Christmas 2022 – The Growing Barnes Clan
The BarnesKids are spread far and wide, but the annual letter pulls them back together for our year-end missive. To my hundreds of friends—please enjoy this 45th-year edition of the letter….
Natalia set down her spin-shoes, her racing wheelchair, Lucille, and personal-training clients to work tirelessly on her Physical Therapist Assistant degree. It has taken more of her brain than she thought she had, and she is only a single semester away from working as a PTA! She completed clinical rounds at out-patient, in-patient, and skilled nursing facilities. It is one of the most gratifying experiences of her life—helping others work through their physical deficits. As for a specialty, she is gravitating towards in-patient hospital work, but you’ll have to wait till next year’s letter to find out for sure!
To make ends meet, and maintain her sanity, Natalia has kept up her pet walking-and-sitting business. Walking dogs and petting cats proved to be the best way to decompress after class. She still has her own pup, Riley the corgi – now 11-years-old, and cats, Mowgli and Alf. Last year, her boyfriend, Bert Fusco, blasted into her life, just when she was sure she wouldn’t date until her education was over. They met at a mutual friend’s wedding—so they were already vetted. As they say: The good one shows up when you stop looking.
Natalia knew something was different, immediately. They moved in together in July, with Bert bringing James, his black cat. So, a grand total of two humans, three cats, and one dog in their two-bedroom apartment in Baltimore City. Natalia spends a little extra time each morning de-furring herself, but it’s a blissful home.
Ariel still lives in LA and still doesn’t have a dog, despite her camera roll mostly with pictures of other people’s dogs. She spent the first half of the year working on an indie film as a field producer/ script supervisor. That’s where she met a lovely guy named Nate, who she successfully tricked into being her boyfriend. She also bought a car, which is great, but it still somehow feels illegal for a bank to loan anyone that much money. Thankfully, she kept her day-job with a design studio which continues to take on bigger clients.
You’ll find her alarm is often set for 6:30 AM, the best time to head to the pool for a casual 20-laps before diving into the rest of the day.
For Gavin, as if making up for his last two years, 2022 abounded with change. After two decades in Orlando, he waved goodbye and headed out west to the mountains of Denver.
In late July, he started his job at Sierra Space, part of the effort to launch the first commercial space station, Orbital Reef. Embracing the new climate, he has taken up classic Colorado pastimes, hiking, photography, and even acquired a dog in October. Little buddy Bruno, a golden doodle, has doubled in size, and Gavin’s new Lexus NX350 will carry him to his adventures.
Back in Central Florida, Gavin’s adopted daughter, Alexis, had big life changes. She switched from firefighting to a career as a Physician Substitute. She proposed to her long-time girlfriend, Shannon, with nuptials in early 2023. Happily, they’re expecting a baby, Shannon delivering in the spring. Gavin foresees bright days ahead. See his balcony view: Sunset over Rockies!
Sandy, Noah, and Sebastian couldn't be happier. Noah is 19-months old, babbling in English and Spanish, running and jumping throughout the house, filling it with joy. He is growing and learning so quickly. Mom and Dad are seeing the world anew through their toddler’s eyes, blessed to have their beautiful family, and grateful for the peace and love fostered within their home. They are also so thankful for Sandy's mom, Sandra, who watches Noah during the day while Sandy and Sebastian are working. Sandy was recently promoted at Weatherby Healthcare, with more responsibilities and leading a large organization. Sebastian has reached the one-year mark at Okta, leading their Digital Transformation practice within Professional Services. Their sacred morning rituals include waking Noah and getting him ready for the day, in stark contrast to his parents’ high-powered business days. They all come together for family dinner, wind-down evenings, and putting their precious child down to sleep. It doesn't get much better than that.
Thomas is doing quite well and was recently promoted in his position as an appellate attorney in the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. He often demonstrates his culinary skills, cooking for neighbors and visiting family. His black lab, Weber, continues to be of great comfort.
In Wayne’s investigative work, things are hopping. In July 2021, I wrote a definitive report for John Solomon of Just-the-News, analyzing the signature on a receipt from a Delaware computer repair shop. It was, in fact, signed by Hunter Biden. https://justthenews.com/accountability/russia-and-ukraine-scandals/frilongtime-fbi-handwriting-expert-says-signature-laptop. Since then, I have received many unanticipated calls from attorneys across the country, all with millions of dollars at stake—a widow claiming it’s not her late husband’s signature on his will, a deed with joint ownership created by a larcenous paramour to take over the house the moment the lover died, a law firm hired to enforce a contract where their own client fabricated the entire document and forged the signature of the man he wanted his lawyers to sue. (Talk about audacity!) The list of fraud goes on but doesn’t end with analysis as to personality and forgery. I have been deposed and testified, always with cheats and liars losing.
On a trip to testify in Lakeland, FL, waiting in line at Walgreens to buy bottled water, the lady in front of me was about to write a check. I was already behind schedule, so I pitched in for her bill and we became fast friends. Marie Smith, at 101, is sharp as tack. We talked for hours, and she shared her wisdom. On a second trip to the Polk County Courthouse, I offered her lunch and she asked for the best burger in town. Off we went to the local Hooters. Her burger was great, and they honored her as their oldest customer, ever.
Spring brought an invitation to the wedding in Pittsburgh of longtime investigative partner Marc Tobias (his first at 75!), and the lovely Isabel. Her granddaughters fluttered everywhere. I took the time for a long-overdue reunion with Bill Guitteau, who I had stood beside and last saw, in the Penn State Men’s Glee Club 55-years before. The great irony is when I was a third-year law student at Villanova (1971), a Military Intelligence officer knocked on my dorm door, explaining that Bill, then an Army translator of Turkish, assigned in Ankara, needed an upgraded clearance and had dug deep to add my name to the list. At the end of an hour, the military man said it was the first time he had interviewed someone where he felt it was, he, who had been interviewed. He suggested I consider a career in the FBI. I have never received better advice.
My craft of writing has improved under the watchful eye of Pitch-2-Published founder Kathy Ver Eecke, with a couple of hundred on zoom calls each week, sparking new relationships with writers around the globe, with special shout-outs to Australia and the UK. One guest editor, Diane O’Connell, formerly of Random House, reviewed my first pages and stopped at this description of a new FBI agent walking into the Washington Field Office: I knew him early in his career when he first became an agent. He would come in with his slender build, white shirt and tie—“Bobby Bureau,” we joked—always the straightest arrow in a room full of straight arrows.
I confessed to being a newbie, but she countered that I didn’t write like one. That was probably the most inspirational moment I have had to push me forward to be published. Diane’s own specialized Sharpening Your Manuscript class brought me miles farther down that road.
My last vignette comes from something that comes with age. That would be reflection, and, if you are fortunate, wisdom. I was reviewing an essay I had written five years before, An Unexpected Gift, and saw that the Villanova Singers had participated in a flash mob that sang Handel’s Messiah in the glorious Grand Court in Wanamaker’s in center-city Philly.
I thought the current director, Ted Latham, might enjoy the essay and follow-up YouTube video, so I emailed it to him. (The essay: https://www.waynebarneswriting.com/investigations/an-unexpected-gift) He excitedly emailed me back that the choir would have a Christmas concert and sing the Messiah on December 10th. I was invited. How could I refuse?
The concert was extraordinary, the choirs—men and women—polished and professional. The real bonus was that I reconnected with long-ago friends, including Villanova dorm counselees, and Germantown High classmates from 1965. Facebook now abounds with new/old friends.
It was also a good year with art auctions. If you recover stolen art for a living, you land on auction-house mailing lists. When a piece of art talks to you—you bid. This year’s winners:
Jakob Dahmen, (1821-1900) “Dutch Landscape with a Farm Scene,” 1850, framed, 20” x 25”
William E. Webb, (1862-1903), “Venice Scene,” oil on canvas, 12” x 16”, circa 1890
Ferdinando Vichi’s Fisher Boy, 36” high, white marble on a green marble base, circa 1910
Leonard Savage, Native Alaskan, friend and carver of walrus ivory, gives me right of first refusal for new pieces. I am proud to have a large collection. Here, The Grinch (3 ¾”), and Shrek (3”)
Texas Longhorns, 5’3” tip-to-tip, a gift from a fellow lepidopterist.
One of the best stories of the year was a pretty hairy one. I had given the eulogy for a dear friend in June 2020, the last time my hair was cut during the pandemic. Two years—and 12” later—I had it cut off in four pony/stallion tails to donate to Children with Hair Loss in Ann Arbor, MI. They make 600 wigs a year for girls who have lost theirs due to chemotherapy. How many men do this? One in a hundred. How many over 50? At this point, maybe just me, attributed to my Northern Ireland ancestry. The Eagles’ 50th-anniversary concert in the Florida Panthers arena was filled with old rockers and bikers with descending locks. I felt like an undercover FBI agent, palling around with guys who look askance at men with short hair, so that was special.
On June 10th, 2022, my 75th birthday, my barber friend, Trey, cut it all back to my scalp and made four, foot-long tails. The same day I did 100 push-ups, 150 sit-ups, and 6.5 miles on a bicycle, then donated my 168th pint of O-positive to OneBlood. Last, the handstand. I’m glad no one asked me to donate a kidney the same day!
Cynthia and I did not travel to any distant points this year, but she did have a handful in both Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Reston, VA, with a total of six grandchildren. Jack Baker made his April entrance and, as the photo shows, no one could not have heard him. Only a great grandma could smile through that! Pop Wayne enjoys reading to the Benjamin twins, Mila and Liam, while 4-year-old brother Jacob plays off camera.
We participated in several butterfly counts and helped the 501c3, Friends of Long Key County Park with their photo contest. As a judge, I couldn’t compete, but did snap this one.
White Herons in flight
Cynthia’s butterfly garden constantly amazes all visitors. If you plant it, they will come! Here is the lifecycle of the Polydamas Swallowtail butterfly: host plant, Dutchman’s Pipevine. Cluster of eggs, army of caterpillars, chrysalis blending-in on an areca palm—and the butterfly emerges.
Below, a Monarch caterpillar pinwheel; a rare sighting, a tiny Silver-Banded Hairstreak
