Sample Family Letter And Announcement: Fill & Download for Free

Visiting India was my entire "bucket list."By the time I reached 60 years old, I abandoned any dream of seeing India.In 2014, we were among 15,000 people stuck at the Dallas airport overnight, due to cancellations, trying to get home to Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. We were in line to speak with a customer service person when I noticed a young Indian woman behind me, looking quite concerned and anxious. I struck up a conversation with her and learned that she was an astronomer visiting the U.S. for the first time and scheduled to give a talk at the VLA ("Very Large Array") the following afternoon.We took her under our wing. That evening, we gave her the only cot we could find so that she could sleep comfortably. Though American Airlines said she couldn't fly out until the next evening, my wife complained repeatedly and got her a flight the next morning. When my wife managed to get a second seat on that flight, she insisted that I accompany the young woman to be sure she got to NM safely (My wife got a flight an hour later).After dropping her off with the people who were waiting for her, I gave her a big hug and told this awesome young woman, whom we had come to know pretty well by now, "My family just grew by one." The three of us became Facebook friends. The former head of the VLA arranged a 'professional tour' of the VLA and took us to dinner to thank us. The young Indian woman visited our home before leaving New Mexico. She began referring to us as her "American parents."By the end of 2014, she announced her marriage engagement and requested that her "American parents" attend her March 2015 wedding in Kolkata, India. Not as guests, but as part of her wedding party! We flew to India. Her family put us up in a "service apartment" and delivered homemade food daily.After a week in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for this memorable wedding, we flew to Jaipur for a week and then nearly a week in Delhi. I finally got to visit India... all because I helped a stranded young lady at an airport.Two Indian Quora friends wanted to hear all about our trip to India so, two days after we returned, I wrote a modest travelogue with photos: http://www.rickcormier.com/travel/my-trip-to-india/By the end of 2015, more than 100,000 Indians read what I wrote! Since then, my “international family” has grown. I have made many close online friends in India …mostly young people through Quora and Facebook. They are Hindu, Muslim, Sindhi, Sikh, and Jain. In most cases, our early interactions involved discussing differences in cultures and religion. Eventually, some of them began sharing their lives and situations and asking for my advice. They began calling me “Baapu”, “Baba”, “Touji”, “Papa Rick”, “Dad” and “Angel Paa” (Her dad is “Paa”... I’m “Angel Paa”) <3.In 2017, we returned to India for 33 days. More than a dozen of my “unofficially-adopted” Indian sons and daughters insisted that we stay in their homes. We wound up staying with five of then in Jaipur, Kota, Ujjain, Indore, and Amravati. They are the sons and daughters of my heart. I tell my American friends that we were not in India as tourists this time… we were there to meet family.When I retired and wrote, “MiXED NUTS or What I’ve Learned Practicing Psychotherapy” I was pretty much convinced that it would be my fourth and last book. Then this whole connection with India and young Indians happened. The story took too long to tell verbally or in a blog so, in 2018, I wrote a book describing this entire experience, including what it was like to meet and spend a week with each of five Indian families. Released internationally in February 2018, it’s called, “American Baapu: India Through My Eyes”. I even found an Indian publisher so that Indians could buy affordable copies. This was important because that book is my “love letter” to the people of India.When I was writing, “American Baapu”, I was faced with the problem of who would write the Foreword of my book. The Foreword is where an expert tells the readers something positive about the author including why they should read the book. Where would I find an “expert” on such an experience? One of my Indian “daughters” suggested that she and the others could each write why they call me “Baapu”, “Angel Paa”, “Dad”, etc. After much thought, I agreed and that became the Foreword of my book. Eight young people each wrote personal reflections that still make me teary.In India: American Bapu: India Through My Eyes It’s also available in India at Flipkart, ShopClues, and Amazon.Outside India: American Baapu: India Through My Eyes: Rick Cormier: 9780997472127: Amazon.com: Books In Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=American+Baapu&ref=nb_sb_nossIt can also be ordered from any local bookstore worldwide.UPDATE: We returned to India in early 2019! This time, our seven-week itinerary included Bangalore, Pune, Indore, Ujjain, Jaipur, Aurangabad, and Delhi. Same arrangement. In most cases, staying with people who have become our family and who have made us a part of their family. <3Aurangabad was a surprise. I had no idea it had such a large Muslim population. Our “international family” grew. The Muslims of India are just Indians who attend a different church. We found the same warmth and inclusiveness we got from our Hindu families. I even returned home with five topis! (Muslim caps).That little travelogue I wrote online in 2015 has now been read by more than 700,000 Indians! I drum for two kirtan bands in Santa Fe. I put contemporary, danceable, western-style rhythms to traditional kirtan music wearing an Indian kurta or a Modi jacket, most of which were gifts from my Indian sons and daughters.We helped a young woman stranded in an airport… something anyone might have done. As a result, I fulfilled my lifelong dream of visiting India and my family continues to grow with each passing month.For a sample chapter of ”American Baapu” join my Quora blog/space at:India Through My Eyes

Parents should save and pass along to their children anything that helps the kids understand who they and their parents are, and what experiences shaped them. Humans have a genetic ancestry, but we also have an emotional ancestry. Knowing as much as possible about both can help people put their life experiences in perspective, improving their mental health in the process.Remember the Kurosawa film "Rashomon?" Family life is that movie. The kids will have their own versions of events they witness and their own analyses of motivations based on their personal observations of family members and from hearing family stories, factual and legendary. But later on, often when it's too late to cross-examine the material witnesses, children may wish to try to find out how accurate their impressions and the family lore really are. They may not feel that way until they become parents themselves. Saving primary sources is the best way to let them draw their own conclusions.I have a highly dysfunctional family that for generations has reproduced at pretty advanced ages. My paternal grandfather was born in 1855. Yes, that's right. (He remembered his father returning from serving in the Union army during the Civil War.) He was 65 when my father was born, and my father was 40 when I was born. Both men were 75 years old when they died. My mother was estranged from her mother, so my siblings and I literally never laid eyes on our grandmother. My mother and I were estranged, so my children never saw her. Both my parents were only children. So there wasn't any chance for me to know all my grandparents, and the same was true for my own children. Yet, these people and the family events in which they were involved still loom large in all our lives. Now in my 50s, I'm still puzzling out my own and my parents' childhood experiences, and I expect my children will eventually want to do the same with their own childhoods.Your kids will also be endlessly curious about themselves, so you should make a point of saving some samples of the following things relating to their lives. Try to save the same volume, if not the same type, of material for each of your kids. Comparisons will be made, and you don't want to risk damaging their relationships with each other.To answer your question more specifically, parents should consider saving:Any biographical or autobiographical material: media reports (even if only about birth, marriage and death); various versions of CVs showing job history and professional accomplishments; report cards (especially with teacher comments); military uniforms and/or medals and military records; letters, emails, greeting cards, social media communications and the like (you can hide the embarrassing ones until the appropriate time, but try not to destroy them); wedding invitations and birth announcements; genealogies (my mother-in-law and her mother traced their family back 10 generations); and, of course, memoirs, if you're lucky enough to have them.Anything having to do with the person's profession, hobbies or favorite pastimes: representative sample of reports/memos for work, designs for houses or gardens, team shirts, recipes, artwork, favorite tool (my stepmother and I loved to cook together, so I now have the pot she used to make her signature family meal); representative prototypes or products (my maternal grandfather was an industrial designer whose most famous design was a clock. I had to seek out and buy examples on Ebay); awards, ticket stubs or other mementos of significant events; favorite item of clothing, especially if it is representative of a particular fashion or custom (I have lots of my maternal grandmother's clothes dating back as far as the early 1900s, and I've learned a lot about her from wearing these things myself); information about the person's favorite book, poem, painting, movie, food, or anything else that demonstrates their idiosyncratic tastes.Family jewelry: it doesn't have to be valuable, it just has to be something someone actually wore.Family photos and video/home movies of family places, events or interviews with family members: make sure to identify the people and places! Ask for help doing this from older family members, and ensure that you do the same for the photos and videos you take yourself. Trust me, you'll forget the names of your best friends from nursery school, and that will be a loss. Try to take and save video of ordinary events, not just the special days.How much volume of each of these categories of items you'll save will be dictated by your storage capacity. Consider whether a digital copy or photo is an adequate souvenir. But do save something meaningful for each person about whom your kids are likely to be curious.Thanks for the A2A.

A very late answer, giving every detail I can remember.A very long answer ahead, please bear with me and read on for an immersive AFSB experience giving a detailed report on my journey.First a bit about my academic background. I was a student of FIITJEE preparing for IIT-JEE after completing my class 10 in the year 2016. From my childhood days it was dream for me to join the Air Force as a pilot. Among my class I performed well in CBSE class 12 boards but somewhat flunked my JEE Mains and Advanced. I scored around 96% in boards and a rank of about 16k in JEE Advanced and 19k in Mains. I was able to get admission into B Tech ECE program in IIITDM Kancheepuram with my rank. But I was not so satisfied with my results. Still my dream of joining the forces was not fulfilled.Simultaneously, I had given my NDA 1 2018 exam on April 22 along with my JEE Mains.In the following paragraphs I will be sharing my entire journey from my exam till my joining all in one place, though question asks only for AFSB experience. This is because many of them keep requesting me for these questions separately for the past 2 years. Hope this will help all of the aspirants and give every one the idea of the journey from being an aspirant to a cadet in military academies. I have included some preparation ideas wherever I can.The exam:I wrote the exam for NDA 141 course on April 22 2018.The mathematics paper was a cakewalk for me due my JEE preparation. Questions were really simple and solvable. Only speed is the determining factor in this paper as it has around 120 questions. I had solved around 70 questions in the 2.5 hrs allotted time. Be it NDA or CDSE Maths questions are fairly easy and the marks can easily be scored with practice.Two weeks before the exam, I sat down completely focusing on GS subjects using the Arihant Pathfinder. I prepared all the important topics which I concluded after analyzing previous year papers thoroughly. This analysis proved to be really helpful. This paper has 150 questions ( 30 English and 120 General knowledge ). English section was really easy and anyone with high school English knowledge can easily score marks in this section. GS section was done justice to its name by UPSC and was the most difficult section of all. One simple strategy I used was to score maximum in English and clear the sectional cut-off for the other section with all the Science and Social science subjects I prepared and knew beforehand ( 7–8 guess work is fine. May increase your marks).So overall I can sum up a strategy which worked for me: Try scoring maximum marks in the Mathematics paper and the English section of the GS paper. Clear the sectional cut-off of the GS section. Written will be cleared easily. Also analyze previous year question papers.The AFSB call letter:On 15 June 2018 the written results were out and I had cleared the written exam. Subsequently, I received an intimation to select the date for my AFSB interview. I was allotted 4AFSB Varanasi.Once the date selection was done, I received my AFSB call letter from the Commanding Officer of the board, instructing the documents to be brought on the reporting day.The AFSB interview:My AFSB interview was from 16/7/2018 to 21/7/2018. Here's the day-by-day breakup of events.Day 1:I reported to the specified place near the Varanasi railway station at 0600 hrs on 16/7/2018. Met some fellow candidates from my state and other parts of the country and made quick friends with them. After the initial identity check by the JCO, we boarded the bus and arrived at 4AFSB. 96 people reported and we were all allotted temporary chest numbers after breakfast. I was No.19.Now the Phase-1 screening started.The initial OIR (Officer's Intelligence Rating) test was really easy and before the test the duty officer even explained 2-3 questions as a sample. This is a fairly easy stage of Phase-1 and all candidates felt it a bit easy.Next was the PPDT ( Picture Perception and Description Test) where you are shown a hazy picture for 30s and requested to write a short story based on it. Later we were made into groups of 13 and the discussion phase was started. Everyone gets a minute to recite their own story, discuss among the group and come up with an overall story. I initiated the discussion and was able to convince the group with the support of some fellow candidates about the overall plot.Finally after a long wait of about an hour or so the DSO came and announced the results. I was screened in. 63 in total were screened in from the reported 96. We said our goodbyes to our phones and our short time friends who were screened out unfortunately.After this a thorough documents check was done by the officers and we were allotted new chest numbers and my new number was 20 made to fill our PIQ ( Personal Information Questionnaire ) forms. Fill in this form cautiously and correctly because the fate of your interview depends on what you write in this form. Everyone from the GTO to IO will have the form and can question you from this.After a short lunch break we were allotted our groups and cabins. We were a group of 9.Later in the evening after a short rest in the ante room we proceeded for our Psychology tests. This is the only day where you'll be using your stationary to the maximum. The duty psychologist arrived and formally we commenced the session.First was the TAT ( Thematic Apperception Test ) where you are shown 12 hazy pictures back-2-back and you are required to write stories on every one of them. Every slide is shown for 30s and 4 minutes is given to write the story. Last slide will be a blank one and you can write any story you want. The strategy I followed here was to write out positive stories and motivating ones.Next was the WAT ( Word Association Test ) where you'll be shown some words and need to write a sentence based on it. 15s for each word. Here too try turning all negative words into positive sentences.Later we were issued a booklet containing the SRT ( Situation Reaction Test ) containing a fair amount of situations. Here you are expected to give response how you'll react to the given situations. One important thing to be followed in this part is to write the full reaction including the aftermaths.Last was the SD ( Self Description ) where you are expected to write short paragraphs on what your friends, parents, teacher and yourself think about you. Be honest to the point writing down even your weaknesses without fail.After this we proceeded to dinner and signed off for the day after the night count up. All our hands were tired of writing. Literally 2 refills got over.Day 2:This was the day our GTO tasks commenced. It was GTO day-1. We had our GD, GPE, PGT, Snake Race, and Lecturette on that day.First we were all interviewed shortly by our GTO to get acquainted with each other. He gave us some motivational talks and some insights into his SSB days. He was the youngest officer of the board. Then we had two rounds of GD ( Group Discussion ) where 1 topic is chosen by the group to discuss on and the other is given by the GTO himself. This task went on really well. Try to make an impact by saying really good facts and points even if its less in number.Next we had our GPE ( Group Planning Exercise ) where we were expected to come up with an optimal solution to a set of problems given by the GTO on a map of a town or village. We came up with a really good solution and two of my ideas were incorporated in the final solution. In this stage try coordinating the group and convincing them, other than this nothing much can be said.Later we had some outdoor tasks with the PGT ( Progressive Group Task ) and the Snake Race. In the PGT we required to cross a set of obstacles using some props and restrictions ( like out of bound areas etc.) along with every last person of the group. We did it fairly well and one of my ideas cut short the time taken by us. Try listening to entire group in these kind of tasks, as it really helps to merge in ideas and finish the task faster. Next was the Snake Race which is an obstacle course that is needed to be crossed with a 3ft rope in hand along with the group. This was a josh filled activity with each group having their own war cry and shouting to their max ( GTOs make sure you shout ) .Lastly we had the Lecturette where every candidate from the group was to give a 3 minute talk on a topic chosen by the candidate himself. Here all things like your confidence, posture and knowledge is noted.This marked the end of GTO day-1 and the activities of day 2 for many candidates, while the odd chest number candidates had their interviews in the afternoon once the lunch finished. Rest of us were given the liberty to go outside and explore Varanasi and be back by 1900 hrs. This was there for every following day. My parents came to visit me and we spent some time together.Finally we proceeded for dinner and after the count up we finished day 2.Day 3:Half of the groups had their remaining GTO tasks while half of them had their interviews. The candidates who had already finished their interviews and did not have their remaining GTO tasks were free for the entire day. I had my GTO day-2 where HGT, Individual Obstacles, Command Task, and the FGT took place.In the HGT your group is split into 2 and a task similar to the PGT is given. This task is for the IO to get a closer look on the candidates thinking and execution.Next was the Individual Obstacles where there are a set of 10 obstacles which has to be attempted individually by the candidates. The obstacles are numbered from 1-10 and each number corresponds to the points awarded for completing it. First the GTO takes you around the entire course giving tips for clearing each obstacles and some how-to's. Later every candidate is called one by one and given 1 minute to go around and plan the order of your execution. Here an important observation was that obstacles were in clusters so you must plan accordingly. Also the candidate is allowed to repeat the obstacles once he finishes every obstacle from 1-10. Rarely anyone managed but some exceptional candidates did this feat too. Personally this task was a tragedy as I only completed 4 obstacles in time. But one thing is that put in effort even if you can't complete it because the IO is always watching!Next was the Command Task where you are required to cross an obstacle chosen by the GTO by commanding 2 members chosen from your group after the GTO's intimation. They'll do all the things you say and you must cross the obstacle along with them. Before my turn commenced, I was asked by the GTO some personal detail and hobby ( PIQ....PIQ...), lastly a question which is still fresh in my mind--What is the USP ( Unique Selling Product ) of my city/town. This task went on fairly well as I took a lot of time but crossed all the obstacles present and given by the GTO. I called the two least called members from by group so that they too get a chance to help. I was called on twice by the other members.Finally we had the last GTO task FGT ( Full Group Task ) which was nothing but PGT with a different name. Our group managed to finish it successfully.This marked the end of our group's GTO tasks and the end of the activities of Day 3. After lunch we proceeded for our liberty and after dinner our day ended.Day 4:My interview was scheduled on the Conference day that is Day 5 and I was one of the last 5 to be interviewed on Day 5. So this was a free day to me as I did not have any activity scheduled. Whole day was spent on liberty, ante-room, and some quality time with family in the visitor's room. The day ended after the dinner and count up.Day 5:The D-day arrived and I was the first of the 5 to be interviewed. The interview went on for an hour. Most of the questions were based on the PIQ form and the questions developed from the answers you give. So again answer cautiously and fill the PIQ form cautiously. I'll attach some memorable events from the interview down here.IO: Who is the UN Secretary-General?Me: I know he's Portuguese. But sorry sir I forgot his nameSome questions asked were not known and I truthfully accepted it. The IO asked what I will do to learn, and I replied that I will ask them from my mates outside during the conference time. So one more thing is accept if you don't know an answer instead of attempting it wrongly.Also a lot of service question were asked. Most of them were regarding your entry and the chosen service. So please learn about the academy and service thoroughly. I answered a lot of questions on the IAF, for which the IO appreciated me. The best highlight of the interview was the following incident which is close to my heart forever.IO: Why do want to join the Air Force? But wait give me an answer which you think is different from all the other answers.Me: Sir I want to wear the patch of flying rhinos on my overalls with an aviator glasses.The IO had a hearty laugh and the interview concluded after him giving me an opportunity to ask questions to him if at all any. One thing to aspirants is that try to use this opportunity to ask for your weaknesses and reasons to reject you or something like that. Believe me it helps.The we had to wait for a really long time for the entire conference to get over. My conference was actually the longest since it took about 20 minutes to call me inside. After some formal questions regarding some personal information and the stay it concluded. After about 3-4 hours the conference was over and we proceeded for lunch. Every one was with different emotions and opinions on who is going to get recommended and what not.Finally the DSO came and started to announce the results. Chest number 8,18,....20...Boom the world stopped. I was recommended! My dream of becoming an officer took a giant step forward. Totally 7 of us were recommended.We bid our farewells to our SSB mates and started filling a lot of forms. Later the day ended with the dinner.Day 6:This was the day which was going to decide our fate of becoming a pilot in the forces. We had our CPSS. First stage of the CPSS has the cognitive test which is a set of tests of different aptitude parameters. Here the Duty officer explains each and every thing to be done. Paying attention to him is almost as good as clearing the test. Next factor is time. 6 out of the 7 cleared this stage. Next was the much awaited machine test where we were made to sit inside a cockpit and tested on various psycho-motor skills. It was like playing a life changing video game. Finally after the 6 day grind, we heard the Duty officer say - " Gentleman you all passed!". Best sentence till date.One thing what I can say is that attend the test with confidence. No special tips can be given since the test keeps getting updated. Since it is a once in a life time opportunity attend with confidence and positive attitude.This marked the end of my AFSB journey. I along with my recommended mates went back with josh filled and satisfied heart. Selection is almost but done. Aspirants please do know the entire procedure by heart.The Medical and Appeal:My medical was scheduled in AFCME, Delhi from August 6 2018 to August 11 2018.After reporting and filling a lot of forms, we SSB mates met some officers and a batch of AFCAT lady candidates who had medicals along with us. Rest of the days were spent by medical tests in the morning and exploring the Western Air Command in the evening along with the group.On 11th we had the conference and 4 of us received a Temporary rejection and 1 was declared fit and 1 was unfortunately given permanent rejection. I was really saddened by the results as I was given a TR for substandard eye vision and overweight.Simultaneously my college started after the medicals. So during the 45 day period given for the Appeal Medical Board, I tried various things and finally managed to reduce 12 kilos. Also I got my eye tested again and found that it has no errors/slight deviation.Then the AMB took place and I was declared fit for Navy and Army reason being my right eye has a slight power of -0.25. With the heavy heart I accepted the decision since service did not matter to me and I was prepared for the eventuality. After this it was all up to the merit list.The merit list and the D-day:Soon I was preparing myself both academically for IIITDM and mentally for NDA, as merit list is a do or die. I still remember on the evening of 4/11/2018 when I received a call saying the ranks are out. I got AIR 70 and my 3 of my mates got single digit ranks. The entire night was spent celebrating with my college friends and calls flowing from others.Later I received the joining instructions for the 141 course as a Naval cadet and I happily acknowledged the letter. After joining I was allotted my home as MIKE squadron and 2 more of my AFSB mates became my course mates.Thus this is my journey from an aspirant to a cadet at the prestigious National Defence Academy. Hope this answers all your question if not, I am ready to answer any doubts in private so message me.Jai Hind!