MJ and I were in St. Louis Thursday and Friday. The Christmas Trees were up at Plaza Frontenac. MJ wanted to visit the Paper Source on Ladue St. I first said I would wait in the Subaru, but she assured me I would want to come in. It was an Old World Christmas. Christmas paper and ribbons from a century ago. Unique Birthday Cards. Christmas Toys You Don’t See Every Day. It was a Christmas Hideaway that I could have spent the day in. I left with the Spirit of Christmas.

Then it was on to St. Charles, Missouri. Once the capital of Missouri. We walked the cobbledstone sidewalks and wondered if they were getting more uneven each year. We discovered our Christmas Nirvana in our favorite store. Someone is getting ready to receive some Victorian Christmas gifts. The Old Man got a little Nativity set. He was pleased as Christmas Punch.

The Christmas Spirit is waiting for us. My friend was lost, but now he is found is a tremendous Christmas Gift. Annalise brightened MJ’s and my day. Christmas is coming, and blessings are all around.

MJ commented that Wheel of Fortune was not on the Hotel Television, although it was posted on the TV Listings. I noted that this was one of the several inconsistencies I had observed since our arrival in St. Louis. I noticed that our regular waitress looked different and that the owner of the eatery seemed much older than the last time I had seen them. I postulated perhaps we had entered an alternate reality, and in this universe, Wheel of Fortune was not playing, and our favorite restaurant icons had changed somewhat. I carried the story further by suggesting that Mylo, our Maltese, might be Malcom, a Brischon Frieze, when we returned home. I like stories. Life presents to me in narrative or poetic form. Both are a joy.

I listened to the old couple sitting adjacent to us in Bartolinos on the Hill. The wife asked,’ Did Wife ask her husband? ‘Your memory is a bit worse but not too bad,’ the wife said.

‘The doctor did give me a memory test and I do not think I did not do too good, I think,’ the Husband said. ‘Memory tests are hard when you get older,’ the husband said. ‘I will help you with your infusion when we get home,’ the Husband promised.

‘You do not know what is required for an infusion,’ said the Wife. ‘I will have to do it myself,’ the Wife concluded.

‘I can help once you are all set up,’ the Husband said with assurance.

‘So it is Christmas and what have you done…another year older and a new one just begun.’We travel quickly, amazed by the children’s reactions to the Christmas Lights and Scenes. Our little eyes widen with the imminent expectation of Santa Claus and his reindeer. The years go by so swiftly, my dear. Soon we will be taking memory tests. We know the promise of Christmas. We have not forgotten…

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