Monday, November 29, 2021

Thoughts on Black Friday From A Friend

 

"Greedy Friday is upon us. We are being catapulted toward Christmas. The very thought exhausts me. All of this, as if the past two years didn't exist. We were flattened, trapped in our houses, looking over our shoulders and many of us without work. It was, and has been, filled with doubt, anxiety, fear and death. It  further divided us at the very time we needed most to be together--yet we were unable to stand close, to hug, to grieve. I do not feel at all inclined to celebrate as if it's all back to normal whatever that may turn out to be. In fact that seems disrespectful and entitled.
I have seen 82 Christmases. Now, in these years I'm spending a great deal of time in memories. It's as if I've stepped into an attic stacked with boxes of photos, letters, old dolls, playbills, a pair of white gloves, a charm bracelet. To touch them again fills me up. So. This Christmas I will give no presents except to children. I will also keep a fistful of singles to hand out to homeless in parking lots, on sidewalks and at the freeway entrances. There is one thing you can give me. I want you to write a couple sentences beginning with "I remember when we...." Mail them to me and I will sent you back a memory. And that will show we are loved." - C. Sutherland
 

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