沈維多(Victor Shen)

Victor Shen

Dear Friends and Families,

With the DOW at 8,000, there is no rest for the weary. It has been such a year that we are sure that there will be stories told over and over. For example, University Washington football team ended with 0 for 12, Sonics left town, Seattle Sea Hawks at 2 and 12 and Seattle Mariner lost 100 games. Joke aside, Victor is not retiring right away.

The year started alright, Victor was pressed into a sales trip in Japan and he actually enjoyed the experience. His local rep could not understand why Victor did not bring his hankies and had to run around and looked for a piece of paper towel. He enjoyed “home style cooking” at various local establishments after long days of hopping from one train to another.

Victor went to a high school reunion in Taiwan in April. This was the first time Victor visited Eastern coast of Taiwan and was totally taken in with the experiences. The highlight was the “green tea, Johnny Walker Green” and “blue tea, Johnny Walker Blue” that everyone at his work is well versed by now. Spending a little with Kay, our adopted sister, and Carton and Jennifer made the trip perfect.

The sad news was that Victor’s eldest brother passed away two weeks after the Shen reunion, a short cruise from New York to St. Johns, Brunswick, Canada arranged by Ivan and Nora. John was the anchor in our second generation. He was always there for us behind the scene. The best example was when Victor talked to one of mourners, he said that John listened and he remembered what you said four years ago when they met each other the first time. During the reunion, we were lucky to spend a week with Ivan and Nora at the height of the Hampton’s summer. We wish we could afford one of “shed” there but it seems we will have to settle for something else, maybe on Jersey Shore.

Sharron did her routine fishing trip to Eastern Washington, with EJ and Marc, in June. The catch was not what Victor hoped for but Sharron thoroughly enjoyed it and that is what counts. We spent a few days in Montreal for a meeting in September. The meal we enjoyed the most was at local French “deli”. We started with having a drink and ended up with plates of cheese, cold cut and nice bread at 1/3 of the price of regular tourist fare.

The turmoil on the Wall Street affected all of us. Ivan’s company, Lehman Brothers, was somehow left in the cold, which caused the cascade of “credit crunch” you are experiencing now. He is temporarily retained by Barclay, a British bank that signed Nora on earlier, and we wish him well.

Sharron is still volunteering at the church. She relates weekly menu to Ivan and two of them can talk on and on. We finally received a check from her oil royalty, $ 60 for 3 year. We probably should elaborate on this. Ten months ago, Gottbreht clan received notice that their dad owned mineral rights in a few production wells (4) in the new Bakken basin. The share of the royalty, after all the partners of her father and other things and 8 children, came to $ 0.0000019 per dollar recovered. Nevertheless, we are sharing the American dream.

Merry X’mas and Happy New Year. Remember, you have only three more years to drop in
Seattle before we retire.

Sharron and Victor, 2008