Christmas97

Hello,

1997 has come and gone and, as I always do this time of year, I am feeling retrospective and hopeful. Before I fill you in on what I've been up to, I'd like to encourage all of us to continue doing all we can to increase the net well-being of the earth's inhabitants.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Here's what I've been up to in 1997:

I earned 13 and 14 gallon pins for those levels of lifetime blood donations -- this may have been my best year ever in that regard.

I continued volunteering at the local crisis hotline for four hours each week.

Books read this year: I don't read many books these days, but I am currently reading "The Complete Sherlock Holmes", a compendium of A. Conan Doyle's Holmes works.

Periodicals read: I routinely devour the Washington Post, National Geographic, and Smithsonian.

Bicycling: I only logged about 400 miles this year over eight rides. Interestingly, my rear wheel rim failed due to extreme metal fatigue, which showed up as cracks where the spokes meet the rim. I hope to get out more often next year.

Swimming: I swam about 20-30 miles this summer, which is pretty good for me.

Good first run movies seen: Contact, Air Force One, My best friend's wedding.

Skiing: I only skied three or four times, all locally. I hope to get out more often next year, perhaps out west.

Weight lifting: I haven't been hitting the weights enough this year. I hope to improve that quite a bit next year.

Company: Unfortunately, this year only saw ten person-nights of visitors at Camp Eric. I'm hoping for more visitors next year -- the DC area is a great place to visit!

Vacations: Highlights this year were a one and a half week visit to my grandmother's cottage in NW Michigan and one week with several members and friends at a summer camp.

On the spectator sports front, my Michigan Wolverines football team is ranked #1 nationally and is poised to win its first national championship in 49 years -- I've been waiting over 25 years for this! Michigan's Charles Woodson became the first defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. My Duke Blue Devils basketball team won the ACC regular season in '97 and are expected by many to win the national championship this year.

Genealogy: I made a breakthrough tracing the ancestry of my mother's maternal grandfather. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (joined 12/30/1897). They (the SAR) provided a copy of his membership application, which allowed me to trace parts of his ancestry four generations further back than previously known. Cross-referencing that information against information available from the Mormon Church allowed me to trace six generations farther back yet.

Smile & Be Happy!

Eric E. Haas

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This page last updated 01/03/02