The year of the tiger is ending with claws exposed at the global, national, and personal levels, but hope never dies. As I lie in a hospital bed at home, I send you love and warmest regards from all members of the Riggs family in Hawaii. With bombs falling in Iraq and an impeachment debate going on in Washington, there is plenty to think about as I start the long process of recovery from an accident which caused a serious compound fracture in my lower left leg, just above the ankle. Getting ready for Christmas, I was replacing a light bulb in our entrance hall when, standing on a chair on tiptoe, I lost my balance and tumbled to the floor with a fierce bang! Wow! How stupid of me because, were I not so lazy, I would have brought in a step ladder and none of this would have happened. Now, too late, I have learned a big lesson -- it never pays to be careless, especially when one is 81 years old! I am home in a hospital bed for three months. The surgeon told us, "All goes well, but we are not out of the woods yet."

This is the second time the tiger has brought me low. Last July, while preparing to go to Montreal for a major international sociological congress in which I was actively involved in several sessions, I came down with pneumonia. It was no big deal, but it meant hospitalization for four days and strict orders from my doctor not to go to Montreal. My colleagues were all very understanding and helpful to minimize the damage, but I was desolated nevertheless. However, after a couple of weeks I had recovered enough so that Ciel and I were able to go to Connecticut in mid-August to visit her sisters, Edith and Amy. With Edith, we made a wonderful 5-day tour of Lake George, Bennington, and Lennox where we heard Rostropovich do a Shostakovich cello concerto at beautiful Tanglewood. As for Amy, now 88, we found her in a West Haven nursing home where she is resigned to remaining for the rest of her life. She has given her own home to the City for a cat haven and, after her life's savings have been used to pay for nursing care, she will be able to go on Medicaid. A sad fate, yet we are grateful to the state for covering this contingency which, after all, many of us will eventually face. Amy was cheerful and we left her in good spirits after two loving visits.

As for Ciel, she has had a busy year with more than she could manage to keep her busy and weighed down. Now I have added to her burdens as she takes loving care of my every need on a round-the-clock 24-hour basis. Nevertheless, our Christmas tree has been raised and beautifully decorated by Wendy (while I lay in hospital). It was a magnificent gift of love and service and she has been a tower of strength to Ciel and me in many ways. Her professional career is flourishing and she has graciously been granted time off to help us. She and her friend, Tony Reyes, are an inspiration -- he could have been a professional chef for all the great meals he prepares for us. With the help of his father Leo, they tiled our kitchen and bathroom during our absence in August -- a wonderful job and a great improvement --stupendous!. They will help keep up our spirits and celebrate Christmas as a season of joy and good will, while looking toward a better and happier New Year.

On the external side, my hospital days coincided with the final steps of impeachment in the House of Representatives, moving me to sad thoughts about the drift toward disaster that I foresee. In today's paper, Dan Balz of the Wasington Post writes that "...the old rules are gone and all the simple civilities of politics have been wiped away..." He correctly notes the symptoms but, I fear, offers no insight into the causes of what I see as a mounting disaster. I am writing up my personal views on the matter and you will find them on my Home Page at Anachronism of Impeachment . At the same time, the world is moving into a new millennium in which global interactive forces of the greatest complexity will prevail, and crises like those in Iraq, Palestine, Kosovo and many other places will harrow our lives. To study them more closely, I have had the pleasure and stimulus of taking part in a multi-disciplinary continuing seminar on Globalization sponsored by our Social Science College -- it has brought a distinguished group of faculty and students together to think about the complex dimensions of this emerging process -- our meetings have been broadcast on community TV, giving the exercise added interest. Some further thoughts of my own on this subject can be found on my Home Page under globalization. If you care to read and comment on any of these materials, I would love to hear from you.

Meanwhile, let me close by wishing you, again, all the joys of this sacred season and a very Happy New Year. May the coming year bring more peace and reconciliation to our world, and happiness to you personally. Ciel and Wendy join me in sending all our love and aloha,

Fred W. Riggs

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Updated December 1999