Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – February 12, 2004
Calendars
Short Stories From 10 Years Ago – February 12, 2004 – Last year I was especially enamoured of a cat calendar that hung in my kitchen. Each month was a different pussycat and they all had a great sense of confidence and style.
I was sorry to see the end of that calendar. The one I have this year, while interesting, is not nearly as colourful or appealing. I plan to take some of last year’s 14″ x 14″ plates and have them framed for friends who love cats. They will make terrific gifts and keep those kitty cat pictures alive.
People relate to the entire process of organizing time in many different ways. Almost without exception, in a home where there are kids, I see a big family calendar that keeps track of everyone’s daytime, after school and week-end activities. By year end these calendars are a treasure trove of memories. It’s common to see different calendars in bedrooms, dens, kitchens and offices.
All are practical, most tend to be colourful and they often enhance the decor of the room and tell a lot about the inhabitants of the house. Desk top calendars are common in offices and kitchens – rooms where people tend to spend a lot of time. For years before he retired, I had a Gary Larson day-by-day cartoon calendar in my kitchen and I always started my day out with a good laugh.
I loved his perverse sense of humour and hilarious cast of characters. Alas Larson’s calendars are no more, so this year I have a desktop calendar in my office with a new puppy picture every day. It’s fun to change the photograph every day and see the sweet, trusting innocence in the little faces of these precious dogs.
I also have a business day-by-day book calendar where I keep track of my professional work life, but it’s strictly utilitarian and in conjunction with my Palm Pilot Desktop keeps me on the straight and narrow with my business meetings. In my business office , my Broker, Larry always gets great calendars for the closing rooms and the bathrooms. The calendar in the women’s washroom this year is ‘firemen’ – supple bodied, muscular young firemen. Oh to be saved in time of need by one of these boy toys – I mean firemen. Such a shame that a fire is a prerequisite for such a rescue. 
I also saw some extraordinary art nouveau calendars this year, the usual reproductions of the great masters, the typical land and seascape photo calendars and a wonderful variety of fine wine and food calendars, often with fabulous recipes and apropos wine suggestions.
Calendars help us to keep track of our time, remember appointments, track our progress with various goals, recall birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions. Vacations and week-end trips are regularly charted on calendars, as are remembrances of past triumphs and losses. If you’re ever searching for a unique gift, you will never be amiss in buying someone a wonderful calendar.
I give calendars to some of my friends at Christmas and always receive a comment sometime during the year about how much they are enjoying that gift. How lovely to have something that reminds us of someone else. It’s an inexpensive, thoughtful way of saying ‘I care’ and it lasts for 365 days. Every December, I look forward to selecting my calendars. What a sweet, simple pleasure!
