The Barnes Clan’s 46th Year-End Edition
(Maybe the last hurrah....)
To those who look forward to receiving this letter and patiently read it, this 46th edition may well be the last of its kind. Kids have grown, moved away, far and wide, and have families of their own. It is time to let them carry on with their own versions to spread holiday cheer. This is planned as an abbreviated version—Ho, Ho, Ho—but please make it to my especially good news at the end.
A June trip to Denver brought over a dozen Barnes family members together.
Natalia and Bert: Natalia graduated with her Physical Therapist Assistant degree in May and was immediately hired by Medstar, one of the largest hospital networks in the Baltimore region. She's working towards a specialized certification in neurology. In June, Bert Fusco popped the question on a trip disguised as a graduation gift. She, of course, said “Yes!” Their wedding is set for February of 2025, both enjoying this special time as fiancés. Bert is thriving as a sous chef in Baltimore. They live happily in Fells Point with three cats—James, Alf, and Mowgli—and Riley the corgi, still kicking at 12-years old.
Thomas is an attorney at the Department of Veterans' Affairs, Office of General Counsel, in the Court of Appeals Litigation Group, recently promoted to GS-14. His role has changed in the office, now on track to become a supervisor. He is ecstatic about the new opportunities and change of pace, and the dramatic improvement to his quality of life. Sadly, he recently became aware he was exposed to burn pits as a U.S. Marine in Iraq in 2009, meaning long-term health issues, fatigue and chronic weight gain. Thanks to the recently passed PACT Act, he is receiving the needed help and is steadily improving. He spends time with black lab Weber, cat Ciri (of Witcher fame), and continues to hone his extraordinary culinary skills. Here, is an example of his Korean cooking.
Ciri and Weber, Korean Presentation, Thomas’s Weber-time
Gavin has achieved a milestone in
purchasing a new house in Denver,
which he is thrilled to share with
girlfriend, Erika, along with her
stunning Bengal cat, Paulo.
Professionally, Gavin is thriving in
his new role as a systems architect
at SAIC, which aligns perfectly
with his skills and passion. He is
also celebrating with Alexis, his
adopted daughter, who, with fiancée
Shannon, welcomed Elijah Jack, a baby boy into the world. It’s all part of the circle of life. Appreciate happiness, wherever you find it. And...Bruno, Gavin’s golden doodle, loves emBARKing on new adventures in the Colorado Rockies.
Ariel is enthusiastic with her work in the LA film industry for mega-post-production company Deluxe, applying her skills after the cameras stop rolling. Longtime boyfriend, Nate, is a good match and revels with his work in the same industry. Their black-lab-mix, Lou, is easy, but big, a welcome addition to their household. We were glad the timing was right for Nate’s cross-country move, driving from Ohio, so they could join us, with Nate’s son, Lowen, in Colorado. Some of their travels included Portland, San Francisco, Big Bear, and Lake Tahoe. Typically, they can be found soaking in the SoCal weather on a hike in the hills with Lou, or in the kitchen cooking a new recipe.
Ariel, Nate, and his son, Lowen, at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. On the right, Ariel and Nate’s beloved black lab, Lou, taking in the view of downtown Los Angeles on one of their many mountain hikes.
Sebastian, Sandy, and Noah are loving life in their big, beautiful house in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Noah, 21⁄2, is my only grandchild, so I’m fortunate to live only ten-miles away. Both Sandy, an executive with Weatherby Healthcare, and Sebastian, at Okta, Inc., an IT management company, have extraordinary and fulfilling jobs, but downtime with Noah makes it all worthwhile. Sandy organized the rental house in Denver in June, and it just blossomed into a full-scale invasion (but a good one). For some who had never seen the Rockies, they felt the altitude. In Boulder, we saw nephew Wyatt and Amy’s organic farm, then Red Rocks Amphitheater, and 14K-ft Mt. Evans.
Seb and Noah, his first ride on Uncle Wyatt’s tractor. Sandy and Noah, brunch at the Top Hat.
Mingling grandchildren, Thanksgiving at Sebastian and Sandy’s—Roly, Sandra, Haim, and twins
Cynthia has an extraordinary butterfly backyard in Plantation, FL, but Painted Buntings return every year for her millet-filled feeders. Here are four spectacular males. On the right, during a North American Butterfly Assn. butterfly count in July, I took a photo of two Phaon Crescents mating. On a second inspection, the white area was described by an expert as “albinistic spots,” and were thought to be unique to this butterfly. But three months later, returning to Rolling Oaks Park in Southwest Ranches, a new generation of Phaon Crescents had emerged with the same markings, something very special in the study of lepidoptera.
Above, an extraordinary rock formation in Roxborough State Park, 26-miles south of Denver. Below, Cynthia and Wayne on the crest of Mt. Evans, quite brisk for a pair of Floridians.
Cynthia’s six grandchildren, three in Reston, VA, and three nearby in Florida, enable her to do more grandmotherly deeds than any ten grandmothers. She loves the kiddies, and my role as “Pop Wayne” is an added attraction. I lift them high to the ceiling with squeals of “Fly, fly!” Our travels, seen through these pages, demonstrate there can be a fulfilling life in retirement.
Cynthia’s daughters Ali and Marissa, and husband Haim, hosted a bash celebrating her 70-years!
Now, “If you have come this far, perhaps you are willing to [read] a bit farther...” (Shawshank Redemption quote)
Wayne’s big news is not the many cases he solved, signatures analyzed, or the several trips and scads of butterfly photos. Rather, it is about his decades-long effort to finish writing a book and have it published. But these two aspects of writing are miles and miles apart from each other.
After a decade to complete Catching the Traitor Among Us in 2016, I submitted it to the FBI Prepublication Review Unit. The story is my role in the effort to identify the worst traitor in FBI history, Robert Hanssen. As an undercover agent, I met a Russian who knew the bad guy’s identity and was attending an LA film festival in 1998. Befriend him, recruit him, and have him point out a photo of the KGB’s mole in the FBI, which actually was a mission impossible, or so it seemed.
Of the fourteen books written about the Hanssen case, and two movies, none cover this aspect, so I was compelled to write it. FBI Prepub has 30 days to review a book, but it took three years, to return it to me 95% redacted. I traveled to Washington, D.C., three times to meet with them and FBIHQ senior personnel. They didn’t want me “to give the KGB a manual about how the FBI catching spies.” As good friend Gene McClelland told them, “This isn’t how the FBI catches spies, this is how Wayne catches spies.” (I am forever indebted to him...)
I resubmitted a shortened manuscript to Prepublication in May, 2022 and, again, watched months and months pass by. Then on September 29th, I received the long-awaited, but never really expected, email from Prepub. My book was authorized for publication. The seven-year battle was over!
I attended zoom classes with Pitch-2-Published, where a very specific query letter was created and molded to be directed to just the right literary agent whose forte was my narrative nonfiction genre. Former Random House editor Diane O’Connell worked with me for hours on a “Proposal,” necessary for all such books, which is much harder to write than the book itself.
I was finally set, but was nearly deterred by my fellow P2P friends talking about their dozens of rejections. I located an agent who previously worked on a book by a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
agent. She had taken down an illegal hunting group in Alaska, an intense undercover role, a good match to my story. I bought her book for the Acknowledgements page where she thanked her agent.
On Monday, November 13th, at 11:10 AM, I took a deep breath and clicked “send” with my query letter and Author’s Bio. I expected, or hoped, to hear back in two weeks. But seven minutes later, at 11:17 AM, an email slapped into my inbox from Linda Konner, longtime and very experienced New York literary agent. She said the letter and bio were “terrific” and wanted my proposal. I sent it within minutes and had the temerity to ask how it was that she got back to me so quickly. She had just returned from vacation and opened her computer to find 750 emails in bold in her inbox. As she stared at the screen, mine splashed onto the top of the list, with the subject line: Re: Submission for nonfiction FBI spy story – Wayne Barnes. She read it all and pinged me back, which was, yet, another example of “Timing is Everything.”
By the end of the week, I had signed, and Linda countersigned, her agency agreement. I am now pleased to be represented for my FBI spy book. It will be presented to publishers in a few months. I am hopeful, but also appreciative, of all those who were so supportive, lo these many years. When the next big step takes place, those receiving this letter will be advised and, it is hoped, you will consider reading a true-life spy adventure—a story which is still not known outside of the FBI.
Below, this year’s prize photo, Cynthia’s grand-twins, Mila & Liam, viewing Jupiter and the moon.
“A Little Closer!”