2025 New Year's Note

 WELL here we are folks one quarter of the way into this century!! I have been thinking about writing this email since the beginning of December but of course I am a month late. I am happy to report the Mattes Family is healthy!  Chirs, Natalie, Zander and Quinn are busy as ever! Zander is now a sophomore and studying for his written test to get his driving permit! I half to double check that fact because it's so hard to believe. Quinn is doing well in eighth grade and is on a travelling soccer team which plays in tournaments all over the country. She has one coming up in Florida in  February that dad and I are thinking about going down for a few days to watch her. They BOTH are getting as tall as their uncle Jay which is very hard for him to accept! The family adopted three kittens which as a dog person even I admit they are cute!! We spent Christmas with them and got  to see the new Bob Dylan movie, partly filmed right here in Cape May. Unfortunately, I didn't get a cameo. I did pick up some interesting radio traffic, people directing trucks where to go. My dad is a huge Bob Dyland fan, a few which I 'm reminded of on a daily basis as he blasts it through the Alexa speakers!

Pete and Sue along with their dog Buster are doing fine. Sue and Pete are still camping during the summer. Dad  helped Pete with a project replacing his basement ceiling a little while back. Sue's parents still live in  West Cape May and I  see Sue's dad all summer as he is a beach tagger in Cape May so I ride the scooter down  t o say hello.  Sue and Pete are very active with their friends, some of which Pete has known since kindergarten. They also have gotten friendly with a few other families on their street . They drove me out to Michigan for my annual license plate show in July!!  What a road trip!  Sue also went to Europe with one of her friends last month.  She enjoys travelling which is great  for me!!  We are planning our next adventure this summer!! I have found my travelling companion!   

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Dad turned the big 8-0 this year along with a handful of high school friends, who helped him celebrate.  He still plays golf a few times a week. Yes he walks 18 holes. He has kept up the garden and tinkers around the house. He won't get a dog but has two seagulls that have been coming to Cape May for the past six or seven years! They're affectionally known as "Stinky" and "Sweetie" they come right to the kitchen window from the first week in April to the middle of September. It's amazing he has them trained, or should I say they have him trained. Dad makes way too much dinner for just the two of us and well, the birds get the scraps.  Friends of his used to hold a forth of July party every year when we were growing up and this year was #50. We were in North Jersey for the biggest day down in Cape May, but it was worth it. The day was flooded with wonderful memories and lots of laughter!! WE saw friends we haven't seen in many years. Still, like most of the occasions it was bittersweet because it made all of us think of my mom, she's never that far away. 

As for me it has definitely been a mixed bag! Since  I want to  end on a good note I'll start with the not so good.  On top of the usual "getting older with CP" stuff, I developed a herniated esophagus from year s of choking incidents and severe acid reflux. This required surgery back in the middle of July. Besides getting my wisdom teeth pulled about ten years ago, I haven' t had surgery since high school, and that was   orthopedic. This consisted of using robotic assisted surgery to go in through my stomach to pull my esophagus down. My friends and family insisted I have been through worse. Yes, they were right, but I was a nervous wreck. I kept having flashbacks to when I was younger. I went under the knife on July 18th and was home resting in my own bed about  40 hours later! One overnight in the hospital was enough for me. I had to have speech and physical therapy for a few weeks after but was good as new by the 1st week in August. My brothers  came down for a few days afterwards. I also have an aide, Anthony, who helped me before the surgery and is still helping me shave, do my laundry and take me to therapy. Plus he's a wicked UNO player. He and I have become good friends and it takes a little burden off Dad.

 Despite this bump in the road I had a great summer. Like I said Pete and Sue accompanied me up to Michigan so I could attend my license plate convention, I celebrated 30 years in my license plate club. The week before that I helped out at my radio club's Field Day event. I also continue to write. I wrote a hand full of articles on 1st Responder News' website and am a frequent contributor to the Cape May Herald's Spout Off column. I'm currently wo rking on a project writing poems about landmarks around Cape May. I also still write on justinmattes.com. Actually the hosting company jacked up the price a lot this year so I decided to cancel it and build out my blog to include my poetry and some radio information. The address is still http:///www.justinmattes.com . I also continue  to volunteer at the local VFW located right next door on  Friday nights signing people in. Free beer and free dinner for greeting people is a pretty sweet deal!

Folks that's a wrap. I hope you and your families had a wonderful holiday!!! As always if you are ever in the Cape May Area, please drop me a line. 

Cheers to the new year,

Justin Mattes