Christmas Cards

When I was a kid, I used to have pen pals. I loved getting a letter every week or so; it made me feel

special to get mail of my very own. Soon emails took the place of letter writing, and keeping in touch became more casual and less exciting. But there is one time of year that I still delight at getting mail, because when I open my box, it isn’t just bills and junk. Sometimes I get Christmas cards.

I imagine other people feel the way I do, so I am sure to prepare lots of Christmas cards each year. I try to choose cards with beautiful pictures, especially old fashioned ones that make me nostalgic. However, sometimes I like to get fun ones, like creepy Santas or like the year we sent pictures of a dog wearing sunglasses and a Santa hat. I want to make the person who receives it smile.

Christmas cards are a great way for me to touch base with the people I only see during convention season in the spring and summer. My cards don’t just stay in Ohio; they go to Maryland, Michigan, New York, and even as far as Australia.

RADIO: Cinnamon Bear “Cockleburr Cowboys”, Jump Jump and the Ice Queen “Confronted By Wild Animals”, Jonathan Thomas and his Christmas on the Moon “In the Kingdom of Alice”

MOVIE: My sister and I used to record every episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which we began watching because my sister’s name is Sabrina. We watched reruns frequently, and one of our favorites was the Christmas episode when Salem runs away. Sabrina goes to the Slicery with Harvey to exchange gifts, and Salem tags along in her bag. The fact that she brought a cat into a restaurant, albeit unknowingly, gets her kicked out and in anger, she leaves Salem there in the alley. When he decides to come home, a kid on a bike hits him and takes him home to

make sure he’s okay. The kid’s name is Rex, and he has a lisp. Sabrina begins to feel guilty for leaving Salem so she enlists her aunts to help find him. There are lots of ridiculous things about this episode, including a cameo by Coolio, which horribly dates it. Sabrina’s scheme to get Salem back from Rex is to storm into his room dressed as Santa, bribe him with gifts which include a spatula and a Neil Diamond boxed set, and steal Salem. Rex in turn loves the gifts from Santa and drives his parents nuts by asking to play “Sweet Caroline” over and over and over. This one has some great lines, like, “Santa stole my cat,” “Tough luck,” “Yay, Stinky’s back,” and “Santa’s real; he gave me this spatula.”

SONG: “Christmas Ain’t Christmas (Without the One You Love)” by The O’Jays

GIFT MEMORY: Last year we got a giant bone for our dog. She loved it and we loved watching her eat it, which she did in one day.