Spring into 2018 with the Ratliffs!
Read this first before watching the video.
Hello Friends & Family,
Our video starts with some music (an All-Star Band cover of the Rolling Stones cover of the Beatles Come Together!) from our 31st wedding anniversary trip to Maui where we attended a local Hunger Relief All-Star Band concert on New Year’s Eve.
The concert featured several members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and other headliners with homes on Maui, including Alice Cooper and his band, Michael McDonald and guitarist Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, David Draiman of Disturbed, instrumentalists from bands including Fleetwood Mac and Bob Seger, song writers for Otis Redding, Elvis and Paul Simon, guitarist Bob Rock (who also produced hard rockers Motley Crue and Metallica, pop rockers like Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams, and crooners like Michael Buble), and other celebrity performers like Lynda Carter (the original Wonder Woman), Weird Al, and MC Howie Mandel.
Following the concert scenes are photos and video from our trip, including Tricia repelling down a water fall and scenes from a low flying aircraft taking us from Maui to Oahu (going over Molokai) to visit friends in Honolulu for the day (US Army Maj. Dr. Raj & Avni Daniels and their new baby girl; Alan officiated Raj & Avni’s wedding a few years back).
Of course, Houston endured Harvey (but won a World Series!), and we had plenty of chances to volunteer for Tricia’s school and the Houston animal shelter (aka BARC, recall Alan chairs the non-profit Foundation that provides supplemental funding to the shelter).
As the music changes to Michael McDonald “Takin it to the Streets” (we saw him in Maui with the All Star Band, and in Atlantic City where he played with 70’s rocker Boz Skaggs, remember the Lido Shuffle!?), we move into trips involving friends and family, starting with our fellow Baylor alums, Sunday School teachers and dear friends Dawn & Randy Wilson (Dawn is courageously battling in her 4th + year what started as breast cancer) who joined us for a long weekend in Santa Fe.
Following that are clips of 5’9”, barely 13-year old nephew Jack!, posing with Alan for Halloween (he’s a spooky Joker, Alan the Riddler, who drove everyone crazy all night with Riddle me this… “best-of riddles” from original Batman TV series Alan found online), and with his mama, Amy, and “Ant T” (Tricia), and then with friends he went camping with in New Mexico and Colorado. Then onto Niece Vivian visiting Houston for the Rodeo and the Houston Ballet, back in New Orleans, and on a girls’ trip to Gulf Shores, and including photos with Tricia’s mom, Carolyn, and her sister and brother-in-law, Amy and Dan. Vivian is 12 now!
Fun photos follow of friends including former colleague of Alan’s and NorCal friends Kat & Ali at Halloween, childhood friends Kelley & Lyle’s grandbaby Adelaine, Alan’s colleague and fellow Baylor alum, friends and neighbors Katie (and husband, Bruce, whose wedding Alan officiated in 2016), Alan’s former San Fran colleagues and friends Kat, GG and Irma at a dinner last Fall, Alan’s Houston colleague and our dear friend Ambreen (and her kids Jackson and Sidney), Alan’s former colleagues and our friends Pablo and Chantal’s rapidly growing kids Daniel and Natalie on their first trip to Chantal’s homeland (France), and photos of Baby Daniels, proud parents and Aunt Ambreen, in Oahu.
Almost a year ago now in May 2017 we visited Beaver Creek and in November, Colorado Springs; the snow is from the May trip not the November trip though, as you can see, it went from snowy to sunny, clear and mild pretty quickly. In Colorado Springs we attended the first annual US Olympic & Paralympic Foundation Leadership Development weekend and won Gold medals (no really, they’re the real thing)! Among other activities, they divided us into two groups for competition. There was a seated volleyball tournament and air gun shooting competition (both structured to give you the perspective of those with special abilities), and Tricia and Alan were on the tournament winning volleyball team.
In Summer 2017 Alan took a couple trips to Chicago and Dallas to watch the Big3, a 3 on 3 basketball tournament organized by Ice Cube and friends (Lil Wayne, DMX, Cedric the Entertainer, among others) where former NBA players and coaches compete in a traveling tournament culminating in a championship game in Vegas. The games were a lot of fun including 4-point shots, and it was a pretty star-studded crowd including Taraji Henson (Hidden Figures etc.), Dr. Louis Farrakan (in his clip you can see Alan 3 seats down on left at 4:52 time mark on the video), the aforementioned rappers, as well as Michael Rapaport (he was the bartender in Sully, but has a 60 film/series resume and does commentator work for ESPN), and the head coaches were NBA legends, Dr. J, Allen Iverson, George Gervin, Charles Oakley, Clyde Drexler, Gary Payton, Rick Barry and Rick Mahorn. The league is coming to Houston in June 2018!
In the summer and fall we hosted and attended some fun Baylor events, including hosting a book signing for friend Ken Starr (a former federal judge, Independent Counsel and Baylor President), attended an event at the Magnolia Silos (ooh, ahhh), and on the field before a Baylor game. Just 100 miles north we tried out Bush 43’s replica Oval Office, where “President” Tricia Ratliff was “decider-for-a-day”.
And speaking of powerful women…up next, for an early birthday, Alan surprised Tricia with a stop in LA on the way to Beaver Creek last May, to attend the World Premier of Wonder Woman in Hollywood, including going to the cast party afterward. Some fun pics including the original Wonder Woman Lynda Carter and the new Wonder Woman Gal Gadot chatting (we saw them both up close at the cast party), Chris Pine holding court with his homies, and native Texan Robin Wright who took time out to chat with us.
More recently, we were in Sedona, Scottsdale and Carmel (CA) during Tricia’s spring break. Also, in February, we attended another Olympics (6 for Tricia, 9 for Alan) in Korea, but this time on our own as David Guinn, the leader of the volunteer group we served for years retired. We landed on a Friday and were headed back the next Friday, so a comparatively short trip. In six days on the ground, we saw both sessions of couples ice dancing (the ShibSibs, ooh ahh), three combined sessions of men’s and women’s hockey matches, and a session each of long oval speed skating, short track speed skating, and ski cross (where multiple skiers race down the hill at once). When we weren’t at events, we hung out at the Team USA Hospitality House in the Mountain Cluster and got to meet several Olympians including the Gold Medal Women’s Hockey team captain Meghan Duggan, the silver medalist women bobsledders, the gold medalist women biathletes, among others…
Our last trip on the video is various locations in Florida where we found ourselves several times in 2017 and 2018 so far, and plan to be on a recurring basis from this point forward as we purchased a friend Tracy’s beach front condo in Daytona Beach (remember Tracy was an LPGA tour pro golfer for 20 years and retired a few years back). Also included are scenes (and sounds) from Disney’s holiday show in Orlando, and beach and harbor scenes from Key West.
Our video ends with some music and scenes from a B52’s concert, one of Tricia’s favorite bands, including closing shot with tambourine signed by the band and Dawn Wilson.
A year of great memories, including with many of you. Come see us in Houston, or meet us in Daytona? Or somewhere else on the road! Speaking of which, if you are receiving this letter and we haven't seen you in a while, WE MISS YOU too! Keep in touch and come visit. tricia.ratliff@comcast.net, 713.705.7422, aratliff@stoneturn.com, 832.435.3535, 619 E. 7 ½ Street, Houston, TX 77007.

Spring into 2018 with the Ratliffs