Christmas Letter 2006

Holiday greetings to all! 

Please humor us by letting us tell you about 2005.  2005 was a difficult year for us.  Dad Takata unexpectedly left us in January.  Lynn's brother and his wife separated in October.  At the end of the year, Lynn got laid off after 27 years at Dataquest.  One bright spot, and bright it was, was the arrival of Kyle, Marisa and Arthur’s son, in October. Determined to make 2006 a better year, Lynn turned 60 in August and had herself a fabulous party, hosted by Marisa and Arthur. (pictures)    But then, as Keith put it, “My sister turned 60, and immediately began falling apart.”  Lynn had an appendectomy on September 1—the cost was an astounding $50,000, fortunately mostly picked up by our insurance policies.  Her expected rapid recovery (it was laproscopic) was hampered by a kidney infection.  But in fact, she was working at home three days after her appendectomy!

The last two years have been a time both of transitions—some good, some bad—and of exploring our roots.

DeWalt House, Newberry, South Carolina	Phil (left) with Bachman/Audubon Relative. Sonny Bachman holding the Rev. John Bachman’s cane

In April, Philip and Lynn journeyed to Newberry, South Carolina, site of Newberry College, founded by John Bachman, a relative of Philip’s Baughman grandmother. Philip gave a presentation on Bachman’s family history at a symposium in Bachman’s honor (presenting the y-chromosome results that we mentioned in our 2004 letter). You of course know who John Audubon is, but you probably don’t know that he was ably assisted in his natural history endeavors by none other than John Bachman (on the web see http://www.johnbachman.org/). Bachman’s sister-in-law (later 2nd wife) drew many of the backgrounds for Audubon’s later bird pictures, and Bachman wrote the text for Audubon’s book on the mammals of North America. We also visited the church where John Bachman was a Lutheran pastor for 60 years in Charleston, South Carolina. And we stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast located in a Southern mansion—Scarlett O’Hara would have felt at home!

		Going back to 2005, Philip also traveled to a small Bachman gathering in Easton, Pennsylvania, held at the Bachmann Publick house, the oldest building in Easton, built 1753 (see http://www.lvforum.com/bph/xindex.htm).  It was built by a brother of Philip’s 5th great-grandfather.  He was able to visit the grave of his immigrant ancestor Johann Georg Bachmann at the Coopersburg Mennonite Church and tour the countryside where his Swiss Mennonite ancestors had settled in the very early 1700’s.
Georg Bachmann (1689-1753)	Bachman reunion participants at the Coopersburg Mennonite burial ground

And another highlight of 2005 was our journey to Japan (maybe we should call this the 2005-06 letter).  We spent time in two cities: the lovely Kyoto and Yonago, where we also had places to stay with wonderful hosts.  We had been to Kyoto before, so it was our pleasure to find new places to visit, not hard in a city where there are 2,000 temples and shrines.  A favorite was Fushimi Inari, south of Kyoto and famed for its thousands of vermillion torii (arches or gates).  It was a great hike through miles of arches, but Philip also developed a horrific set of blisters which unfortunately plagued him for the rest of the trip. But he was a good sport and did not complain too much. (more pictures)

Fushimi Inari Shrine	Lynn with relatives in Gotsu

We took this opportunity to visit Lynn’s maternal ancestral province, Shimane-ken. We used Yonago as a base and took the train along the Sea of Japan to Gotsu, the village where her Santo grandparents were born. With some advance notice and a little detective work, we were able to locate one key relative, an Inouye. He helped put us in touch with the relatives of both Grandpa Santo and Grandma Iwane Santo. We visited in the house build by Lynn’s Santo great-great grandfather. It was a great day, and people seemed genuinely happy to see us, as we them. Lynn cried when Great Aunt Santo said, “You came home.”

We also journeyed to the beautiful city of Victoria, Canada in Fall 2005, where Philip gave a paper at an international conference on patient self-management. It was the first time we had been there since shortly after we were married nearly thirty-seven years earlier. We stopped in Portland for an extra visit with Philip’s mom, who is still holding her own despite her illness.

Marisa and Arthur continue to absolutely delight us with their family. We try to babysit Megan and Kyle, who are the light of our lives, once a week. Megan is now 3 and a terrific big sister. Though sometimes a challenge to raise, she is a delightful, curious, intelligent, and energetic child. At the pumpkin farm in October, she exclaimed, “I’m so excited about Halloween!” Kyle of course can do no wrong in our eyes. We were again so very privileged to be present at his birth. And we have enjoyed watching him develop in his first year, when so much growth and maturation occur. Already walking well before his first birthday, he was feted by a large group of family and friends for that birthday in the same clubhouse where Lynn had her big party. Daunting to think she is almost 60 years older!

Megan 3 1/2, Kyle 1

Emily had quite a year as well. In the summer of 2005, she moved out of Southern California after 9 years in San Diego. Looking for a place where she could cultivate new-found skills, she decided to move to Portland, Oregon, where we already have so many relatives and good friends. Now we have another reason to visit Portland. Life is good for Emily: she lives by herself in a cute little studio, she has a great new job as a Patient Coordinator, and she has a sweet but crazy grey kitty, Curtis. The head doctor of Key Laser Institute, where she only started working in August, thinks so highly of her that she already got a raise and was recently awarded a week end in Seattle at a posh hotel near Pike Market!

So was 2006 a better year than 2005 for us? I think so. Though greatly saddened by Dad’s death, especially Mom Takata, we soldier on, knowing that Dad would have wanted us to. It helps that everyone says Kyle greatly favors Grandpa in his appearance—it’s just too bad that he did not live long enough to meet his second great grandchild. Life is also very different for my brother and his wife, but life goes on, as it must. And Lynn did get another job in June writing an electronic newsletter on the IT industry but was laid off again in December. But she just found out that she will be working as a special education aide in the Palo Alto Unified School District in January. As they say, one door closes, and another one opens.

We hope that 2006 was good for you all, too, and that 2007 will be even better. Peace and love to all!

Lynn and Phil