GREETINGS DECEMBER 2001
The past year was again a year of many changes for the van Hecke family. We often felt that there must be more to life than running from one meeting to another. We needed to remind ourselves to "smell the roses."

Niels 'graduated' from 6th grade in June, as Saskia had done two years before. However, this time we had to say goodbye to the school where all four of us had worked so hard and achieved so much. This school was, and still is, an example of what can be done in a public school when there are many parents who pitch in and share their time and talents. We still walk in there every now and then to say hello to the teachers.

Saskia and Niels are now both at a brandnew public charter school. This means the school gets a budget out of the Santa Fe public school system, and the school has control over how to spend it. That is both the good and the bad news, since it implies that among the teachers and parents, we have to do everything. Since the school just got off the ground in January of this year, we had to organize everything from scratch. Needless to say, we are heavily involved, and it hasn't been easy. For one thing, the school started out in temporary space rented from the local National Guard - they had classrooms, a gym and outdoor space. However, since September the place has been fortified, with armed guards everywhere, searches at the entrance and all that. Of course, this really put the fire under the committee that is looking for a permanent place for the school. Our goal is to make this school better than the other Santa Fe high schools, but in the end we have to deal with the same cross section of students: as a public school we cannot have entrance selections. This means that there is an outspoken minority of kids who really don't want to learn and who sometimes make it difficult for others to focus on their education.

Niels is having a better time as far as making friends at his new school. He has a core group of about 5 friends who share his interests - computers, math and science. He is taking Spanish-1 and has managed to learn quite a bit. This latest development is great for a boy living where we do. Niels has given up soccer and has put trumpet lessons temporarily on hold. Current focus is on Destination Imagination (formerly Odyssey of the Mind). State competition is in March. This is a blast, although it entails a great deal of work.

Saskia is expressing mixed feelings about the school. She has friends there this year and some truly inspiring teachers. Because it is a public school, however, there are quite a few kids at the school who have less than stellar attitudes. This presents a quandary for a kid who does like to learn things.

Saskia switched from French after two years to beginning Spanish. She enjoys the Spanish teacher, a fellow Louisianian, and loves the language. She can help her Mom with homework because she knows the verbs better. Now, there's a switch and Mom is grateful! Saskia is a babysitter in the neighborhood and has some great families for whom she sits.

For Deb, the highlight of the year was the fullfilment of a long-time dream, the desire to learn to speak Spnaish. The absolute best thing about this fall was the Spanish course at the Santa Fe Community College. Three great professors, many interesting students and some real growth - what more can you ask for? Piano classes have also been a chance to relearn and improve on technique. Stephanie Greene, Deb's devoted and patient teacher, has been a blessing throughout this as well as past years.

Deb's spirit was challenged by having a tumor removed in October. This turned out to be benign, but it was a rocky ride. That being behind us, it should be said that such an experience changes one's perspective on life. Deb is still working as a Speech and Language Pathologist. The hospital severly curtailed its Outpatient Rehab program in March, with all but 3 of 35 therapists getting laid off. Deb was one of the casualities of these layoffs. The current work situation is too unpleasant to be worth discussing in a newsletter. Suffice it to say that there will be changes in 2002! This is the first time that a New Years resolution is really going to be fulfilled by this woman! Wow!

Hubert now plays soccer every week. There are pickup games in Santa Fe and Brookhaven, and an over-40 league with outdoor games in the spring and indoors in the winter. This summer he played in an over-40 tournament, where the tournament teeshirt read, "Got oxygen?" Hubert's comment was that after 4 games, oxygen is not the problem, but it was nothing that a couple of beers couldn't solve. Anyway, the Ruidoso tournment was held at a slightly lower altitude than Santa Fe. Run a little at 7500 feet and you build lung power and character.

During Spring break Hubert took Saskia and Niels to the Grand Canyon. Though it really is not that far away, we had never been there. We took the tent, and braved the cold nights - there were snowy patches on the ground, and ice on the upper parts of the trails trails into the canyon. We went down one of the trails a few hours, and back up again. In the spring, is is really beautiful there - there is still some green on the slopes and plateaus that will turn brown later in the year, and there are not so many people around. But then again, it gets really cold at night.

For our 24th anniversary, we took a short trip South to the town of Truth or Consequences. TorC was called Hot Springs before the 1950's, when the town changed it's name in honor of the television show. It is rumored that the town received money for taking on the new name. The hot springs is of course why we went there. On the way back we stopped at the VLA radio telescopes near Socorro. The photo of Deb and Hubert by the VLA radio telescopes was taken on the way back from TorC.

After years of preparation and construction in Los Alamos, the detector that Hubert and his team built got trucked North and installed at Brookhaven. With that, Hubert started spending a lot of time up there, two weeks here, two weeks there, it adds up. We therefore decided to all pack up and spend part of the summer up on lovely Long Island. Being within yelling distance from NYC, summer rental prices are astronomical, and we ended up doing a house swap for the month of June. Our friend Doug Fields from Albuquerque was driving up at the same time, and we rotated drivers and company all the way up, and spent a night at his parent's home in Tennessee, a nice break in a long drive.

We ended up on the south shore of Long Island near Bellport, in what used to be an old farmhouse. In more recent years, it had aquired a small pool and a hot tub (but unfortunately no air conditioning). During the next weeks, Hubert went off to work (most of the time), and Deb and the kids got to see the local sights and those of New York City, which was 2 hours away by train. We saw Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center, Rockerfellar Plaza, the Guggenheim, les Miserables (great play!), the Natural History Museum, Chinatown and Little Italy. Niels acquired a great hat, as you see in the photos. Only Niels would wear this, along with dark glasses acquired from a street vendor, in the subway at night! Small wonder that New Yorkers came over to us offering directions. Or was it because we had our noses pressed to our tourist maps? We probably looked way lost! But New Yorkers were really kind and helpful. Our hearts go out to all those wonderful people who lost loved ones on September 11th.

We decided to make the road trip back such that we would be in DC for the 4th of July. We dragged the kids to all the museums on the Mall, up and down monument steps, all the things you're supposed to do. Finally, we had a front center spot on the grass for the fireworks. This is when the rain started, and the fireworks were almost cancelled. Lucky for us, and the rest of the drenched crowd, they went off at the last moment.

Love and best wishes for happiness, peace and good health in 2002.