Summer Eyes Online continues to promise to deliver the following: 1) a cheap substitute for holiday cards; 2) a lofty tradition of impersonal, self-laudatory, and infrequent correspondence; 3) a pun on the word " summarize," 4) a guarantee that this newsletter will not be sent before Christmas so that it can also serve as a single mailing of holiday cheer as well as serving as an inexpensive thank you card to gift givers (and to serve as a gentle reminder to those who fail to realize that it is better to give than receive [see featured article]), and 5) a method of avoiding printing, copying, paper and postage costs. (Eyes by Quinn)

For several years our family has volunteered for some type of service project during the holidays. Generally we have delivered meals to needy older adults on Christmas Day, but recently we got involved with an organization that doesn't just deliver meals, but the volunteers also deliver flowers and a gift, and are expected to spend at least thirty minutes conversing with the older adult whom you visit.

This approach seemed more meaningful and somehow more civilized than your standard drive-by delivery. So, it was with a great sense of pride that we set off to pick up our items to be delivered and to get the name and address of the person assigned to us. The flowers were beautiful, the meal was a step up from the standard meals on wheels fare, and the gift was a special added touch. We were warmly welcomed by our woman, Ann. We began to feel uncomfortable when Ann starting interrogating us about our religious practices and were relieved when the conversation switched to Ann's sister, Rose, who was in a nursing home nearby. We were quick to say yes to delivering a Christmas gift from Ann to Rose.

We set off to the nursing home to find sister Rose. In Rose's room I asked the first person: "Are you Rose?" She said; "Yes," so I gave her the candy box and said: "This is from your sister, Ann." An employee at the nursing home who observed the scenario, said: "That's not Rose!" She then pointed to another woman by the window and said: "That's Rose." Without taking time to think, I quickly snatched the candy from the Pseudo-Rose and gave it to the real Rose. "Did I just take candy away from a helpless old lady in a nursing home?" I slipped into the hallway to discuss my transgression with my family. We decided that it was my duty to search for a store that was open on Christmas Day that sold candy so I could make amends with Pseudo-Rose. We managed to locate a store that sold candy and we set off for our second trip to the nursing home. I sheepishly presented the candy box to Pseudo-Rose. Pseudo-Rose smiled broadly and accepted the gift, again, apparently without any hard feelings. In horror, a fellow nursing home resident who observed my gifting exclaimed, "She can't have candy, she's diabetic!" Reflexively, I again snatched the candy out of the hands of Pseudo-Rose. De-gifting twice on Christmas Day! What kind of animal am I?

I could see the disdain on the faces of my wife and daughter. What should I do now--rush out and get a non-sugary gift? Hope that Pseudo-Rose didn't realize what I had done? I step into the hallway with my family and we summoned a nursing home employee. I attempted to, as quickly as possible, explain the situation. She smiled, knowingly and said: "She's not a diabetic. Whoever said she was, was mistaken." What a relief! I walk back into the room and for the third and final time I present a box of candy to a bewildered Pseudo-Rose who once again accepted it.

So, what's the moral to this holiday tale? One: A Rose, isn't a Rose, isn't a Rose and, two, it's better to give, take away, give, take away and give than to receive.

Pittsburgh--The Corbin/Metal-Corbin family experienced some profound losses this year. On January 31, 2004 Josie's mother, Josephine Metal died. Her obituary in the Pittsburgh Tribune said: "Her children remembered her as a woman who put family first, but in her own quiet way loved to help anyone she could. . . 'For her, a meaningful life meant helping other people.' . . . Her children say although their mother was always closely involved in their lives, she never was domineering. 'She gave us kindness, sympathy and compassion and something even more important -- autonomy,'Metal-Corbin said. 'I can't remember in 58 years my mother telling me what to do. She would support you, but never tell you what you should do.'" Said her only grandchild, Quinn: "She was always kind to everyone and she never judged people for the decisions that they made. . . . Even if she didn't like something, she wouldn't put a damper on everyone else's mood by complainingshe would simply say 'hmm, . . somethin' different.' She was the best grandma anyone could ever ask for." She is greatly missed.

Josie's close friends, Carol Mezzacappa, New York dancer and Nancy Duncan, noted storyteller, died of cancer this year. They were remarkable artists whose creativity and friendship will be long remembered. Charlie Corbin (son of David's nephew, Will and his wife Suzi) died a few short months after his birth and after a valiant effort to stay with us.

Omaha--Quinn Corbin, senior, theater major at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, appeared in the Nebraska premiere of Metamorphoses, which was selected as the university theater production of the year by the Omaha World-Herald. This production featured a stage mainly comprised of a huge pool. Most of the acting took place with the actors in the pool. Neither the acting nor the performances were watered down, however. When on Broadway this play was called by Time magazine the "theater event of the year." Mary Zimmerman, the author and director earned a Tony for "Best Direction of a Play." According to Northwestern University Press, Metamorphoses brings Ovid's tales to stunning visual life. Set in and around a large pool of water onstage, Metamorphoses juxtaposes the ancient and the contemporary in both language and image to reflect the variety and persistence of narrative in the face of inevitable change." When asked what he thought of the play, David Corbin said: "I would not change a thing, by the way do you have change for a paradigm?"

In the spring Quinn also appeared in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods and was the company manager for the Nebraska Shakespeare Company in the summer, which she will continue again this coming summer. She will be traveling with members of the UNO theater department as assistant stage manager of Playboy of the Western World for the collegiate regional competitions in St. Louis. The soon to be awarded and coveted college degree in theater often prompts the question: "What restaurant will you work for?"

Omaha--Josie Metal-Corbin the National Dance Association's 2004 Dance Educator of the Year in Higher Education Award in the spring in New Orleans. David Corbin will be receiving a community advocate award from the Metro Omaha Medical Society on January 11 for his community work in public health. Corbin and Metal-Corbin chose to paraphrase Jack Benny: "We do not deserve these awards, but we have several aches and pains and we do not deserve those either."

Josie danced in a thirty-second public service announcement for the Women1s Cancer Network which appeared locally many times during the Olympics. Click here to view the PSA

Omaha--David Corbin continues to work with the women Afghan Teachers who visit UNO as part of a U.S. State Department grant. So far four groups have come to UNO's Center for Afghanistan Studies (where else would you expect a Center for Afghanistan Studies?). Corbin and his students teach lessons about health education to the women teachers and Corbin has raised money to give copies of the book Where Women Have No Doctor to all of the Afghan participants. Corbin is now part of a newly accredited Masters of Public Health program at UNO and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Corbin as also been involved in tobacco prevention programs. Click here for more details.

Possible names for rock groups: At Most Fear, or this name taken from a golf course sign: Fill and Smooth Divots. Some others are: Curry Favors, Hoarse Whisperers, I.C. Rhodes and the Skids, M.T. Promises, Red States and the Polls, and Time Unravelers.

Also, have you noticed that the Pope and Bob Dylan now have the same voice?

We wish you a happy and healthy new year!