Dear Dr. Hare,
thanks so much for your reply. I just noted that you did not send me a season’s greetings card, and that you actually never do that. I still get cards from people I met in the distant past, before I decided to do only things I like, with people I like. That was in 1999. Some of the cards from before that time depress me – they remind me of how terrible “the human condition” can be. This year some cards were so bad that I dropped the idea of doing any such stuff myself. I considered posting a ‘worst of’- vs. a ‘best of’-collection on NFN, but I guess that would not be fair. Perhaps I should just post the attempt at poetry from my bank?
Very much looking forward to seeing you in your office between holidays.
J.
Dear Jens,
people who send “Happy Holidays” cards can be a bit tiresome, I know. They want to show you that, by now, they have five children who wear expensive clothes, will grow up to be important, and have another five kids of their own. Or they want to make clear that, economic crisis or not, they are doing great. Or they are sentimental, because their lives are full of nonsense, and for ten minutes a year, when they carry home their Christmas tree, they get to reflect on it, and then they sob and wonder whether they still have friends.
But I always think that some of the card-writers are just plain lonely, and hope that some other lost soul will respond. You need to be gracious.
We shall get over these days, as always. And I’ll see you next week.
Dr. Hare