Just yesterday I was helping out at a business function in Cincinnati, a "Santa" station where the kids could come to talk to the "Man in Red". We were enjoying the 71 degree weather, with kids in shorts, and motorcycles and top-down convertibles going by. It seemed really dysfunctional to all concerned, though none of us complained too loudly. I went around the yard and found flowers on my forsythia bushes, and some marigold seeds have actually sprouted in my garden due to the recent heat wave! But it brought back memories of a newlywed couple sharing their first married Christmas in Hawaii. We were stationed there for almost three years. One year we had to call home and ask them to rush blankets over to us, as the temperature had hit a record low of 56 degrees. None of the houses or apartments had furnaces, and you could not buy blankets there. Time goes by so quickly. My wife and I are about to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, our oldest son graduated from college in June, and our youngest son with his new drivers license drops by on occasion to let us know he is still around. I just wanted to say Merry Christmas from the new Lusby homestead in Morningview, Kentucky, on the banks of the Licking River. It has been a pleasure talking to my new-found cousins that I have discovered on the net, and look forward to many more years of pleasant conversation and serendipitous discoveries. May God bless all of you in your homes this holiday season. Bary and Chris Lusby