Projo Holidays Blog

December 19, 2007 Archives

I received a Christmas card in the mail the other day. It was from my best friend from high school.

I was always quiet, shy and a loner. Wait. I still am. But there was something about Joan that clicked. We really got along! We had the same odd sense of humor. We understood each other without even having to talk. And we went through a lot together. I think we hit it off right away because we both lost our mothers at around the same time. I think we helped each other through it.

Anyway, after getting her note, it brought me back to old times. I remember one time when we traveled to down town Providence after school during Christmas. We stopped at the Outlet to visit Santa Claus. No, we weren't young children. I think we were about 17. We even had out picture taken!

Then I started thinking about the Outlet. Do you remember it? There are no department stores quite like it. My Mom used to take me into the basement to visit Santa Claus. Then after, she'd pay a quarter so I could get a grab bag. The grab bags were in two huge clown heads; one side was for boys and one side for girls. I remember being scared stiff to stick my hand in the clown's mouth for fear that someone would pull me through on the other side! But if I didn't, then no toy. One time, I stuck my whole head in to make sure nobody was on the other side. I even remember being a little rebellious one year and getting a toy from boy's side. I can't remember what it was but really, a toy is a toy.

It's funny how one little card can trigger so many memories. Take the time to send out cards and give someone a precious gift.