Suddenly and quite unexpectedly, Santa Bear has fled the country on a whim. When I woke up in the morning, I discovered a letter lying in his usual sitting spot. The following is an excerpt from Santa Bear’s letter, which spans 12 pages:
In short, I’m sick of being cooped up in this house. When you were younger, KZ, you used to take me on long car trips. But ever since you got too old to be seen with me in public, you’ve confined me within the same boring walls for years. Well, it’s time for me to break free. Don’t worry, I’m coming back. I just need time to do some of the things that I’ve always wanted to do. You can understand that, right?
He took two of my credit cards, a lunchbox to serve as his suitcase, his passport, and one of the family cameras. I presently learned that, while I was asleep, Santa Bear took the initiative and updated the GSBPS [one of my defunct websites as of 2007] all on his own. Also, I was surprised that morning to discover that he had repositioned the web cam to focus on Merton, my stuffed turtle. “Don’t get me wrong,” Santa Bear writes, “it’s not as if I don’t like being in the spotlight; but sometimes I feel more like an exhibit on display instead of an individual with a will of my own.” I suppose Santa Bear merely wanted to share the spotlight with somebody else—at least while he’s gone.
To respect my bear’s wishes, I will leave Merton in front of the web cam throughout the duration of Santa Bear’s vacation. Please bear with me until I can straighten everything out. Santa Bear, take care of yourself out there, and please come home soon.