Since today is Christmas…
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says it so well:
“I heard the bells, on Christmas Day,
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Since today is Christmas…
And my 100th blog—to celebrate this monumental event and oh yeah, Jesus’ birthday, we’re going out to dinner (as any day I don’t have to cook is a celebration) to Taco Bell (economical AND tasty! And always open…) and to the movies to see Ivictus, Clint Eastwood’s new movie about Nelson Mandela healing racial tensions in South Africa. Should be inspiring.
Since today is Christmas…
Here’s a nice Christmas story. I have to confess—not all Christmas form letters are horrible. Several years ago I received one that I liked!
The author was a long-time girlfriend named Gaylen who I have known since fifth grade. (Yes, that means I know her I.Q. She’s smart! See blog 9/21/09/Relate category.) In elementary school she had a bulletin board in her bedroom with a picture of Eric Bourdon and the Animals promoting the song House of the Rising Sun. I remember thinking, “This is something I need to know about.” I have liked that group ever since. (Note about the bulletin board: Gay also used to put up pictures of Arnold the Pig from Green Acres. I never understood that fascination…)
Gay lived next door to Paul. (If you don’t know who that is, you haven’t been reading my blogs…do I have to scold you?) My piano teacher’s house was on the other side of Paul’s. Quit going to piano lessons. Because of the proximity of Paul’s house to Gay’s house, quit going there, too.
In High School Gay started a carpool in her station wagon. For $5.00 per week per customer, she provided door-to-door service to and from school. Great deal. Besides, how fun to ride together with all your girlfriends. I would have paid double!
The one area where my girlfriends and I parted ways were Home Economics classes. You couldn’t pay me to enroll in them. Gay was a star at Home Ec. She majored in it in college. Later she worked in a test kitchen trying out the do-ability/results of recipes. Perfect job for her. (One time she told me you could make an entire chocolate cake—cooked in a microwave—in something like 10 minutes. That’s my kind of baking.)
Gay married a pastor and had kids. The form Christmas letter she sent may have been sent to the whole congregation (hence the reason for the “form” format?). This letter DID NOT HAVE eleven of the twelve sticking points that I listed in Part 1. Yes, it was “impersonal,” not specifically written for me, but because I enjoyed it so much I let it pass.
What was so terrific about this letter where all others before and after have failed? IT HAD HEART. It was heartwarming. It was authentic. It showcased the genuinely kind person that Gay is. She shared a piece of her life (non-religiously as I recall) in such a way that you thought, “Boy, what an outstanding person.” You were glad you read the letter and you felt better about life in general for the effort. That’s some feat.
I hope I sent a nice response. I saved the letter. It’s somewhere in the confines of my cave house. I would like to read it again sometime. But trying to find it would be a task as big as getting the rest of the population to stop writing Christmas form letters.
So take heart, all you epistolary Charles Dickens types with your tales of Christmas—it is possible to write a great Christmas form letter. Just ask my friend Gay how.
To you and yours, have a warm and heartfelt Christmas.
