Woods, Langergrabers, and a Newton at Red Robin

Earlier tonight Sean, Sylvia and I met with Uncle John, his two sons, their partners, and our cousin David for a long, leisurely supper and chat at Red Robin in Kelowna. Once again, the only real upside of grieving is how it brings people together to remember better times and create some new memories. And it was great to finally meet Kevin's partner, Carol, in person. Sean and Sylvia and I are very grateful to the Langergrabers and David for a wonderful evening. 
 

Farewell, Aunt Jean

We found out late tonight that Aunt Jean, Mom's sister, passed away on Tuesday. I'm grateful we got to see her one last time at Mom's celebration of life this summer. Aunt Jean is on the right in this image with Mom from 1950 or so. 

Aunt Jean was fun to be around. She was a genuine character and a wonderful painter. She was closest to Mom in age and, I always suspected, closest overall. 

Our thoughts are with Uncle John, my cousins Keith and Kevin, and their partners, Heather and Carolyn, and with Aunt Marjorie. We'll all miss Aunt Jean, but none more than these who were closest to her. 

 

Young Sean Woods

Kevin vs. the Poachers

Last month my youngest cousin, Kevin Langergraber, found himself forced to protect the chimpanzees he was studying from poachers and their dogs. The story was covered by The Atlantic, and it's harrowing reading. I'm glad Kevin is okay and that he managed to save most of the chimps, but I know he's agonizing over the ones killed. A senseless tragedy. 

Mad Science in the Dark Heart of Africa

A friend of one of my cousins has started a blog named las aventuras de don ernesto. Aside from some excellent photographs of the nature and wildlife of Africa, the blog features my cousin Kevin Langergraber, a primate molecular ecologist attached to the Max Planck Institute. If you scroll through the photos, you'll see my Uncle John, Kevin's father, grinding a rail; here's a photo of Kevin himself doing the same thing.