Dear Friends,
This year I have decided to create my
own, general purpose Christmas greeting in a curmudgeonly fashion. My aim is to
reduce costs associated with cards and envelopes, not to mention the added
burden of hiring the US Postal Service for last-minute delivery. Besides, I’ve
grown tired of cards with sparkles and pretty pictures of Christmas trees with
fake snow on rooftops. Instead, I want to tell it like it is: Outside, dead
leaves being blown around the lawn by cold winter winds and, inside, the hectic
pace of Christmas preparations interrupted by telephone calls from
telemarketers. So, here it is: My summary of the year’s balance sheet of
blessings and bumps for my Christmas Letter.
We did a good job again this year in finding ways to spend our
retirement income in its entirety, leaving none to get moldy by lying around in
a musty old vault somewhere. Not only did we manage to spend it, we achieved
new records in how quickly we burned through it. The credit card companies must
have thought we were in some sort of spending contest. Unfortunately, during
the year, our sanguine ways were rudely interrupted by General Motors announced
ending of my retirement paychecks. I recovered from the resulting catatonic
state after I learned that General Motors were arranging annuity payments that
would spend just as well as the retirement checks. Accordingly, we spent a good
portion of our summer on camping vacations.
We continue to spend considerable time together in pursuit of our
dancing hobby with a lesson
or a dance more than once per week. Most times, we must travel an hour or more
to find a place to dance that is equal to our caliber of ballroom or square dancing.
The dance caliber that we achieve is approximately equal to the Macarena when
performed at a late-night wedding reception with an open bar.
The other exercise we’ve been getting involves a twice-per-week class
known as Silver Sneakers; so-called, I believe, because all the women who
attend have silver hair and the other two men and I sneak into the class with
hopes that no one will notice. Two young women teach the class. I think they
enjoy showing old-timers what we remember that we once could do.
Marjorie continues with her sewing hobby while I pretend to have deep
thoughts at the computer in working on another book. She spent the better part
of a year hand quilting a “Quilt of Valor” that she gave to a soldier, a
Captain in the US Air Force.
Again this year we were blessed with good health and joy and we wish
the same for you. Remember, every day is a gift, some are just more fun to open
than others. May the joys of the season be yours!
Bill & Marjorie Tudor
