Dave & Liza's not-so-Annual Christmas Letter

December 2025

Hope this message finds you well, and I'll get straight to the point:
- Happy Holidays!
- Wishing you heartfelt joy this festive season!
- Happy Hanukkah for those of you so inclined
- Happy Kwanzaa if that's your thing
- Happy Yule, but you probably don't even care
- Wishing you enlightenment with Bodhi Day in mind
- Feliz Posadas - any Mexicans on the list?
- And of course... Merry Christmas!

So if I get past the spam filters, I bring to you a note of hope and cheer, juxtaposed against sardonic musings and trite ruminations.

BTW, I missed sending out a Christmas letter last year, for 2024. 2024 for me was like our president at the time, boring. 2025 has been a little more interesting. I hope my home country is still the land of the free, and the home of the brave. These days, as I understand, it's a bit more of the ladder.

A few interesting points from 2024:
- For our anniversary, we took a trip to El Nido, the town where we got married. The lovely quiet beaches have given way to a massive Chinese tourist trap. It is no longer possible for a young couple to fall in love behind a coconut tree.

- Also in 2024, visited the US (and in Tennessee, we found a glitch in the matrix):

So for 2025, in preparation for this holiday message, I did what any sensible person in the 21st century with an internet connection would do (And I swear by the Kamasutra, all of this is 100% true)...

Me: Hey ChatGPT, please write a holiday greeting letter from me to all of my friends and family, and others on the list who defy categorization.
ChatGPT: Sure I can help you with that. Thinking. Thinking. Really thinking about this one. "My year has been [insert one short highlight, e.g., "a whirlwind of new projects and a few much-needed quiet moments"], and through it all, it's the connections with people like you that keep things grounded." Me: Ok, let me upload some data to help you out.

Planting trees in Malaysia

Plenty more trips to our favorite campsites:

Camping above the clouds and other adventures:

Took a trip to Hundred Islands in the Philippines. (I only counted 2):

On the golf course, Liza and I have both been inches from glory. Both times hit the pin - mine was the 2nd stroke on a par 4, and Liza almost got a hole on one. We settled for birdies.

...and figured out what to do with Liza's championship trophy.

But on this fairway, I could NOT find my ball:

Birthday party (not in Plainwell):

An almost fully homemade-from-scratch Thanksgiving dinner in Malaysia (guess which one came from the can):

Me: Ok ChatGPT, give us something good to wrap it up:

ChatGPT: Ok, here you go...

Above the Clouds and Near the Pin


In the soil of Malaysia, the saplings take root, a legacy planted in green,
While we chased the horizon in sturdy-soled boots, to the greatest of heights to be seen.
We pitched our small tent where the mist meets the blue, above the soft drift of the clouds,
In the silence of peaks where the world feels brand new, far from the noise of the crowds.
We set sail for the Philippines, counting the claims, a hundred islands, they say-
Though we only found two in the salt and the sand, they were plenty to brighten the day.
Then back to the fairway, the iron, the wood, where the flagstick stood tall in the sun,
Two shots that were perfect, two strikes that were good, and inches from "One-and-Done."
Liza's ball whispered "almost" right at the cup, mine kissed the pin on the fly;
Two birdies recorded as we tallied it up, underneath the great, sprawling sky.
But the victory tasted much sweeter than gold, when the outing was finally done,
With trophies for chalices, frosty and cold, drinking deep to the game that Liza won.
We toasted a birthday (though far from the plains),
And when November came 'round, the kitchen was filled with the scents and the grains,
Where a tropical harvest was found - from scratch and from heart, the Thanksgiving feast was laid out,
With everything handmade and dear, save the cranberry sauce-which we managed from a can...
And with that, ChatGPT's poem is over and out.

Merry Christmas
Happy New Year
Enjoy the holidays!

Dave & Liza