Merry Christmas 2001 and Happy New Year 2002!
We knew going in that this was to be an eventful year. After all, things were set in place 50, 25, 21 and 18 years ago that all converged on the year 2001. Let’s call it 2001: A Linder Odyssey.
Roger began the year working on his upcoming High School Reunion as well as participating in a reorganization at work (Department of Water Resources) where he’s been employed since 1978. But he also concocted another goal: to write a Rock Opera based on the events following Jesus’ resurrection. It was to be titled "40 Days: Resurrection to Ascension" but a lot of work had to be done to pull it all together. The music was already there; he had written another rock opera in the early ‘70s and decided to re-use the music and write all new lyrics. Working with fellow music team member Bethany Carlson, they established themes and began writing lyrics for the 16 songs in the program. By early March it was ready to go to rehearsal and the rest of the music team began practicing for a post-Easter presentation.
In the meantime, Matt reached that pinnacle of adulthood, age 21, on March 28 and celebrated soon afterward with a trip to Reno with his girlfriend, Ryan Anne Polli. No, they didn’t run off and get married, although they did trick a few of their friends into thinking they did!
Matt also bought his own car this year, just in time to let Brad start using the truck Matt had been driving. But Brad, who reached his milestone 18th birthday in May, still doesn’t have his driver’s license! But he does have a learner’s permit and has been practicing a bit. Hopefully, he’ll be behind the wheel on his own by the end of the year.
After a few weeks of rehearsals, Calvary’s How Majestic music team presented the world premiere of "40 Days" on May 6. Several of the songs had been previewed in various church services, and a post-premiere Conference 8 gathering allowed us to do a bit of an encore. We also set into motion our desire to perform the rock opera at the Sierra Pacific Synod Assembly in April, 2002. We’re promoting it as best we can, and hope to have an answer soon.
Matt’s own Christian Rock group, Silent Horizon, also had a busy year. They recorded some additional tracks and released their Dreams Come True CD. They also played in several locations in the area, as well as venturing up into Northern California for a show near Burney. They are planning to go into the studio again soon to record more tracks, including a couple of songs that Matt co-wrote.
In June, Brad took the long walk and graduated from Center High School. When it was all over, Cece and Roger realized that there would be no more parent meetings to go to! We were done with school!
Summer had arrived, and with it, Brad’s girlfriend, Audrey Maldonado. She’s a Junior at Center High, where they met in the band class.
With Spring and Summer the work was concentrating in the yard, and a new paint job for Brad’s bedroom. He chose a bright green, and when the light is on, a glow not unlike the inside of a nuclear reactor emanates from his open door. But the major event of the summer was Roger’s 30 year class reunion. The three day event, Friday-Sunday, was well attended and well-appreciated by the 100-some folks who participated. It had been 20 years since the last reunion, and worth the wait.
Then, late summer, and it was time for Cece to go back to work at Center Junior High (she’s not done with school, after all) and Matt and Brad to head off to college. Both decided to go to American River College this year, both concentrating in various areas of music.
On September 2, we celebrated Roger’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, with a big party at the Rio Linda Community Center. Relatives and friends arrived from all over the country to help them in the celebration. A great time was had by all.
Roger also set another milestone in October by establishing his own domain, rocemabra.com (ROgerCEceMAttBRAd) for presentation and consolidation of his various web activities. But the bigger news of October was Roger and Cece’s 25th wedding anniversary on October 16th. They spent the days leading up to their anniversary in Carmel-by-the-Sea and then celebrated with an open house October 22nd. Cece was particularly radiant, and many wondered who had taken Roger and replaced him with a man in a sharp-looking suit. Again, a gathering of relatives and friends allowed them to entertain about 70 folks. They were especially surprised and pleased when Cece’s sister LaRue from Redding, and her brother Rick from Idaho arrived, after receiving regrets that they wouldn’t be able to come.
Finally, the major events of the year had come to an end, with Thanksgiving, Cece’s and Roger’s birthdays and probably Christmas paling in comparison. There won’t be another like it for some time to come.
Here’s wishing you the best of the Holiday Season and all of 2002!
The Linder Family