Originally published in Countryside Post, Issue 2.1.
It’s an immediate indicator that the conversation well has run dry when someone starts talking about the weather. Therefore I won’t blame you if you skip reading this, ’cause it’s mostly about weather. Y’see, this is the first winter I’ve experienced in this area since moving here, and it’s been so cold that going to Lake Tahoe over Christmas was a relief. A relief to go someplace colder? Well, follow my logic: they’re prepared for it. The heater won’t run out of propane after one night, the pipes won’t freeze, and the hot water heater won’t burst and flood the office. Well, okay, it won’t burst there. It did burst here. So if you’re wondering why the Post’s website isn’t yet up to date, it’s because the computer got rained on. Expect the website to be updated soon; the computer’s dry now.
Anything else happen over the holidays? Nah, not really. I got some kitchen supplies for Xmas, watched some movies, changed the calendars, read Josephus’ Antiquities. I tweaked the look of the Post ever so slightly (hopefully not enough to cause an uproar) and noted the lack of contributions pouring in. As if you had time to write anything. As if anything happened over the holidays. Nothing happens over the holidays. That’s why newspapers resort to top ten lists of most important this ’n that, and writing about ways you can keep your new year’s resolutions of dieting, exercising, and giving up smoking. If I wasn’t so sick of those stories, I'd write about ’em too so I could fill space. But I’ll spare you the trauma.
All right, so the holidays are over. So spill it—what’d you get for Christmas? Anybody have a heartwarming holiday story? We're back from vacation and our office is mopped. Send ’em in!
Kent Leslie, managing editor
Update, 10/20/2024. Like I said in the column, over Christmas a pipe burst in the office. Our fax machine and internet computer got wet. Not ruined completely; once everything dried out they worked. But our dissatisfaction with how long it took for our landlord to rectify things, ultimately led to our moving out.
We didn’t get any heartwarming holiday stories for publication, but I did hear a few brief tales here and there.