The Columnist Manifesto

I love the idea that people are reading blogs on Christmas. Here I am blogging at Grandma Moses, and the place has a nice crowd: there are five people sitting by themselves -- three on laptops, 1 reading a book, 1 writing. Near the window, there's a couple of regulars who I know to be a couple just from seeing them around the neighborhood. They're having a serious, intense conversation, and I can only catch snippets of phrases, but it seems like they're breaking up. Breaking up on Christmas!

She is forging ahead with what appears to be a well-managed presentation -- like from a self-help book -- designed to exhaust all avenues of making things work. She keeps saying the word "frustrating." But the way he is resting his chin on his hand, with an air of settled hopelessness -- words will be spoken, he'll say some himself, but he knows that words have already failed.

Me, I'm having a great time, blogging and thinking about who is reading blogs on Christmas. A year ago, I wrote:

maybe by nightfall, many of my many readers will be going, “I can’t take this anymore – [name of relative here] is driving me crazy,” and rushing off to their computers to reconnect with the disconnected world of cyberspace and feel like themselves again.

If you're reading this, does this describe you? Or maybe it's just the simple realization, "Hey, it's Christmas! Why can't I catch up on a few blogs if it will make me feel cheery?"

Traffic is down, and comments are down, but I was really pleased to see from her comment thatJanelle Rene reads blogs on Xmas eve. Merry Christmas, Janelle.