Christmas 1999
WOW!!! The end of
"Our" millennium.. Another thousand years shot! What a great time to be alive.. this last 100 years we went from the horse
& buggy to man on the moon.. What
will we do to top that in the next 100.
A great century, a great life
and a super year! What happened this
year? Darn if I can remember! GAM and I will have to set down and think this
out.. We hope you and yours are in good health and having a rich year. (both
spiritually and financially) I imagine that we have lost a few more brain cells
in the past year but other than that we have been blessed with everything that
God can give.
I guess number 1 on the list
is that Nate decided that he had enough schooling and QUIT! Sound pretty final? He stayed in Tallahassee and worked on his
music and generally enjoyed life. In August his apartment lease was up and he
moved to Jacksonville- Bag, baggage, dog and music equipment. Notice NO Norman (snake ) mentioned. Norman
disappeared ( again ) in April. Nate
had plans to move end of July and when asked about Norman, said the snake was
gone and that was that! Could you
imagine the next renter waking up in the night to a 5 foot snake rummaging
around the kitchen looking for a morsel to eat!!!! As it turned out the snake came out of the woodwork a few days
before Nate moved. Scared him silly. Norman was climbing into bed with Nate.
(Probably cold as Nate has a tendency to run the air on frigid...) Well Norman
has been sold down the river so the end to that saga!
Nate is in Jax now and
working in a music studio as a producer ( sounds important) in partnership with
a friend from Marco, Derrick Norgren.
They haven’t made any money but Nate is eternally optimistic about such
things. Don’t ask me what they produce, but they will be
successful! Nate tells me that as soon
as he “Makes It” I will be getting a new HumVee.. I don’t need or want a HumVee
and I told Nate that but he said that when rockers make it big they buy their
dads a Hum Vee so... I can’t wait!
Nate has had a FEW jobs in
Jax to make ends meet till the big one comes along; Such as Telemarketer - a
boiler room operation that sells security systems over the phone.. Couldn’t
handle rejection. Mother Earth Grocery - couldn’t get enough hours. Presently a
florist’s delivery person.. But the year isn’t over yet. There may be others. That’s our boy!
We have had the best year
ever in Real Estate here on Marco Island..
The values have jumped an easy 30% on condos and existing homes and
homesites have really gone crazy! If you put a property on the market and it is
priced right it will sell in 2 days or less at full price.. It’s like a feeding
frenzy. The surprise is the very high
end properties are selling also. If I
can brag on Mrs martin; While on my sabbatical in Georgia over October she sold
Allan Jacksons ( call if you don’t know who he is) estate (4.2 M) and to top
that off the same week sold another estate on the river (2.65 M). Now this gal
can take care of me in the style I’m accustomed to. She is as humble as ever
and tells whoever congratulates her that it was Gods intervention that did
it.. And as we all know God helps them
who....
I’m sure am proud of
her! Of course we had to sell the homes
of the people that bought these estates so we did (within 3 days of listing the
properties) Did I mention that we had a
good year that week! But then its been that way all year. God is good!
Mrs Martin went on a getaway
vacation in January to the infamous “YellowBird” club in sunny Jamaica, along with a few chums
Gara Ann’s summer tour went
well as she .
Of
course I went on my October excursion as usual.. Up to camp Martin in Blueridge Georgia.. Had fun with the kids, Jeremy and Jessica (their father,
James, is my nephew and they call me
uncle Jim but I don’t know if I’m their great uncle or what) with plenty of
cookouts at the fire with up to 15 people.. Sister Beth and B-in-law Joe and
whoever else might show up hungry, thirsty and in need of companionship. I could
always talk someone into cooking beans or cole slaw or whatever.( I didn’t have
the facilities for that) NO DOGS! They have all gone wherever old mountain dogs
go. Not a one showed up and in the past
up to 5 was typical. I guess I’ll have
to bring my own dogs in the future.. I
sure.. did miss them. Gara Ann flew up for a 3 night stay and
brought friends Jim & Jan Danbom with her.. We were joking that last year
for our 25th anniversary
(October 13th) she wasn’t invited up so this year I had to invite
her or there wouldn’t be a 27th.. Randy manes, a manager at the
resort donated his cabin ( super accommodations) as GAM wasn’t about to stay in
a tent. We rode for hours around the back roads and enjoyed the fall
scenery. Jim (Danbom) was the appointed
cook and did we eat super.
Nephews
Joshua (Jennifer and baby) and Jonah stopped by the fire on occasion for a
beer, a bite and conversation. Josh is
a whitewater raft captain (guide) on the Occoee river; Jonah is one of the lead dancers with the Atlanta Ballet (did
Hunchback - Quasimoto - while I was
there but not being a patron of the arts I missed the show).. All reviews said
he was super, as did his mom and Granny Martin.. (talked about it for days). I was called home a week early as GAM was
snowed under with work! I did stop by in Jacksonville for a overnight visit
with my #1 son & #1 dog. He (Nate) cooked the dinner and I left early in
the morning.
I
can’t complain about losing a week as I was able to go on my sabatical trips down to the Keys 4 times this past year. That is still about
the bestest ride in Florida. It takes
about 5 hours if you drive stright thru but I have never made it in less than 8
hours.. Sooo much to see and I stop at every marina and watering hole.
We Hope that you have a Blessed Christmas And a
Happy New Year
The
Martins!