Hello Ric and Jan,
A milestone that many here have passed and can relate to your sorrow. A great age is 98 and a wonderful family heritage as a legacy. I am sure all the family is proud to have known him.
Give Jan my condolence’s, Ric and she’s in my prayers. It’s tough losing a parent, even when it’s expected. She’s a tough woman who I’m sure will get through this trial just fine. And, until I see her again, give her a big hug for me. She deserves it!
Reading and following the on going saga I understood this time ws coming. Please accept my condolences Jan, and know my thoughts are with you both.
My condolences Jan,Ric and family.
Ric and Jan: Marilyn and I are sorry for your loss. It’s always tough to find the right words in this situation, but please know that our thoughts are with you.
Sorry to hear that, Ric and Jan. I guess we always expect to outlast our parents, but it doesn’t make it any easier when we do. Jean and I have both of you in our thoughts and prayers.
My condolences Jan,Ric and family. Also it sounds like you had great trip thanks for posting. Later RJD
Have been following this for a while, prayers are with you and Jan during this sad time.
Tom H
Jan and Ric; I send my sincere condolences…
Fred
We end this memorable year parked on the property of the Ridge Live Steamers in Dundee, Florida. It has been a very “changing” year for us as we continue to move from a “Garden Railroad/Operational/Standard Lifestyle” to the “Nomadic Traveling Railroad Enthusiasts” that we want to be.
As 2015 was our fist full year of retirement and with the passing of Jan’s Dad, we have reduced our responsibilities along the home front in Carlyle, but do continue to have our resident mooring there.
With waters high in the Carlyle/St. Louis area, it is nice to be somewhere else and leaving the “crap sandwich” of dealing with floods, high water and the clean up afterwards to younger arms. The old fire horse in me wants to get back in to the sandbag/rescue routine, but it quickly passes with a little rum and a railroad project to think about.
Overall, 2015 was a benchmark and game changer for us. We were in Florida in most of the cold weather and in Canada or upstate New York in most of he hot weather. We did rodeos with our grand kids and model railroad operations in many areas with lots of our friends in many different areas. We are expanding in to ride on operations as part of our enjoyment and experiences. Still enjoy HO Ops, Andy and Jane’s great “largescale ops” and the “Timesaver/Inglenook” switching puzzles. Wanted to get to Ken’s new puzzles this last year and plan to be there more than once in 2016. Fred’s, Doug’s, Bruce’s, Bob’s, Mark’s, Andy’s, Marty’s, Dave’s, Robby’s, Jon’s, Al’s, Allan’s, Roger’s, and many more are layouts that need to be explored and operated many times as they grow, expand and perfect in the coming months.
We lost friends and family in 2015. We also had some new young engineers join us. Some young by birth and some because they refuse to grow old. All of us got physically older and hopefully learned from our mentors and those that push the “Darwinian Theory of Life”. Have learned to try not to be the subject of “You Tube videos”, but still push the edges of the screen that records all of our lives.
We are anchored here temporarily and enjoy “the swing on the hook” as the New Year comes in. Not certain from where and how the wind will blow next Year, but plan to see and make the best of it. Thank you for all the friendships and experiences and the documentation that have been played out on these pages. Overall, a great year and a good test run for the next one.
When I saw the St. Louis area flooding on the news I thought of you and how nice it must be not to have to deal with all the prep and clean up at the marina. Glad to hear that you are well out of harm’s way. Hopefully the home base is on high ground and there are no worries. I’m sure your summer mooring at the lake will be underwater soon!
I have no idea what the future holds for us. I’d love to get up to Canada again and will certainly try and make Bob’s this year, but with yet another new grand child, Colorado is calling again.
Happy New Year to you and Jan.
Ric, you and Jan are welcome anytime and for as long as you’d like till the itch starts again. Plenty of room to park that bus and maybe run an train or 2 while you’re here…(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
Safe travels and a Happy New Year.