FRANK AND CYNTHIA ROBBEN
AND KIALOA II
AND KIALOA II
Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year
For the first time in many years I (and we) are not on Kialoa. She is
sitting in the City of Richmond Marina, probably feeling lonely and neglected.
Life, living in a normal house with normal neighbors in the normal small
town where I was born and grew up is, is, well, not normal to me. It is
different, definitely. California, and Dixon, have significantly changed
from the way I want to remember them. And somehow I find that accomplishing
things - especially this neglected, and now hurriedly written, newsletter
seems to be very slow. My wishes and plans outrun my abilities.
I wish all of you, and everyone, a good measure of joy and satisfaction
for the coming year. And may we move towards the good side of ourselves,
with love and respect for our fellow beings and compassion and understanding
for the world around us.
Home Again - Personal Happenings
We returned to San Francisco with Kialoa in July. My mother and stepfather
had moved to a new house in Dixon and the old house was not yet sold, so
we moved in! This was a smaller farming community in the Sacramento Valley
but has recently grown from pop. 2,000 to 12,000 and has become another
bedroom community. We settled in Dixon in time for Maria (age 8 now) to
enter 4th grade. Cynthia's three children who had remained in Sri Lanka
arrived October 1 and her family was finally together. Cynthia was most
relieved and all were very happy with the reunion. They had never flown
and managed to handle the immigration procedures in Sri Lanka and come here
on their own.Anthony (19) obtained a job at the local International House of Pancakes restaurant, he had 2 years of experience at a hotel in Sri Lanka. Dalrin (16) enrolled in 10th grade and Adrian(13) in 8th grade. School is a bit of a struggle for them, their education in Sri Lanka was not so good and the culture here is different, in some ways rather harsh and unfriendly. Maria, on the other hand, is at the top of her class and enjoying the schoolwork and her teacher very much. But she also finds it a bit difficult socially.
Cynthia is a full time housewife and mother. I have been taking care of various family, business and other details and hardly have time to visit and contact friends. My daughter Katie, husband Tom and two grandsons have returned to California from Germany where they been for 5 years, my daughter Pippi is in Oceanside, son Michael still in Japan. However, the most time-consuming for me is working on this computer.
Cynthia and the children find it OK here but there are all the normal family and other petty problems, difficulties and dissensions. It is quite a change from my previous lifestyle and from theirs also. But I believe all of us are basically OK and happy - and that is a blessing. I suppose I have grown away from life in the USA; I would prefer to be back on Kialoa exploring, learning and doing other things.
Plans
We plan to return to Kialoa for sailing in about one year (if I hurry up
and get things done). In the South Pacific, where I would like to return,
hurricane season runs from about November to May, and so the practical date
for heading in that direction from here is April, and that would have to
be in 97. Before then we could go to Mexico, or Hawaii. I would love to
go north up to Alaska but it is impractical to be prepared by next summer.
One thing I would rather not do this time is to rush so much as I previously
have.I have also taken up a rather ambitious project, and that is using the Internet. My ideas had been loosely forming for some time, but as I learn more about it I have become enamored with the possibilities. For some time I have vaguely wanted to write, but without any clear, practical goal. First there is the subject, and then the audience. Normal publication is unlikely as I would like to enjoy the writing and not work that hard. But, I have thought, I can self-publish on the Internet. The cost is within reach. Only those who are interested will read it and I can get feedback as well. And further, perhaps I can recruit casual guests to join us on Kialoa, or some research project, which will add to the richness of our experiences and also offset some of the expenses.
I want to return to sea with Kialoa with access to the Internet on board. That means some sort of satellite communication system, all the computer equipment, and not least learning a lot. The technical part is practical and interesting, but the more attractive goal is to somehow share what I think is interesting with others. So far I am trying to develop the computer expertise; it is slow and hard.
New Address and Other Info
If anyone has time I would love to hear from you. Anyone with e-mail? Hopefully
I will have something on my web site before too long.Frank & Cynthia Robben
1285 Stratford G-163
Dixon, CA 95620
Tel: 916-678-2445
Fax: 916-678-9665
e-mail: frobben@kialoa2.com
Web Site: - http://www.kialoa2.com/~frobben
(Under Construction)
(later http://www.kialoa2.com)