2008

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

I wish I knew what I was going to write. It would be a lot easier if the words just flowed forth with some sort of divine inspiration, but it really doesn’t work that way. I mean, I knew I was going to start with Merry Christmas. Of course, the News Years thing just flew out of my fingers and there it was. So maybe there is some of that divine stuff involved. I guess you will let me know later how divine this thing ended up. On with the show.

January

Of course this is Emily’s birthday month. This year she turned 20. I really can’t think of anything to write about her birthday. I mean it was just a birthday, and not even one of the big ones. And it’s not like she got a pony or anything. One other important thing happened this month. Remember in last year’s letter when I told you about selling my company? And remember how I figured that decision might figure prominently into this year’s letter? The new owners started the month off by informing us that we were to fire 24 people. But they made it easy for us by providing the list. It was just the people that had been with me the longest. Five of those people had over 20 years of service and they were all my friends. I knew there would be some changes, but I didn’t count on this.

February

The calendar shows that our new bedroom furniture was delivered on the 2nd. It looks really nice, but it does remind me that I need to get the crown molding installed. That relatively simple project is now officially one year overdue. I’ll get on that as soon as I finish this letter. And the old furniture is still in the garage. We really need to have that yard sale we always talk about. When we sold the company, I figured that I would be the one running the place for the new owners. Well, they came down for a couple of meetings this month. They met in the conference room, and I wasn’t invited. Should I be reading something into this?

March

This was a busy month. Sarabeth was doing her club soccer stuff, training a couple of nights a week. And she started her high school tennis career. Sarabeth was sick the day they took photos, so this action shot will have to do. She celebrated her 15th birthday by playing a tennis match after school, coming home, eating a piece or two of cake before heading to soccer practice. I think we showered her with gifts of sexy Under Armour. And speaking of tennis, my partner Johnnie Mac and I finally won our club doubles tournament. After years of runner-up, we finally got the big trophy! Actually, it’s not all that big, but it is bigger than our typical prize and doesn’t have the F word on it. “Finalist”.

April

We started the month with Sarabeth on Spring Break. It’s on the calendar but that is the only way we can remember it. We went to work, and she didn’t go to school. Not really all that exciting for any of us. Then she had a bunch of tennis, with soccer sprinkled in at the most inconvenient times. The fun part of the month came near the end when Jane and I escaped Indianapolis and met Scott and Liz Cooper in Chicago for a weekend. We tried to instill a little culture in Scott with a trip to the Art Institute. There was then some mandatory shopping followed by dinner and an evening at the theatre. During a fancy Chicago weekend, “theatre” means a play, not a movie. We saw “Wicked” and thoroughly enjoyed it. We spent the next day at the Museum of Science and Industry before heading home. It was a great weekend that needs to be repeated sometime in 2009.

May

It’s May and something exciting better happen soon or this is going to be a very short Christmas letter this year. You would think that with a calendar that looks like this, there would be something fun going on. Not really. Little girl tennis and soccer are pretty much old hat by now. There were a bunch of doctor’s appointments, but you don’t want to hear about those. Emily came home from college fairly early in the month. We did get to drive to Evansville for a soccer tournament this month. All I really remember is the torrential downpour during Sunday morning’s game. It was the nastiest weather I think we had ever played in. We won that game, which made us feel a little less stupid for standing out in the rain. But by then we had checked out of the hotel and so we had to change our totally soaked clothes in a cramped, stinky shin-guard smelling mini-van. 20 miles down the road Jane and Sarabeth had to spend 20 minutes in the Shell restroom with their butts under the hand dryer. I told them they should go commando. It was a long drive home.

June

Emily is working as a lifeguard at Eagle Creek Beach. And Sarabeth has her first job! She is working at a daycare, the same place that Emily earned her first real non-daddy dollar. All three of the Willis ladies are on the payroll somewhere. And that’s good. My one-year employment contract with the new company was up the middle of next month. So, the idiots (I’m not being too harsh. I actually edited myself there.) from up north came to make me an offer. Finally, all the speculation will end and I will know what the future holds for me. I was afraid that they might offer some sort of deal where they cut my pay in half but let me stay. I would then wander around the place like some sort of zombie, cursed to do whatever I was told by the son of the boss. A guy from whom all sons of bosses in movies are stereotyped. A guy that couldn’t be a character on “The Office” because no one would believe he really could exist. And I was really afraid that I might accept such an offer, since I haven’t looked for a job in 26 years and was scared to death. Luckily the offer was so ridiculous that all I could do is giggle as I walked out of the conference room. “I’ll get back to you” I mumble over my shoulder. My last day would be July 11th.

July

Well, let’s get this over with so I can get started on the fun stuff. I left a company that had been a big part of my life for the last 26 years. If I’d have known then what I know now I never would have sold. I thought I was doing the right thing. So, on that last Friday I packed my stuff up, went to lunch with all my people and then came back and worked until about 7 that evening. I left an interesting “Out of Office” note on my email and a fun message on voice mail. Locked the place up and put the key under the mat.

Emily started the month by driving to Virginia. She volunteered her July to work at a Young Life camp. She spent her time working in the office and being one of the drivers, heading into town every other day on errands. She enjoyed herself and I am really proud of her dedication to a great organization. But she did manage to miss Willis’s Out West.

This summer my brother and sisters and I decided to get together like we have the past couple of summers. But this year it was going to be in L.A.! Teresa wouldn’t have to travel, two nieces were already living there too, and we had tons of New Jersey Willis cousins that lived in the general vicinity. Perfect plan.  Jane, Sarabeth and I started the trip in Burbank with Teresa. She did her duty and spent the first day driving us all over the city showing us stuff we needed to see. The next day we went into Hollywood and played tourist by ourselves. What a cultural Mecca! There were thespians on every corner. Famous actors walking right down the street, just like everyday folks. I’m not sure what movie the guy on the right performed in, but Jane obviously recognized him. She took about a dozen pictures! But it was refreshing to realize that out in California a guy can make a living standing on a stool, wearing nothing but a loin cloth and holding a rubber snake in each hand. I had only been out of work for about a week, but I took note of the possibility of an Indianapolis franchise. The next day we headed south to Newport Beach. It was a couple of hours of driving. About 20 miles.  All of the Midwest Willis’s and all of the NJ/California clan converged on an unsuspecting restaurant for dinner that evening. We spent the evening eating, drinking and telling stories. Had a great time and made a couple of waiters very happy with a big tip. Or maybe they were just happy to see us leave. The next day we moved the party to San Juan Capistrano. My cousin Nita and her husband John invited everyone to their home. We did more of what we did the night before except we didn’t tip as well. I had a chance to meet my cousin Edgar for the first time since I was 5 or 6 years old. Typical cool Willis. We spent a big part of that day in the pool, by the bar and around the table. The next day we went to Paul and Marci’s house in Dana Point. It was time for some exercise. We were going to burn a few calories walking from their place down to the beach. The view of the ocean from their house was much nicer than I am used to here in Indianapolis. The walk was great. As you can see from the photo there were a bunch of us. We strolled down the hill in little groups, through one gated community into another. Everyone in California seems to live in a gated community. I guess you need the gates to keep out the people who live in areas whose gate isn’t quite as nice as your gate. The beach was beautiful. We just wandered around with our shoes in our hands and our feet in the water. Then we took a bunch of pictures of each other. That evening we went to Laguna Beach for “The Pageant of the Masters” This is where these people are on stage in front of about 5000 people and pose like famous paintings and sculptures. The curtain opens, the narrator talks about that particular piece of art, the curtain closes and then they do it again. I know. It really sounds stupid, but you had to be there. It was actually pretty amazing. A couple of days later it was time to head back home. The vacation was fantastic. Probably the thing I will remember most is Jane’s new found addiction to “Rock Band”. She picked up the drum sticks in Teresa’s living room and hasn’t set them down since. The good thing was it made selecting this year’s anniversary gift much easier than years past. She now wanders around the house humming tunes from “Nine Inch Nails”. I’m even getting used to the piercings and tattoos.

August

Emily came back from camp and worked a couple of weeks before heading back to school. Starting her junior year. She’s really not around much anymore. But don’t worry, I should have a picture for you on the next page. This month was mostly about me being unemployed. Sure, Sarabeth started her sophomore year in high school and Jane and I celebrate anniversary number 32. But I didn’t have a job. For the most part I really enjoyed it. The hours were great!  The house stayed really clean, and the grass was always mowed. But since I wasn’t content to finish my working career repeating “Welcome to Walmart”, I thought I’d better get serious with the job hunt. Somewhere around this time I took a road trip. I made a bunch of connections with business friends as I traveled from Indy to Columbus, OH then down to Cincinnati before finishing on a golf course in Louisville with Dave Emery. I had a great time and talked to just enough of the right people to deduct it from my taxes as a legitimate job search. Near the end of the month my college roommate Pete stopped in Indy with his daughter Debby and son Nick. It seems Deb was on her way to IU. She would be staying in our old dorm across the hall from our old room. And she was going to major in Fine Arts. I just hope she has as much fun as we had…you know, cause…studying was so much fun, and we did that…a lot.

September

This was going to be a good month. We had our first family wedding to look forward to. At least it was the first since Nancy got married a million years ago. My nephew Erik was going to marry the lovely Lindsay. We first met her a few Christmases ago. And even after that weekend, she continued to date Erik. We didn’t scare her away. Though it must be noted she was heavily drugged up that weekend. They had a beautiful wedding at their home. And to welcome Lindsay to our family, I have composed this special secret Christmas letter message just for her. TAPWDYLUHXEAGIAASJSLOTEJUGCBDAOBERNASDSIJKILOPDWEDEASDRCFRTIREHSAZIWERSTREMOPGYGJHOLRFFSERFTYUINGJCASUIWESAXGULIKLASDFPHTYOERTLHUIOJKLGBFEYUNTIABTHERTOFRTPXSAESEXYPENOUSSUWEVKBGUNJLSODERWASDTACGHOOLAFRTTJUTIKINNMOLEWFEVTYUESGJRLOPMSCREESDAMGENJHYTKIOTPLAOCCDOSDFFERTFKILEWSXNGYUDWBYYOOKOQUEUWWEPTRYLAWEEOPLAASDSNHEEOLPKKEDNERYOASUWOOWTDAGHERTAPUSTANGIHYTLJUPOUMPVERAEBXTTOOPHEFEEARTGORTIWSRRFSDLASGTOOTHOOPAWDETAJLLCASOERTVOPSEDERSISTMERGYOPLFAWEAHDTVERGOYUIRHTFIASDTRTYEBGTNOKPEWERPODEHRTYESDEWDE Anyway, we had a great weekend and here is the picture of Emily that I know you have been waiting for since August. Other good things happened this month. Sarabeth’s high school soccer season was in full swing. Now after all these years, the thrill soccer has kind of worn off. I enjoy watching my girl play, but it usually isn’t Christmas letter worthy. But this year, something changed. Sarabeth started to score. She has always been pretty good, but always around the goal and never in the goal. Our club wanted to charge me extra because she hit the post so many times, they needed to repaint the goals! But something happened this year. She scored 6 goals this season and was the team’s leading scorer. To honor this achievement, I have no choice but to insert a soccer picture in this year’s letter. An action shot no less, right before a score. There is no logical explanation for this sudden success in goal scoring and we don’t care. We just hope it continues into the next season.  Happy Birthday Jane. Enough said about that. More big news! I started a new job this month. The company is called Indy Imaging. They produce banners and billboards and decals and all sorts of other digitally printed products and sell them wholesale to sign shops and graphic houses all over the nation. We run 3 shifts and ship out 40 to 50 jobs a day. The typical turnaround time is 2 days. It’s a lot like working the lunch hour at McDonald’s. It’s a fun place with a great corporate attitude. It’s all T-shirts and jeans. A bunch of artsy young kids that work hard but don’t take themselves too seriously. I like the place, and they keep letting me come back every Monday, so I guess they like me.

October

This is always a fun month. The highlight is the few days we spend in Brown County. And this year was going to be extra fun because we were going to have guests. Paul and Marci were going to vacation in the Midwest for a week. We all had so much fun together in California that they decided to visit. They started in Cincinnati with my brother Bob, then a few days later met us in Brown County. Nancy came up for a day and then drove them to Louisville and down to the lake. Then back to Cincinnati. We did all of the typical Brown County stuff, but a few things seemed special. We introduced them to fried biscuits and apple butter, a southern Indiana specialty. Paul fell in love and took an extra sack for the road. If by chance any made it to California, I must warn Paul that substituting avocado for the apple butter would be considered an unforgivable transgression. We spent one evening under the stars sitting at a picnic table with a bottle of wine, just talking about everything. It was a great time that needs to be repeated someday. Oh, I had a birthday this month. 

November

I’m so glad the election is over.

Thanksgiving was exciting this year. Jane’s family came to visit. Here is a picture of us with Jane’s dad. I finished the evening with 12 stitches in my face. And no, it wasn’t some sort of freakish turkey carving accident. You may want to just ask me about it next time you see me. I think this was about the time that Sarabeth started driver’s education in school. My youngest behind the wheel of an automobile. I can only describe like this; have you ever ridden to church in a dentist’s chair?

December

This month is all about Christmas. We had our Christmas here in Indy and the next day headed to Columbus for the traditional Willis family gathering. We’re getting old. When the names were put in the hat for our family gift exchange this year, all the names ended up in the same hat. It used to be divided into “adults” and “kids”. The kids now go from over 30 and married to little bitty Sarabeth with car keys in her hand. Those aren’t kids. But these young adults and their old parents and uncles and aunts had a great time doing the stuff we do when we’re together. The pictures show a lot of laughing.

Well, that’s it. I enjoyed the time I spent here in front of the computer thinking about everything that happened in 2008. We had a lot of fun, but like everyone else, it wasn’t all good. But if you have the right attitude even the bad can be good for a giggle or two.  Hope the rest of 2009 is great for you. Keep in touch.

Wayne

Jane

Emily

Sarabeth