colorado - The Miller Times

2006 HOLIDAY EDITION
The Miller Times
Volume 5, Issue 2
‗T
is the season to welcome a
New Year and reflect on the
prior. We are thankful for
the many wonderful memories we
shared with family and friends in 2006!
While watching the Winter Olympic
Games a strong interest in the sport of
curling developed at our house.
Attempting to learn more about the
sport Emily conducted a Google
search and was amazed to find
that the World
Curling Championships were being
held
at
the
Tsongas Arena in
Lowell, MA. We
went to one of the
preliminary rounds
and were fascinated
by the skills and shouts of
the competitors. They
scraped and shaped the
ice as the polished
granite stones glided
towards the target area
called the ―house.‖
Our friends Chris and
Archie had a beautiful
wedding on the Upper
Westside in NYC. We
all gathered at New Leaf
Café in Fort Tryon Park
to celebrate and with the
fresh snow fall it was
majestic. At the time, the
recent release of King Kong
inspired us to go to the top of
the Empire State Building. We
were informed multiple times over
– Zero visibility!
No Refund!
However, when we got to the
observation deck the gale force winds
blew the clouds away and the lights of
the city glowed all around us. We
shared dinner in Little Italy. If the fire
hydrants were not panted red, green and
white we think we might have missed it.
We headed west on two occasions to
visit with Greg – a winter ski trip and a
celebration of his Masters degree. In the
spring, we drove north into Rocky
Mountain National Park, explored the
Red Rocks Amphitheater, and walked
around the town of Golden.
We celebrated Easter weekend in Charlottesville with Peter, Kathryn, & Barry.
The Easter bunny arrived with Easter
tattoos, ingredients for dying eggs, and
a new leash for Linus. We planted
flower pots for the porch and repotted a
jade plant. Both flourished, however,
the attempt of a new redbud tree in the
backyard did not survive the summer.
The 157th running of the Kentucky
Derby was celebrated in Louisville style
at the Millers. Entrance bids were $2
and homemade mint juleps were free.
Everyone at the party rallied behind
their horse and watched Barbaro take
home the roses by 6 ½ lengths.
December 20, 2006
The spring had us both preparing for our
spectacular travels in Africa. A vacation
that will forever be remembered. (See,
2006 Safari Edition for details). From
the beaches of Zanzibar we traveled
directly to Ocean City, NJ to
celebrate
the marriage of
Brett
and Donna.
We each
f o u n d
ourselves
in California for
professional
conferences and
BBQ and playing with them in an intense 2 hour game of dodge ball. While
JT was pummeling his friends with Nerf
balls, Emily spent the weekend relaxing
at Margaret-Ann‘s! Another gathering
of old friends was Emily‘s Plymouth
Regional High School 10 year reunion.
Hosted at the Common Man Inn many
friends gathered to reflect and
reconnect. Decorations were provided
by the box of PRHS memorabilia found
in the depths of our basement.
During the fall foliage we headed north
for a weekend day hike at Zealand
Falls. While north we visited the local
dairy farm adjacent to the Robertson‘s
new home. The science and hard work
that supports a dairy farm definitely
makes us think twice about each glass
of milk. We were utterly amazed!
The freedom trail is marked
throughout Boston with a red
line. We are often on the trail
when around and about in
the city, but this fall when
Mary Frances joined her
boyfriend Steve for a
business conference in
Boston we took this
historical walk from start
to finish. At Thanksgiving they also flew out to
join us for a gathering held
in New Hampshire.
both occasions allowed us to visit with
James and Janelle in Orange. Emily
attended NACE at the Anaheim
Convention Center and JT attended an
AP Physics conference at Palos Verdes
High School. JT returned with design
plans for a flame equalizer, a WOW
demo for teaching waves and sound!
The device was built in NH with the
help of Doug, but was required to be
tested at Walpole High School. Please
note the building did not blow up and
that it works best to Michael Jackson‘s
Billy Jean.
GRAB celebrated its 10 year history on
the Gettysburg campus over Labor Day
weekend. JT enjoyed reconnecting with
fellow Grabbers at the Regentin‘s for a
In our quest to continue to
experience Boston this year
we toured the USS Constitution, cheered on the Red Sox at
Fenway Park, snuck our way down
to courtside seats at the Celtics vs.
Lakers game, visited the Mount
Auburn Cemetery where we spotted a
blue hering, watched the performance
of the musical The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee, and hiked Plum
Island on the north shore.
Ushering in December was our
traditional Gettysburg Yankee Swap.
The festivities have continued on with
watching Mayor Menino turn on the
lights for the Boston Christmas tree,
attending multiple work parties,
rearranging our living room to fit our
Christmas tree, a Hanukah celebration
with friends in Lexington, and joining
in with the choir at Trinity Church‘s
candle light carol service. In the
coming week we will head to New
Hampshire to celebrate Christmas with
both the Robertson and Miller families.
The Miller Times
Page 2
December 20, 2006
C A LT E C H
On April 6,
2006 a two ton
cannon arrived on
VS.
the MIT‘s campus after
making a 3,000 mile journey
The battle for
from Caltech. On the barrel of the
the Fleming
cannon students had placed a MIT
Cannon
class ring and had pointed the
cannon appropriately at
Pasadena taunting its West
Coast rivals. Caltech
students were infuriated by
the loss of their beloved
cannon and quickly made
plans to retrieve it. After maxing
out credit cards and redeye flights
to Boston, Caltech students arrived to take their cannon
back home. MIT students had heard of their plan and
greeted Caltech with a bar-b-que. This story of the missing
cannon made national news and fascinated the Millers. We
went to see the cannon at MIT during its brief stay in
Boston and while in California in August, JT visited the
cannon at Caltech. It was in front of the admissions office
chained to a tree. A friend, Tim Funk, was a PhD student at
Caltech during the cannon heist and described the prank as
―absolutely amazing.‖ Learn more about the cannon and
other MIT pranks at http://www.mitcannon.com
MIT
Emily and JT skiing on top of Copper Mountain in the Rockies.
The February school
vacation was a new
concept to JT when he
began teaching in New
England. When the no
school days came
Emily would often
reminisce about those
days of her youth. This
year we decided to both take a bit of a February vacation
and flew out to visit Greg in Boulder, Colorado.
COLORADO
COLORADO
It was JT‘s first visit to Colorado so there was a lot to
explore together. Greg showed us around his home —
Boulder and his home away from home — graduate
school office. We spent a day taking a drive up to
Flagstaff Mountain which overlooks the city and walking
the outdoor Pearl Street Mall.
Two days were spent in Dillon skiing at Copper
Mountain. It was JT‘s seventh time on the slopes and he
continually rises to the occasion. The conditions were
great—no icy slopes. Greg found himself laughing at
JT‘s imitations of avid skiers, fall off the rope tow, and
excitement to ride the ―no beginner terrain‖ chair lift. To
keep it interesting Greg taught himself how to telemark
ski backwards when we relaxed on some easier slopes. At
the end of the day Emily and Greg took off for some last
runs together while JT enjoyed a Coors Light at the lodge.
On our return home we crossed through the Loveland
Pass. We both laughed when we stood at the Continental
Divide—JT on the West and Emily on the East.
When in Golden for a day, we toured the Coors
Brewery. The tour was free and included a trip to the
tasting room. Memorable facts were that all employees
are allowed two free pints at the end of their shift from the
tap in the kitchen, Coors is the maker of Blue Moon, and
each month employees
receive nine cases of
beer for free.
A school vacation is
highly recommended,
no matter your age.
We had a blast!
Ask The Millers About...
1. Our counterfeit Somerville visitor parking pass for
#7 Simpson Avenue
2. Winning Magic 106.7 Bedtime Magic Nightshirt
3. Our “practically perfect in every way” Halloween
Costumes
4. Emily’s lost keys for three months—going on four
5. The man love celebration when Big Papi hit his 51st
and 52nd home runs at Fenway Park
6. Gerard—our safari member from Belgium
7. Costco parking lot accident
8. Emily’s negotiation, bartering, and pleading skills
used to take home a painting from Zanzibar
9. Milking the cows and bottle feeding the calves
10. JT moving his in-laws on Memorial Day Weekend
The Fun of Teaching by Mr. Mille r
My fourth year at Walpole High School continues to bring
excitement and new challenges. This year I began teaching AP
Physics to 13 eager students. The class is going well but
sometimes I feel like a first year teacher again, especially when I
am in my classroom
at 6 pm re-teaching
myself a topic for the
next day‘s lesson.
One particular day
this
semester
reminded me why I
teach physics. Over
the course of the
school day I threw
raws eggs at a
bedsheet, launched
potatoes on the
football field, and set
fire to soap bubbles
filled with gas on my
hand. See photo for
my reaction. What a
great job!
John Thomas and Emily Ryley Miller
26 Gorham Road ● Medford, MA ● 02155
[email protected] ● 617-970-0044 ● [email protected] ● 617-869-9314