DEAR ABBY: I just received a holiday card from some relatives. Included with it was a printed one-page newsletter describing their past year's activities. I have received similar essays from them in previous years.
Why do these writings always inflate the deeds of the writer, almost to the point of laughability? It's as if they're saying, "After dashing back from our private audiences with Queen Elizabeth and the pope, we jetted off to Rio to help our dear friends, the Buffetts, launch their new yacht, which is 6 inches longer than the QEII. And our children are doing well. The oldest is a CEO and the younger was just awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry."
To me, the holidays are a time for reflection and reaching out to those less fortunate. The last thing we need to see is an exaggerated (or fictional) account of an ego-trip from somebody who just doesn't get the meaning of the holidays. -- ORDINARY GAL IN ROCHESTER
DEAR ORDINARY GAL: Many individuals -- but not all -- feel as you do about holiday newsletters. It may help you to remember that they are not being written to you personally. The communication you received is a form of self-promotion. So with that in mind, no law says you have to read them. Because you find them upsetting, toss them as you would any other unwanted piece of advertising.