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Pearland, TX, December 14, 2007
Dear Folks-
Greetings
and Happy Holidays! Another year has come and gone. For us it has been one
full of ups and downs, hard work and sacrifice, but also much joy along the
way. I know that you look forward to hearing about the kids, so I will try
here to bring everyone up to date. They don’t like us to brag on them (very
difficult for me!), hence, I will do my best to provide just a brief
synopsis for each of them. Recently, their former 4th grade
teacher Margaret Needler (she actually taught all four of them) offered what
I thought was probably about as good a description of them as I have yet
heard. She said that though they are clearly siblings (they all, e.g., bear
a striking resemblance to their parents), each is unique, and in fact quite
different from the other three.
So
here goes…
Emily,
who will be 21 years old in March, has been living in Austin, Texas for
almost two years now while attending UT. She likes the city and the school
very much, and knows both well by now. She has blossomed into a wonderful
writer, and Fay and I regularly look forward to reading her work in The
Daily Texan (UT) newspaper (where she is Associate Editor). She has
many plans and goals, and, we feel strongly, the drive and determination to
make them happen. She is an independent and innovative thinker, and will,
we believe, make a big splash in whatever field she chooses. Her plan at
this point is to graduate in another 12 months with two majors, in
Journalism and Sociology. We’ll see then which direction she decides to
take. In the meantime, she has landed an internship for the spring
semester, this time in the editorial department of the Austin
American-Statesman. This past summer she worked as an intern for one of
our favorite magazines, Texas Monthly.
Ross is 17 and a senior at Pearland High School. He has his driver’s license and his sister’s old car and can therefore get himself where he needs to go on his own now (though, I hasten to add, not exactly in high style). He hasn’t yet decided where to attend college or what he will study; he only knows that he will go to school to learn interesting stuff (which to his mother and me is enough at this point). Ross has developed serious interests in music and learning--partly, we’re sure, because of his passionate commitment to becoming an elite performer in Academic Decathlon. (Look for his name at or near the top of the list at the Scholastic level state-wide this coming February.) Musically, besides the clarinet, Ross also plays a five-string electric base, and both six-string acoustic and electric guitars, and keyboards and drums (a little). He is still involved with Boy Scouts, and will (finally) finish his Eagle Scout rank this summer. He’s introspective, focused, intense, athletic and gregarious. Once he figures out what he wants to study, he’s likely to become a genuine outside-the-box innovator.
Jon
is almost 14 and in the 8th
grade at Pearland Junior High West. This fall he became our first athlete,
as he played football for the PJHW Wildcatters. Jon started on both offense
and defense, as a guard and tackle, respectively (he also covered
kick-offs). As a player, he is a coach’s dream— he wants to win, strives to
get better, hustles all the time, and is also a good sport. During the
season he did suffer a couple of fairly minor injuries, to his knee and to
his ankle, respectively; he followed the trainer’s directions carefully,
however, and was not too adversely affected (though he did miss portions of
multiple games). He thinks he may try to play again next fall, but … he’s
also a percussionist in band and likes drumming just about as much as
playing football (which is a lot). Jon is a very sensitive and thoughtful
guy, powerfully built, who also likes to read (also a lot). He likes
science and music, but isn’t too keen on algebra (though he’s toughing it
out, and doing just fine). He is empathetic and friendly and has a great
many friends. Jon is a consummate camper (he has easily accumulated the
most nights of camping in his troop over the past two years—something like
50), a natural leader, and enjoys Boy Scouts tremendously (with an Eagle
project coming soon, possibly as early as next summer).
Zack is 10 and in the 5th grade
at Alexander Middle School. He’s growing like a weed, and we’re betting it
won’t be long until he passes up Emily in height. He loves computers (and
most especially anything related to Google or to making Powerpoint
presentations), puzzles, games, reading, trivia, and watching the news. He
invents, he sketches, and he thinks (constantly). He’s outgoing, chatty and
creative. Zack loved every minute of Cub Scouts, and on Friday the 7th
of December, he joined his two older brothers as a Boy Scout in Troop 464.
He’s been camping several times with the troop already, and at his very
first official troop meeting had his scoutmaster conference and earned his
Scout badge. Zack is also angling for a strong showing as a member of the
Alexander Middle School Quiz Bowl team very soon.
All four
of our kids love to play games, make music, solve puzzles, and cook (and, of
course, eat!). They
are also ardent movie critics, fans of pop music and culture, and astute
social observers. They are interested in books, ideas, and politics. Each
has a strong, keenly-developed sense of justice, and all four are very
environmentally conscious. We don’t tell them what to think, and they don’t
allow anyone to think for them. In short, my highest hope for them--that
they be independent-minded--appears to have happened. Unanimously (and in
spades).
As for Fay and me, we have simply done our level best to keep this enterprise afloat…
Fay has just finished teaching two
sections of Genetics Labs at the University of Houston Clear Lake this
fall. This is in addition to serving as both President of the Pearland ISD
Council of PTAs and as Assistant District Commissioner for the Northern Star
District of the Bay Area Council of the Boy Scouts. There is also the
raising of three boys, as well as keeping up with, and helping from afar
when needed, our daughter Emily. Fay does like to stay busy, and spends her
free time (?) taking pictures, capturing video, and creating and maintaining
Web sites (have a look, e.g., at
www.faywatson.com).
She’s everywhere! Occasionally we even spend some time together.
For my
part, I continue to get grayer and slower, and all the hair seems to be
migrating down from my head
to my neck, ears, and shoulders—I guess as long as it doesn’t bother Fay too
terribly much I’ll be okay! Seriously, though, I remain firm in my
conviction that coming back to Houston, especially to the Texas Medical
Center, was a good move at the right time. This year I have been very
involved in grant-writing and helping to initiate large-scale
collaborations, and am looking forward to more of both in the future. My
own highlight for the year is that I was recently elected as an affiliate
senior scientific member of The Methodist Hospital Research Institute (TMHRI);
this represents a cherished goal that I have now realized. Fellow members
include my long-time cardiologist and friend Dr. Miguel Quinones, as well as
Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. Stanley Appel, and many others. I also currently
sit on the Board of External Reviewers for TMHRI Internal Research Funding.
I do hope this helps to enlighten and inform, at least a little bit, about the Pearland Watsons. Fay and I are very proud of our family and know that you are as well.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dave
