Happy Holidays from the Big Bear Lyons…
Clearing the way to a better year…? (Lorna Lyons photo)
Say, have you had a challenging 2009 too? Well, who hasn’t? At least we’re still here to swap our war stories, right?
Ours concern another loss of a beloved pet, health issues (now resolved) and — this won’t come as unfamiliar news for a lot of you — a testing time pulling in enough income.
Sadness dominated the beginning of the year, when we lost our Samoyed dog Dakota in January, only a couple of weeks after Christmas. He was coming up on his 14th birthday and it was pretty obvious he was feeling it.
Yet he was still a happy guy, still able to enjoy his walks — well, slow ambles — around the neighborhood twice a day. Indeed, sometimes he’d muster a trot, and every so often at the top of a downhill the spirit of a canter would seize him. That was a joyous sight to behold.
Incredibly, one evening with Lorna at the leash Dakota broke into a hard gallop! He seemed inspired. His trademark Sammy grin splitting his mischievous face, he proceeded to tear around the entire walk at full charge, even on the uphills, Lorna flying along behind. It was the good old Dakota we used to know and a happy thing to remember him by.
Two days later he was gone.
Dakota was our third dog to pass on. It was two years earlier that our wonderful German Shepherd, Tessa, left us. And of course even after 15 years we still deeply miss Midnight, our marvelous black Keeshond.
Everyone asks, are we getting another dog. The answer is no, at least not now. For one thing, honestly, we don’t want to go through the loss and grieving again. It’s too raw right now.
Cats of an earlier time, Poindexter and Victoria, are still in our hearts, too.
Our current kitties, Pumpkin and Spooky, the pair of pampered princesses, are both aging fairly well. They’re 16 now.
Here is “Spooks”
and “the Pumpkin-colored cat”
The shot with Lorna (always appropriately attired) was taken on Halloween day, the anniversary of the cats coming to us and — as you must have figured out — the genesis of their names. Spooky has once-daily shots of insulin, and both get a regimen of liquid oral meds twice a day for various old-age ailments involving heart, thyroid and arthritis. They still live for the quiet hours of the evening, after mom’s work day is done, when they can clamber onto her toasty warm lap to help her watch HGTV.
Mom kind of likes that part of the day, too.
This summer we enjoyed the company of Diva, a “deer head” Chihuahua, while her Significant Person, our friend Willow, found a new house. Diva is incredibly bright and trained as a Service Dog to do things that make your jaw drop. She’s also drop-dead adorable:
Diva dancing
Late addition: Here by popular demand are Diva’s buds, whom we dubbed “The Boys.”
Bun-Bun is the one on the left, with the droopy ears. Pete wanted to rename him “Bugs,” but couldn’t sell it. Bun-Bun is very sweet and mild-mannered, but not much of a conversationalist. Pig-Pig, tho, is a very assertive little guy. Whenever he heard someone approaching he would whistle piercingly, come rushing out of the little birdfeeder he had adopted as his very own and stand up on his hind legs, pawing at the pen wire. He figured he was in for a baby carrot or leaf of lettuce. He was usually right.
They, Diva and Willow are now in their new house, a really nice place with ample room for Willow’s garden. The Boys are especially pleased.
Lorna’s work day continues to revolve mostly around her duties for MPG, aka the Motor Press Guild. She operates their website, a daily all-day task, and in her spare time (cue derisive laughter) works on the following year’s annual Membership Roster and Media Guide. For that, she’s responsible for the accuracy of data about members and services and also for selling the ads that pay for the book.
She’s really got a gift for ad sales. Astoundingly in this economy, she’s already sold most of her target of ad pages for next year’s Roster — a month ahead of deadline.
Her work is so appreciated by MPG that they’ve given her a raise — again an astounding thing in this year of hardship in the auto industry.
Pete also was rewarded with a raise this year for his work as editor of MPG’s monthly newsletter, MilePost.
That came in handy when, in March, we abruptly got cost-cut by one of our biggest and longest-standing magazine clients. They’ve been struggling, all magazines have, so it was understandable. But it was sudden. Chop! A two-minute phone call and 40 percent of our income axed.
Kindly, that magazine’s editor has managed to send a few jobs our way regardless. Even better, Pete’s column continues in the first-rate monthly Vintage Racecar. We were also very glad to have some assignments from Road & Track, a premier publication to which Pete has been contributing off and on for over 35 years.
Also ongoing is work on two books, one a biography, the other a third Can-Am book. Both should be done in the new year.
Freelancing may have its pay challenges, but against that one has to factor in experiences like Pete enjoyed at Long Beach in April. Among other great things, he scored a couple of hot laps in a Porsche GT3 RSR driven by ALMS and Grand-Am star Darren Law. Rides in race cars…Priceless!
(Larry Mason photo)
One of the R&T assignments mentioned above was a major honor: a Lyons calendar. Every year they put out a high-quality, fine-art B&W calendar with a historic racing theme, and for 2010 they chose the photography of Ozzie and Pete Lyons.
Pete wrote the captions, too, striving — this is a personal grumble of his — to make them informative, pertinent and generally worth reading. His fee was a small stock of product to sell through our website and sales have been going fairly well.
If you will forgive us a shameless plug, we still have some autographed and numbered 2010 calendars available through our recently revamped site, www.petelyons.com
Let’s see, what else about this year… In March we took part in a film festival at the new Riverside Automotive Museum, where Pete presented the first film to be shown, the Duke DVD “Can-Am Thunder,” in which Pete and his pictures play a prominent part.
(Lorna Lyons photo)
The same month took us to two vintage car shows, the first devoted to Porsches and the other to British marques. At both venues we enjoyed good photo and DVD sales. In June we had similar success at an historic race at the speedway in Fontana.
But an experimental visit to a different kind of show, which featured street rods and classic American cars, gave us an economic beating. Lesson learned, this is not our clientele.
In November the Petersen Automotive Museum generously let us set up a vending table (photo below) during a fundraising gala called “Tribute to Trans-Am.” This was our crowd and we went home happy. So did the museum director. Pete donated two prints for the auction, and the combined benefit to the museum came to $2700.
Maybe we are undervaluing our pictures on our website!
No overseas trips in 2009, for the first year in many. In fact, not many business trips at all. Our clients just don’t have the money. Nor do we.
However, thanks to thoughtful friends who passed along a time-share condo reservation they couldn’t take up themselves, we have just enjoyed a week on the beach at Dana Point. Sun, sea and skies free of snow. Sweet!
December brought Lorna her 60th birthday. We had two special celebrations. The day itself coincided with MPG’s annual banquet, where 120 of Lorna’s closest friends sang Happy Birthday to her. On a moment’s notice the caterer whipped up a “cake” — two cookies, a mountain of whipped cream and a handful of berries. Hard to eat, but very nice.
(Larkin Hill photo)
To celebrate more formally, Lorna sat for a neighborhood friend who is launching his own portrait business. He did a superb job. Here is Pete’s favorite image of his honey:
(Jim McClune photo • www.jimmcclune.com)
What will 2010 bring? If we can stay as generally healthy and happy as we have been, we’ll count it a winner.
May each of you be able to say the same. Meanwhile, warmest of holiday wishes to all!
Lorna and Pete Lyons
…and Pumpkin and Spooky too!