Holiday Newsletter

Christmas is creeping up, and miraculously I am on schedule with preparations -- except for the cards.

The Christmas cards I choose each year always feature a star motif, since I am obsessed with star motifs. (See 'Tattoo Be Or Not Tattoo Be,' May 14, 2011.)  ... This year I couldn't find any that I liked, so in lieu of a star card I plan to send the following newsletter -- with added star design -- to update friends and family regarding the past year.

Look, if you don't receive yours in the mail blame the post office, Ok? Anyway, just read it below .....



Dear Family and Friends,

It's been a stellar year in our household -- we really can't complain.

2011 sent earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and blizzards our way but the worst that happened (so far) was we lost some trees.

In 2011:

   *   We never lost power and our basement stayed dry.

   *   No one was hospitalized with a near-fatal disease.

   *   No one was injured in an accident.

   *   No one was mugged or kidnapped or worse.

   *   No one ran away from home (although I thought about it once or twice).

   *   No one was fired from their job or forced to resign in disgrace.

   *   No one flunked out or was expelled from school.

   *   We weren't burglarized and our stuff wasn't pawned (that we know of).

   *   No homeless musicians needed shelter in our basement (for more than a weekend. That we know of).

   *   No one was arrested or served any jail time.

   *   No one needed to be resuscitated.

   *   No cars were totaled.

   *   No one overdosed or spent any time in rehab.

   *   No one was the subject of any investigations or the target of any lawsuits.

   *   The house didn't burn down when the furnace caught fire.

   *   The big old oak tree out back didn't fall on the house.

   *   No one stole our identity.

   *   No one started a feud with us.

   *   No one was hit by a meteorite or space junk.


Ok, so maybe compared to your year, ours was as dull as the constellation Pleiades, registering only a magnitude of 5 on the Brightness scale. But to us, the past 12 months clearly rated a 2, equivalent to, say, Castor in Gemini the Twins -- for which we are very grateful.

We hope the trend holds, that you too experienced similar good fortune, and that 2012 will shine with a magnitude of 1 or greater, like Betelgeuse or even Rigel in Orion (or as I fondly call him, O'Ryan, the Irish Hunter).


... Wishing you peace, prosperity, good health, and a sprinkling of magic stardust in whichever corner of the universe you call home....


Merry Christmas, etc.!

Happy New Year too!


Love,

P@







* * * Acknowledgement to 'The Stars: A New Way to See Them' By H.A. Rey, who in addition to creating the Curious George series wrote this classic volume on star-gazing. Published in Boston by Houghton Mifflin, 1952.






Pass it along and remember, It's all (c)opyrighted (c)2011(c)(c)