The Center of the Universe
“I know where we are. This is the –bridge, the center point of the universe; the place where heaven and earth meet. Here, time flows in all directions at once.” --Eric Lustbader, THE KAISHO Michael: “Alan, I was just thinking.”
Alan: “What?”
Michael: “Remember when I first moved here, and you’d come to my condo in West Hollywood?”
Alan: “Yeah.”
Michael: “Well, you had said I live in the center of the universe.”
Alan: “I remember that!”
Michael: “Why did you say that?”
Alan: “Well, because it was true. You lived in the heart of Los Angeles right near Sunset Boulevard, across the street from the trendiest restaurant, SPAGO and across from TOWER RECORDS and BOOK SOUP. You were in the center of the universe.”
Michael: “Well, I’m glad I’m near the beach now. I can always visit the center of the universe whenever I feel the need to.”
Alan followed that with a laugh.
The theme of the Christmas Cards this week seemed to be that “I’ll send more information at a later day” as the holidays are a busy time. Of course, we are all busy all of the time. We are all busy in the center of the universe. We each have our own center. It’s important to leave that center every so often. I hope some of them will keep to their word in my quest for more insight on my Family Tree and the extensions of them all. My cousin, Christine L Vigil-Kostelz sent a nice letter with a bit more information than most. She is the daughter of Joe Lawrence Vigil and Maria Dolores Mora. She lives in San Jose, CA:
Michael, My Dad said that he already sent information regarding our family. My husband (John Kostelz) and I have been married 5 ½ years. We were married in Jamaica. We have two dogs: Missy and Jeanie, both adopted from The Humane Society. We enjoy traveling, camping, water/snow skiing and river rafting. We always ski in Tahoe on Christmas Day to celebrate the Holidays.
I had talked to my brother, Paul, after the wedding. He said that he remembered hanging out with you. I must have been too busy playing with Mona.
We bought our home in San Hose in February 1991. My birthdate is 12-7-196 and John’s is 12-11-1965. I hope this information helps you with the Family Tree. Will it be available to us when you have completed it? Good luck and have fun. Happy Holidays.
Christine and John Kostelz
I, of course, wrote Christine back about the link on Ancestry.com where she can find all the input data. I liked the mini pedigree flow chart she wrote on the back of her Christmas Card which included:
Julia Casillas son: Bob Vigil (sons Troy, Todd, Cynthia)
Julia Casillas son: Joe Lawrence Vigil (children: Paul, Steve, Christine, Edward).
Paul’s sons: Andrew, Robert
Steve’s children: Miranda, Bianca
Edward’s children: Jennifer, Jessica
Mom’s cousin, Connie Armijo, included a nice note in her Christmas Card:
I’ll write to you after all of the Holidays. I’ve been sick with the flu, getting ready for the Holidays. Sorry I haven’t answered you, but I will try and send you all of the information, o? Say Hi to your mom!
Merry Xmas,
Connie Armijo
My mom’s sister/my Aunt Lillian also wrote in her Christmas Card:
I was so glad to hear from you, my favorite nephew. Thank you from Tori for her Birthday present. She loved it and she was playing nurse with her dolls with me. I had to get the shots. You want pictures. I’m sending you one of Tori at 4 years old. Just shows how old I’m getting.
Love You,
Aunt Lillian and Howard
Todd Vigil and wife, Elly (aka Susie) send a Christmas Card from Roseville, CA:
Thanks for the letter. We will send more information soon in a longer letter. Here are some pictures of the kids. Happy Holidays.
Love,
Todd, Susie (Elly), Candice Maria and Casey Todd Vigil
My 6th Grade buddy, Anthony Battu, also sent me a cool SNOOPY Christmas Card from Oakley, CA. He wrote: “Mike, Nice picture in Venice, Italy. My favorite place. I just love the Plaza. Hope you have a very merry Christmas. Hope to see you during the holidays. Anthony"
Michael,
You caught me at a very busy time. I will be sending you a letter here soon with all of the information I can muster up. Great to hear from you. Say hello to your Grandma Geneveive for me.
Love,
Lori and Ron Mason
Dorothy Rua sent Holiday Cheer also:
Merry Christmas Michael,
How appropriate your “Toys” card is, considering your hobby. Looking forward to our time together and beginning the New Year with someone special. If you need or want to call me while you’re up here you can reach me at the 800-624-6094 number during the day Monday, Tuesday and Friday or at my private line at home in the evenings. Otherwise, do enjoy the Christmas season with your family and I'll talk or see you soon after.
Love,
Dorothy
On December 21st I arrived in Alameda, and I took a solo photo of mom in front of her Christmas Tree. The following day, December 22nd, I snapped shots of my nieces, Ashley and Holly, being as festive as ever. And when Tony arrived with Helen and my nieces, Lauren and Leigh I napped a photo of them with mom in front of the tree. On December 23rd, mom and I went to Cecelia’s house (my dad’s niece) and her son, Jeremy Markus and daughter, Jessica Markus, were there. I photographed them also.
On Christmas Eve, December 24th I had a dynamic duo walk with my niece, Holly. We walked up Harbor Bay Parkway and I snapped some pictures of her as she did of me. Holly wanted to wear my leopard print jacket. She looked cute wearing it. I loved our conversation as we walked. She wanted to know when I was moving back to Alameda. I didn’t have a clear-cut answer. I had expected to move back two years after I moved in 1989. That would have been by January 1992, and yet it is now almost 1997. Harbor Bay Parkway is becoming rather industrial with some companies moving into new commercial buildings. I took a photo of Holly in front of ASCEND COMMUNICATIONS, a telecommunications equipment company. (ASCEND would be acquired in 1999 by Lucent and would then merge in 2006 with ALCATEL and then eventually be acquired in 2016 by NOKIA).
Mom’s cousin, in Santa Fe, NM, Ramona Leyba wrote in her Christmas Card:
Michael, my sister’s telephone number is 5050-983-4420. I think you have a very good idea on the Family Tree. I am single and don’t have any kids. God Bless you and all of the family. I know I have a lot of cousins up there near you. I am sure glad to hear form at least one. I will send you a photo later.
Michael,
My husband, Mike Rodriquez, has been a machinist for 28 years. And his hobby is fishing and hunting. I am a homemaker, and my hobby is playing volleyball and I like to bake and sew.
My daughter, Teresa, is 25 years old and was born on 3/21/1971. She works at the library for the Blind and is attending the Santa Fe Community College. She is taking American Sign Language and wants to become a Sign Language Interpreter. Her hobby is volleyball.
My daughter, Donna, is 20 years old and was born in 4/8/1976. She is a photographer at a Portrait Studio, and she is attending College full time on a scholarship. She is taking American Sign Language classes and wants to become a sign language interpreter and a veterinarian. Her hobbies are volleyball, soccer, basketball, softball and dancing.
My son, David Rodriguez, is 14 years old and was born on 5/1/1982. He is in the 8th grade, and he lies sports especially basketball and fishing.
I will continue to squeeze. I am already acquiring a ton of information that I had no clue about.
You are like a tube of toothpaste. When we squeeze, something comes out. When we squeeze hard, more comes out. When we do not squeeze, nothing comes out. Well, if you continue to maintain a negative attitude, naturally we’ll squeeze very hard until you are dry. --Nien Change, LIFE AND DEATH IN SHANGHAI
