Winter '97
Dear Friends,
Time again for the annual letter from the Corys. As usual, this has a been an interesting year for us. Vibeké is in Venice
Beach, Chris and Earl are living in Hercules, and all have new Jobs.
The year started out well, we were able to go skiing several times (when we were not stuck in the snow). This November, to
take care of the stuck problem, we bought a new Urban Assault Vehicle, a.k.a. a Jeep 
Grand Cherokee. The first change we got, we purchased a ski
rack and off we went to Tahoe, only to be greeted by a record storm (8 feet of snow in 3 days). It was so bad, that I-80 for closed
for a record 40 hours. The Jeep works!
Earl was tired of his stable job at Marin General Hospital (as seen in the opening scenes of the movie Jack.) In February,
he decided to leave full time employment and go back to the uncertainty of consulting. He started a contract at Apple Computer’s
Data Processing Center in Napa. In the summer, Apple out-sourced the operation to SHL, System House Ltd., (Canada). SHL was acquired
by MCI. MCI is merging with BT, British TeleCom. Who knows what the future brings with the ever shrinking and at the same time
expanding universe. Anyway, his contract was extended.
Chris started a new job in November of last year at Illustra. She was having a great time learning new database technologies.
In February, Informix, another database company in the SF Bay Area, liked their technology so much, that they bought Illustra
and all the employees. But with buy-outs, comes re-organization. Chris went from technical sales engineer to Manager of DataBlade
Development. In April, Chris went on a business trip to Korea. She had a great time, teaching, touring, and taking several rolls
of videotape that are waiting for an audience. Her job, title, and duties have changed every few months.
Tragedy struck in April. Earl’s nephew
Cory Heitz was killed in a single car accident. It occurred while he, his friend John, Pete, his dog, and his new Jet-Ski were
on the way to Lake San Antonio. He was an easy going kid, who enjoyed cooking, eating, fixing machinery and computer equipment,
water skiing, swimming, fishing, jet-skiing and was associated with several Kiwanis Club fund-raisers. Because of his belief in
what he called “The Gift of donating to save another life”, Cory’s heart went to a 35-year-old Colorado man who is married and
has a son. His liver went to a 58-year-old South Bay businessman who has two daughters. A kidney went to a 54-year-old New York
man. His other kidney, two corneas and ten other tissues helped improve the quality of life of others.
Memorial services were held in Pacific Grove. Over Memorial Day our families went on our regularly scheduled camping trip to
Lake San Antonio. A second memorial service was held there when his ashes were scattered on the lake.
Vacationing with friends is important to us. On President’s Day, we “sent Earl’s parents away” and spent the long weekend in
Pacific Grove with our close friends, Ed and Marie Gregor, and Bob Walden and Adele Schmitz relaxing and doing nothing for three
glorious days.
Last year we purchased shares in a vacation resort company. It allows us to exchange credits, a lot like a t
ime-share, to vacation wherever and whenever
we want in the world. Once again, we vacationed with Bob, Adele, Ed and Marie. We rented a condo with the most spectacular view
one can imagine on Poipu Beach in Kauai. We had a great time touring, swimming, eating, drinking, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking,
resting, windsurfing and reading.
That wasn’t the only trip to the “Islands” this year. Chris spent the first week of December on Manhattan on business. Her
“significant” (read-between-the-lines) birthday was Friday, Dec 6., Earl flew in for three days to help her celebrate. We stayed
at the “Jalbert Inn”, an apartment in Battery Park City, Southeast side of Lower Manhattan. This was Earl’s first trip to the
Big Apple (not to be confused with the Apple Computer). He was born in Upstate NY, but never ventured South. In that short time
we covered a lot of territory on the island. The adventure included: a Broadway show, the Stock Exchange when it fell several
points, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Strawberry Fields, Tavern on the Green, a Cyber Café in SoHo, Little Italy,
China Town, a drink at top of the World Trade Center, The Museum of Natural History, and of course the subway system. Chris left
on Sunday night for London and Earl went home to feed the cats.
Next summer we plan to go back to Ireland
and see the parts that we missed. We asked Josef and Feltina to join us for a couple of weeks. They go to Ireland almost every
year and plan to retire there. Matter-of-fact, that sounds like a good idea to us, we will look into it. We realize that the skiing
isn’t too good, but think of all that Guinness on Tap and the beautiful scenery.
We have a new member in our household.
If you remember, last year we expected to get the two cats that were Chris’ mothers when Vibeke moved to Venice. Well it happened.
But, one of the two cats, Oliver, turned up stiff in the dinning room one morning for no apparent reason. (We are sure that it
wasn’t Chris’s cooking, maybe Earl’s.) We were then a one cat family until November, when we heard a weak crying outside. After
a couple of days, we trapped a feral kitten, about 6 weeks old, in the garage. She was scared of everything and everyone. We kept
her in a computer box for a few days until she was used to people and a regular meal. She now runs all over the house and is sitting
on my hands, chasing the cursor on the screen as I try to write this. The capture of this wild animal occurred on the weekend
we bought the new Jeep, therefore, her name is Jeepers.
Earl has continued to add wires to the
walls. We how have an Ethernet and 10-base2 networks running throughout the house. (You can even use it in the dining room, if
you throw a black cable over the stair railing and connect it to the hub on the floor under the Victrola.) His plans for the CWW
(Cory-Wide-Web) are progressing. His web site is up and running, but only in the house.
We have had several houseguests this year.
During the summer, Sherry and Larry Sands stopped by overnight on their way to Northern California and stayed a few days. We tasted
our way through Napa Valley.
In September, Enno Brands, a friend from the Netherlands, came over for Illustra training and stayed with us for two weeks.
He ran all over the hills of Hercules and Pinole conditioning for the, Amsterdam Marathon. On Nov 3, he ran and finished the race.
(We barely survived the Bay-to-Breakers event). Earl was the tour guide for Enno, Paul and Iva (his brother-in-law and sister)
for a return trip to Napa Valley.
Paul (occasionally John) has been a frequent
visitor this year. He has had several contracts in the Napa Valley, so stays with us while working. He even lets Iva come along
upon occasion.
We really enjoy going to the theater. San Francisco has many nice things, but their theater leaves much to desire. We renewed
our season tickets for the three of us to the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. This gives us a good excuse to get down there to
see our friends and family, and visit Vibeke.
Speaking of Vibeké, she is still living in her duplex in Venice Beach, less than a block from the beach.. As I mentioned, when
she moved in, she didn’t think that she would have time for the two cats, so she gave them to us as a Christmas present. But,
in the mean time, she has acquired a dog, Sonny, and two black kittens, Kumba and Zeus. She uses the dog to pull her on the boardwalk
on her Schwinn beach cruiser.
She has had several jobs this year, answering phones, waitress, hostess, bartender, and receptionists for Veterinarians. One
of the Veterinarians uses homeopathic medicine and acupuncture on the animals (only in L. A.) She registered for classes at Santa
Monica City College in the fall. One in metal jewelry making and the other Introduction to Business. She has really enjoyed the
business class and has registered for more business classes and even a computer class next semester.
Chris has continued with tennis every
chance she has. She has standing games on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday and during the week. As you can see, with her
new job, she has been able to play more regularly (also, she seems to have stopped breaking bones).
Earl, found time to resume his genealogy work. He now has 6127 people in 2232 families in his database and is adding more daily.
He has started adding photographs. With these new additions, he is not quite ready to print The Giles and Thomas Cor(e)y Family
(where have you heard that before.) But, if you are in his database, he has included a little sample of the information he has
about you and your relatives.
To end the year on a high note, Sherry
Heitz, our niece, gave birth to a baby boy, Bryan Cory Sands, on Dec 17.
Well that’s a summary of our life in 1996. We are always happy to hear from you and what you and your family have been doing.
We accept, letters, phone calls, visits, etc. at our new house. If you are ever out our way, let us know and we can get together.
Napa anyone?
