Back in December 2004 our cousin Kim threw a Christmas party for the somewhat fragmented Zellers clan (that’s my mother’s side of the family).

Eleven years later I finally finished editing a short video of the occasion, which should give you an idea of how far behind I am on my projects.

For those who aren’t part of the clan, I’ll point out that my uncle Neal met his wife when he was stationed in Okinawa in the early 50s; her name is Fumiko (pronounced FOO-mi-koh). 

I initially published these videos in 2015 right after I made them. A lot has changed since then. All of the older relatives in the video and some of the others have since died (not me, of course). Kim, who threw the party before she and her husband Doug moved to Arizona, has since stopped speaking to the rest of the family. It seems that the Arizona sun has that effect on those who move there; it affects their brains I guess. Or maybe it has something to do with the political climate. Whatever.

Anyway, I’m republishing these videos now as a reminder of a happier time from 2004. By the way, that’s my mother on the thumbnail screen on both videos.

And as a bonus, here is the “trailer” for that movie.