Christmas Card Crisis

When intrepid explorers take a break and adventures worth writing about are few, it's hard for me to find the motivation to update this journal. I will not bore myself or my audience with reports of mundane and routine goings-on... like what time we got up, how many cups of coffee we had, what stores we visited while Christmas shopping, unremarkable weather reports, and how many people showed up for happy hour. So while we're camped here in Rockport journal entries will be on a more occasional basis... and will, I hope, be a little more interesting than if I forced daily entries.

We were just finishing up our Christmas shopping when our credit card stopped working this week. Hmmm. Turns out the number was compromised (stolen) and some unknown thief was using it to buy Christmas gifts for their loved ones from Bed Batch & Beyond. I'll tell you what... if these people would put as much energy into making an honest living instead of resorting to small-time larceny and fraud, they'd probably come out ahead. Or would they? Unfortunately, the credit card companies are complicit in this scheme too -- by not pursuing the small-time crooks and just "writing off" the fraudulent purchases with the excuse that it's cheaper that way. They just pass on the cost of stolen goods to all their other customers -- you and me and the merchants that accept their cards. The thieves are free go on to the next stolen card number and the cycle starts anew. In the meantime the public becomes increasingly distrustful of the system. I know we're discussing ways to minimize our exposure to this kind of thing.

Both Dar and I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. We're unable to be with family but we do have some good friends here in Rockport and we'll be having Christmas Dinner with the entire neighborhood at the RV Park. I'm sure it will be a wonderful time. We hope all of you find peace and happiness in your own way on this special day.

Merry Christmas...
Thom