Here are the 10 most recent messages from John and Lucinda. For a more complete archive see Archived Updates.
May 3, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
John Tull got home safe and sound last night from a 9 day trip through Texas and Oklahoma where he was able to visit kids, grandkids, friends, his sister and family and his mother and her husband. He did quite well venturing that far on his own and had a fabulous, albeit tiring trip. Lucinda enjoyed some time alone, but Chica was rather annoyed at being alone during the day (stuck just with Puck and no humans).
It has been a cool and rainy New England day. Lucinda walked both dogs in the rain and they still aren’t dry. We are looking forward (not) to rain the next number of days. We continue to adjust to this very different way of life. And by the way, yesterday was our 11th wedding anniversary….together 16 years!
Love to all,
John and Lucinda
April 23, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
How deeply sad and stunned we are to have learned that our friend Cheryl Coleman has died in Santa Fe. She was a most beautiful woman who (we all said ) was one of the few who could pull off a great thick mane of white hair. She was beautiful in it with her wonderous blue eyes. She was fit and healty, full of life and curiosity and could laugh a deep, heartfelt laugh that would draw in all around her. She loved animals and she loved people. She was passionate and kind. There is simply no explanation as to why this remarkable woman would suddenly suffer a heart attack (or cardiac event as our very good nurse friend who was also a good friend of Cheryl’s well described it) hit her head on the floor, be without oxygen and then ultimately have to be let go of advanced life support by her grieving husband and family because it was obvious that she would never recover. She had been quite fit, quite loving and someone who none of us would have expected to “go” so suddenly and at the age of 60.
We are so very deeply feeling this because it was so damn close to what we went through. It is not at all the same, though except for the fact that your life so very suddenly and dramatically changes and not (today) just because of the downturn or loss of jobs, but because the person you have slept next to and who is probably your very best friend…..is not there…and never will be again. John did stay there and we are still together. We all know that we don’t get out of this alive. But it just seems pretty damn unfair that this very giving, empathetic woman would have to go so suddenly and be found by her equally kind and intelligent husband in the house after she had fallen. They had lived in their beautiful home in Santa Fe for perhaps 7 years and had a herd of cats. Our hearts are breaking for Allan.
This is it for tonight. John Tull does leave tomorrow for TX and OK to see his sister, friends, kids and grand-kids. Should be a good trip. One that you just don’t want to put off,\.
Love,
L&J
March 29, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
Well, we have survived our first New England winter. Wow, was it cold and snowy and icy which made it difficult for John to leave the house. But we made do. We hate to think of what our friend, Brenda, went through in Caribou, Maine, four miles from the Canadian border.
We have both been struggling with living so far from our beloved Santa Fe and Texas. We like it here. It is beautiful. But, JHT has never lived east of the Houston Ship Channel, and it is a big change.
We will keep you updated. We are so happy that spring is upon us. Last month we received a gift from God, Luke Tull, the third child and first son of Trey and Leah, and our fourth grandkiddie. We hope to get our hands on him in the spring. We are truly blessed.
Love,
John and Lucinda
12/02/08
Dear All,
Sorry to have been so remiss in our updating. This has been an extremely interesting time in our lives. Our move to the east coast started with Lucinda having her wallet lifted at La Guardia upon arrival. Fortunately, it was discovered rather immediately. The rather bad news is that we believe the deed was done by employees of the airport. Lucinda was a victim of pick-pockets soon after moving to New York in 1980 and became very savvy after that episode, but after 15 years in the southwest had let her guard down. Being an old soft hearted liberal, Lucinda would hope that there might be a day that no one needs to steal. Being a realist, theft has gone on for centuries and most likely has increased in recent years. At any rate, it sure created extra problems during our move (i.e. no driver’s license or credit cards).
But we are here in Stamford, CT and have worked every day on adjusting. We are very lucky to have next door neighbors who are just wonderful and who invited us to Thanksgiving. We love our view of our part of the Long Island Sound. We have had good friends visit (Laura H. and Tommy L.) and Lucinda’s sister drove the dogs all the way from N.M. so that they would not have to endure a flight.
As always, we cannot believe how lucky we are. We promise to get pics up of our house and our great view.
Love,
Lucinda and John
September 11, 2008
Dear Friends and Family:
This was the most difficult September 11th I have experienced since 2001. One wonders why it takes seven years to feel the full impact of an event like that. It was a day so tragic that it is almost beyond comprehension. But today, on September 11, 2008, I and some of my oldest NYC friends exchanged a few thoughts and visceral emotional reactions about that day for the first time. It was really tough to be there that day and to see all that went on for the days after. I can only begin to imagine what those we have sent off to war have seen. So today was about thinking about and reliving that day.
Today was also about facing the fact that we are leaving our beloved New Mexico and moving to Connecticut. We are moving because of my job and we found a great house in Stamford which we shall rent. We hope to return to New Mexico sometime in the future. This will be a huge change as I will be returning to the east coast after 16 years in the southwest and John Tull has never lived east of the Houston shipyards. So life continues to toss you and turn you and you just got to go on.
Much love to all on my 50-something birthday.
Lucinda ( and the sleeping JHT)
June 11, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
This past Monday we had to send our dear kitty Jorge to kitty heaven. He had been sick for a few weeks and though we tried, we could not make him better. We both boo-hooed for a couple of hours, but knew it was the right thing to do. We will miss him terribly.
We did an interview with a local radio station last Saturday which was the first time we had talked about our experience with plague in a while. It is still difficult and painful to relive those very dark days, but we are happy to help educate people as much as possible. It will be five years ago on June 19th that John was finally released from the hospital!
Otherwise all is well enough. We are contemplating a possible move due to work. We will tell you more later.
Much love,
John and Lucinda
May 11, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
May we first say a good day to our own mothers? We are both lucky to have them with us after having lost our fathers a good many years ago (13 yrs for John’s and 10 for Lucinda’s). Though we may struggle, as most of us do with child/parent relationships, we are glad to be able to have that struggle while we are all still on the same planet. So a very Happy Mothers’ Day to our mothers and to all other mothers.
We are in the east right now for Lucinda’s work and we got to see Katy Jane Tull who graduates from Bard in a couple weeks. Lucinda was wished a “HMD” by several people today both on her own and while with Katy. This made one think about the concept of both days….one in honor of each parent and what it really means.
John and Lucinda kid each other about being dog and cat “mommy and daddy”. We are that. We have also been sorts of parental types to a wide variety of young people and at times, to our friends who are our ages or perhaps a bit older. And we have had many friends who have temporarily fulfilled those parental roles for us.
So it might seem that as life evolves we might all get to be kids again and might get to have a mother and a father even if our natural ones are deceased or otherwise unavailable and that we might get the chance to play parent to someone who is not exactly a kid who might just need a temporary mommy or daddy.
So HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY to all who have taken care of kids, friends and pets, patients or anyone who has needed a mommy. Even just for a while.
Love,
John and Lucinda
May 4, 2008
Dear Friends and Family:
We just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. How much has changed for us and for the world in that micro-scopic moment in time. It is a bit overwhelming to say the least.
I would love to ask who you have voted for or who you plan to vote for, but politics has not been ever a point of this site. I think, instead that we are hopefully a site of hope…….in times of real difficulty. And so I will keep my mouth shut for the moment and stick with the fact that the word “hope” is not new and that we all just read and listen and vote with as much information as our hearts and brains can bring us.
Love,
John and Lucinda
April 6, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
Lucinda is heading off for Hong Kong, London and Paris for work. Tull is going to see kids and grandkids in Texas and Oklahoma. We are doing well. A real vacation will follow all this at the end of the month. And then we celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary on May 2nd!
Love,
Lucinda and John
February 7, 2008
Dear Friends and Family,
We have been remiss in writing. First thing we want to say is that our documentary (Nightmare in New York) has been airing this week on Discovery Health. The dates and times are as follows:
2/4 8pm
2/4 11 pm
2/8 9pm
2/9 12am
2/9 6pm
3/2/3pm
The times are all eastern, but we have heard of people seeing it at other weird times and even other days. At any rate, it is part of a series call “Life or Death” and you might catch it (the show that is) at some point.
John Tull is still mostly wheelchair bound which neither of us cares for much and we hope he will be moving about again soon. However, we both have been quite sick with colds this week and he is still really struggling with his.
We are both looking forward to spring this year. It has been a rather long, cold winter. We dare not complain about the snow, but the cold we could live without.
Much love and Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
John and Lucinda