Holiday letter - 2003

Holiday Christmas Wishes -- 2003

From the desk of

Henry J. Rifle

Greetings, Most Precious of Chums,

Well…it’s that time of year again when the chronological stew we’re all simmering in boils over with goodness and we remove our heads from our butts just long enough to do some power shopping, guzzle some eggnog and whistle a few Holiday tunes.

A-hem! My rampant cynicism aside, it is a very special time of year and I’m truly glad we’re all here to share in it together. After all, and I think this goes without saying, it’s an uncertain world we’re surfing on, truly anything goes, and sometimes the road cheats the wheels, and….well, I think you may or may not know what I’m saying. The important thing to keep in mind, of course, is things could be a whole lot worse.

All that aside, this is also the time of year when we as a people have to ask ourselves, ‘Where are we going?’

Why, just the other day as I was getting on the bus, the bus driver asked me, ‘Where are you going?’ His question pierced my soul. I had to stop and really think. After about a minute, the other passengers began pelting me with fruit and other debris. The bus driver himself then told me I ‘better sit my ass down’ or he was going to ‘tear me a new one.’ So I took my seat and tried not to look at the other riders who hated me so. But the question hung over them, the same as it hung over me – the same as it hangs over you, my friends. Where are we going?

I’ll tell you where we’re going: The future. It’s our only hope. We have to drop everything right now and make a break for it like there’s no tomorrow. There’s not a moment to spare -- and here’s why: I think even the most jaded cynic would admit somewhere in the future things will all make sense. Everything will work just as it’s supposed to work, and freedom and justice – and truth – will once again reign supreme. I say why wait? The sooner we get going, the sooner we’ll get there.

If you remember just one thing this Holiday Season, remember this: only by focusing on tomorrow can we hope to forget about today.

All the best to you and yours,

Henry J. Rifle