Reelpol

Christmas 2009

  Christmas, 2009

Not meaning to gloat, but not only have the Kelley-Sharkey stockings been hung by the chimney with care—they’ve been emptied as well.  Due to scheduling conflicts, Christmas was celebrated on Thanksgiving this year with all but Nathan, Naomi and Max in attendance.  Jon and Beverly will be meeting up with them in Tempe, Arizona during the week before Christmas. 

During January, Jon and Beverly will be crossing off a mutual “bucket list” item as they cruise the Caribbean Leeward Islands with three other couples on a 40-foot catamaran.  To prepare, Jon enrolled in an online knot-tying course while Beverly is getting in shape with her Wii Fit Plus.  In May, these nostalgic boomers also plan to retrace Route 66.  While Jon considered leasing a red Corvette, Beverly argued, these days, the most attractive means of transportation favors comfort over speed.

Not only is Jon finishing up his third term as mayor but he is also breaking his vow to retire from politics.  Apparently, having been re-energized by the newly elected members of the council, Jon brims with plans for Port Hueneme.   As to the first lady, in addition to full-time teaching, Beverly will be taking on the presidency of the Friends of the Library and assisting with the second annual Sand Sculpture Contest.

Nathan, Naomi and Max are enjoying another year in Great Falls, Montana courtesy of the Air Force.  They fill us in, via daily texts, on the exploits of eight-year Max, the world’s greatest grandkid and a rabid-to-the-max fan of “Mythbusters.”  Hopefully, there won’t be too many pulse-pounding explosions in their future.  On the occasion of his summer visit this year, Max was quite miffed to learn the indoor pool at Grandma and Grandpa’s was closed for repairs.  “Is the beach still open?” he inquired.   He still loves to help out with culinary duties and finds the Montana climate with its diversity of weather to his liking.   In fact, he learned, firsthand, there’s nothing quite like donning snow boots during the first month of school.

The newlyweds (Aug. 31 marked 1st anniversary) are still gainfully employed.  Trevor is toiling away in the Music Division of MySpace and Angie is managing the Urban Outfitters store in Glendale.  They reside in a classy apartment in Silverlake and while they love their awesome view, foot traffic stimulates their puggle, Emmy Lou Harris, into fiercely vocal protection mode.  Whenever they need a temporary home for their canine companion, however, Jon and Beverly eagerly volunteer—they get to spoil their one-and-only “grand dog” and Chloe gets to visit with her BFF.

Brendan’s beard and longish locks are growing on us.  He’s become a fixture at Countrywide—having survived, during the past six years, an equal number of down-sizings as well as a merger with Bank of America.  He’s not wild about his new job in the Flood Insurance Division but not having to take work home on the weekends allows him to indulge his passions—penning graphic novels and creating music.

Warmest wishes from Chloe and her height-challenged frozen friend as well as Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Angie, Trevor, & Brendan

Christmas 2008

 

Dearest Friends and Family,                                                                                                            Christmas, 2008

We marked this year with both a wedding and a funeral. 

On August 31^st, Angie St. Louis and Trevor Kelley officially tied the knot.  The bride’s mother Jane and husband Jim were astute enough to allow the couple to make the occasion uniquely theirs.  No traditional readings would have been as appropriate (or chuckle-inducing) as the frank and revealing anecdotes recounted by their closest pals from New York.  All was as it should be--with their dog Emmy outfitted in a dress that matched the bridesmaids and the officiant quoting Keats.  As Trevor and Angie recited their vows, (Trevor read his off his Blackberry) those of us in attendance felt like we were eavesdropping on a private conversation between the two of them—the candor and depth of their feelings for one another was quite moving.

Lillian, Jon’s strikingly beautiful mother, passed away on September 16^th.  Ever since an accidental fall at work six years ago and increasing troubles with her heart, her seemingly boundless energy had finally narrowed to a trickle. Eventually, a problem with shortness of breath kept her from even venturing out to shop for groceries or to pick up her mail.  It was not, she would insist, the way she had envisioned her “golden years.” When an operation to replace a faulty aortic valve in her heart was proposed, she convinced her surgeon that she was ready, willing and able to tackle the difficult work necessary to achieve a full recovery, despite having celebrated an 84^th birthday.  Lillian literally sailed through the operation, sufficiently mobile to leave the cardiac care unit in just three days.  A complication requiring emergency surgery was the last thing anybody, including her doctors, expected.  Jon and Beverly miss her so much—especially around 8:00PM, the time each day when she would check in via telephone.

Jon and Beverly spent Thanksgiving in chilly Great Falls, Montana, where Nathan, Naomi and Max now share domestic bliss, courtesy of the Air Force and Naomi’s extraordinary home-making skills.   Their 7 year-old grandson shoulders his “one-and-only” burden with aplomb, allowing his proud-as-punch grandparents to cheer wildly from the sidelines at athletic events, pound him with totally unnecessary questions about school, and force him to perform impromptu piano concerts at will.

Brendan has taken on a new look.  He’s now sporting a full beard and longish locks.  The facial hair-challenged Trevor is (the hippest shade of) green with envy.  Brendan’s also got a new job. The Flood Insurance Tracking Services people at Countrywide were so impressed with his quality/productivity scores that they recruited him to their division.  He cheerfully made the transfer to take a sorely needed respite from the carpal tunnel-exacerbating work he’s had to endure the past two years and, of course, more moola. 

Jon, again taking his turn as mayor this month, keeps telling Beverly that he will retire from political office in two years.  She doesn’t believe him.  He keeps busy with his piano tuning business, flying a Cessna whenever possible, and walking the beach with his favorite Yorkie.

Beverly, who was procrastinating big time re: finishing a conference paper this summer, whiled away the time refinishing the bedroom furniture.  She keeps busy juggling chair stuff (this semester only) and classes, writing her bi-weekly column for the Star, and walking the beach with her favorite Yorkie.

The best of all holiday wishes from the entire Kelley-Sharkey enchilada:  Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, Trevor, Angie & Chloe

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2011

Dear Friend and Family,                                                                                               Christmas, 2011

Having reached that certain age, Beverly observes that not only does Christmas tend to arrive at warp speed these days, but each year invariably brings more changes than anybody is really comfortable in accommodating. 

Last year at this time, even though the economy was circling the drain, both Angie and Trevor managed to find better jobs.  Forever 21 allowed Angie to cut down on traveling while Disney Music Group has already given their newest Digital Marketing director (Trevor) a promotion.  They still call Silver Lake home and are crazy busy with jobs, socializing with friends, and catering to Emmylou Harris (canine version). 

Having put in four years with missiles in Great Falls, Montana, Nathan, now an Air Force Captain, is looking forward to working on the space side---his real passion.  The family will be transferring to Washington DC, where Nathan will be involved with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)---specifically, weather satellites.  Naomi laments leaving her besties but is energized about living so close to the nation’s capital.  Since 10-year old Max is crazy about sightseeing in general, this move is right up his alley.  We hope they find room in their new digs for a couple of freeloading relatives and their winsome Yorkie.

Of all the offspring, Brendan seems to have set down the deepest roots.  He’s managed to survive so many reductions in forces at Countrywide, we’ve lost count.  He has great affection for Fort Worth and the close friends with whom he shares weekend activities.  He still amazes us with the number of graphic novels he has authored as well as the music he creates on the computer.  Brendan, his proud mother proclaims, is a truly happy person.

Beverly will be retiring, after 35 years, from California Lutheran University in August 2012.  This semester she was happily tasked with preparing for the launch of the student online radio station.  Her spring semester sabbatical will include the release of her third book (a history of political American film) and the presentation of a popular culture paper on Dr. Strangelove in Boston. 

Jon still relishes his position as a civic leader but is chagrined to find himself the institutional memory of the Port Hueneme City Council.  This intrepid adventurer, however, isn’t looking forward to facing his biggest life challenge---trying to coexist with Beverly-the-mystery-writer 24/7.  Yet not only is Jon throwing Beverly a big birthday bash in January but he is also arranging travel in April to destinations on both their bucket lists---Stonehenge and Paris.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

Wishing you the fulfillment of all your dreams at Christmas and during the New Year.

With much love,

Jon, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, Trevor, & Angie

Christmas Letter 2010

Holiday Greetings to Friends and Family,                                             Christmas 2010

We busied ourselves this year squandering our children’s inheritance. The electronic equivalent of a vacation journal is available @ http://beverlykelley.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Jon and I have always loved messing about in boats. In fact, we pictured ourselves as volunteers on the voyage of some tall ship--until we discovered that experience entailed scaling the rigging. Still, one should never jettison a dream. This January, when we were invited to join three other couples in a bare-boat charter of a 43-foot catamaran (based in St. Martin), we jumped at the chance.

What we relished the most was the way this adventure changed us--not just the new tan lines and extra poundage--but internally as well. There’s something about ocean sailing that is unlike any other experience. The mind tends to totally focus when the world, as you once knew it, is radically reduced to just three components, namely, wind, water and sky. While many aspects of shipboard life were beyond our comfort zones, we were rewarded for opening up to the experience---from schools of flying fish seemingly levitating before the bow to getting up close and personal with a green vervet monkey to being allowed to share a reef with hundreds of black and yellow-striped angelfish.

This summer, we crossed another dream off the “bucket list.” Chloe joined us as we embarked on a month-long exploration of Route 66. While we did consider renting a powder-blue Corvette for about 30 seconds, since Chevrolet isn’t making its bucket seats any bigger, we decided to rent a Mercury Grand Marquis to give a whole new meaning to the term “Easy Rider.” Remember when Reader’s Digest published stories entitled “The Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met?” On this trip we made the acquaintance of a dozen or more, but Raven Digitalis, who read Beverly’s Tarot cards, remains “most memorable.”

We also took a couple of detours. We visited Nathan, Naomi and Maxwell in Great Falls, Montana as well as Brendan in Fort Worth, Texas. We are pleased to report that our favorite grandson absolutely adores science and looks forward to the weekly experiments he conducts with his father. He also played the piano for Grandpa and the buttons literally popped off Jon’s shirt--he was so filled with pride.

Brendan showed us around his adopted hometown—especially Clark Gardens, which proved to be a veritable oasis with both mercury and humidity hitting the high 90s. He’s still toiling away for Bank of America (formerly Countrywide) and a special project netted him oodles of overtime for many months He’s now within spitting distance of purchasing his own “home-sweet-home.” We look forward to his two week visit here in December.

Lots of upheaval for Angie and Trevor: first, they confronted, with great grace, Angie’s diagnosis of diabetes; next, they relocated to bigger and brighter (courtesy of several skylights) digs in Silver Lake; and just last week, both traded positions at MySpace and Urban Outfitters, respectively, for greener (emphasis on green) pastures at Disney Digital (music division) and Forever 21.

We spent our first Thanksgiving at their home this year. The three-generation crowd included vegans, vegetarians and BYOB (bring your own bird) carnivores, but nobody left the table-groaning potluck hungry.

May your appetite for life be as heartily satisfied during the coming year.

With Love, Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, Angie, Trevor and Chloe

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

For nearly a decade, Jon was able to stave off Beverly’s pleas for a canine companion with two debate-stopping arguments: “we live in a 1200-square foot condo and we travel all the time.” Last year, after extensive remodeling that included brand new floors, he was able to add an equally persuasive third. However, when a two-pound, seven-week Yorkie puppy licked his stubbly chin, all his steely resolve seemed to melt away.

We named the midget mutt “Chloe Tiffany Kelley-Sharkey,” a moniker Trevor says reminds him of four strippers being called for their hair appointments. Although she only comes, sits, and stays when the stars and planets properly align, she quickly caught on to doing her duty outside and going soundlessly “incognito” when placed in a well-ventilated shoulder bag. As a result we’ve been able to smuggle her into innumerable restaurants, stores, and hotels. Jon also purchased, at great expense, mini sound-canceling earphones so she can ride in the Cessna.

Maxwell, our favorite grandson, blows our minds with all the science facts he’s gleaned from watching the Discovery, Science, and National Geographic channels. He’s the best-behaved six year-old on the planet—due totally to his remarkable parents. He adores all things automotive (shades of Grandpa) and relishes T-ball, soccer, swimming, and, currently, basketball.

Nathan is now 2nd Lt. Sharkey, thank you very much. He’s been raising the grade point average in his classes at Vandenberg Air Force Base and is looking forward to being posted to a missile site in Great Falls, Montana for the next four or five years. Naomi, who recently exercised her considerable management skills by heading up Max’s wildly successful school fundraising fair, will be putting her pharmacy certificate to use after the move in January.

Our anarchist Trevor is chagrined to find himself working for The Man, especially since the man in question is Rupert Murdoch. First, it was at Harper Collins, the publisher of his best-selling Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture. Trevor and co-writer Leslie Simon built up an extensive pre-publication buzz by giving the paperback its own MySpace page, signing up as many “friends” as possible, and inviting teenage lovers of emo music to participate in an interactive blog.

Second, it was at MySpace corporate headquarters (Beverly Hills), where the suits were so impressed with the tour Trevor pulled together for the book, he was offered a dream job booking “secret shows” and promoting video uploads on a scale competitive with YouTube. He and fiancée (yes, Trev finally popped the question) Angie St. Louis (ASL) are currently scouring the soon-to-be-gentrified environs of Echo Park for suitable housing and something they didn’t require while trekking around the Big Apple—a reliable car.

Brendan hasn’t given up women completely, but he’s decided to concentrate on church activities and building up his savings account in the meantime. He’s still gainfully employed at Countrywide in Fort Worth, despite all the well-publicized cutbacks. When he isn’t working overtime (the goal of home ownership tantalizingly in reach), he busies himself recording music, penning comic books, and singing with the choir.

Jon was reelected to his fourth term on the city council—a blessing and a curse, he’s decided. He fills in the hours between countless meetings and/or events by attending to his piano tuning clients, rebuilding a 120 year-old upright for Max, and cavorting with Chloe, who’s teaching him to play her version of human pet tricks, namely, “Throw-The-Toy,” ”Tug-of-War,” and “You-Can’t-Catch-Me.”

Beverly will add a Globalization course (Osher Institute at Cal State University, Channel Islands) to her teaching schedule in the Spring. She continues to file her biweekly column with the Star, is repackaging the material in her third book as a survey text, answers any invitation to speak in public, and painstakingly prowls the World Wide Web in search of cute canine apparel in size XS.

Holiday wishes and blessings to all of you,
Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, Trevor, and (now) Chloe

CHRISTMAS LETTER 2006

Christmas, 2006
We’ve been marking our progress through 2006 with the same dozen cardboard boxes. From week to week, they’ve held bath supplies, books, beverage glasses, and bric-a-brac as we embarked on a rolling remodel of just about every room in the house. Although we were cautioned that once you start, everything else begins to look dismal and dated, we embarked on a swift slide down the slippery makeover slope with the seemingly innocuous purchase of new mini-blinds.

Brendan continues to be recognized with raises and awards for his work at Countrywide. Unfortunately, he learned the hard way that it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. The same weekend we thought we were meeting his future fiancé, he and Kristin opted to part company. And we were really nice to her—honest! Bren, however, hasn’t felt the need to give up on romance—he’s already back in the dating game.

Trevor and his girlfriend Angie share a spacious, newly remodeled apartment in a quiet Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn. Although Trev still regularly contributes to Spin, AP, and Revolver, the big news is HarperCollins will be publishing his book Everybody Hurts: An Essential Guide to Emo Culture on May 1st. You can pre-order a copy at Amazon.com. No pressure, no pressure.

We are thrilled that Nathan was accepted as an officer by the Air Force. He leaves for three months of OTS on November 28th. Naomi graduated with honors as a pharmacy assistant in the spring but has chosen to manage her father’s dental supply office in Tempe while juggling volunteering as a teaching assistant in Max’s kindergarten class. We can’t seem to get enough of our well-mannered five-year old grandson—he’s growing up so fast. When his parents come to visit, Max, who wants to make the most of his time, has already laid out a very specific schedule of activities for the entire family. The latest itinerary included baking cookies, building sandcastles, playing in the park, and feeding the already overfed Port Hueneme ducks.

Jon found out what it would be like to lose an election without having to actually do so. When we went to bed on November 7, he was way ahead. The next morning, however, the totals on the Ventura County Clerk website showed him out of the money by a paltry six votes. It wasn’t until some 71,000 absentee ballots (that had been put aside while the live vote was tallied) were counted, that he was returned to office as expected.

Had Jon actually been defeated, he claimed he would have the perfect excuse to indulge his passion for flying. He even persuaded Beverly to enroll in a class to prepare her to take over should anything untoward occur in the cockpit but the cartographically-challenged second-seater has to admit she can’t always figure out where she is. She does think, however, she’d be a whiz with radio communication—she’s a gal who never met a mike she didn’t like. While, this summer, she should have completed her third Reelpolitik volume, filthy lucre and the chance to become an expert essayist in organized crime, journalism ethics, biological breakthroughs, and gun control for an online encyclopedia lured her away from the political films of the 70s & 80s for just little while. That, and all those darn boxes, of course.

The happiest of holiday wishes from Jonathan, Beverly, Brendan, Trevor, Nathan, Naomi, and Maxwell

CHRISTMAS 2005

What you see on this year’s greeting card is Jonathan and his favorite grandson Max adding to the mounting obesity problem in Port Hueneme waterfowl.

We don’t see nearly enough of the four year-old now that his father Nathan is out of the Navy and toiling for Liberty Mutual in Phoenix. His wife Naomi is racking up all A’s in school—she’s preparing to become a pharmacy assistant. Max still adores all ducks, fish, and kitty cats, but creepy, crawling bugs, thank you very much, you can keep to yourself.

Alas, there are no Kelley-Sharkey offspring left in the Golden State these days—our telephone bills overflow with long distances charges to Arizona, Texas, and New York.

Brendan is a data verifier for Balboa Insurance (Countrywide) near Fort Worth but is contemplating a move to a local police or sheriff’s department. Eventually his goal is to secure a position in which he can utilize both his degrees in Criminal Justice and Art. He’s interested in cataloging evidence but is also intrigued with work as a sketch artist. In addition, the hard-worker is shopping around for an abode of his own—a brand new three-bedroom can be had for a mind-blowingly affordable $100,000.

Trevor was forced to relinquish his East Village digs for a cheaper room in Brooklyn but he doesn’t have much to grumble about these days. The fates have smiled on the diminutive contrarian. He recently scored a piece in Spin and has managed to win the heart of a beautiful maiden from Kansas City. The starving artist routine got old fast but if the better-paying magazines keep depositing checks into his account, he’ll have successfully beaten the odds against making it as a freelance writer in the Big Apple.

God has been hearing a great deal from Beverly lately now that Jonathan has earned his wings. Just ten months ago, with the ink still wet on his pilot’s license, they joined 26 other planes flying to the southern end of the Baja Peninsula to whale-watch. Since then, they’ve eaten fish tacos in San Felipe, buffalo burgers on Catalina, and garlic fries in San Francisco. If you are catching on to a theme here—make no mistake—Jonathan knows exactly how to entice Beverly and her white knuckles into soaring into the wild blue yonder.

Spring sabbatical turned out to be a nice balance between slogging away on the book and trekking around the world. Beverly completed the (MGM) lion’s share of "Reelpolitik III" as well as managing to survive jaunts around the Galapagos, Turkey, and Greece with Port Hueneme’s tallest city council member. Since Trevor gave Beverly a “blog” last Christmas, she can now bore the socks off folks with her photo-punctuated travel journals via the World Wide Web (Visit: http://beverlykelley.typepad.com/my_weblog/).

As this wonderful year draws to a close, we send our love and best holiday wishes,

Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, and Trevor

Christmas 2004

Dearest Friends and Family,

In case you don’t recognize Hizzoner from the rear, that’s Jonathan strolling down the Port Hueneme pier with his favorite grandson Max. If you could listen in, you’d hear Jon explaining coastal tide patterns and cyclical beach erosion. Max, who just turned three, isn’t really paying attention. He’s attempting, instead, to figure out a way to get his mitts on one of the slower seagulls perched on the railing.

Nathan and Naomi, now based in San Diego, are doing a remarkable job of parenting. Max is an utter delight. He spent scant time indulging himself in the “terrible twos.” In fact, we rarely heard a discouraging word after 18 months but then Grandma and Grandpa kept him on the move, trying to cram a month’s worth of activities into each short-but-sweet visit. Max is fascinated with fish (especially sharks), adores digging in the sand, and doles out bread to the local ducks with breath-taking gusto.

Beverly is still trying to understand why Brendan and Trevor found it necessary to move as far away from Ventura County as possible. Well, she does understand—she just doesn’t like it. When Trevor graduated from California Lutheran last December, he decided to reside where all great writers do, namely New York City. He’s actually eking out a living as he pecks out record reviews on his laptop and flies across the country conducting interviews. It’s a draining lifestyle that has Trevor weighing his career options. His mother isn’t exactly holding her breath but finds his laid-back probes about graduate school and college teaching pleasantly pleasing.

Even though Brendan was employed by Countrywide in Simi Valley for only a short while, the mortgage company was so impressed with his productivity and highly evolved attention-to-detail gene that they relocated him to Texas. He’s finally able to afford a real apartment (actually a two-bedroom, two-bath) and after six years on a flattened futon, he finds his king-sized Sealy the nearest thing to heaven on the planet. He’s also quite ecstatic that Fort Worth boasts a steakhouse on nearly every corner.

Jonathan is still serving on the Port Hueneme City Council and keeps busy with wide-ranging committee work. Beverly gave him flying lessons last Christmas and Jon will be pinning on his pilot’s wings as you receive this letter. He asked Santa for a Cessna this year but Beverly informed him that unfortunately Target doesn’t stock them.

Jon and Beverly wiled away much of the summer in the bowels of various east coast libraries. Beverly was researching the third book in her Reelpolitik series. She’s managed to wrangle a sabbatical for spring semester so she can concentrate on writing, which, in addition to Jon, has become the major passion in her life. Jonathan is taking a crack at a 5,000-word magazine piece on baseball player Arlie Latham. Both, however, will be carving out time for a jaunt to the Galapagos in January and Turkey/Greece in May.

The whole Kelley/Sharkey clan is going to gather around the old oak dining table for the holidays. Don’t ask Beverly what she is going to serve—she’s still trying to devise a menu that will appeal to carnivores, vegans, carbophiles, carbophobes, and those who simply can’t abide anything green. What she does know, however, is that there will be plenty of wadded-up wrapping paper, plenty of disputes over politics, and plenty of leftovers.

There should be laughter and love as well. Hope the same is true at your house.

Jonathan, Beverly, Nathan, Naomi, Max, Brendan, and Trevor