Trains and ThanksGiving and Retirement

I have been busy with teaching, committees and life and have not gotten a chance to write for awhile. In these two short letters Dad is getting ready to go home for a break in the spring of 1944. Here in 2011 it is our Thanksgiving break, we will be taking the train tomorrow morning for Houston, TX and will be spending Thanks Giving with Jenny and Chris. This Friday I survived the surprise retirement party at the Community College, it was quite touching to be with some colleagues I have worked with for 24 years, been to weddings, showers, quinceaneras, funerals of parents and other faculty members together. It is a blessing to have known and grown with these friends and in this job. I have gone through different moods in terms of retiring, I see it as a change of focus not an end to working, at times I am nervous and at times excited and sometimes nostalgic. Meanwhile in our lives some friends are dying, and other friends are dealing with extreme illnesses of loved ones. Tim is occupied with occupy and I have heard some possible good news on the IRS frivolous filing issue. I have a new person to contact and will see how it goes. I have not heard from them for awhile. I enjoy the contrast between Dad's journey half way across the country for about $80 and our trip which will cost $800 round trip for a much shorter journey, along the length of the Rio Grande.