Mele Kalikimaka

 Had an altogether fine Xmas Day. I watched the sun come up, took myself out to breakfast, did laundry, went for a swim, rested up after all that activity and finally went to an enjoyable supper with dear Canadian friends.

About the picture. Japanese love taking pictures. They take pictures of themselves everywhere. They like taking your picture and they like you to take their picture. This is not a cellphone selfie thing. This goes back years and involves cameras. Everything gets complicated when the camera involved in the “Please take my picture” exchange is really expensive. The other day I was on the pier with my expensive enough camera and the lens that cost as much as my first new car. Three Japanese were also on the pier with gear that made mine look like it was from K-Mart. But they wanted a group picture. They were going to have to hand that REALLY expensive Nikon rig over to someone. My camera must have been past muster – they asked me to take their picture. I did. Didn’t drop the Nikon. Then, they asked if I would like my picture taken. No, I said – but then I remembered – this was a little cultural exchange thing. So, I said “No, wait, please take my picture”. I handed over my camera – and this is the result. My Xmas photo.