Dear Santa

Valentine's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving--not to mention Birdie's birthday, and not to mention Our Hero's birthday!--are but preludes to what clearly reigns as Joe's favorite holiday: Christmas. It is a good one. Yesterday, during quiet time (the time formerly known as nap time), Joe wanted to write a letter to Santa. And why not? It's 11 months away, and it's best to be prepared. Joe dictated his heart's deepest desires to Ted who wrote them down:

Dog

Snowplow

Legos

Guitar

Reindeer

It may interest you to know, Fans, that three of the items of this list have already been mentioned in the past few weeks: snowplow, guitar, and reindeer.

Joe asked Ted if he wanted to make a list, too. Ted's list follows. (See if you can spot his heart's true deepest desire.)

Flying airplanes

Delicate bowl

Reindeer

Boots

New paper

Guitar

Snowman

Nap

Bicycle

Clearly, we need to get busy building a stable for the reindeer.