Biographical Highlights:

Michael Ray Robinson and Rhoda Daniels Robinson

We were married in 1964, attended school in Atlanta, Georgia. Mike worked for NASA and Rhoda worked for Atlanta Public Schools. In ’67 we moved to Champaign, Illinois. In four years there, Mike earned two degrees, Rhoda earned one and our two children were born: Edward Daniel (Dan) in 1967 and Nicole Ray (Nicki) in 1970. After two years of post-doc work in Madison, WI we moved to Duluth, MN (1973) and have made this our home since that time. Mike has worked here as a professor at a small Catholic College; after 23 years as a special education teacher with the public schools, Rhoda is now a professor of teacher education at the University of Wisconsin just across the bridge from Duluth. In addition to our two children we have had the privilege of sharing our home with foreign students, foster children and college boarders. At latest count, about 15 – what a joy!!

We have always enjoyed traveling and have been fortunate to work in education – a field which gave us the privilege of summers off. We have spent considerable time traveling, hiking and skiing in the Rocky Mountains; we have canoed much of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area just north of us. We climbed Mt. Ranier together and Mike climbed it a second time with Nicki because that was her request for a high school graduation present. Our travels over the past 10 years have included snorkeling in Hawaii, climbing Kala Patar in Nepal (a mountain next to Mr. Everest), boating on the River Kwai in Thailand and swimming in the Sea of Siam, visiting ancient and biblical sites in Turkey, riding the ferries in Hong Kong, walking through the Kremlin in Moscow, exploring ancient markets in Uzbekistan, a harrowing taxi ride to a holy city on the Ganges in India, marveling at the Royal Palace in Bangkok, and, most recently, walking in the mountains where Alexander the Great established outposts and visiting holy Islamic sites of Merv and Kunya Urgench in Turkmenistan.

In 1998, after seeing both children married and off making their own lives and paying off the home mortgage, we joined the Peace Corps and were stationed in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. (Dan said it was quite a way to spend a mid-life crisis!) Mike worked at a university with junior and senior students who were preparing to be English teachers. Rhoda worked for the Ministry of Education providing in-service sessions to practicing English teachers. We lived with a family that included father, mother, three very musically talented teen-aged boys, and had an extended family of about 30 more. It was a never-to-be-forgotten experience. And now Peace Corps has been pulled out of Turkmenistan….

Our adventure continues because the three boys from our T-stan family are now studying music on full scholarships here in the US. (T-stan is run by a dictator who declared, in 1999, that only ethnically pure Turkmen can hold jobs or attend higher education. Our family is ethnically Azeri so the boys are no longer welcome to work or study in their country.) We are the American sponsors for the boys (ages 15, 16 and 21) and so find ourselves parenting again after a brief period of empty-nesting!! Which is why we cannot be with all of you at the reunion. The musicians with whom the boys are studying tell us that they are indeed exceptional classical musicians. So if you ever hear of one of the Hudiev brothers playing nearby, try to go and hear them – they are our boys!! Two are violinists and one plays clarinet.

Our own children are both married and doing very well. Our son works in silicon valley in computer programming. He and his wife presented us with our first grandchild, Zane Ray, one week after we returned from Peace Corps. They live in San Francisco. Our daughter is finishing her doctorate in neuropsychology the University of Northern Colorado. She and her husband live in Fort Collins, CO. Needless to say, we love to visit the kids not only because they are great but also because their locations are fabulous places to visit!!

Whenever you add children to your life, it becomes more and more of an adventure. Since 2000 we have been blessed with a grandson and three Turkmen boys – the adventure continues and we love every minute of it!

Hope to see you all at our 45^th!