Holiday forecast: partly bragging.

Letters, They Do Letters...

By Rick Horowitz

Dear Everyone:

We've nearly reached the finish line of another year -- can you believe it? It seems like only yesterday we were taking down the holiday decorations and hanging the new calendars. Now here we are, putting up even nicer decorations and wondering where the time has gone.

What a whirlwind it's been! We know you'll be every bit as interested in hearing about our past 12 months as we are in sharing them with all of you, so here goes:

Big news on the job front this year, as Roscoe decided (finally!) to bid the old toy company goodbye and set out on his own. We all know what an imaginative fellow he is -- many of us have spent hour after hour excitedly assembling his wonderful creations -- and Roscoe decided it was now or never. Blaire was just as supportive as she could be, and so in February, Roscoe gave notice and moved into his own tiny toy shop back behind the garage.

It's no easy thing starting a business from scratch, but Roscoe has such a magic touch that he was soon churning out ideas by the dozen. His very best idea -- something called "Mighty Muffin Power Rangers" -- didn't do quite as well as he had hoped, but timing is everything, Roscoe says. How true that is! By the way, if you're looking for a great last-minute present, we still have a few left in our basement -- $19.95, including shipping.

Blaire, meanwhile, continued to toil happily at Le Bootique, where she won the "Best Employee of September" award for totally reorganizing the Designer Fleece and Washable Tattoo departments. Her co-workers were amazed at the improvement in traffic flow and sales, and of course, she still gets 25 percent off everything in the store.

Does anything make you feel older than watching the children grow? It wasn't that long ago we were up all night changing diapers and warming bottles -- now we're up all night raising bail. Was it Wordsworth who told us to "stick a wind sock down the gales of time"? (Blaire never could stay awake during freshman English!) In any event, let's just say that raising three teenage boys is everything it's cracked up to be -- and more!

Still, the pleasures far outnumber the difficulties. Among the highlights:

* Roscoe, Jr. went on his junior-class trip to Paris last spring. All the kids had a wonderful time, and Roscoe brought back the most exquisite little watercolor from the gift shop at the Louvre. At least he thought it was the gift shop -- it was the kind of mistake anyone could make. So now he'll be spending his senior year in Paris, too -- the lucky devil!

* Our "moody middler," Dweldon, has found himself simply entranced by computers, and seems to have taken up permanent residence on the "Internet." (Don't ask!) Without ever leaving his room, he once told us, he can journey all over the world fulfilling his every desire. We haven't seen his face -- or his interface -- since July, but as long as we can hear him double-clicking away in there, we know he's happy, and so are we.

* Little Bing (who isn't so little anymore!) finished middle school last June with a perfect 4.0 and his very own condo. His classmates even voted him "Most Likely to Be an Investment Banker," which makes us proud indeed.

Speaking of investments, we know you'll be pleased to hear that most of ours worked out quite profitably this year. As a result, we were able to do lots of traveling, and also to buy many nice new things. We won't bore you with the details -- see Appendix A ("Exciting Places") and Appendix B ("Nice New Things.") And we'll have to show you our slides the next time you come to visit.

We hope it won't be too long from now. Sometimes it takes the holiday season to remind us just how precious our many friends are to us, and how wonderful it would be to see them all on our doorstep once again.

Call first.

Sincerely,