Miller Family Christmas Blog

By Your Miller Family Christmas Blog (MFCB) Supporter, Jack Strap

I'll be honest--I haven't felt much like Miller Family Christmas Blogging, but having recently received the Harry Wong Christmas Letter (he ingeniously called it an "Odyssey of Nonsense") in the snail mail box--your MFCB Supporter Jack Strap is contractually obligated to respond with the MFCB. For those that don't know Jack Strap is the almost completely retired reporter of Hills Hoop Inc. (HHI), the Tri-County Football League (TCFL), and Special Events like the Poletti Pool Party (3P) and Penn State Road Trips.

So why, you may or may not ask, don't I feel like MFCB'ing. Either way I'll answer--it's been some rough recent weeks. Glenn & Karen have had this schizophrenic bug where they've been suffering from various ailments and just when it seems to be getting better it takes a turn for the worse. It was also during this time they lost their beloved little cocker-golden mix Bradley Bean who after being rescued from the streets of Baltimore over a decade ago--has been a light in their lives. His turn for the worse came relatively quickly, like a Mike Tyson in his prime gut punch, as it turned out due to Cancer of the spleen. He/We had lost our Sweet Golden Cassie 4 months before that so actually a 1-2 punch.

Glenn also got sad & angry reading in recent weeks about the injustices, corruption, etc. in Graham Spanier's book "In the Lion's Den: The Penn State Scandal and a Rush to Judgement". It was a very interesting & enlightening read but dredged up angry & sad feelings from over a decade ago on how JoePa was scapegoated by a University he dedicated his life to making better. Then speaking of JoePa--a few days ago one of his most avid supporters of "The Truth" and greatest PSU players Franco Harris passed away days before the 50th Anniversary of his Immaculate Reception. Note Glenn's earliest PSU Football memory is of JoePa's dynamic backfield of Franco & Lydell Mitchell.

OK--now that I got all that off my chest it's time to move on to better days for the Miller Family in 2022 or alternately as some of you may want to hear it "Stop the Whining!". A good place to start after having lost 2 pets is that we still have Bradley Bean's Bestest Buddy Ellie "EL" the Kitty who over the past year became the cutest little beggar for treats, as well as our new addition:Treeing Walker Coonhound Ruby. She keeps us on our toes with her unpredictability including going from seemingly out cold to a world class sprint to the kitchen if she thinks there's food involved or we're trying to sneak out on her. Ruby also always makes us smile whenever she regally sits up ramrod straight on one of the couches usually after "tearing apart" blankets and pillows to her and only her liking.

Let's segue from one Ruby to another--Karen's Ruby Heart Crafts business which is a labor of love for her that just keeps successfully growing year-after-year. Glenn just completed his Senior (4th) Year at CONCERN where he enjoys working with a lot of high quality people (aka better people than he) and raising monies for CONCERN's Kids in Need. Unfortunately one of his favorites from CONCERN or really anyplace he's worked--Mary Beth Hughes (aka MBH) passed away in September shortly after retiring after dedicating well over 40 Years to the Agency. She left behind (2) wonderful daughters Sarah & Stephanie who have directed "In Memory Of" donation dollars to CONCERN.

Wonderful Kids segue--we don't want to ever take for granted that we're lucky to have Britty & Andrew who are long gone from the homestead--living well on their own, gainfully employed, and active in a vast variety of things that make them happy. Karen & Glenn do things that make them happy too including eating out regularly (lots of places to try) and going to local sporting events--Wilson Football & Basketball, Albright Hoops, and finally got to a Nova Game at "The Fin" then last night they decided to check out nearby Boyertown Basketball vs. their Alma Mater Phoenixville whose uniforms are now black rather than purple.

Glenn had a great PSU Road Trip to Purdue Opener with Reitzy, Poletti, and Nick. Steve found them an excellent Airbnb house in West Lafayette within walking distance of the stadium with a grill for tailgating and shuffleboard for a tournament. They also spent a day touring Indianapolis after riding through Purdue campus one last time blasting Reitzy's Rap Music 😎. For next year they're talking about going to Northwestern game although Reitzy is concerned about nearby Chicago being the murder capital. Nick also visited from FL introducing Ross, Scholesy, Reitzy, and I to what he calls "The Beautiful Game"of Soccer during the World Cup. We saw USA 0 England 0 at the Liberty Tap Room where Scholesy impressively has his own engraved Mug waiting for him at the Bar.

Also in Sports Entertainment--Hills Hoops Inc. amazingly celebrated their 30th Anniversary with a Legends Game inside at their inside home for many years at Grace Church. Jack Strap was on-hand to write a report regarding the Festivities.

You may have noticed that the MFCB 2022 didn't have any of the hyperlinks that it has become famous for over the years. I figured you all could Google (or Goggle as Johnny from Cobra Kai calls it) anything you wanted to learn more about or not. At least this is in color unlike Harry Wong's Black & White Missive, but since this is the Season of Giving--I'm going to complement his inclusion of a QR Code to see Wong family pics. It actually worked for me although he qualified by saying "If that doesn't work, just pretend all those little dots are pictures we shrunk into a collage" 😀.

The Miller Family Christmas Blog will just include our pictures below while Wishing you a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!