Grandpa MT's Holiday Letter 2009

(written by MT, December 2009, age 98)

"YOUR NAME"

When gifted from your Father

It was the best he had to give

Take it, use it, protect it

For as long as you shall live.

If you totaled the car he gave you

Insurance will see it replaced.

But a black mark on your name, Son,

Can never be erased.

It was spotless when you took it

A golden treasure for any heir.

When passed to him by his father

There was not a blemish there.

Make sure you guard and honor it

For after your race is run,

You will be glad the name is spotless

When you give it to your son.

Then as I hold my hand out,

Firmly gripping yours,

I wish you the Merriest of Christmases

And a good Old Fashioned New Year.

Love, MT

Grandpa MT's Holiday Letter 2008

Meredith Trow “MT” Morrison’s Holiday Letter, December 2008:

“What’s it like to be 97?” I’m often asked.

I am now for the first time in my life the person I have always wanted to be. Not my body. I sometime despair of my body the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken back by the old guy that lives in my mirror. I don’t agonize over those things long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I have aged, I have become more kind to myself and less critical. I’ve become my own friend.

I have seen too many good friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4AM and sleep ‘til noon!

I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging paunch, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to; despite the pitying glances from the jet set, they too will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful, but there again some of life is just as well forgotten and I eventually remember the important things, I think!

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody’s beloved pet gets hit by a car? Broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray, and to have youthful laughs be forever etched into deep groves in my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn to silver. As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don’t question myself anymore; I’ve earned the right to be wrong.

I am not going to live forever, but while I am here, I will not waste time lamenting what I could have been or worrying about what will be. And I will eat dessert everyday (if I feel like it).

Old age, I’ve decided, is a gift from donors due uncountable thanks, and yes, 97 is great.

I hope you all get to celebrate it too, and I wish you the MERRIEST OF CHRISTMASES

as you travel along that way…………………….Love, MT

Meeting with Self-Publisher

I have kept my monster in the closet long enough and it was time to let it out. I met today with Beaver Pond's Press in Edina, MN, a self-publishing house. One of the reason's that I have decided to self-publish is because I am a control freak! I have a vision for this book, as it has been festering in my mind for years, and I'd like to be sure to manage the look and feel of every element. I learned that the real difference between a royalty publisher and a self-publisher is that I get to keep 100% of the profits. I pay a project management fee of $1400 to BPP, and then I contract with their editors, illustrators and designers and they bid on the job. The biggest surprise of the meeting was learning that sometimes the graphic designer of the book costs as much as illustrator. Who knew?! But if that is the case, how come designers never get any credit in or on the book? Hmmm... I think I have to go to a bookstore and look through a stack of children's picture books and see if I can find any graphic designer credits. I'll report back after my research....