Lorang Family |
Here in U.C. we have three households of Lorangs. My parents, LeWayne and Alphonse, live about 1.5 miles from us, and my brother Rod's family lives about 0.75 miles from us. The kids ride their bikes between houses and swim in all three pools. My parents are still healthy, traveling, hobbying, and helping me with the kids and house constantly. Rod and Sally, both attorneys, have two kids still at home, Jeremy (12) and Karen (14). Both play soccer, Karen does track and field hockey, and Jeremy plays baseball. Melissa (18) is finishing her freshman year at UCLA. She had a good year: good grades, gainful employment, field hockey, dorm activities, and a nice fraternity boyfriend, Jason. She didn't get home as often as she would have liked, but she stayed tough during the lonely times. Now she knows she can make it on her own now. Melissa is working for Pharmingen for her second summer. Maybe we'll have another scientist in the family!
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Also in San Diego are my oldest sister, Ellene and her husband, Michael. Ellene works as an Oracle guru and business manager at SDSU and Michael is a SD police sargeant. They live about 8 miles east of U.C. They've taken up golf and act eager for retirement in a few years. Ellene's son Matt (30) lives closeby in Clairemont and her daughter, Kate lives in San Luis Obispo. Both kids are engineers, both are in happy long term relationships (in fact Matt and Laurie will be married September 30, 2000), and both know how to have fun. Matt has lots of water and road toys, and Kate is a triathlete. She just completed the Rock 'N Roll Marathon in San Diego and has two triathalons in Northern California this summer (including a full ironman! Good luck,Kate!)
Jeanne, just older than I, lives up in central California, in Lebec. She is an inspector for the USDA Animal Welfare Division, so she makes sure animals are well cared for. She inspects movie and stage star animals (even Michael Jackson's menagerie)spread over a large geographic area, so she puts a lot of miles on the government car. When she's not working for Uncle Sam, she breeds, shows and trains Briards, a large French sheepdog. Never a dull moment!
My brother, Phil, his wife Ellen, and 3 of 4 kids recently moved from Ann Arbor, MI to Chapel Hill, N.C. They had been in Michigan for over twenty years, but this was a good career move for Phil. He's worked for the EPA his entire career, and will retire from civil service life in a few more. His oldest daughter, Janet (19) is studying at Carnegie Melon in Pittsburgh. Still at home are Amy (15), David (14), and Noah (13). All the kids are sharp as tacks, and as different from one anohter as day and night. They are very active in the Jewish community; just finished the last Bar Mitzvah! Next come weddings, but Ellen should be a pro at planning by now!
They are too numerous to count (my dad had 12 siblings), and too wonderful to miss. The small town where they all started celebrated it's 100 year centennial in July, so my folks, Ellene's group and Rod's clan all took driving vacations back to the midwest. My kids love to go back and ride tractors, trim sheep, etc., so we'll be going back before long.