Once again I’m pleased to share the Hines’ annual Christmas/Holiday Letter. Every year I strive mightily to come up with a theme that encapsulates what the past 12 months have meant to us.
For 2005, it is our sense that we are well on the way to being très anciens (rough translation: old farts). However, sharing this realization with the world — or, at least, the miniscule fraction of such that visits HinesSight — hopefully will have some therapeutic effects.
For if it is indeed true that “you are as old as you feel,” then perhaps our open admission that we are getting old will cause the feeling of such to become less intense, in the same way as trying not to think of an elephant only results in more elephantine thoughts.
Or, if that doesn’t work, I can always glance to my right and experience the youthful glee that, for me, accompanies the purchase of new technology.
In this case, a Dell 3000cn color laser printer that was well worth the $319 that I spent to give myself a pre-Christmas gift. Every home should have one. It came in darn handy at Holiday Letter printing time, since I included six photos of us, the dog, my daughter and her husband, and Spring Lake (the fact that there are two photos of the family pet, and just one of the other subjects, reveals our priority in life).
Conservative and religious types should feel comfortable reading our 2005 missive, in contrast to the 2004 letter—which contained some post-election digs at fundamentalism and Bushism. This year I strove for a spirit of political/spiritual conciliation, managing in two pages to only include a single mention of “unintelligent design.” I’m proud of myself.
Happy Holidays. Here, in PDF format, is our 2005 letter (778 kb).
Download christmas_letter_2005.pdf
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