2015 Blaney Family Christmas Letter

2015 Blaney Family Christmas Letter     

                                                                    Yes, We're Just That Cheap.

Disney 1997

   In 1996, we "earned" free flights by being bumped on our trip to Tim and Min's wedding.  So in 1997 we took the girls to Disney World where we purchased a five day Disney pass but only used three of those days.  Fast forward 18 years and after a little confusion on the part of the Disney staff, we met up with Jon and Mary Jo in March and used one of our two remaining days!  At this rate, our next return to Disney will be in 2033.  Who's in?

   While we were in Florida we were able to spend some quality time with Bill Blaney who had taken up temporary residence in the Villages which is kind of a Disney World for seniors.

                           Eugene R. Kolb, U.S. Navy

Gene at the Korean Memorial

   With some urging from his family, Gene Kolb participated in an Honor Flight to Washington D.C.  The Honor Flights are an attempt to help WWII and Korean Veterans see the memorials erected in their honor as all of them are now in their 80s and 90s.  They were treated with such respect and dignity and the welcome home celebration they experienced when they returned was so emotional, it still gives us chills remembering it.  As an added bonus, Cathy was able to be Gene's escort on the day long trip. 

                                                          Erin Blaney B.A. MSW.

Erin Blaney MSW

   After two years of class work and internships in the Chicago Public School system, Erin earned her Masters of Social Work Degree from Loyola University Chicago!  We have always been proud of Erin but even more so on that day when one of her colleagues spoke at the graduation ceremony.  She reminded her fellow graduates that it's hard for some to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps as many of the people with whom you will be working have no boots.  Erin has moved back to Green Bay where she works as a social worker at Washington Middle School where 75% of the families live under the poverty level.

   While in Chicago for the graduation, we were able to find an inexpensive flight to New York where we hit the top tourist spots and took in four shows.

                      Peru?  I Thought You Said Purdue! 

Kathleen & Cathy at Machu Picchu

     As a nursing student in 2009, Kathleen volunteered at a mission called Santisimo Sacramento, in Piura, Peru.  She always wanted to return so in June, Kathleen and Cathy flew to South America and volunteered for six weeks.  During that time they met some of the most wonderful people, witnessed extreme poverty and made some life long friends.  They were even able to take a bus trip from their parish to Ecuador to see Pope Francis.  If you get the chance, ask either of them if it was hot during the Pope's outdoor mass!  Before returning home, they also took a trip to Machu Picchu. They kept a blog of their experiences.  To visit that blog please go to www.PeruBlaney.blogspot.com.

                                        New York, New York A City So Nice They Named It Twice

  After leaving her position as a nurse case manager at the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, Kathleen accepted a job at the New York City Dept. of Public Health.  Apartment hunting in NYC was... interesting.  Since her arrival in the city that never sleeps, she has reacquainted herself with some old friends, made some new friends and embraced many of the features for which New York is known; Broadway shows, museums, Macy's Thanksgiving parade (balloon blow-ups), Halloween in the Village and thanks to Leah Jenk, she was even able to take in the final game of the World Series.

Thanks for letting us relive some of our favorite memories from 2015.  A blessed Merry Christmas to you all!

   Ken, Cathy, Kathleen and Erin

Disney the Good and the Bad

Disney Service

I'm still on the fence when it comes to the Disney Mantra of the "Customers Always Come First".  I've heard and read about it so much I've come to think of it as almost cult-like.

THE BAD:  Eighteen years ago, Cathy and I purchased 4 Five Day World Hopper Tickets from Disney World.  We only used three of the days.  Before booking our current trip, Cathy called and was told that the tickets were still good, so we booked a hotel.  We received a number of emails from Disney about our upcoming visit.  One email encouraged us to link our Magic Kingdom tickets with our hotel reservations.  Because our tickets were so old we followed the on-line instructions which included calling a special phone number for tickets purchased before 2007.  The operator told us that if the tickets didn't say "Don't Expire" they expired.  There is an appeal procedure to which we availed ourselves.  We had to email copies of our tickets along with photo IDs and call a certain phone number the next day.  When we called they said they'd call us within 24-48 hours with a decision but they didn't.  We called them and they had decided that the tickets were still good.  To be clear, they did not give us two days worth of tickets - they only agreed that we were right all along.  When I showed up at the Magic Kingdom ticket booth there was still a slight hassle even though I provided them with our file number.

THE GOOD:  Many of you have heard the story about how when we stayed at Disney 18 years ago we bought a free re-fillable mug and refilled it many, many times during our stay.   We brought it back on this trip to see if it was still good.  We filled it with coffee and asked the checkout person (think cafeteria) if the free refill offer was still good.  She laughed along with us when we explained the situation.  She called over her supervisor who also laughed with us and said that the re-fill offer was no longer good.  Then she said to the check out (under her breath), ''don't charge him for the coffee" and then she walked away.  The clerk waited for her supervisor to leave, looked up at me and said "I already rang you up - I didn't charge you for either coffee".