Christmas in Sevilla

December 25, 2011

Everything is closed on Christmas day, so Janet and I are ensconced in a cafe on the square overlooking the Cathedral and the Giralda, the grand Moorish tower attached to it, enjoying a cafe leche and reflecting on our first week in Spain. The bells of the tower peel cacophonously--so loudly that conversation is impossible--at seemingly random times. We could go into the Cathedral to worship at the mass (it's not open for sightseeing), but one mass at a small church last night on Christmas Eve, standing uncomfortably leaning against the wall at the back, was enough for us. The cathedral, the largest Gothic building in the world, is spectacular, especially at night with its flying buttresses and soaring angles beautifully illuminated in a soft yellow light. Go here for this and other photos of our trip.

We love the narrow, twisty cobblestone streets of Sevilla, the stunning ochre and pink buildings with their elegant balconies, and the profusion of decorative orange trees. It's especially nice to see the city--and be guided around it--through Emmy's experienced eyes. We met and were charmed by her "madre," a pretty and vivacious 70-ish matron with a spacious apartment where Emmy and her roommate have lived in their own two- room suite for the last three months. Emmy and her madre (Carmen) are clearly very fond of each other.

We traveled to Sevilla via the fast train from Madrid. Because we did not buy tickets in advance and tourist class was full, we splurged on business class seats and enjoyed a marvelously smooth and speedy ride, good food and exceptional service--better than what the best of airline service used to be.

Madrid is a huge, bustling capital city. We made the obligatory visit to the Prado, focusing on the wonders of the triumvirate of Spanish masters, El Greco, Velasquez and Goya. Emmy had learned a lot about them in a Spanish art and architecture class and provided helpful lectures about their masterpieces. There was so much more to see in this grand museum, but sore backs, jet lag and an unexpectedly early 3:30 closing hour conspired against us.

Our visit to Madrid included a day trip via bus to Toledo, the beautiful ancient hilltop city of synagogues, mosques and churches. Together with Emmy's boyfriend, Tas, who was with us for the Madrid portion of our visit before returning home to Boulder, we meandered the streets and paths of this remarkably multi-cultural city. We especially enjoyed climbing to the top of the cathedral tower at sunset for a stunning view of the city, peering around the eight enormous cast iron bells.

Emmy's Christmas gift to us was tickets to a performance of Cirque du Soleil in a vast arena in Madrid. The phantasmagorical performance included amazing acrobats performing heart-stopping stunts, amusing clowns and mimes , and singers of a soulful story that we could not follow.

Back in Sevilla for the remainder of Christmas Day: We ate a magnificent lunch (the big meal of the day in Spain) of paella with lobster and clams at a lovely restaurant overlooking the Guadalquivir River. That was followed by a long walk to the beautiful Plaza de Espana and its stunning gardens, built for an international Ibero-American exposition in 1929. Roses and begonias were in mid-winter bloom. We ended the day at an atmospheric tapas bar eating gazpacho, salad, goat cheese and Spanish ham (Jamon Iberico).

More to come as we continue on to Granada...

At Last, Sevilla

Here is Emmy's first e-mail home after her arrival in Spain for a semester studying in Sevilla. For more photos, see her Facebook page.

by Emily

After an 8 hour bus ride today, we arrived in Sevilla around 5pm. Leah [standing next to Emmy in photo, a classmate from DU who is her roommate in Sevilla] and I met our host mother, Carmen, who is very patient and kind. She took us around the main street in town, somewhat like Pearl St. Sevilla is absolutely stunning with its old and colorful buildings, the river, and the different barrios. Her flat is right next to the cathedral in the town center and is a very nice home. We are about a 5 minute walk from our classes. Leah and I have a shared bedroom, a TV room, and a bathroom all to ourselves. We have our first day of classes tomorrow after we take a Spanish placement exam.

Madrid and Toledo were tons of fun as well as super tiring. Madrid is a bustling cosmopolitan area. We went to el museo del Prado which was right across from our hotel that showcases art by El Greco, Valesquez, and Goya. It was a guided tour all in Spanish and I was quite astonished that I could understand almost everything our tour guide said. We also went to the big palace which was absolutely stunning and walked around in la plaza mayor. After two days, we bused to Toledo, an hour and a half away. Toledo is absolutely stunning. You must take a day trip there when you come. It looks just like a fairy tale: a walled city with a castle and large cathedral in the center, all surrounded by water. It was very picturesque with tiny streets, cobblestone walkways, old fashioned shops, etc. I have a feeling that it will continue to be a favorite city of mine, even after I see more of Spain.

It's difficult to adjust to the time zone, especially since the Spanish like to stay out all night, so sleep is minimal. Hopefully now that I'm in Sevilla I'll have more of a routine and my stomach will stop grumbling constantly.

Holiday Letter 2010

December 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Janet and Karl both had momentous birthdays this year—Janet her 60^th and Karl his 65^th. We celebrated Janet’s with good friends skiing and snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park. On the day before her birthday, she was honored to receive a Pacesetter award, one of Boulder’s most prestigious leadership awards given by the Daily Camera newspaper, for her 24 years of community service at the YWCA of Boulder County. Her birthday present was a trip to Paris, accompanying Karl on a business trip to attend an international conference on legislative strengthening. Janet loved poking around her favorite city on her own for a week, even in the rain and chilly gusts of March in the City of Light.

Janet feted Karl’s milestone with a “Medicare birthday dinner” in the company of those same friends. Ever since Karl signed up for his retirement plan 38 years ago, his annual report showing future anticipated retirement earnings has always used 2010 as the assumed date of retirement. Now that year has come and gone, but he’s not ready to retire yet. His work at the National Conference of State Legislatures this year has included two very rewarding and enriching trips to Kosovo to train parliamentary staff in that emerging democracy.

The highlight of Andrew’s 16^th year was participation in a four-week Spanish immersion and community service project in a remote village in the mountains of Costa Rica. He was part of a team of high school students from all around the United States who lived with local families and helped them improve their community. They built sidewalks and worked on a new addition to the local police station. Andrew grew up a lot through this project, improved his Spanish substantially, had a great time, and made lots of friends, both American and Costa Rican.

Andrew continues his active sports life. He was co-captain and MVP of his sophomore basketball team during the regular season at Boulder High and played on the varsity during the spring and summer training leagues. In the fall he decided to play football for the first time ever. He quickly became a stalwart linebacker for the junior varsity, winning the MVP award in that sport, too. But he dislocated his shoulder making a tackle in a game at the end of the season. That injury has kept him chafing on the bench for the beginning of the winter basketball season. He attends all of the practices but can only watch when he is not doing his rehab work. He hopes to be back on the court in January.

Much to the surprise of her parents, Emily made a last minute decision to transfer from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon to the University of Denver for her sophomore year. Her desire was to move to a larger and more diverse campus in a more interesting city—and to be closer to home. She has found those qualities at DU, a school that has dramatically expanded over the last two decades. It’s a very different campus from the one her mother attended 40 years ago. Karl and Janet are delighted to be able to see more of her, explore the campus, and attend parents’ weekend, hockey games and concerts. With the transfer, Emmy has adjusted her sights regarding music, planning now to minor in the field while leaving her major undeclared. She still sings beautifully, as we know from attending her excellent choir concert and a student recital. She is looking forward to studying abroad (Prague? Vienna? Budapest? Spain…?) next year under DU’s outstanding international program.

Our older children (and five grandchildren) continue to flourish. Eric is a senior staffer for the Colorado Legislature, which was changed by the Republican flood in the November election in much the same way as most other state legislatures and the Congress. Jeanette is happy in her “retirement” from the Legislature and her work as a full-time mother. Sean and Sarah have sold their temporary employment business in Honolulu. Sean continues as president, but not owner, of the company. The arrangement allows him to do what he does best—sell his company’s services—without having the primary financial responsibility and liability. Sarah has returned to part-time work as an occupational therapist and seems to have a more challenging and satisfying position in that field than she has sometimes had in the past.

The newest member of our family is in the photo accompanying this letter—our beautiful and playful 9-month old golden retriever, Kona. We had forgotten what it’s like to have a puppy. He has a very different personality from our beloved Eldorado—more willful and assertive—so we all have to learn his ways and be patient as he learns who is (supposedly) in charge.

Some things never change in our lives. We made our annual trip to Redstone, where we were married 24 years ago, over the 4^th of July and enjoyed the time in the mountains and that village’s quaint, old-fashioned Independence Day celebration. Janet’s step-mother, Wilma, soldiers on in relatively good health and celebrated her 99^th birthday this year. We look forward to celebrating her 100^th next year.

When we wrote this letter last year, we were about to leave for Hawaii to enjoy a tropical Christmas with our Oahu family. We liked that experience so much that it is our Christmas present to ourselves this year as well. We’re planning to spend half of our time on Oahu and the other half on Maui, returning on New Year’s Day. When we first went to Hawaii for Christmas a number of years ago, we weren’t sure what it would be like to abandon at least the image of sleigh bells ringing in the snow and substitute the beach, shorts, sandals and aloha shirts. But with the company of Sarah and Sean’s family to keep the family holiday traditions alive, it has been easy to get used to and appreciate the differences in climate and style.

Whether on the beach, enjoying the wintry outdoors or cozied-up by a roaring fire, we hope that all of our far-flung family and friends have a peaceful and happy holiday season!

Love, Janet, Karl, Emily and Andrew

Holiday Letter 2009

December 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

So many sad things to report during our last year, so many happy! Sometimes they blend together in rollercoaster fashion, so it’s hard to separate them.

Perhaps saddest of all was the unexpected death of Karl’s brother Eric from complications associated with colon cancer surgery. Eric was not only a brother but also a quasi-parent to Karl, and a dear uncle/friend to all of our family. At the same time Eric’s memorial service occasioned a remarkably happy time as 23 descendants of John and Edith Kurtz (including spouses) gathered in Boston, along with hundreds of Eric’s friends, to celebrate his life. Eric’s many string quartet partners played for hours the music that suffused his life. It gave comfort to his family and friends. We especially think of Dick and his loss in this holiday season.

Just a few weeks after Eric’s death, our sister-in-law Marie, wife of Karl’s brother David, also died unexpectedly after a brief illness. We join David and his family in grieving her passing.

2009 was an extraordinarily momentous and changeful year for our daughter Emily. In the space of 5 months, from May to September, she starred as Golde in Boulder High School’s production of Fiddler on the Roof, graduated from high school, took trips to New York City to indulge her passion for musical theater (with Janet and Merilee) and Hawaii (visiting Sarah, a gift from Eric and Sarah) to celebrate her graduation, spent a week at a church work camp at an Indian reservation in North Dakota (with Andrew) and enrolled at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and declared a music education major. Whew! She handled it all with élan. Emmy is flourishing at Willamette, singing in a women’s choir, co-hosting a weekly radio show with a friend and involved in lots of other extra-curricular activities. She enjoys a nice single room in an upper class dorm and appreciates the richness of college life and new friends.

Andrew, now a sophomore at BHS, is our only child left at home. His life revolves around school, sports, a charming girlfriend and “hanging out.” He had a good season as one of the top players on the freshman basketball team last winter. This fall he is playing on the sophomore team and is also occasionally moved up to the junior varsity. He also played on the freshman-sophomore soccer team this year. He did well in a sport that he had not participated in for more than 3 years. Andrew was the captain of all 3 teams he played for this year. He has just obtained his driver’s learner permit and is enjoying learning how to drive.

Further on the sad milestones front: Our 11-year old golden retriever, Eldorado, succumbed to kidney and liver cancer earlier this fall. Cancer was the official diagnosis but we speculate that he died of a broken heart when his best buddy, Emily, departed for college. Eldo accompanied Janet to work on many days and from his lair underneath her desk served as deputy (dog) director of the YWCA. Andrew cannot remember a time when Eldo was not part of our family’s life. His passing has left a hole in our lives. We scattered Eldo’s ashes in S. Boulder Creek above Eldorado Springs at Thanksgiving, when Emmy was home from college.

Our older children—Eric and Jeanette and their children, Micaela, Talia and Jasper in Denver, and Sarah and Sean with their children, Elena and Abby in Hawaii—continue to flourish. Sarah has gone back to work as an occupational therapist, as the accounting and temporary employment service that she and Sean own in Honolulu has suffered a downturn due to the bad economy.

The YWCA has had another banner year, not yet suffering from the economic downturn, although there are signs that that may occur in 2010. Janet has had a complex management challenge dealing with the possibility of a merger and acquisition in which the YWCA would take over a family therapy and counseling center in Boulder County. As yet, the funding that would allow that to occur has not appeared, so the project is on hold for now.
Karl has had extraordinary opportunities to work internationally for the National Conference of State Legislatures in the last year. He has been involved in legislative strengthening programs in Algeria (twice), Oman and Kosovo. These international activities in support of democracy-building in other countries are an extension of the work that NCSL does in the U.S. He has found them challenging and exciting.

Janet accompanied Karl on one of the visits to Algiers and indulged her fascination with all things Algerian going back to her year as an exchange student in southern France. She loved the (somewhat faded) elegance of the L’Algerie Hotel, a peaceful oasis in the midst of a teeming city. The hotel was General Eisenhower’s North African headquarters in 1943. During both of Karl’s trips to Algeria, the country was gaga over the Algerian soccer team’s efforts to qualify for the World Cup in 2010. We witnessed wild and crazy celebrations over their victories. The Algerians succeeded in this quest through an overtime victory over archrival Egypt and will be playing the United States in the 1st round in 2010. We’ll watch that with unusual interest as a result of our Algerian experience.

Karl was happy to have a “young man’s” cataract removed in one eye two days after his 64th birthday (an event that was celebrated by family and friends singing the Beatles’ “When I’m 64” at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park). He is enjoying greatly improved eyesight as a result and looking forward to having the same treatment to his other eye after the first of the year.

Janet and Karl cashed in on taking Emily to Willamette U. by adding on a wedding anniversary trip to the Oregon coast. While Emmy was experiencing an outdoor education orientation for incoming freshmen, we had a delightful few days at Cannon Beach. During this trip we had the opportunity to connect up with one of Karl’s college roommates who lives in Portland and with old friends of Janet’s from her college days who were on a group vacation in Oregon. It’s a beautiful state, and we look forward to getting to know it better.

Our family luckily avoided a potentially disastrous situation when we were driving on I-70 on the western slope of Colorado on our way to Redstone for the 4th of July. A stack of unsecured tires riding on the flatbed of a truck ahead of us suddenly bounced off. One of them came to rest in the lane in which we were traveling. Without time to stop and hemmed in by traffic, we tried to clear the tire in our Honda Pilot, but it ripped out the underside of our car. Fortunately, we were able to keep the car under control, and no one was hurt. The Pilot, though, was a total loss. Andrew recently asked Karl if he was happy to have had the accident and gotten a new (used Lexus) car (which he loves) out of it. Karl said that he was sadder about the accident than he was happy about the new car.

So it goes with happy and sad! We know that all of our friends and family have had their own mixture of joy and grief, and hope that you have come through these mixed experiences as well as we have. Among our blessings we count the continued vitality and health of Janet’s stepmother, Wilma, still going strong at 98.

By the time you receive this letter, we will be in Hawaii, staying at a Marriott resort on the southwest coast of Oahu and visiting Sarah and Sean for 11 days. Hence the visual graphic of this stationery. Our photo this year was taken in spring for our church’s directory and is the last family portrait with Eldo.

A full moon is scheduled for New Year’s Eve and we look forward to raising a glass on the beach that night to all of our friends and family, saying good-bye to a tumultuous 2009 and wishing for peace in 2010. We bid you all a happy holiday season!

Love, Janet, Karl, Emily, Andrew

Farewell, Eldorado!

Today, sadly, we said good-bye to Eldo, the best dog ever! After 11 happy years as an integral part of our family, Eldorado Butterscotch succumbed to cancer. We miss him already. Check out a brief slide show of his earliest and last days:

The Best Man

Sad days for our family! Karl's brother Eric died unexpectedly at age 71 on Feb. 12, 2008. Just a few weeks later, on March 6, Karl's sister-in-law Marie Berndt Kurtz, 79, died. Both of these events occasioned nice family gatherings to celebrate Eric and Marie's lives.

But, no offense to the company that gathered, it was a pleasure we could have done without: We would rather have Eric and Marie still in our lives. We especially feel for Dick and David in the loss of their spouses.

The Boston Globe's Legacy.com Web site has some marvelous stories about Eric submitted by friends. Dick is planning to publish a book with all of the family and friends' remembrances and some photos of Eric, but in the meantime here is Karl's remembrance of Eric that he delivered at the memorial service.

The Best Man: A Remembrance of Eric W. Kurtz

February 20, 2009

My brother Eric was the best man in at least six weddings that I know of, and probably more that I don't know about. Two of them were my own. This is amazing: How many of us are asked to be best man at even one wedding?

This remarkable fact about Eric leads me to my theme for the day: What were qualities that made us want him as our best man?

First, he had a great capacity for friendship. He had many and varied friends. Just look around this sanctuary, filled to standing room only, at the diversity of people who are here. Many of these friendships were deep and long-lasting. One of his earliest and best friends in high school, Jim Ellis, wanted to be here today but could not because of illness. But there are people here who knew him in college more than 50 years ago. And there are lots of people here who have only gotten to know him in the last year through the Harvard Institute for Lifelong Learning. Among other things, all of these friendships meant that he had a lot of best man opportunities.

Second, he was clever and witty. In fact he loved the word "clever"—he used it a lot and admired clever people and things. This quality meant that he wrote great wedding toasts, perhaps the single most important qualification for a best man, save for not losing the ring.

As an aside, the single most agile, apt, alliterative toast that I have ever heard was not written by Eric but rather delivered in his honor at his own wedding to Janet by a cousin of Janet's. It ended with "...a toast to the cleverness of a Kurtz to connive to k-now a Knoop."

Third, he was a bit of a Renaissance man. There wasn't any pursuit of the mind that he couldn't do well. In many ways the word "curiosity" sums him up—he was intellectually curious about everything. He was a man of taste and discernment. But he applied his agile mind, curiosity and good taste only to the things that mattered to him. For the most part, his interests did not extend to the popular in American life. He loved to share his enthusiasms with other people. He had an enormous appetite for life: for love, for music, for travel. (A friend who recently traveled with him said to me just before this service, "He traveled with gusto.") Not to mention his appetite for food—both the cooking and the eating of it. He could be a bon vivant, capable of lighting up a party.

Despite his capacity for extroversion, the life of his internal mind was very important to him. I remember one time riding in the back seat of a car with Eric and our father. There was lively conversation in the car, but Eric was off in a world of his own. After a time, Dad asked, "Eric, what are you thinking about?" "I'm meditating on Burke's The Sublime and the Beautiful," he replied.

Fourth, despite his skills and talents, Eric was a man of personal modesty. One of his flaws may have been that he was too often sure that he was right, but he was neither vain nor vainglorious. Dapper and dashing were not words that ever applied to him. He cared nothing for fashion. What does this quality have to do with being a best man? Well, for one thing his modesty and, if I may say it, his frumpiness meant that he never outshone the bride and groom.

Fifth, Eric had a large capacity for family, probably more so than anyone else in my sometimes dysfunctional family. In my conflicts with my parents or my brothers, he was the one who always counseled me to hang in and to forgive. He was often the spokesperson for my brothers and me in both big things and small. In the difficult transitions in my life he was accepting and non-judgmental. I particularly remember how welcoming he was to my then not-yet wife Janet when she came into our family at a difficult time (one that is too reminiscent of this one). Janet treasures the memory of how helpful Eric was to her he was when she arrived in Cambridge for her year of graduate school at Harvard.

Sixth, he was a nurturing person. Eric was 10 years older than I, and when I was born he took an intense interest in me. He took care of me while my mother took care of the rest of the family. My memories of this are not conscious ones because he had gone to college by the time I was six and starting to remember things. But his care-giving to me established a deep and lifelong bond between us. We were brothers, but he was also a third parent to me. Eric's children also benefited from his nurturing qualities, as I'm sure did so many of his friends who are gathered here today.

From this summary of the things I admired about Eric, I think you can get a flavor as to why so many of us asked him to be the best man in our weddings. But taking all of these qualities together, it seems to me that Eric was, quite simply, a "best man" in the broader sense of the word, without reference to anything having to do with weddings.

I miss him deeply and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

Oberlin's Apollo Theatre

Anyone who has ever visited Oberlin will be interested in "Alumni and Friends Fund Purchase of Historic Apollo Theatre."