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Greetings from Massachusetts! We hope you are all doing well. 2006 was an exciting year for us as the Matheson clan grew by 33% during the year, a figure, we would note, that exceeds the historical average annual rate of return for large company stocks in the United States by over 20 percentage points. Alexandra Kim arrived on June 4, measuring in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces, and 21-and-a-half inches. Alexander is a family name that has been used as a middle name for many of the most prominent Matheson family members and was also the given name of Sir Alexander Matheson of Lochalsh, Scotland who was largely responsible for starting the Opium Wars with China in 1840. The Mathesons have always been trend setters and were running drugs well before Miami Vice made it fashionable. Of course, those were the Scottish Mathesons. Here in the U.S., few Mathesons have ever been called “Sir,” except when immediately followed by “you’re causing a scene.” Unfortunately, Alexandra is already suffering from the “second child syndrome.” While Lara, too, got the combination Christmas card/birth announcement, at least she didn’t have to wait over six months for her picture to get sent out. If we have a third child, you will probably get the combination birth announcement/graduation card. Lara really enjoys being a big sister. She particularly likes sharing, especially if it involves Alexandra sharing her toys with Lara. Lara is also well into that awkward age where she will say anything that she hears you say, which means Victor has had to completely give up watching the Broncos and the CU football team this season. Of course, this age also has advantages as the toys for kids two and older are way cooler than those for infants. Daddy is definitely hoping that Lara gets more tracks for her Thomas the Train Lego set for Christmas. Both of us continue to enjoy our jobs. Jolie still works as a genetic counselor, which sounds a lot like working on the “Jedi Counsel” but doesn’t require knowledge of any special mind tricks. Victor continues to work as an economics professor at College of the Holy Cross but was on sabbatical this fall. The word “sabbatical” derives its meaning from the Latin word “sabbatum” meaning “to walk around in one’s underwear until noon.” It was kind of like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off for an entire semester except without wrecking anyone’s classic Ferrari (or making out with any high school girls). Despite the heavy research load that a sabbatical entails, Victor did manage to referee a nice schedule of college soccer games this year culminating with the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men’s championship game which was shown live on one of the ESPN channels. I am sure most of you tuned into the game as it was broadcast on ESPN-U, which reaches literally dozens of homes across the country, during the ever-popular 10 o’clock eastern Sunday morning time slot. This game was particularly fun as it is especially rewarding to be vilified by a nationwide audience rather than simply those in attendance. In addition, television viewers rarely chase the referee to his car, which is nice. 9 Audubon Way There are also fun pictures of the cutest Matheson (as well as of Alexandra, Lara, and Jolie) and exciting economics papers at least occasionally updated at: http://www.holycross.edu/departments/economics/vmatheso/
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