 757, 737, 767, Ebraer EJR and the occasional prop plane just to keep things interesting. In fact, as I write this, many unsuspecting passengers are relying on my ability to keep this baby at 33,000 feet just long enough to cross the Atlantic back to Newark New Jersey's Liberty International Airport.
Like me, there are just a handful of unidentified passenger-pilots out there, (some of whom can only be identified by their short cat-like outbursts, which oftentimes are preceded by facial fidgeting immediately after a short burst of air turbulence); I can assure you that it was never my intent to pilot a plane. In fact, my aversion to flying has risen to such heights that my condition has been classified by many as… the monkey on the back of the white part of the knuckle. But, to accommodate the needs of my employer, and the seemingly infinite number of positions held since our last Holiday letter, I've taken destiny into my own hands and have become the self-designated pilot's pilot.
Although a somewhat unorthodox flying technique, but no less effective, I have fully mastered the lost aeronautic art of facial-grimacing, buttock-clenching, and silent screaming to the level of actually being able to fly most modern jets from as far back as seat number 22B.
Yes, if you haven't gotten the picture yet, I've spent most of my year scared to death...no not in the same way that marriage awakens you to the reality that it's a women's world and men are simply allowed to co-exist at their will and pleasure, but in the way that your conscious mind suppresses the idea that you’re buzzing around in a Brawny paper towel tube under the control of "pilots" similar in age to the kids who routinely beat up your mailbox during Halloween.
So, should you happen to be flying and see me or my other co-pilots back in the cheap seats with a look like we've been on a fiber-free diet for a while, please don't be alarmed, we're probably helping the forward-based pilot navigate through some nasty weather.
Debbi and I both wish you and your families a non-turbulent year!
Alpha Beta Kappa Bingo Bamo Tango Roger Out
Another year has somehow flown by – compelling me to ask, “where the heck does the time go??”
As usual, it has been another event-filled year for Willie and I and the twelve legs. No, we haven’t added any more legs to the household – after all, isn’t 12, plus two humans, enough? Both cats and our sweet collie are fine. Rocket, our little black cat and the smallest animal in the house, still runs everything and everyone in the house. Carrie and Cleo spend their time trying to get away from him, so things are normal around here.Willie is now part owner of a racecar – yep, you read that right! He and
two other guys went in together on a little Miata, which they race in SCCA. They raced as far south as Virginia this year and as far north as New Hampshire. Willie’s skills as a racer have improved immeasurably and by the end of the season he already had several top-ten finishes – not bad for his rookie year of racing! He just loves the sport and completely comes alive behind the wheel. We’re already talking about next year’s racing season!My business is continuing to grow, although not without some bumps along the way. However, I am still having a lot of fun and my revenue continues to grow year over year, so I’m ready to head into year three as an entrepreneur!
Willie and I finally returned to Italy this year – we spent two weeks in Italy in November, starting out in Venice and making our way down to the Amalfi Coast and then Rome. Bellisimo!! We visited with the Bifulco family in San Giuseppe, which was a wonderful time, as always. We had a cool little Smart car as a rental and Willie practiced his newfound driving skills as we made out way south – driving in Italy is certainly an event!All of our parents continue to be healthy and we are looking forward to another Bifulco/Meeks
Christmas gathering this year when my parents fly out from Arizona. And speaking of gatherings, we had the Bifulco clan here for Thanksgiving this year – lots of love, food and wine. We had family from as far south as Alabama and as far north as upstate New York – what a great time!And now, a few words from Willie…
Season Greetings from 33,000 feet
Since I've been navigating the blue skies pretty much the entire year for work-related reasons, traveling from one coast to the next, I've taken the next logical step. I've successfully completed the FAA's highest rated in-flight pilot's study course and have been unofficially awarded the much acclaimed passenger-pilot license.
Since the beginning of the year, not unlike Santa's pending mission, I've navigated about 75,000 miles and have received a fully authenticated provisional passenger-pilot license for the MD-80, 757, 737, 767, Ebraer EJR and the occasional prop plane just to keep things interesting. In fact, as I write this, many unsuspecting passengers are relying on my ability to keep this baby at 33,000 feet just long enough to cross the Atlantic back to Newark New Jersey's Liberty International Airport.
Like me, there are just a handful of unidentified passenger-pilots out there, (some of whom can only be identified by their short cat-like outbursts, which oftentimes are preceded by facial fidgeting immediately after a short burst of air turbulence); I can assure you that it was never my intent to pilot a plane. In fact, my aversion to flying has risen to such heights that my condition has been classified by many as… the monkey on the back of the white part of the knuckle. But, to accommodate the needs of my employer, and the seemingly infinite number of positions held since our last Holiday letter, I've taken destiny into my own hands and have become the self-designated pilot's pilot.
Although a somewhat unorthodox flying technique, but no less effective, I have fully mastered the lost aeronautic art of facial-grimacing, buttock-clenching, and silent screaming to the level of actually being able to fly most modern jets from as far back as seat number 22B.
Yes, if you haven't gotten the picture yet, I've spent most of my year scared to death...no not in the same way that marriage awakens you to the reality that it's a women's world and men are simply allowed to co-exist at their will and pleasure, but in the way that your conscious mind suppresses the idea that you’re buzzing around in a Brawny paper towel tube under the control of "pilots" similar in age to the kids who routinely beat up your mailbox during Halloween.
So, should you happen to be flying and see me or my other co-pilots back in the cheap seats with a look like we've been on a fiber-free diet for a while, please don't be alarmed, we're probably helping the forward-based pilot navigate through some nasty weather.
Debbi and I both wish you and your families a non-turbulent year!
Alpha Beta Kappa Bingo Bamo Tango Roger Out
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