Suzanne enjoys dinner in her new loft. 

Joe playing at the 750th anniversary of Miesenbach, Germany. 

April May June Newsletter

APRIL, MAY, JUNE
2005 NEWSLETTER FROM THE OTTS

Hello to all of you. I know it’s been months since my last newsletter. I also know that I manage to have some pretty good excuses whenever I’m unable to keep up with this monthly challenge. I assure you it is not because life has been boring or uneventful. It is quite the contrary. We’ve had a lot going on in the last few months. One night we were out to a casual dinner, contemplating life. Joe said something that struck a chord within me. Maybe it’s my poetic side that liked it or maybe it sounded super intelligent or maybe it just summed up everything in a few words. He said, “We are in a genesis of change.” Isn’t that nice sounding? I may have to use that phrase to write a poem someday. Anyway, it is exactly what has kept me from keeping up on the monthly newsletters.
Enjoy.


NASHVILLE WEDDING OF THE YEAR
(I’M PLUCKING THIS CHICKEN)
One of the biggest events in a person’s life is getting married. Well, it finally happened to Joe’s youngest brother, Bob. He married a wonderful girl named Jen. We met her while we were in the states at Christmastime. She is smart, beautiful, fun to be around, fits in with the family, and most importantly, keeps Bob in line. We all love her and are very happy for both of them. They both live and work in Nashville, thus had the wedding there. As usual, we were unable to tell them for sure whether or not Joe could attend because of his job. About two weeks prior to the wedding, we called them and told them we’d be there. It was a weekend trip for us and took its toll on our poor old bodies, but well worth it. They all left on Sunday morning but we didn’t leave until Monday morning so we did what all people do on Sundays……we spent 5 hours in Home Depot. The family all stayed in the same hotel so it was great fun getting to see everyone on a day other than a holiday. We also got to spend some time with some friends of Joe’s parents, Rich and Joyce. They have been friends since high school and boy can they tell some stories. Rich has a unique way with words that may seem offensive to some but could make him a lot of money as a stand up comedian. He always makes you laugh. It turns out that he and Joyce were married not far from where Bob and Jen were married, but under very different circumstances. They were both still in high school and had left home to tie the knot. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much money, so they ended up working on a farm for a short while to make ends meet. I’m sure I’m missing part of the story but the way it was told was hilarious. Joyce would often try to offer her own bits and pieces about the way they got married and Rich would look at her and say, “Hey, I’m plucking this chicken!” Apparently, that means he was telling the story and she was not to interrupt. She sat fairly quietly until he finished the story. It’s quite a coincidence and they must have done something right. They will be married for 50 years next year and are already planning a celebration. That’s the best we can hope for for Bob and Jen as well!

750 YEARS OLD AND STILL GOING STRONG
Speaking of anniversaries, how about 750 years? Joe recently played with the jazz band at one of the local festivals here in Germany. As I was walking around, I was once again flabbergasted out how young our own country is. This tiny town was celebrating its 750th anniversary. (I think we spent over $750 in Home Depot) There is so much more history here simply because they’ve been here over 500 years longer than America. I’m not a history buff but it is hard not to get caught up in it all and wonder what life was like so long ago. These are a proud people and you’ll never see a good honest German without a bratwurst, a beer, and a smile. They love to have the American bands play at their festivals. Music continues to keep the peace between nations.

PAPA RATZI
As you know, the new Pope was selected and he is from Germany. I often listen to the German radio stations on my way to work, and can usually get the gist of what is being said. Of course, the new pope was big news, especially because he is German. I kept hearing about all the paparazzi along with the news about the pope. I felt like I was missing part of the story due to the language barrier. So I asked the German teacher at our school and she just started laughing. She loves puns and plays on words. Did you know that house is haus in German? The pope’s last name is Ratzinger, Ratzi for short. The word they use for Father or Pope is papa. They were making a play on words by calling him Papa Ratzi. Perhaps this is a bit disrespectful but still is funny.



INTERNATIONAL YOGA
I am my mother’s daughter in many ways. Our family always jokes about how long Mom can extend her birthday celebrations. She always manages to get it to last a few extra days with luncheons, late gifts, etc. Well, I decided to top her off this year. My birthday is in February and I was able to extend the celebration all the way to April. Here’s how: Joe gave me a trip to an international yoga conference in April right here in Germany. It was an amazing experience as well as a humble one. I won’t go into the details of what I learned because it’s only interesting to me because I love yoga. It was so neat to be there and see many Americans that flew in just for this conference. There were 17 different countries represented making it a truly international experience. One of the countries represented was Turkey. I just love the rugs they make there. So Mom, try to top that off!

NICK AND JESSICA’S TOUR OF DUTY
(WITH BIG AND RICH, WILLIE NELSON, JIMMY KIMMEL, BRIAN MCKNIGHT)
Joe recently was asked to play with the studio orchestra that backed up Nick and Jessica Simpson’s USO tour. He was one four other military bandsmen asked to play. We are not necessarily Nick and Jessica fans, but it was an interesting experience to be part of the taping for that show. If you want the scoop here it is. Jessica is a dimwit. Cute but dumb. Nick is smart, well spoken and full of himself. Willie Nelson is about as laid back as they come. He thanked Joe for being there. Big and Rich is a country band we’d never heard of but they seem to enjoy Jack Daniels. Brian McKnight is an excellent performer and quiet type of guy. The show aired in the states in May after I was there, and Joe was flashed on the screen four times. If it airs again, we can’t promise quality TV but we can promise a great looking sax player at least four times!

SHIPPIN’ OFF TO SIBERIA (and Turkey and England)
You know when you are really angry with someone and you just want them out of your hair, you might say, I’m sending you to Siberia. Well, Joe went on his own. The band continues to tour all over Europe. His most recent tour really was to Siberia. It was an interesting experience because part of the tour included a celebration of WWII Russian Vets. They loved the big band music and had many pictures taken with the band. The one thing that wasn’t so great about Siberia is the food. There is plenty of vodka to go around but the food was often mysterious. I think the band drank a shot of vodka before the meals, simply to kill any microbes that they might have been eating. There were also lots of loose women who’d love to have an American husband. Joe told me about this and how scantily clad they were. In the same breath he told me the guys in the band were having fantasies. I’m thinking, “I haven’t seen him in 10 days and this is what he has to tell me?” Well, actually, they were having food fantasies. He said they were all fantasizing about cheeseburgers. I will accept food fantasies. It took him a few days to recover from whatever it was he ate, but I don’t think he’s gotten his cheeseburger yet!
He’s also spent some time in Turkey, where high quality rugs are cheap, and a weekend in England. Who know where he’ll go next?

SUMMER VACATION
It is possible that this will be our last summer vacation in Europe before we go back to the states, specifically Johnsburg, Illinois. Joe will be retiring in August 2006. We decided to do something a bit different. We are going to Hurghada, Egypt! This is not on our list of places to see but when the travel agent mentioned it, we were intrigued. Hurghada is a resort in Egypt and we’ve heard that a lot of British people holiday there. It is incredibly cheap and has lots to do other than lie on the beach all day. We hope to go snorkeling in the Red Sea, take a 4x4 out to the desert to meet with a Bedouin tribe, ride a camel, see Luxor and who knows what else. My next newsletter should have some more exciting things for me to share.

HIDDEN MESSAGES
genesis of change
we spent 5 hours in Home Depot
I think we spent over $750 in Home Depot
Did you know that house is haus in German?
Turkey. I just love the rugs they make there
Turkey, where high quality rugs are cheap
Johnsburg, Illinois

You may have been wondering why I had certain phrases in italics. Or maybe you wondered why I wrote certain things that did not have anything to do with the rest of the story. Well, I tried to hint about my big excuse for not writing and if you haven’t figured it out yet, here it is. We bought a house in Johnsburg, Illinois. It is very close to the Wisconsin border. We made the decision to do it now for lots of reasons. We hadn’t really planned on buying at this time, but things just seemed to fall in place for us and it felt like the right thing to do. Joe was unable to get time off from work to close on the house, so I went there in May with my all-powerful Power of Attorney. It was a scary deal for me to do it without him, but my wonderful sister-in-law was by my side the entire time. She is a lawyer and thinks about things that I don’t. If you know me at all, you know I’m a creative mind and details like taxes confuse me.J She made sure everything was legitimate and kept me straight. While I was there, I made a virtual tour for Joe so that he could see the house. By the way, the first time I saw the house was when I closed on it. Joe has never seen it. We took a huge leap of faith on this one! I think it was anti-climatic for him because he didn’t get to see it. But when he saw the pictures and the videotape, he loved it. (thank goodness) As you can imagine, our focus has now been on purchasing things for our new home. We still have a year left but that’s plenty of time to pick up a few special things. It’s fun to buy something with a specific place to put it rather than dreaming about a place and a home to place it in. So, we are definitely in a genesis of change, we really did spend 5 hours in Home Depot picking out tile, flooring, counters, and more. We do have a new haus (house) that we’ll be renting out for a year until we get there. Joe did buy 4 new rugs in Turkey and they were relatively cheap and you are welcome to visit us anytime after August 2006 in Johnsburg, Illinois!