The following is from Bill Koshelnyk and was sent near Christmas 1999... Happy Holidays!

Anyone who doesn't know we're approaching the end of 1999 -- not to mention the century and the millennium -- just hasn't been paying attention. All the preoccupation with Y2K has been enough of a "millennium bug." We'll be glad to see 2000 just to be free of being bugged about what we suspect will turn out to be the biggest non-story of the century.

But if we should wind up sitting in the dark early on New Year's Day, we'll be reflecting on a year that brought completion of a major era in our family life. We've gotten both of the kids through school!

Dan finished work on his bachelor's degree in music composition at Western Michigan University with an outstanding student performance of six of his original instrumental and electronic pieces (good stuff!). We put together a little reception afterward for those in attendance. Dan had advised that since most of his friends are vegetarians, all we'd need would be some cut greens and a little dip. We brought a hefty tray of cold-cuts along with the greens. You should have seen those vegetarians suck up the ham and pressed turkey!

Dan will still be taking a couple of courses and working to complete a collection of his original songs at Western's recording studio. And he'll continue with his weekend gig as keyboardist at St. Anthony. But all in all, he's launched. Plans now are to get a band together and assault the music biz.

Meanwhile, Judy is pursuing her own creative endeavors in Colorado Springs, where she has developed (pardon the pun) into quite a skillful photographer. Her studio work is complemented by a growing portfolio of nature images, acquired on treks into Colorado's abundant mountains. Just imagine our petite daughter laden with a three-foot-high backpack, pistol on hip, tromping through the wilderness. The pistol is to ward off local wildlife, many of whom feign curiosity about her large-format view camera to initiate conversations.

Little do they know that she has an entire other life as Gia (Jai´-yah), the belly dancer. Judy has become smitten with Middle Eastern dance, which she describes as the most intriguing form of stage movement she's encountered and a fascinating cross-cultural study in femininity (not at all the salacious cliché it's often presented as being). Photographing some area dancers got her interested. She took a few lessons, and now performs occasionally at a local Middle Eastern restaurant. Kathy and Bill continue in their pursuits -- she keeping tabs on births, deaths, diseases and assorted health concerns in the Hillsdale region, and he hustling freelance business and struggling to bring his tortured literary efforts to the light of publication. (A little bit of progress there -- hopefully, more to report soon.)

The high point of our year was last July's family foray into the mountains of North Carolina, where the four of us stayed in a delightful bed-and-breakfast called The Herren House, located in Waynesville. We toured Ashville's famous Biltmore Estate, and Judy took the opportunity to capture some of the Great Smokey Mountains' stunning waterfalls.

On the way home, we stopped over in Cincinnati, where son and daughter attended the wedding of a pal from Judy's stage-managing days at the Barn Theater and we had a wonderful visit with dear friends, John and Christina Kline. An enjoyable performance by the Cincinnati Symphony and a quick visit to the Air Force Museum in Dayton rounded out our tour.

A degree in music...some photographs...a little belly dancing...family vacations...old friends-not a bad way to end an era. But endings always signal beginnings. And as the new millennium gets underway, please know that you are in our prayers. May all your Christmases be merry, in this and every millenium!

The Koshelnyks

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