October 16, 2000.

Well, let’s see… Today’s Sunday, so that means it’s a workday (yep!) and we must be in Egypt. The quiet, leafy suburb of Cairo called Maadi, to be precise. As fate would have it, we live just a few blocks from the Ukrainian Embassy (ironia sudbi) and many other beautiful villas with swimming pools and gardens. One of our favorite things to do on weekends is to go for a walk with Timka and check out the lifestyles (and SUVs) of the rich and famous. Then we’ll go out to the softball fields (which are amazing: manicured infields, lights, homerun fence and McDonald’s catering) so Kevin can chase his soccer ball around while Tim and Lesya work on their tans. Finally, we’ll wander back home and sit in our garden underneath the palm trees and eat fresh mangoes while our two cats hide in the bushes pretending to be panthers. Life sucks…

As you probably know, there’s a crisis now in the Middle East, which has us all concerned and anxious. The Embassy has been closed for two days and even Lesya’s aerobics class was cancelled. We have friends on both sides of the conflict and are praying for a quick end to the violence. There’s a summit tomorrow in Sharm el Sheikh, a resort in Egypt on the Red Sea, and we have hope that the leaders will agree to work towards peace. One thing we’ve learned is how emotional this is for everyone in the region. The media don’t help with their blatant propaganda (really unbelievable – scenes you would never see in the States) and may even contribute to the speed with which the fire spreads. All we can do is pray for peace.

We’re excited about the visit of Lesya’s parents, who arrive in the Land of the Pharaohs on November 5 to see their grandson and celebrate our birthdays (Kevin’s is November 1, Lidiya’s is November 23). We plan to visit the Great Pyramids in Giza (just 30 minutes away and visible as Kevin drives to work each day), Alexandria (the sandy beaches of the Mediterranean are 2 hours away), and the Western Desert where there are reportedly prehistoric whale bones (what?!).

In December we’re looking forward to Timmy’s first Christmas! We can’t wait to see our friends and family and enjoy that Cannon Christmas spirit (snow, Christmas lights, good food, and millions of kids and presents!). We’ll be in Washington, DC from December 23 – 27 and leave for Kyiv to celebrate New Year’s Eve and Orthodox Christmas (Jan. 7) in Ukraine.

As for future travel plans, we hope to tour England, Ireland and Scotland in Spring 2001 when our good friend Mark Russell FINALLY gets married (sorry, Russ). Then there’s the DELTA BOYZ reunion at Cornell in June (can you believe it’s been 10 years since Kevin graduated from college? Yikes). And after that, if we’re still standing, we hope to be able to attend the Winter Olympics in Utah in 2002. Turns out that Lesya’s a big fan of figure skating, ski jumping, hockey and bobsledding. But I don’t think she’ll have a shot at gold medals in all events. Scheduling problems, you know.

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