Merry Christmas, Sis (12-15-08)

Once again it is time for our family’s Christmas tradition of giving a Hill City Times subscription to someone we love. Two years ago, we bought one for my mom, and last year for my wife’s parents, Rick and Bonna Wheeler. This year, we would like to honor my sister, Sarah Fortino, and her lovely family.

I was the youngest in my family, with three older sisters. Cait was twelve years my senior, Mary was five years older, and Sarah was four, making her the closest to me in age. My fondest memories with my sisters Mary and Sarah were the eight years from 1976 to 1984, from the time we moved to Kansas City, to when Sarah went off to college. I remember those times as being filled with noise and commotion, of school projects, and family dinners, of family vacations and hectic holidays. I remember plenty of disagreements between my sisters and I, and I know that I was not the easiest little brother two teenage sisters could hope to have. They did their best to tolerate me, and on occasion they even tried to include me.

I clearly remember when my dad, a guy who always longed for the latest in tech gadgetry, brought home a cassette recorder. My sisters got it in their heads to create some radio dramas. They wrote a couple of short scripts; making up different voices for the characters, and using home made sound effects. Of course, I begged to be included, and they graciously agreed.

I’ll never forget how much we all laughed at the silliness we recorded, but more importantly, I’ll never forget how wonderful it felt to be included with something my BIG sisters were doing. That afternoon probably was my first experience with the magic of theater, and I credit those little radio plays with sparking my interest in creative writing.

Sarah especially, tried to spend time with me. She wasn’t very interested in sports, yet she would occasionally play catch or toss a Frisbee. I can remember when I got a kicking tee and football one birthday, and how she spent several afternoons with me as I kicked ball after ball over the power cable that ran over our back yard.

Sarah also set a good example for her little brother. She was the valedictorian of her high school, and graduated KU with almost perfect grades. She graduated with a degree in chemistry, and married her college boyfriend, Mark Fortino right out of college.

Mark himself is one amazing brother-in-law. He excelled in accounting, and is now a bank vice-president. While at KU, they both sang in a church choir, and Mark has continued on by singing both in a barbershop chorus and in his own barbershop quartet. In fact, in the world of barbershop, Mark is a bit of a celebrity. His old quartet, 12th Street Rag, several times competed at the International Barbershop Competition, and they placed as high as eleventh among the best quartets in the world. His new quartet, High Definition, performs professionally all over the Midwest and will continue to compete at Internationals.

Together, they have raised an incredible family of two sons and two daughters. When mom passed last January, our family spent a great deal of time at their house in Overland Park. In the entire time we were there, I do not recall hearing an unkind word spoken among any of the kids and we were so impressed with their maturity, good manners, and general happiness. My sisters and I rested a little easier knowing that Mom had them so close, and I know that Mom counted the holidays and special occasions she spent with the Fortinos as some of her happiest moments.

So Merry Christmas, Fortino Family. We hope you like the paper and all the pictures of our family that will appear in these pages throughout the year. By sharing with you a slice of our rural lives, we hope it brings our two families a little closer together.

Love from Western Kansas,

The Goodwins