For me Christmas was always about children. In the beginning the child was me. Then our daughters made the festivity relevant. Our two granddaughters Lauren, 15, and Rebecca, 20 are no longer children.

We cannot buy them cute dresses and nice shoes. Now they want makeup. Imagine this idiot going to Shopper’s to find stuff for them! We are now in that unimaginative and sterile gift certificate period. 

What surprises can be in store for us after Christmas dinner on Nochebuena?

Personally I want nothing. I have my new Fuji X-E3 and a refurbished and dedicated (only a camera) iPhone3G.

Food has lost a lot for me as my taste buds (not my sense of smell!) are not sensitive unless I load whatever I am eating with Yucatecan habanero (very green! )sauce.

Rosemary has every article of clothing and shoes she needs. If anything we are donating to Big Brothers almost every week. We are divesting ourselves of stuff.

My yearly (and very exciting) trips to 25% off hardcover days at Indigo on Granville and West Broadway are over. I am reading the latest Donna Leon and Andrea Camilleri courtesy of the VPL

What is left?

For sure I have my memories of Christmas past and all the ghosts are pleasant ones.

As a young boy in Buenos Aires I was no different from others. We all loved American stuff even though we liked to paint on walls “¡Fuera yanquis! In fact there was a huge ad in the central train station of Retiro that had this, “Cemento Portland USA”.

My memories of those Christmases involved going to see American “conboy” films. My fave ever was the 1950 film Colt .45 with Randolph Scott.

Every time I had an excuse to go to the Coghlan train station on our way to town with my mother I would scan the newsstands for Llanero Solitario (The Lone Ranger) comic books. I did not like Roy Rodgers too much I preferred Hopalong Cassidy and Gene Autrey. In fact I had a Gene Autrey cap pistol I was very proud of.

These memories of my past (pleasant they are) are more so when I look at this strip (ha! Ha!) of Lisa Prentiss wearing a Llanero Solitario mask.

Bang! Bang!