We started the year by traveling to Wisconsin in February (yes, I know, I know…Wisconsin in the winter … ice, snow, cold … I get it) so that Deb could spend some time with the country’s leading facial nerve retraining therapist at University of Wisconsin Medical Center. We flew in on Valentines Day and spent three days hard at work. Well, Deb was hard at work … Willie was trying not to laugh out loud at some of the crazy things the therapist had Deb doing with her face. Deb came back with about 2 hours a day of various facial exercises and stretches, all designed to whip the damaged nerves into shape. Almost immediately, the lingering pain disappeared and Deb started to see visible differences in the way her face was moving. It was a great way to start the year! In fact, it was so much fun that we went back in September for a follow up visit! Just as a personal observation, Wisconsin is much nicer in September than in February.Deb’s dear friend, Lynn, lost her long battle with cancer and passed away with her sister by her side on March 19. As she wished, we had a joyous celebration of her life in New York City with family and friends sharing stories and memories. We miss her every day.
Over the winter months, the He Man Racing team built a brand new Spec Miata race car, which debuted at the New Jersey racetrack in June. Deb isn’t entirely sure what went on during those winter months, but rest assured that there was a lot of chest thumping and other manly things. Although the race season was somewhat shorter than usual due to length of time needed to build the new car (all that chest-thumping takes a lot of time), it was a success on every level. The last race of the season was the 13 hour endurance race at Virginia International Speedway, always a favorite of the He Men, and one that happens right around Willie’s birthday. And, of course, it gave Willie an excuse to leave Deb all alone to deal with the trick-or-treaters… One tiny goblin was so aggressive that he snatched the entire candy bowl out of Deb’s hands and she had to wrestle him to the ground to get it back. Next year we are going to booby trap the yard.In between racing activities, Willie decided to challenge himself by doing a biathlon (run, bike, and run) in the spring. It was so much fun, that he decided to do it again, beating his times substantially. He also beat up his knees in the process so we expect a trip to the orthopedic surgeon sometime in 2011. Isn’t it fun getting older? Don’t answer. That’s a rhetorical question…
Deb’s parents, Dwight and Sheila, drove their big-ass motor home out here in the spring and we had a great visit. As usual, they left our property in much better shape than it was when they arrived. And, they managed to get some geo-caching in while they were here, too. We tried to get them to stay all summer, but they weren’t having any of it and before we knew it, they were headed back to Portland, OR to spend a few months in their condo. And, of course, as soon as the weather in Portland started to get slightly chilly, they closed up the condo and headed south. They are currently ensconced in Arizona enjoying warm weather and virtually non-stop geo caching.
We celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary this year. (Good grief – has it really been ten years???) It had been our plan to return to Greece, where we spent our honeymoon, but aligning dates, flights, hotels and vacation time became an exercise in frustration so we decided to go someplace we’d never been before …. Ireland! We had an amazing time and will definitely return. The weather was perfect – so much so that we suspect the Irish have created a myth about the rain to keep the country to themselves! We flew in and out of Shannon, which is a quiet little airport, very easy to navigate.
We spent time in the Burren and saw the famous Cliffs of Moher which totally exceeded expectations. Truly breathtaking. From there, we traveled down to Waterford to meet up with one of Deb’s acoustic neuroma friends. Lorenzo and his wife Sheila showed us Ireland through the eyes of locals and it was one of the highlights of our trip. We had many laughs, drank some excellent wine and ate some amazing food. And we saw some pretty cool sights, too! From there, we traveled around the southwestern coastline, where we saw breathtaking coastlines, the greenest landscapes imaginable, and (to Deb’s utter delight) lots of sheep! Sheep in Ireland … go figure. 
Willie demonstrated his masterful driving skills … on the “wrong” side of the road. Deb spent the first 3 days shrieking “you’re too close to the edge of the road” or “you’re in the wrong lane” or “what? Another roundabout?” Willie clutched the steering while and dodged sheep. Actually, every time there was a sheep sighting, Deb insisted on stopping the car to take pictures. No matter that none of the roads have shoulders.
On the heels of our second trip to Wisconsin, Philip and Linda (Willie’s brother and Holiday greetings from the Bifulcos…
his wife) came up from Huntsville, AL for a week-long visit. We had a wonderful time with them and truly hated to see them leave. Linda and Deb spent some quality time bonding over Riesling – and the men watched in fear.
After struggling for the last few years with being deaf on one side, Deb finally decided to take the leap and start the process of getting a bone-anchored hearing device (baha.) She had surgery the Thursday before Thanksgiving to implant a titanium rod in her skull, directly behind her deaf ear. Once that has completely healed and the rod has grown into the bone (about 90 days) she will be the proud recipient of a high tech processing device that will snap on to the side of her head and allow her to “hear” via bone conduction. It is pretty cutting edge stuff and we are very optimistic that it will help reduce the challenges of being single side deaf. And, of course, there is the coolness of being a bionic woman! If you want to know more about this device you can visit Cochlear’s website at http://products.cochlearamericas.com/baha
The cats and dog are all still with us. Carrie, our collie, is nearly 13 so she is slowing down noticeably. She sleeps a lot and tries to pretend that she doesn’t have to share her living space with cats. And speaking of cats…they are still ruling the universe … they’re cats after all.
Phoebe thinks the world is there solely to entertain her, while Rocket knows that the world is out to get him and spends all of his free time plotting his counter attack. We hope that you and yours enjoy a wonderful holiday season filled with love and good cheer. And, good wine!
And, now a few words from Willie (yes, I have successfully browbeaten him into writing this...)
ROOM FOR ONE MORE ELF?
Having just read a couple of our previous Christmas letters, it would appear that the underlying message was very clear - we provide a little insight into our lives and hopefully somewhere within the haphazardly arranged words you make a connection and without intent, a smile is born – sort of a gift from us to you. Yeah, not so much, people.
In fact, I’m troubled by the lack of assistance I’ve received – not even one hollow gesture. It’s now obvious to me that the years of subliminal cries for help cloaked by Christmas greetings have gone unnoticed. Therefore, I find myself needing to take a more aggressive approach this year. It’s not like I’m asking you to read tea leaves or pickle ginger – it’s more like that message in bottle stuff without having to go to the ocean. Geez, haven’t you ever watched Bones? The story is never what’s directly in front of you – it’s deeper, waiting to be rescued from the depths of despair and hopelessness.
What’s my point? What’s the one single most important theme throughout all prior Christmas greetings? No, not that William is simply a poor bastard being forced to live out his existence in a woman dominated world without so much as a clue. Time’s up! Let me help…your homework this week is to sit in your most comfortable chair and watch one episode of House – it airs Monday nights @ 8pm…I’m begging you man, just watch one show and this will all come together.
OK, where was I…, subliminal messages…, common theme…, mmmm…., OK, the common theme has always been about Willie driving beyond the limits of his abilities and certainly beyond anything remotely attributable to luck! Come on folks, don’t you remember 2004’s Christmas letter where there was a picture of me and a race team with comments about how I was getting faster. Did you miss 2006 when Debbi referenced a wreck caused by me obviously driving beyond my abilities? How about 2007’s clue when Debbi said I drove in a 24-hour race – who does that?…didn’t that tip you off? How about the 2009 reference to the car having been driven past the point of being drivable any longer? And now, did you miss today’s message about driving in Ireland with unmitigated terror around every hedgerow?
One last chance….it’s not about racing…it’s never been about the racing! OK I said it. Have you ever seen or spoken to a race car driver? They’re fit, really athletic, “eye of the tiger” A-type people who are fearless with boundless amounts of enthusiasm, determination and skill. They’re definitely not a no talent, pudgy, greying, pot-belly, beer-swilling, post middle aged Mario Andretti wanna-be like Mike Tidwell (OK, that was wrong and basically an inside jab that means nothing to most of you, but gets me even with someone who vented disappointment over a recent Christmas letter).
Did you put it all together now? OMG (that’s just me testing my new Facebook keyboard – yep, not sure what it means either). It’s me trying desperately to run/drive/hide from Debbi’s insistence of writing the next Christmas letter! Do you know what it’s like trying to stay ahead of Debbi when she’s on a mission? Now don’t get me wrong, I love the women – would be willing to go to battle, slay dragons, kill spiders, endure countless hours of watching her pull off the Pee-Wee Herman dance, but I simply cannot endure the pressure of having to write my part of the Christmas letter once she’s completed her section. So, each year, I get into a flame-retardant suit with all the safety gear known to man, and drive like a man possessed under the premise it’s racing, but wanting only to stay ahead of Debbi and the planning gene that I’m is not part of male DNA.
So, no need to lend a hand, especially now that I’ve spelled it all out. But, if you happen to see Santa this year, please send him my way – I have to think there’s at least one more seat on his sleigh for another elf.
