[Gathnet] Long overdue update from der alt Grossvater

[Stuart Gathman]

Dear Gathnetters,
Again I have to say I am sorry for the lack of information coming from this 
site.  As you may know we have been very busy since returning from Hawaii.  
Today finds Jamul in a rainy situation with cool weather and I am more 
inclined to sit at my computer and write a little note.

Ortal White (our niece from Israel) has been here since the 29th of June.  
She is 16 going on 17!  We have enjoyed having her here visiting but it is 
hard for a teenager to have to converse entirely in a foreign tongue!   Her 
English is getting better by the day but it is still hard for her to express 
a lot of thngs.  She had a pretty bad case of jet lag coming here.  (It is 
over 15 hours from Tel Aviv).

Next our son Jim came here from training in Pensicola, Fl and we enjoyed his 
company for a few days.  He found out that his orders had been changed and 
he is no longer going to be on a ship stationed here in San Diego!   In 
stead he is assigned to be in charge of a squadron of hovercraft vehicles 
which are stationed at the Marine Camp Pendelton just up the coast from 
here.  Because of this change, and the subsquent delay in his needing to 
report, he flew back to Hawaii to help Sue with all of the last minute 
packing and signing out of all of the services they had there.   The whole 
family then came here  to San Diego to stay at our house while they looked 
for housing nearer the base.   They found a beautiful house to rent in 
Bonsall, quite near Camp Pendleton.  Most of there furniture had already 
been shipped to San Diego so they had all of the boxes etc at the house the 
day after they signed the rental papers.  They are pretty well settled in at 
this time.

During all of this time, Jim has been taking a major roll in entertaining 
his kids, Anita's kids, and Ortal with trips to Tecate, Mexico,  Knotts 
berry farm and the like.  It took a lot of drain of we oldsters thankfully.  
I can no longer keep up with 30 something people and younger.

In keeping with his promotion to the mustang officer corps, Jim bought a new 
black Ford Mustang convertable.  Father can't say anything because he owned 
a 1948 Ford convertable almost 55 years ago.   Like father like son they 
say.   Anyway the car is very popular with all of the younger set of 
relatives.  I still enjoy the rumble of the V8 engine as heard from the open 
convertable.  It takes be back to younger days.

Love to you all

der alt Grossvater