Christmas, 2008

Dear

Once again another year has flown by and it is time to send	Season's Greetings and best wishes to all for a happy year to come.

Health-wise, there were some down days but there were so many good days along the way. I got Cellulitis in my left hand and arm which took two weeks of antibiotics to relieve the pain and swelling, ( a few days of IV in the hospital). It took many more weeks to regain full use of my hand. There never was an answer as to the cause, but am slowly getting back to writing and doing chores.

There were many birthdays celebrated, among them, brothers Arthur, 91, Walter, 84, sister Mildred, 89, and myself, 86!

In the spring and fall, there were our vacation trips to the beautiful Villa d' Orsi. The weather was perfect as we enjoyed our morning tea on the deck, looking across the valley to the hills beyond and the newly planted olive orchard below. After tea, we head inside for a sumptuous breakfast, and the meals only get better as the day goes by.

I use a walker all the time now, as my balance is very poor, and I haven't driven for a number of years. My license expired in March after 66 years and I didn't renew it. Richard and friends take us to all of our appointments, shopping, and events. We are very well taken care of.

The forest fires in California were very bad this year. Some were caused by nature, but many others were the work of careless and thoughtless people. Thousands of people have lost their homes and life savings after many years of hard work.

Our economy is in such bad shape. For me , it brings back all of the miserable days of the 30's. That was a time that taught us about real friendships.

The election has been the uppermost thing on most people's minds this year. We had a good election in November and the end result was wonderful. Let us hope that great minds now will prevail, to help us through this bad economic depression where so many people are hurting, and to end these useless wars, giving hope to all the people of the world.

Let us give real meaning to the words of Christmas- Peace on Earth,

and good will to all people of the world.

Love,

Richard Williams

2008-11-27T07:48:18

Richard Williams