Dear Friends & Family, This time last year was all about the possibility of Funk getting elected Mayor of Kansas City. When that letter was written, Funk and I both knew it in our bones that he would be elected, but we also knew that we were going to have to work really hard to feel that we deserved it. The campaign itself was wildly fun, but exhausting, and though I can’t say that we’d ever do it again, it was a wonderful experience. By default, I became Funk’s campaign manager. And because Funk won the election, he now thinks […]

The Funk’s Holiday Newsletter 2006As written on the 7th of September Dear Friends & Family, Do you feel the crackle in the air? Doesn’t it make you feel as if you are standing in the midst of royalty? Well, have no fear; it’s just me, trying on my new role as first lady for when my little funky-poo is elected Mayor of Kansas City in the spring of double-o-seven. But, more on that little tidbit later. Tara’s study abroad experience ended strangely. First, her university closed down for the year only five weeks into the semester due to the rioting […]

Christmas 2005 Hello again. I hope this letter finds you’ve all had a healthy and peaceful 2005. As for us, gratefully, we are all well, even with me being just a tad brittle around the edges. I thought last year was bad with Tara leaving for college and with me being forced to come to terms with the beginning of, what I now see as the almost-empty-nest-syndrome, but that was nothing. The full power of my predicament hit me when my poor daughter came home from college in April and the next day I had the mother of all meltdowns […]

Hello Folks;   (I loved the pictures) Just a short line from the proudest Grandpaw in Missouri. All my grandchildren are smart and beautiful and I mean every one of them. Now having said that let me tell you I really enjoyed the Xmas letter. I read it over three times and I think Gloria has a real talent I think she should expand the letter, keep a journal and write a book. The title should be Where have my little Babies gone. About a sweet, pretty Italian womans battle with herself and others over the empty nest syndrome (spelling […]

Happy Holidays 2003 Hello again. As I write this, I’m just recovering from the flu. Or at least I hope it was the flu because I don’t want to get sick again this winter. It has been a good year for us. I’ll start off with the news of Funk for a change. He is still a very lucky man, happily sharing his spot next to me in what we call “the sacred bed.” Funk has been in the news quite a bit this year, but his biggest honor has been winning a national “public servant of the year” award […]

Happy Holidays To Our Dear Friends & Family, I’ve been waiting to write this letter until I have a more joyful heart, or at least, until I can skip the paragraph about the terrible twin tower disaster. While I have a grateful heart, apparently, I’m not going to be able to skip the tragedy paragraph. Thankfully for my family, we are all well and intact, but it has been a sad year. The worst of it being that yet another childhood friend has passed on. And, of course, the war. My friend Judy was in her early 40’s when she […]

Dearest Friends & Family, We have such good news this year – after seven long years, Funk is finally a Ph.D. He graduated with his Doctor of Philosophy degree on the 15th of December. We are so thrilled and so relieved. It was a really long road. I had to beg him to let me go to his dissertation defense – he was afraid of what I’d do if they didn’t pass him. But I won out and got to go to the nerve-wracking event. Funk looked so awful when he came out of the room to wait while his […]

Happy Holidays 1999! ! ! We sure have missed seeing all our loved ones this year, but you’re never far from our thoughts. Isn’t it strange that we’re turning over to the year 2000? When I was little, I remember thinking how far away it seemed and how old I’d be. And here it is. Wow! We had a great vacation this year. It’s funny, I never knew how important to a family taking a vacation was. Eating up those highway miles sure does force togetherness. I’ll never fly and waste those precious moments again. We did an East Coast […]