Red Dots...

Here we sit in El Portal, CA, on a snowy sub-freezing night. The kids are sleeping on the floor between the cozy woodstove and the Christmas Tree (actually a 10-year old Manzanita branch that we use each year...). Karen is knitting on the couch beside me, and I am smiling about the Red Dots.

I never thought about how much I'd enjoy the Red Dots, but there they are... popping up across the globe on the YMB site's "Cluster Maps." It is so amazing to think about friends and family, around the world, logging in to view our silly YMB film. Poof! There's a dot in Bangalore! That one must be Sweety's family in New Delhi.... Dominican Republic? That's gotta be Leslie & Vic! Then up pops Maui Mark way out in the middle of the Pacific, and someone in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Has to be Apene, who Paul used to lead trips with in Mali. When he returns home, we might see a red dot appear in Bamako. Hugh and Mara are spreading the humor all around Nanjing, Jiangyin, and Shanghai.... they are giving Tuba lessons in China for a month-long exchange program, and producing a BIG dot in Jiangsu province. Dot dot dot all over the US and up into Alaska.... Hello Everyone!!!!

Red Dots. Pretty cool. Makes us feel connected to many loved ones far and near. MERRY CHRISTMAS! Happy Holidays! Savor the Solstice!