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Annual History of Jim Andris 2013
Dear Friends and Family:
I've been keeping these "annual reports" now for over 40 years, actually quite amazing years, at least from my point of view. I've got Midas on my lap, Stephen has turned in early, and so I launch this year's epistle.
I turned 75 this December, and I'm happy to report I'm keeping in fairly good health with my yoga, tai chi, meditation, my health professionals, my home cooking and house keeping. Stephen had a mild stroke in June, but besides a mild, but sometimes annoying ataxia in his left (good) arm, he is hanging in there, and still able to do many of the things he loves, including singing in the choir, napping with Midas, stamp collecting and doing the laundry and the dishes. All his birds have gone to their eternal rest, however, and he contents himself with feeding the outside animals, birds and squirrels. And indirectly, he feeds the neighbors' cats in our Cat Cafeteria. Besides our season subscriptions to opera, theatre and symphony, we like to walk or go to concerts in our several St. Louis parks when the weather is mild.
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| Jim and Stephen visit Bissinger's in August | Stephen Slusher directs the Trinity Choir in May |
Stephen and I have attended many fine opera performances this year, including several live HD broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera shown at local theaters. Opera Theatre St. Louis continues to improve its June four opera season. This year there was a world premier of the contemporary opera, Champion. Stephen was able to resume his voice study, a big step forward for him. This year he took lessons from our former choir director, who left for another position on the West Coast, and is taking lessons from our current interim choir director at Trinity. Stephen's sister, Janice, continues to improve after having had a near-fatal cat accident.
There have been changes in our lives, too. We do still miss Jan Dunlap, her death anniversary was August of this year. Ann Watts, dear friend, got married to her old friend, Ron Willnow, and they spend (the colder) part of the year on Jeckyl Island. I sold our truck to brother, Tom, as Stephen doesn't drive any more. All the houses on our block are restored and rented or rehabbed and for sale. In addition, a developer has put his office right across the street, so the block feels like a friendler, safer place now. Duff's Restaurant, open since 1973 and a favorite watering hole for old hippies, closed. Dressel's Cafe stopped hosting Ragtime Rendezvous, which has moved to a daytime thing once a month at the Scott Joplin House. We said goodbye to our rector at Trinity Church, Anne Kelsey. She was here 12 years. Both she and her husband, Brook, retired this year. Now we are welcoming an interim rector for the year 2014.
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| John Hilgeman and Stephen at the final brunch with Joe's brunch group before Duff's June closing. | Ann Watts and Ron Wilnow are married at Trinity Episcopal in April by Rev. Anne Kelsey |
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| Grant and Colleen near Ft. Myers | Will at home in Sarasota |
In February, we visited both Will Lutz in Sarasota and Colleen and Grant Brady in Ft. Myers, getting together with my former dean and his wife, Gary and Jan Hull.
Stephanie, Dawn and Zander were here in April, and then we spent Thanksgiving at their home in Hanson, Massachusetts. Zander is eight now, and a budding engineer. He loves to build things, robots, space ships and the like. Stephanie raised their two Thanksgiving turkeys; the one, Tom, set a record at 32.4 pounds. We had a marathon week there, with Zander's birthday on Tuesday, a funeral for Dawn's mother on Wednesday, and 22 family members around Stephanie and Dawn's table on Thursday.
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| Dawn, Steph and Zander at the Botanical Gardens | Dawn, Stephanie and their 32 lb. Tom Turkey |
We also visited Marietta and stayed at sister Vicki and Jerry's new home in Devola for a summer week, and earlier in the year, brother Tom came to visit us in St. Louis. The next month, we drove to Wisconson with Rosanda Richards-Ellsworth, dropping her off in Madison to visit with her sister, Ronda and husband, Bob, while we went to visit the Breiters in La Cross and Kathy Vinehout and Doug Kane in Alma. One month later than that, I took a big risk, and flew by myself to visit dear old friend, Mariam Edgar in Ventura, California, leaving Stephen here, but assisted by friends at Trinity and elsewhere. I had a wonderful time, and Stephen survived pretty well, although I won't be taking solo trips any time soon.
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| Sister, Vicki and Sister-in-law, Diana look at photos | Mary Alice, Stephen and Tom at Shaw's Gardens |
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| Mariam and friend | My last counted cross-stitch project finished |
I have continued with some of my hobbies, and they fill in the remaining time, so I am NEVER bored. I've been practicing preludes and fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a fairly advanced work, on my piano the whole year. I completed one counted cross-stitch effort, and began my first cross-stitch project that I designed myself from a photo I took at the Mobot Orchid Show. I joined the Gay Men's Reading Group and have read about six titles this year.
My LGBT history research continues and has deepened and gotten more specific. I completed two projects this year. I interviewed and wrote an in-depth article on the newspaper No Bad News, which was published from 1980-1985. I also digitized about 200 slides of a friend, Jim Pfaff, who took amazing pictures of early St. Louis pride events.
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| Ian Darnell, Colin Murphy, and Steve Brawley of the St. Louis LGBT History Project |
Jim Pfaff | No Bad News |
Perhaps the most astonishing event was that the State of Illinois became the 16th state to vote for marriage equality for same-sex couples on Nov. 20 of this year. If Stephen and I can both hold out until June 1 of 2014, we can file an update to our civil union obtained on Aug. 12, 2011, and we will at last be legally married. Few have tried harder to "do the right thing" than us. Despite these many anniversaries, we still count May 15, 1993 as our anniversary. So, married on our 20th Anniversary; how many people can claim that!
Stephen and I wish you and yours happiness and prosperity in the coming year, and wish and pray for peace and a good life for all the citizens of this planet.