Holiday Letter – 1999

In 1990s by Steve Sliwa

Dear Family and Friends:

Home is where the heart is, and this maxim has never been more true for us. The final months of 1999 find us as footloose wanderers, having left our Connecticut rented home at the end of October. Steve left Colt in search of venture capital funds for iColt, the smart-gun spinoff. Unfortunately, an ineffective ‘firewall’ between iColt and Colt’s legal problems prevented the funding. Steve is now looking for the next opportunity. In the meantime, we’re spending the intervening months visiting family and enjoying the holiday season “to the max.”

Africa was the location of Nancy’s big adventure this year. In February she joined her sister Janice on safari to Uganda and Kenya. Although unable to see the mountain gorillas due to the terrorist activity at Bwindi, it was the adventure of a lifetime!

Press activity has figured largely in Steve’s professional life this past year. You may have seen articles about his activities at Colt, and the iColt smart-gun initiatives, in such papers as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Washington Post. His visage was also seen on television, particularly A&E and ABC., where he received his “fifteen minutes of fame.”

Palo Alto was the site of Steve’s 10-year Sloan reunion in October. Thirty-six of the original forty-two 1989 Sloan classmates were able to join the group festivities, including a pizza party and a barbeque/tennis party. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone again!

Yet again, the ERAU basketball team made the national NAIA II playoffs in Idaho. Steve was able to take time off while Nancy was in Africa to jet out to see them play. Indeed, we have continued to closely follow the Eagle sports activities, which have had an exceptionally successful year, including the baseball team to the national playoffs, and men’s soccer as Florida Sun Conference champions for the first time ever.

Health has been a major focus of Steve and Nancy’s activities this past. Nancy and Steve have each lost 30 pounds, using a Blood-type/Zone diet. They have taken up running, and work out on a regular basis. Caffeine and Nutra-Sweet have been cut out, and Nikken’s magnetic and far-infrared technology has seen continued and expanded use. No colds or flu again this year!

Opportunity has been Nancy’s keyword this year as she enjoyed a “virtual sabbatical.” Having time to research the biochemistry of diets, shop carefully for appropriate foods, and cook nutritionally, has made a major difference in their quality of life. She also toured all of Connecticut, got her Christmas shopping done in July, and has been studying Einstein’s general theory of relativity in honor of her friend Marcie’s new post with the NASA/Stanford Gravity Probe B spacecraft.

Leavenworth, Washington was the chosen spot for Nancy’s family’s first major family reunion, which was occasioned by her parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. Nancy planned and organized the entire event by Internet and email, from finding and reserving a wonderful mountain lodge, to making dinner reservations for the entire group, to having personalized Christmas ornaments made to commemorate the event. Sixteen family members attended, some of whom were meeting young nieces and nephews and cousins for the first time.

Internet activity became a major part-time hobby for Steve this year, as he undertook to develop a family website at www.sliwa.com. It’s still a work in progress, but you might check it out for a complete pictorial review of our year!

Daughter Tabitha is still in the L.A. area, against all expectations. After finishing certification and internship in holistic massage therapy, her promotions at her interim job at E! Entertainment made it too lucrative to leave. However, she has recently had an offer too good to refuse. She is now in Santa Monica as a researcher, content writer, and design analyst for a new holistic medicine website that is due to launch very soon, with a major raise in pay and stock options.

All the pets are doing quite well, staying with Steve’s mother in Daytona Beach while we are in transition. While her two poodles, Cocoa and Rusty, probably feel overwhelmed by the visitors, Honey, Chandelle, and Casper have been having a wonderful time being in Florida again, particularly having a pool to use anytime they want.

Y2K plans for Steve and Nancy are shaping up to be very exciting. Once a firm relocation has been made, we’ll be sure to notify you of our new address. However, in the meantime we can be contacted at any time through our email addresses: steve@sliwa.com and nancy@sliwa.com and by our new “roving” phone numbers which follow us wherever we go: 1-888-638-6838 for Steve, and 1-888-253-9203 for Nancy.

Stay in touch! Savor the coming year! Joy, peace, and blessings abundant be yours!

Steve and Nancy Sliwa

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