esrosedotblog

ARTIFACT

I just finished addressing 50 Holiday Cards. We assiduously avoid buying 'christmas' cards; areligious as we are.

The number dwindles from year to year. Like snowflakes (holiday simile), the names drop off one by one.

The reason for this, primo, is that we decided when we came here, ten years ago, that we would not send cards locally. And we have stuck with that except for one guy who moved here. We used to send him a card when he lived in North California so we keep it up.

If we did send cards to 'our' people here, then there would be at least as many as the invitations I just finished addressing for my birthday party plus the 50 I did today; 200 or so.

I know. All this counting is in bad taste but there it is.

Then the list grows smaller because of other factors. People die. People don't send us one (for three years—we are like puppy dogs looking for a pat). People move and we can't find them anymore.

When we arrived here, the list was chock full of folks from Boston and other cold eastern places.

We found a card which was perfect for us; a fat Santa with fat reindeer, all in bathing suits, lolling around a pool. It is part of a long running series designed for just this purpose. Gloating to the snow blower crowd.

Since then, we have found some version of this card to send back East.

This year, Santa and one of the deer are tooling towards us down a street lined with palms. It looks just like our Palm Canyon Drive.

This series of cards is one of the reasons we keep the cards going. People expect it. We like it; both the card series and the gloating.

Another reason is, let's face it, we are afraid to give up the list entirely. What will people think?

But, fundamentally, we send them because there are a few people who we still think about and care about and have precious little contact with and this gives us an opportunity to say hello.

Hello!