I have never seen “Mrs. Doubtfire.” In a few minutes, that will change. I found it in a discount bin for a dollar, in VHS format. Fortunately, I do not change over to new technology very quickly, and sitting beside my DVD player is my old VHS player, still hooked to the TV. Many of my favorite movies are apparently the favorites of nobody else, because they are not available on DVD; so, I watch as many old-style VHS movies as I do new-fangled DVD’s. I like the DVD’s better, of course; but when you’re the only person on the planet who likes a certain movie, or when you find one you’ve always wanted to see but just never had the chance, in a dollar bin, a VCR is a handy little device. Besides, once the movie is rolling, I can’t usually tell the difference anyway.

Until I try to control it with one of the three remotes on the table; invariably the one I want is the third of the three.

Is there anything more wonderful that dear friends? I don’t think there is.

Dear friends, and you know who you are, I adore you. You make me feel as though I somehow matter, in the vastness of the universe. I never felt very important, before. Bless you all.

P.S.

This is for Mistress Mary:

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.
–Laura Ingalls Wilder