Christmas Letter 2010 Including Rough Translation

Ten, Ten, Ten. Where were you? We weren’t where we used to be. Some wonder where Eleven, Eleven, Eleven will be. Or even Twelve, Twelve, Twelve. Those are rational numbers, why shouldn't I be? Shouldn't you be able to get Avogadro's number at the information booth at the airport if you traveled all that way and didn't see the Yankees? Did you realize that the price of cotton is lower today than it was during the Civil War? Is that why DI has cheap clothes? The more you learn, the less room there is in your brain for other stuff. The best part of the vacation to Blackfoot was the world potato museum. Make sure to get your picture taken there. Rochelle wants you to see the translation at: http://rrmanning.blogspot.com/?

So this is 2010. On October 10, we were living in a new house in a new place, wondering if we would be able to adjust. Richard and Rochelle did try some to shake things up, by traveling to BYU football games, etc. On a trip to Dallas to see TCU destroy BYU, the Yankees were also being beaten by the Texas Rangers in the ALCS. Richard asked a kid manning the information booth at the airport lots of off the wall questions (e.g., did he know Avagadro's number; what was the price of cotton today v. 150 yrs ago). After 30 years, Rochelle still doesn't understand him and with the kids not around the house she now has more time to wonder - she'll make it, but it's good to start getting old so you can't remember as many things. We also traveled once accidentally without luggage to Utah and ended up buying new wardrobes at a thrift shop. We are now DI fans.


Richard decided he really didn't have enough personality so he loaded up the truck and moved to Green-ville in wawa-land, taking Rochelle along, but leaving A and B behind. No more man hat and less train of one kind, but more of another. No more Shuttle, but more miles. "Be home for dinner in 10, dear." Or in Belgium, or Barcelona doing things that are hard to explain – check him out at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz-IzCvryqQ – which one is he? In Green-land there are green logos, green computer desk tops and people who love green. Most people think the license plates are a lie, but far enough west, it's actually true, and beautiful in October. We are pretty far – and he still thinks Rochelle is pretty. He hopes the bears don't find her (or us) on the path – especially at night. Or that we don't find more floating dead than a rabbit. He, at least, is happy. He does wonder, however, what the deal is with living in places named for the Holy Land. Is it natural selection or a cast iron stomach?

Richard was offered a job at a major pharmaceutical company located in Whitehouse Station, NJ so he left the big accounting/consulting firm in Manhattan in June. So he is back in the pharmaceutical industry, working on the economics of the global public policy environment. Whitehouse Station is in western NJ, far from New York, and Connecticut. Have you ever been to a Wawa? Richard went to his first and highly recommends it - just ask Dave J. if you want a second opinion. So Richard had the choice between a 105 minute commute each way (by car) or a move to a better house (at half the price) that is an 8 minute drive from the office. No more commuter train, but frequent Acela trains to DC. More international travel, but no more Delta Shuttle. The decision was a no brainer for Richard - not so much for Rochelle - and it was bye-bye to New Canaan and hello to Lebanon and the wildlife. Western Jersey is really very pretty; not at all like the I-95 corridor, so come and see for yourself and understand the Garden State thing. There are deer galore, an occasional fox or coyote in the street, our neighbor had 5 bears in their back yard last spring, Richard found a dead rabbit floating in the pool one morning, and up one end of our street is a woods that is too scary to walk into in the dark - who knows what lives there. On the big family vacation, while most of the rest were deathly ill from a food-born bug, Richard sailed through unscathed perhaps that's because he ate lots of ketchup sandwiches as a youngster.

Early in the year Rochelle entered the lottery and won a golden yo-yo. She tried again, but walk-the-dog is always a challenge. She really loved the green juice with her old "new" friends, whom she misses. The new "new" friends get together every week and make noise. They shot a video, check them out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6XoP09ta-U&feature=related. Rochelle is up before the sun, but this time the kids are awake and ready to learn, but not sing. She has put some stars on the floor in more than one place. She can walk up a big hill and carry a big stick but can't string a ham on a water ski. She loves the harp even if it is still a little far away and wears a hat. She didn't die, but felt like she wanted to for a day or two. That's what happens when you go to the center of culture or Japan, or have a weak stomach. She didn't get swept away in the tide and is glad we don't have a well, but needs a water filter. Standing on a wobbly board is hard; hitting your face on the board leaves a mark. She doesn't think anyone knows Avogadro's number. Despite her general friendliness, she won't wave at the trucks on I-78 and misses her nest.

Early in the year, Rochelle entered a biggest looser contest with friends in New Canaan and got down to a pre-marriage weight, winning the contest. She did this mostly by living on various concoctions of juiced vegetables. Quite amazing actually. Of course, consistency is the key there, so a month later she had the opportunity to enter a second round of the contest - if you know what I mean; she didn't win this time, but did well. New Jersey, the gateway to Appalachia, is a whole new yo-yo contest. Rochelle has taken up singing with a group of women from our church. They visit elder care centers and do Lawerence Welk-type shows. All the folks love it. Rochelle (along with Arrin and Ben) wasn't exactly thrilled about leaving all her friends in NC, but one thing she looked forward to was not getting up and teaching early-morning seminary (religious instruction for high school kids in our church). Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived in the new location, she was asked to teach seminary again. She is actually liking that a lot, despite the limited sleep (4:45 alarm clock, 6 am start time). It doesn't hurt that they pay her 10 times what she was paid in NC for the same gig - remember your mathematics identities. Moving into the new house gave her the chance to change flooring and prepare to re-do a kitchen and bathrooms. Let's hope we're better at picking contractors than we were last time. She and Richard walk up the road after work when it isn't too dark. A few key health challenges: She pulled a hamstring water skiing in Idaho and spent much of the rest of the year getting over it. She spent two days feeling like death was near after food poisoning in Hawaii - beginning the morning after eating dinner at the Polynesian Cultural Center, but we also visited a Japanese restaurant that day so who knows. The only things we're sure of is that it was ugly for everyone but Richard, Arrin and Harper, none of whom got sick. She also tried surfing on a wide stand-up surf board and fell off hitting her face on the side of the board as she went in. We are both disappointed that when we were looking at the house, we didn't notice that from the upstairs (especially at night) you can hear the trucks on I-78 which is closer than we realized. The neighbors say we'll get used to it.

Rachel, Shiloh, Harper, Atti. What to say about that other than, leap, surge and walk. Walk 10 or 11 months? Don’t make me eat that. Feed the dog. Skype away. Wear grandma’s hat. Inside is done, except for the finishing touches; outside was timber, pull, push, dig, pile, burn. Is that legal? A g -man should know. Atticus Finch in the basement, no longer the favorite lawyer; Shiloh gets to leave the basement, so does Rachel. Are you ever going to move west? How far? Was it Samoa, Tonga, Japan or Burger in Paradise? At least they weren't as bad off as Chris and Rochelle, and the harp didn't get out of tune. Good thing there's Skype. Abraham Lincoln continues to influence the course of events, even working part time. Tugg McGraw quit throwing a long time ago; Shiloh hasn't. It's nice to have friends in far places.

Rachel, Shiloh, Harper and Atti the dog are all well. Harper demonstrated preciousness by taking first steps at about 10.5 months of age, and by blowing out the candle on her 1st birthday cake. She is Richard's grad-daughter, after all. She doesn't like to be fed, but prefers to feed herself with finger food, which she also likes to drop on the floor for the dog. Rochelle loves going to VA to visit and babysit, and to Skype with her when far away. She taught Harper to say "hat" and to put various things on her head. The house, which had sat vacant for a few years before R&S bought it has now been mostly finished up inside and most of the exterior bushes and trees which were grossly overgrown have been cut down, burned, and/or hauled away. Attie sheds a lot and now is consigned to the basement much more than before Harper arrived. They sometimes wonder how long they will stay in VA - or at least that part of it. R&S have a friend living in rural western Oahu that we stopped in to visit while there. He suggested S look into a temporary assignment on the island. Wouldn't be a bad place to visit, actually. Yes, R&S got very food-sick on the vacation, but not Harper. R continues her PR career with the big firm in DC, working 3 days a week now. S continues to take battle classes that nobody but him understands.
Chris tried salt and left the airmail behind. He lost his oil in the road. The muffler went to Switzerland to learn cheese making; it’s a fast learner. Or perhaps that happened in Iowa or Nebraska. Does he really like KFC? Forever 22? How many birthdays can he skip? Will he get a red U to go with the blue one? Too bad for those people in the hotel. Was it Samoa, Tonga or Japan? Where is the center of culture anyway? He didn't do the burger in paradise the first time, so that can't be it. At least the beach was nearby. But so was Ben, or at least his shorts. The opulence? – he has it. Good thing - even if it is funnier when grammatically incorrect. Funny, nobody I know has seen him with the miniature giraffe or the other accoutrement's. Maybe they're hiding in the closet or under the couch. Still providing entertainment via Mac videos.

When Richard & Rochelle moved to NJ, Chris quit his management job at Aeropostale and moved to Salt Lake City, finding a similar job at Forever 21. On the drive out, the muffler on his car failed, and he took his time getting it fixed, so it's easy to tell when Chris is driving up. He also hit a bump in the road and broke his oil pan. He has auditioned for a few acting things, like a television commercial, but so far no hits. He is contemplating going to grad school at the U of Utah. Chris' food-poisoning experience was the most dramatic of the family, including projectile vomiting, etc. and making quite an impression on the cleaning crew at the hotel. We left them an extra tip. A pair of Ben's favorite shorts were in the way during one episode. I didn't ask for the details, but Ben, who had been looking for his shorts, decided he wasn't so interested in finding them after he heard about it. (Sorry, that belongs in Ben's paragraph). It is all pretty funny in retrospect. Chris entertains by imitating funny TV commercials and by appearing regularly in videos of himself and family he left behind on our computer.
You can always tell Arrin by the books she carries around, and the mud she runs in, and the extra rent paid for the garbage dump. I guess that can be blamed on London, and maybe the volcano. She lost a purse but changed her life and loved it. Ran all night; saw a hippie in the morning. Investing time but not money, learns about convexity of preferences, velocity of money and owners equity. Can arrange your flowers; draw your house. Next year you won't be able to tell her much because she will have read all the 10-k's, 10-q's, and maybe even some of the 13-t's. Good thing dad's around sometimes. Will she take his place with the man's hat - at least for the summer? She’s working hard at it. No more a surfer with eco-friendly shoes. She really liked the original tight fitting sweater and isn't claiming the new-fangled one, but it is prettier than imagined.

Arrin is working very hard this semester, being an econ major at BYU and also working as a leader in the Business School's Investment Banking Club. She has had to teach herself a lot of things because she isn't a business major, but it has been good for her. She also spent the first semester of the year studying in London at the BYU center. She fell in love with the city and the country and would love to live there for a while sometime. She was stranded in London for an extra two weeks by the volcano nobody can pronounce that was erupting in Iceland. Her favorite souvenir purse from Paris was stolen in a restaurant the night before she left - bummer. Fortunately she got home in time for Spring Term classes to start. She is re-thinking the architecture idea after meeting with some people at one of the country's biggest architecture firms over the summer, and also re-thinking the hope of working for a trendy clothing manufacturer, trying instead to get an internship. She also joined with some friends running the Ragnar Relay in Las Vegas - that's something like a 100 mile all day/all night race during which team members trade off running. She slept on top of an SUV and awoke to see a straggly looking guy (probably a fellow runner) looking at her in the morning. At least he offered her a banana. She is probably the least happy about the move to New Jersey - leaving lots of good memories in CT, but she will just have to visit.

Aside from breakfast in bed, one of Ben's fondest memories is Rochelle singing, "we're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo, how about you, you, you…" That explains a lot. Ben found regional gold and national silver and some green in the camera lens, and a bit more green at Polo. Funny that you have to dress like that to interview for a game on a horse. Where did he learn to ride a horse? When you wear the red square on your head don't let it fall off, and don’t wreck the fast red wheels. Think about the red U, but do the blue. Where did the shorts go in paradise? Turns out he didn't really want to know. He didn't take a picture of it, but it's kind of like a song. Turns out he didn't really want to know how that turned out either. Do the girls at BYU really not like the pre-mature boys? His teachers like him. He lost the Freshman 15.

Ben also left us as we moved to NJ, starting his freshman year at BYU after briefly considering the possibility of going to the U of Utah instead. His mother can't make breakfast for him any more, but he lives near the Cannon center so it's pretty similar, but he says he had lost 15 pounds by Thanksgiving. He had great success with his photography during his Sr. year of high school. He entered several pictures into the national Scholastic Arts contest. Competition was stiff, but he won a gold medal in the region and silver at the national level. The national awards ceremony was in Carnegie Hall. It was fun. He is looking to major in photo at BYU - dad recognizes extraordinary talent but hopes there's a job there someday. He is getting very enviable feedback from both photo and English teachers, so it looks like there is hope for the boy. Ben worked at a Polo (clothing store), graduated in a red gown and was loaned a red Ferrari by a good and generous family friend to drive to Sr. Prom. Fortunately, no accidents or speeding tickets.

Merry Christmas from Eli and Peyton’s clan – at least that’s what the neighborhood kids thought.

Bye-bye from us, and Merry Xmas. Some kind of rumor apparently preceded us to our new neighborhood. One Saturday, Richard and Rochelle were walking down the street and some kids were playing football. Richard asked if he could throw a few passes to them, and they eagerly agreed. He asked them if they knew who he was and they said, "yes, you're Mr. Manning, who just moved in." Soon after, one of the kids came up to Richard and quietly asked, "are your really Peyton and Eli's father?" Why ruin a good thing with honesty?