**********MERRY CHRISTMAS*************
************With each Christmas that passes………I seem to get more and more nostalgic. I am so glad that I grew up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s………The innocence of the 50s…….a carefree childhood where the most important activities of the day were playing OUTSIDE with my friends until my mom called us in for dinner. My brothers and all of our friends would gather at my house and we would build snow forts and have the best snowball frights. Who could make the best snow man was one of my favorite competitions…..Even though I was the youngest…I usually won, but then my mother was the judge and I was her baby!…My favorite shows on TV were the “Hardy Boys”, and the “Mickey Mouse Club”……The whole family sat every evening at the dinner table, and my mother would keep the conversation lively. I miss sitting with my father after dinner listening to all of our Christmas favorites…..Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney singing “White Christmas”, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams, Burl Ives and “Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer”, and of course Frank Sinatra singing “I’ll be Home for Christmas”…….so many many more……. My father would pour me a cordial glass of Raspberry Liqueur …..”now sip it and enjoy it” he would say as we happily listened to our own private concert……I believed in Santa until I was about seven or eight….until my two older brothers told me “there is no such thing!”. I remember being devastated as my mother tried in vain to convince me otherwise. In a split second there went Santa along with the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and all the other fantasies we believed in with all our hearts…….However, the wonder of Christmas and the meaning of Christmas was never lost…………..Times have changed, and I never dreamed we would see the things we are all experiencing now………. Jac and I treasure our little corner of the world……our little piece of heaven…..where nothing can intrude….. We keep the traditions of our parents alive. Every evening I play our favorite Christmas songs, and have added a few to the list…..like “Danny Wright”…….Jac cooks and bakes all of the things she so enjoyed doing with her mother. Every Christmas out come the ornaments that we have collected, and every Christmas we remember the generosity of our Linea friends who kindly sent new treasures to us when out tree came tumbling down…….I am happy to see that my nieces and nephews are continuing to carry on many of the traditions that my parents taught their parents who have in turn taught them, and are now teaching their children…………..In this crazy horrific world it is so important to keep these traditions alive…..that love and kindness is the most important thing you can have and share…………………………………………………………Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you………………….much Love………………………Louis and Jac