Christmas Cards for Strangers

I walked into Dallastown this morning and mailed over a dozen Christmas cards, all to people I don't know and have never met.  Madonna and child stamps, my favorite Christmas stamps every year.

The recipients are all distant cousins, all descendants of my great-great-grandfather through his eldest three daughters, two of whom I had no idea even had descendants until recently.  As I researched my genealogy and wandered down lineages, I found names and obituaries.  Those were clues, and clues led to more names and more data, like a puzzle.

I wrote out a short note in each card, scribbled a signature, and wrote a date.  I didn't introduce myself or explain our link.  It's distant enough that it hardly matters.  If they want to get in touch, ask who I am and why I'm sending them a card, the address is on the envelope.  Still, it's an act of random kindness from a stranger.  Maybe one of the recipients had a difficult year or it going through a rough patch, and a kind word from a stranger will make a difference.

That's good enough for me. 🙂

Published by Allyn

A writer, editor, journalist, sometimes coder, occasional historian, and all-around scholar, Allyn Gibson is the writer for Diamond Comic Distributors' monthly PREVIEWS catalog, used by comic book shops and throughout the comics industry, and the editor for its monthly order forms. In his over ten years in the industry, Allyn has interviewed comics creators and pop culture celebrities, covered conventions, analyzed industry revenue trends, and written copy for comics, toys, and other pop culture merchandise. Allyn is also known for his short fiction (including the Star Trek story "Make-Believe,"the Doctor Who short story "The Spindle of Necessity," and the ReDeus story "The Ginger Kid"). Allyn has been blogging regularly with WordPress since 2004.

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