Well, since I believe many of us spend pointless, extended amounts of time reliving or constructing our childhood, or at least the one we wish we had or inaccurately remember, we try to do the same for our Christmases. A fool's errand but an irresistable one, and the foundation of a lot of great literature, incidentally (reread "Captains Courageous", which is what my class is doing.) Nostalgia was once defined as longing for a past that never happened, and thus it is with the Yule, I think.

--LR Mole (December 13, 2001)

That was the last message I ever got from him. He passed away two weeks later.

I got through Thanksgiving (Canadian and US) and Christmas unscathed this year. We were held up for about an hour because of a traffic accident on the way home from Christmas. It must have been a terrible accident. I felt bad for the people who were in the accident, but I was counting my blessings that it wasn't me or anyone I care about.