Since moving here in 1996 from Connecticut we are located on a navigable channel on Florida's Sun Coast 45 minutes south of Sarasota.

Address:     1921 Neptune Dr.,   Englewood, FL  34223-1534

Lat/Long:    27° 00'  North           082° 23.28'  West

Phones:      House:   941-473-3179         Cell:  941-786-5273        Text: 941-716-1451

 Links to historical photos:      Jack        Bev        Jack & Bev        Fritz       Skiing

Well, as I contemplated this year’s letter in October, I thought, nothing much to write about.  Then along came Hurricane Helene, and then shortly after, Milton.  Definitely, life changing events!  So 2024 will always have a feeling of drastic change in our memories.  We’ve been blessed in so many ways, but we have struggled, worked, thought hard, and survived. We were thoroughly flooded up to more than a foot!  Five rooms were carpeted, and it was difficult, but necessary to get it out immediately.  Bev’s daughter and her husband were the best help, and they got rid of the worst source of moisture and mildew—all the carpet throughout the house.  The lower part of all dry wall had to be cut immediately to prevent the moisture also.  We had neighborhood angels arrive at doorstep to help with that for a couple of hours.  Dry weather was a major blessing, as was the very good friend who took us in for 35 days.  We are applying for her sainthood! 

Then, the restoration and insurance stuff began.  We had all the floors tiled with porcelain tile that simulated wood, which will withstand flood waters.  We repaired/replaced drywall, and painted.  Cabinets for both bathrooms were badly damaged, and are due to be installed shortly after Christmas.  All the rest is just things.  Jack did most of the furniture moving by himself.  He had to clear all rooms of everything we owned (that also includes all hooks, nails, outlet covers, and floor molding).  We used the still shuttered lanai, shed, trailer, both car and van, and garage as our storage places.  After 35 days, we were finally able to move into 3 rooms….kitchen with piano, hope chest and clothing rack, our bedroom, and our bath with destroyed cabinets…..but we were home.  It was and is a learning experience we don’t want again. 

As we write this, we are gradually putting things back, and sifting through what can go and what hasta go!  Family will be thrilled with less to get rid of in the future.  Jack’s years of continuous work at church has paid off in spades, as we get a look at arrivals of furniture for the upcoming rummage sale, and are able to pre-purchase and use the church truck (which he maintains).  We are going for comfort and function, not style.  We can take our time, as there is no schedule.  At times, it is even fun!

As of now (12/18/24) we have not had a check we could cash from the insurance company for the building.  We will continue to jump through their hoops and hope eventually we will be rightly compensated.  The work had to be done!

We celebrated our 40th anniversary and our 28th year here in Florida.  We at 88 and 89 years are such simple folk, and easy to please! We rejoice that we are able to stay in our home that we have saved and love so much.

Jack keeps up with his major volunteer work at our church with kitchen and dishwashing for Wednesday eve dinners, Christmas dinner for over 2000, and Saturday pancake breakfasts.  He also works all year on collecting, sorting, and stashing furniture and goods for the yearly rummage sale in February, which usually brings in about $100,000 for our church.  Bev keeps the flow of home cooked meals, housework, financial checks and balances, and medical information going.  We make such a good team.  She still watches all the international and national skating competitions on TV, Peacock, and Youtube.  .

 Bev’s daughter Kelly, lives close by.  Her husband, Victor, has retired, but she is working as a LPN with the State of Florida in a clinic in Northport. The day of the flood, she was was in a horrible care accident (not her fault) and had to crawl out a rear window that the policeman broke for her.  She is struggling with neck back and cognitive issues and not able to work or drive. She also has fragile health due to compromised immunity, but stays strong.  Their daughter, Kara, is married  to Caleb Dean' and they live just a few miles north. They have a new cavipoo. Bev's son, Rob with wife, Linda, live in Plainville, Conn. Rob retired from The Hartford a couple years ago and now is a tutor and teacher's aide in the school all his kids went to.  Linda is a medical tech still working in two hospitals.  Their son, Matthew was recently married in Sedona, Ariz.to Erika, a teacher. He is a policeman in East Hartford, Conn, and they have a lovely new home in a nearby town and a new golden retriever.   Rob's youngest, Lauren, has graduated this year from a masters program for Occupational Therapy, passed the registration exam and is currently working as an OT in Boston, Mass.  Eldest, Sarah, after a divorce from her husband, Sam Coba, has moved from Boston to San Diego.   Bev’s son, Larry, with Samatha,  has moved from San Diego to Lubbuck, Texas.  They bought a franchise for Teapioca and are considering another one soon.  His son, Joel, is going to college aiming for marine biology in San Diego.  Jack’s daughter, Danelle, is still in SF and finding it more and more difficult to live there as an organic person. She has several jobs and is always busy.  She packed up her mom from here in Florida and they are currently living together.  Her daughter, Dana, goes to SF State University.  Darin, Jack’s son, is as elusive as ever, but is still in the Aspen area working his remodeling and construction, dumpster and porta-pot businesses

We so enjoy our home on the channel and a birdbath just outside our kitchen window where we have our meals. It gives us endless entertainment with cardinals, blue jays, mockingbirds, purple martins, sparrows, mourning doves, red bellied and pileated woodpeckers, and occasional indigo blue buntings, etc bathing.  We also seem to be the watering hole for geckoes, snakes and squirrels and once in a while an eagle.  We have resident bunnies that are so cute.   Each evening we watch the egrets, pelicans, herons, ibises, whistling ducks and gulls fly down the channels to the mangroves to spend the night.  Of course, in the morning from our bed we can watch the return at dawn.   Nature sure is wonderful. We are so happy we xeriscaped the yard years ago to have flowering bushes, tall grasses, ferns, and other groundcovers which entice the beautiful butterflies.  We do express our thankfulness daily.

 We are surprised that we do not miss ice skating, and especially the hour trips to and from the rink.  It was the right time. It was such a special skating journey we enjoyed, loving the movement on ice to wonderful music together.  Still keep the DVDs and VHS tapes and good memories of events and fellow skaters. Bev stays involved with a subscription to Peacock to watch all the big skating competitions. TV does carry some events.

We are thankful to be in relatively good health due in part to carefully watching our diets, having a backyard garden that provides wonderful produce almost year round (thanks to Michigan farmer Jack), and exercising routinely. Bev's Physical Therapy background and knowledge has saved us a lot of grief in several situations. We have a great chiropractor who makes house calls for our monthly tune-ups. For over 30 years, Bev has used the Pilates reformer, and Jack bikes, gardens and does all yard, car, and house repairs, and uses the Pilates reformer.  We don't travel anymore for multiple reasons.

In April 2011 in Salt Lake City, we made our debut at a US Figure Skating competition, the Adult Championships, entering the Pre Bronze Dance event.   Click here for the article that honored us in Skating Magazine for being the oldest competitors at the competition. This trip to Salt Lake City was also part of Jack's celebration of his 75 birthday. He showed Bev where he had worked when he was test director for the Poseidon Missile, and the  homes he lived in raising his kids.

Bev's 75th in June 2010 was celebrated in the "highest" fashion, as she chose to tandem skydive from 13,000 ft (over two miles) in early July.  The free fall of 8,000 ft. at 120 mph was literally breathtaking.  This had been a long time dream that she worked up to during other birthday landmarks by bungee jumping from a hot air balloon, hang gliding, paragliding, and a flight in a glider plane. 

We have sold our Sea Wind 24 sailing catamaran, Adrenalin, to an energetic young man with two teenage sons. We had been considering getting a pocket cruiser for some time, and are proud owners of a 1981 Com-Pac 16. Jack lifts the boat onto our dock with the davits and enjoys working on it at his leisure.  It is very easy to launch and to motor or sail in our channel basins or out in Lemon Bay. We thought about naming it Finale, but Encore seemed more appropriate.

After 18 years he has officially retired from the Coast Guard Auxiliary as a patrol boat skipper and flotilla web master (with full pay! LOL).  

Since we joined the Englewood Methodist Church we have become quite active in renewing our faith and serving in our church where we can. Jack has taken all four Disciple courses.  Each required 35 weeks of meetings and homework every evening. They stream their services online which we have been using through most of the past year. Both of us are quite hard of hearing and this allows us to hear it all. We have really found a home at this church.  He has worked with the annual rummage sale program for the last several years (they took in over $100,000 last year) participating in the transfer of donations to storage facilities throughout the year.  He works with the men  a couple of hours every Friday morning or when ever needed.  He also maintains their converted Penske truck box truck and works special projects as needed..  He runs the dishwashing crew at the Wednesday eve dinners and Saturday Pancake Breakfasts.

And what does Bev do?????   As Jack's secretary, she tries to keep his crammed calendar straight, keeps the family finances in order and the pantry full. She works to keep up with the medical info to make the right decisions to maintain our good health.   As loving wife, she keeps his home and clothes clean, his tummy fed, and a smile on his face!  Enough said!

Contact us at:  bevrienks@startmail.com .