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Well, Merry F-ing Christmas to me! Guess what came earlier than expected in the mail: Susanna’s present to me, me, me! It’s Stephen Dowden’s “A Companion to Thomas Mann’s Magic Mountain.”
I hadn’t received a gift in over twenty years. Wait, there was a very special picture that I was given by a sweet blogging friend during another holiday season some years ago in a kingdom by the sea, but this is obviously a rare treat. In all fairness, I am not a great gift-giver myself, and you have to give to receive, generally speaking, and I am even poorer in money than I am in charm (though I perhaps have a little more grace as a writer, a blogger).
It is amazing how good getting a present can make you feel. I swear, for a moment at least, I was a kid again, unwrapping my present, wondering what is inside. I trust that I am not telling tales outside of school relating that I took Susanna’s suggestion of giving her a list of books that I have been coveting for some time, from which she would choose what to give, hence maintaining a nice element of surprise and thrill in the thing.
But now I find myself in another quandary, albeit a sweeter one. Whereas I was previously hurting for reading material, I now have an embarrassment of riches. “Christmas Carol” may well have to wait yet another year. It is all I can do to finish “Brave New World”, when I have eleven brand new critical essays on “Magic Mountain” calling out to me. I keep taking little peeks, and oh my god, just these crumbs taste so scrumptious. However, I like the way that Huxley closes his novel, and I expect to find the willpower to finish it, maybe.
There is one more intriguing point to all this. Looking at the accompanying paperwork, I see a note that says this is but part of the shipment, and that the other part will be shipped later. Is this in reference to gifts sent to others, or could it be, could it be that I actually have another holiday treat coming?? If I were an attractive woman, I would suspect that Susanna might have some designs on me. As it is, I would be willing to have her babies were it possible.
Though, maybe I should clarify things a little after all this exuberance. She had made a general offer to her Friends List to give holiday gifts. I shied away knowing that I couldn’t return the favor, but then she talked to me personally about it, and no begging was required for me to agree. It is good to have friends, and even better to have generous friends.
Thanks, Susanna!
I hadn’t received a gift in over twenty years. Wait, there was a very special picture that I was given by a sweet blogging friend during another holiday season some years ago in a kingdom by the sea, but this is obviously a rare treat. In all fairness, I am not a great gift-giver myself, and you have to give to receive, generally speaking, and I am even poorer in money than I am in charm (though I perhaps have a little more grace as a writer, a blogger).
It is amazing how good getting a present can make you feel. I swear, for a moment at least, I was a kid again, unwrapping my present, wondering what is inside. I trust that I am not telling tales outside of school relating that I took Susanna’s suggestion of giving her a list of books that I have been coveting for some time, from which she would choose what to give, hence maintaining a nice element of surprise and thrill in the thing.
But now I find myself in another quandary, albeit a sweeter one. Whereas I was previously hurting for reading material, I now have an embarrassment of riches. “Christmas Carol” may well have to wait yet another year. It is all I can do to finish “Brave New World”, when I have eleven brand new critical essays on “Magic Mountain” calling out to me. I keep taking little peeks, and oh my god, just these crumbs taste so scrumptious. However, I like the way that Huxley closes his novel, and I expect to find the willpower to finish it, maybe.
There is one more intriguing point to all this. Looking at the accompanying paperwork, I see a note that says this is but part of the shipment, and that the other part will be shipped later. Is this in reference to gifts sent to others, or could it be, could it be that I actually have another holiday treat coming?? If I were an attractive woman, I would suspect that Susanna might have some designs on me. As it is, I would be willing to have her babies were it possible.
Though, maybe I should clarify things a little after all this exuberance. She had made a general offer to her Friends List to give holiday gifts. I shied away knowing that I couldn’t return the favor, but then she talked to me personally about it, and no begging was required for me to agree. It is good to have friends, and even better to have generous friends.
Thanks, Susanna!
