What else in 2003? Harry hit 31 years with INVISTA (the artist formerly known as DuPont?) now being bought by KOCH INDUSTRIES. Stay tuned for more?
Harry has now served his first full year on the Waynesboro Planning Commission. The first year was quiet, but a controversial rezoning request for LOWES could prove interesting! Harry completed the Virginia Certified Planning Commissioners Course in December. It turned out to be a LOT tougher than he expected, but well worth the time and effort. (Pam & Reo, this is for you!)
In June, Ann and I had the privilege of attending a very special occasion on Little St. Simon's Island: The marriage of our son Matthew to the very lovely Sarah Wright. We had a great time getting to know our lovely new daughter-in-law and her family.
2003 was also supposed to be a great bicycling year. So Harry started out by ordering a new custom bicycle. Unfortunately, on April 12th he had a serious bicycle accident that shattered his right hip. For full details on the accident, the aftermath, and the recovery, you can check this page:
Because of the bicycle wreck, Harry missed singing in the Easter Production HOW GREAT THOU ART by the Waynesboro Choral Society. He was back singing with the group by Christmas however. We're all still trying to get Ann to come back to this group we've sung with for almost 20 years. Check here for pictures of what he missed or to see more about the Waynesboro Choral Society.
A 2003 Christmas Card from Ann & Harry Colman
2003 Started out sadly as we had to say goodbye to Harry's father's beloved Afghan Hound, Hymie Davis Jr. Hymie lived with us for over 2 years and turned out to be a sweet old gentleman with a wonderful disposition. Warning, don't leave ANY food on a counter if you should have a dog this tall in your house. Hymie lived to the incredible age of 17. He is sorely missed on the family room couch!
During 2003 we continued to "manage" affairs for Harry's dad Frank who is still living at BALDWIN PARK in Staunton. One highlight of the year was that Frank became a GREAT GRANDFATHER for the first time with the birth of Morgan Olivia Brown, first child of grandson David Brown and his wife Rene. Click THE PICTURE for more pictures of their Thanksgiving Visit.
In March, Harry rode the longest motorcycle ride he ever did alone: 500+ miles to Atlanta to Matt's new house. The DYNAGLIDE died in Atlanta and needed a new battery & alternator before continuing to Daytona Beach the next day to join friends. (Thank goodness this happened in a convenient place instead of in the middle of the Yukon on last year's trip!) After one day in Daytona, he took a fast ride home with his best motorcycle buddy Richard. This was supposed to be the 1700 mile start of another great motorcycling year! NOT! At least we stayed involved with our great local Hog Chapter. We sold over $2000.00 worth of raffle tickets this year to support NEW DIRECTIONS, the local shelter for the abused.
(Hit the little square button to stop ALABAMA from singing. Hit the Arrow to hear them again)
Merry Christmas Friends!
Once again, we find ourselves nearing December 25th with a whole lot fewer stamps and Christmas Cards than we have friends. That is a GOOD thing! And fortunately, we do have LOTS of email addresses, so here is our annual electronic Christmas Card/Letter. Not to be super corny with the music selection, but in a year that did deal us a few more harsh blows than expected, it was indeed our friends that turned out to be the angels among us. We appreciate your friendship and help this year more than you could possibly imagine.
Below are some of our 2003 highlights:
(click on pictures or buttons for more details)
In November, Harry & Ann took a delightful Western Carribean Cruise. We had fun in Labadee (Haiti), Jamaica, Grand Cayman Islands, and Cozumel Mexico. The cruise was called HOGS ON THE HIGH SEAS, it was a HARLEY RALLY on a cruise ship!
On July 5th, the Colman family had it's 2nd major accident of the year. Thank heaven Ann didn't end up in the hospital with Major Surgery of her own! Click on the picture of Ann's EX-Camaro for details.
On December 20, 2003, Ann and I were delighted to see daughter Nina (pictured blowing us all a kiss) graduate from Georgia State University. Nina has been working her way through school for the last 4 years. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Sociology. WAY TO GO GIRL, we're sure proud of you! It was worth the roundtripdrive to Atlanta to see you graduate. And yes, we believe it when you say the Masters & PHD are coming next!
We are still proud members of our local bicycle club and still host the annual 100 miler. This year Ann didn't ride and enjoyed just being the hostess. Harry rode the entire course and finished first! (Of course he did that by riding Ann's Harley and doing traffic control for the lead group. of bicyclists.)
By August, even with Harry on crutches and Ann a bit sore, we needed a vacation. We took a delightful trip to Canada with Sue (Harry's favorite sister-in-law) and watched the Canadian National Border Collie trials. Nope, this didn't help us a bit at training Sue's dog Jezz!
