Christmas 2007 Dogone! Where does time go! Got home last night from a fast (3 day) trip to Georgia cabin and GAM says where is the Christmas letter (today is the 17th). Sooo: here I sit with a pot of coffee trying to remember what happened in the past 12 months. Nowhere near as easy as it used to be (remembering). Sad Note. Granny, Jean Virginia Martin, quietly passed away five days after Thanksgiving. Sister Beth organized the family (Thanksgiving) dinner at Gilmer Nursing home (where Mom resided for the past year). Turkey and fixings, kids – and grandkids, and great grandkids 20+ and Mom was in good spirits. Just chose not to eat after that and went to be with Jesus and Daddy. I picture her up there wearing a big red hat, high heels and a fancy dress dancing with Daddy. No reason to grieve as she will be there for eternity and we will see her again at that big reunion! Mom outlived all her “old” friends so we decided to have a service in the early summer when more of her family could come down for the interment in Ft.Myers, next to my dad. You guys that were at her 91st b-day party here on Marco were her “young” friends and she did treasure you all. The picture of that gathering was always prominently displayed. As a matter of fact, that is one of my favorites also… A bunch of good friends. Nate has a new avocation… Motorcycle mechanic… He sold the Honda that he has had as transportation for so many years (still has my old Harley) and is using that money to build a bike! Yes, I said build! Now, this is the kid that would call and ask if I could come out and fix his lawnmower. He referred to my mechanical ability as “Redneck Skills”. Started out when he blew the drive belt on the old Harley and found out it would cost “mucho bucks” to have fixed; so he tore it down and with the help of a local friendly bike shop, figured it out and fixed it.. This is a major breakthrough for Nate! When he finished that project (without my input), He decided to build, from scratch, a chopper. Well, without going into too much detail, the frame is done… Most cutting, bending and fitting was done by Nate and the welding was done by a professional. Actually looks great. He has a Harley motor in place and is completing the metalwork. (Tank, fenders & seat pan). He has a ways to go, but it looks good. Will bring you up to date on the progress next year. He and pretty wife, Gina still have the “Swamp”, and “old” Pongo, the beagle, is the patriarch of the neighborhood. Speaking of Gina, you only have to see their home or have a meal at their house to realize how much artistic talent that girl has…and beside that, she “runs” the COACH store. Nate’s Musical talents: Still acting as a producer in his recording studio. He just completed recording in his studio our music ministry’s gifted singers, Ben Sprankle and Anna Schilling for a CD. We have great in-church talents: Ben will handle the graphics (packaging) and The Hurtleys (our churches technical family) will produce… To be available at the church for a donation to the Legacy/Building Fund. Nate has a band: Nate Augustus & the Gladesmen, (Augustus was his Grandfather Toalson’s middle name) and they play a few nights a week at various outlets. GAM & I attended his regular Friday (bike night) show at the Iron Rhino, A mostly biker bar on the edge of the Everglades. We were impressed. Nate plays Harmonica and guitar and has Scottie on the standup base and “Chainsaw” on drums. Most of their material is original (Swamp-Billie) and written by Nate. He has a following! Our Church, First Baptist of Marco ( www.fbcmarco.com), is (or has) leapt out of the ground. This building is first class and ready for the future. It will be bittersweet to see the old building demolished; so many memories of old friends, gatherings and functions. We are also involved in a off Island startup church, Fairway Community Church (www.fairwaychurch.com) that is meeting at Edison Community College. We are (GAM & I) committed to participating in services till it gets off the ground. We hit the ground running with a dedicated staff of three pastors and their wives and children. (Everybody gets involved). Wives and family double as musicians, greeters, and setup crew or nursery workers. I often wonder where pastors find talented and willing (not to mention pretty) wives. God DOES provide. Father-son activity: My annual B-day ride with Nate took a new turn. For some years we went, with GAM to keep us out of trouble, to Key West for 2-3 days and enjoyed that which KW is known for. Well not everything KW is known for… I must be getting old. This year that didn’t sound like fun anymore so we saddled up and went down to Everglades city just to ride and visit friends. A good time was had by all. This year (my 65th ).. I haven’t decided what to do. End of February, we met up in Daytona for Annual Bike week. Nate rode up and met a friend there and I trailered my bike and we camped for 5 days and took in the sights and sounds of Daytona. No excitement there as I am in bed by 9 PM and the fun doesn’t start till at least 11 PM. Gara Ann - Pretty as ever, and just will not slow down. Business is sluggish, along with the economy, but a Realtor can still make a living. Very involved as an owner-partner in the Keller Williams Realty Marco Island office. Trips to the corporate offices in Austin, TX for training and many meetings here and there. She made a number of trips to Mexico, MO to visit Gerry Villars, Centralia for Anchor Fest and a “reunion” with friends as well as Fayetteville, AR to visit her Mom and the Peisers. Of course we had to incorporate a couple of the visits on game day for the almost unbeaten Mizzou Tigers. She was ready to go to New Orleans…but not Dallas. Cabin-in-the-Woods - I spent 4 months (total) at the cabin over the summer. I really enjoy my time in the mountains and the time flies by. I have all my toys up there and have to make a decision each day as to what to do to amuse myself. Dirt bike in the woods (I’m too old for that thing but still enjoy it); Jeep for the woods or explore the back roads; Harley for a road trip into the Smokey’s. GAM “made” me get rid of the Samurai rock climber last summer, so I replaced it with a 700cc 4 wheeler. Safer for an old guy like me, than the dirt bike, but FUN! Last summer I visited Granny at the nursing home every other day, mostly at breakfast time; but never on Tuesdays or Saturdays (flea market days). A lot of motorcycle miles there as I never went “straight” home. Plenty of friends up there so never wanted for someone to play with. All the family (sister Beth’s 20+) I can handle is just 500 yards thru the woods for campfires, birthday parties and just get-together times. Or just sit on the porch (with my dog Happy) and spit & whittle. Happy… Still the smartest, bravest and prettiest, not to mention warm, dog you ever saw… Well, one out of four ain’t bad. She loves the woods and “hunts” all over the 2 acres up there. I pity the bear she comes across. We still have the camper, but it has become an International Taxi: Mexico, Columbia, Centralia all in Missouri. Gara Ann and I made two camper runs (mercy missions) this summer. A trip in May to visit Gerry in a Mexico, Mo nursing home then a fast run to Fayetteville, AR For Mom Toalson’s Birthday party (90), then back to Blue Ridge and home. The second was a run to Mexico, MO to empty out Gerry’s apartment and box for storage all her worldly goods. She is in a Nursing home in Colombia, MO and Gara Ann’s brother Bill is looking out for her (almost daily visits). An aside is that the only picture in her room is of Gerry sitting on my Harley some 5 years ago (She went for a ride around Centralia with me at age 75). Of course it just happened to be a Mizzou home game day with Oklahoma… So GAM got to do some tailgating and watched the Tigers WHUP the Sooners. GO TEAM! We have enjoyed a wonderful summer...I left Gara Ann at home to work, but we really did spend some time together and that was made possible by our awesome assistant at our Keller Williams Realty office, Carla Lindburg. Thank you for being you, Carla! We are both on the Island and look forward to the winter season. It is always fun to see friends come back for the winter and the pace picks up too, which we find exciting. We appreciate and treasure your friendship and wish for you a wonderful Christmas. Remember many babies became kings, but only one King became a baby...He gave up his position as God and King to come and show us how to live and then He gave his life to pay for our sins so we could have a precious loving relationship with God, our father. Merry Christmas! The Martins