Merry Christmas 2017 from the Prices
A friend sent me a message not too long ago and reminded
me that I had not written a Christmas letter in over four years. I thought to myself, “My how time flies when
you are senile.” I couldn’t tell you why
I stopped writing them, but it could have been that the cost of paper, postage,
ink, Medicare, taxes, etc. exceeded my ability to do so. I imagine it was that, like other events in
life, Christmas seemed to pass so quickly each succeeding year that I just
missed it altogether. I write every day, but I use the electronic media and my
thoughts are cast into cyberspace with an occasional “Like” never to be seen
again. Some of my friends, though
mentally and financially able to do so, have chosen not to join the rest of us
in the 21st Century. So, I am
going to dig around in the already full basket that sits in my desk above my
computer screen and see how many forever stamps I have left. If I can find my snail mail address book, and
you haven’t moved and not notified me, I will send you this letter. I will turn on my seldom used printer and go
through the maintenance program to clean the print heads and use up several of
the ink cartridges in the process. The
extremely smart digital printer only cost me $42.00 at Sam’s Club, but the ink
is $400.00 per tiny cartridge. No, this
is it. You will not receive a large
package delivered by FedEx a week before Christmas. We, the Price Clan, are living in Harlingen,
Texas which, if you go by the nearest route to the Rio Grande River is located
about 8 miles from Mexico. Our girls
started their families a little later than some, but we can’t complain about
the quality of the grandkids they have produced. Barbara and I are still able to drive and
baby sit so there are no plans to put us in assisted living yet. Amanda and her husband, Chris Daniels, have
our little two year old, Caston. Andrea
and her husband, Leonel Munoz, (imagine there is a tilde above the “n”) have
Aaron (our eldest 6th grader), Ava (4th grader) and our
little surprise, Landry, who is one year old. We are royally entertained. All are doing well. Barbara and I have had our 50th
High School reunions since the last letter, and we celebrated our 70th
birthdays this year. I know this may
seem young to some of you reading this letter, but it isn’t. If you think this print is too small, go and
find your magnifying glass. Barbara and
I decided to go on a cruise from Barcelona, Spain to Athens, Greece to
celebrate making it this far. We just
got back last Sunday. I still don’t know
what time it is and I have to look at the calendar to get the correct day of
the week. It was a great cruise and we
were treated royally on the ship. Our
ship was the “Marina” of the Oceania Cruise Line and it lived up to the
billing. I can’t say as much for the airlines. I haven’t flown much since 9/11
because of the ridiculous security measures now in place, and the airlines have
now exceeded all reason by adding seats without increasing the size of the
planes. In the redesign of the 300 passenger jets, intended for the long haul,
they saved money by staying with the four restroom plan. P.S. The aisles
between you and the restrooms are usually blocked by the beverage cart. I have been sleeping in my recliner for the
last week to decompress. Our mail of
late has had the usual bills, but we are seeing an increase in letters telling
us we qualify for all kinds of medical devices and special government programs
to make our lives easier. I have given
up on all paid employment as of last December and have chosen to live on the
government dole. Our cars are so old we
had to unplug the phones because the extended warranty people were tying up the
line. I hope I’ve covered all the
bases. We do miss seeing all of you and
we fondly remember our visits. If you
are inclined to come for a visit please do.
As we celebrate the Christmas season we wish you all a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Remember, Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. Please share our greetings and hug all your
kids for us. We are hoping to see you
all soon.
All our love to all of you, The Prices
