It’s always such a peaceful morning, this one, with no traffic on 40th, and even the coffee shop shuttered. Whether you celebrate the sunrise on Alcatraz Island, or feast with family and friends, either way, it is a special day of rest, joy, nourishment, reflection, comfort, and love, unencumbered by gift giving or theology. I wish I could convey the excitement with which one customer’s six-year-old enumerated the dishes they had planned, rushing back on his scooter to shout the nearly forgotten main attraction: “and PUMPKIN PIE - you gotta have pumpkin pie!” he beamed from the threshold, before scooting off.

We’ve seen so many of our dearest friends and neighbors in the shop over the past week, along with a slew of kind strangers, including one who gave Daniel a refreshingly honest answer to his “How are you doing?” “Fair to middling,” he said, without hesitation, and Daniel took it from there. Thank you for choosing us for your holiday shopping; we appreciate your support, and while we can’t control how you enter, we do hope you leave the shop with a smile on your face.

I’ll be opening Oakland Yard today from 10 to 2 to facilitate your last-minute libations; I wouldn’t call it working really, just making sure everyone’s got what they want to make the day as special as it ought to be, before I lock up and join my local loved ones in revelry and thanks.

Gratefully,
Max