Elvis Is Dead...

…and hardly anybody sends Christmas cards anymore.  

I remember when my brother and I were kids our folks would drag out a beat up old address book about three weeks before Christmas and begin addressing envelopes and writing personal notes to go with the card they had chosen that year.  Since we moved quite often, there were cards going to old friends in places from Connecticut to California.  It was a chore mom and dad undertook with a real sense of joy.  In many cases it was the only time they had to "catch up" everybody on the what was happening with the Copper family.   They never sent cards "in town".  Mom thought it was silly to send a card to somebody she would actually "see" during the holidays.  Cards were for "out of town".

From Thanksgiving until Christmas it was always exciting to be on the receiving end of the Christmas card tradition.  Every day the mail would bring news of people my parents wanted to stay in touch with: old Navy pals, work buddies, neighbors, even grade school chums.  Cards with pictures of exotic things like palm trees, coconuts and oranges to stir the wanderlust of land locked Midwestern boys.

I know that sending Christmas greetings began to dwindle with my generation, the Boomers, but the decline became dramatic with the advent of the Internet.  These days my wife and I dutifully send cards to an ever smaller list of "out of town" friends picked up during our nomadic life in the broadcast business.  It's still fun for both of us.  Linda grew up with parents who also had a big Christmas card list.  It just seems like the right thing to do.

As I mentioned, our card list gets smaller each year.  We no longer bother to send anything to those who don't at least send a greeting with a signature.  Oh, there are a few who get a second chance, but not many.  I can be vindictive that way.  "That'll show 'em!"

Just today I sent off the final few Christmas cards and letter for 2012.  It isn't as much work anymore.  This year we were down to slightly more than thirty.  Twenty years ago the list was closer to one hundred.  I know that things change and I'm okay with it.  Just don't get me started on Email Christmas cards.

Bah! Humbug!  There is something VERY wrong with a card that can be deleted in an instant.  I want one that can stand on the mantel for a week or two.  Maybe one with pictures and words that recall dear friends and the memories of a lifetime.