Before 1840, only the wealthy could afford to send holiday cards. Mail was expensive, beyond the reach of most British people. That changed with railways. Their box cars carried much more mail than the horse-drawn carriages of the day, reducing mailing costs. To entice people to use the British mail service, the Victorians launched the modern Christmas card in 1843 with the ‘penny’ post card.

Opera always surprises my senses with its cacophony of music, voices, performance, costumes, fantastical scenery, and raving applause. It sweeps me into a make believe world with elegance and richness I encounter no where else.

Memory is on my mind of late. Names, dates and activities are leaking out of the brain stuffed inside my skull. It’s good that these missing items don’t turn into water because I’d be standing in puddles all the time. I need nets of prompts to recreate them. That turned me into a list maker, photo annotator, calendar detailer, and contact documenter. Sticky notes decorate my laptop screen. If it’s not chronicled, it’s a ghost, disappeared.