Santa...my Christmas wish...again.

It has been several weeks...at least...since I have made any postings regarding Alma. No...I have not forgotten her...not even close. I still think of her each day...I am a hopeless romantic that tries to maintain my hard exterior...my armor if you will. Deep down though...I am as easy to read as a childs' book. I wear my heart on my sleeve...and it bothers me little that I do.

I have resigned myself in the knowledge that I will never see her again. It has not happened for 14 years...so why would things change now? I have heard not one word...not even one...from her since our traumatic departure 14 years hence. Why has this been? I don't know what mystery surrounds this terrible silence. Each year it has been the same for the last 14 years. I make a Christmas wish to Santa...and it goes unanswered. Even the unwanted toys on the island were eventually rescued (Think Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer). I guess I am just an old unwanted toy...too far gone for even Santa to worry about.

But like I have done for over a decade...so shall I do again this year. My Christmas wish remains the same. To know that Alma is doing well and is happy. To hope that she can find forgiveness toward me before I die...and that she thinks of me from time to time...as I think of her. I ask not for money, nor greed, nor power, nor lust. I ask only for what I have put forth here. As I look upon her faded photograph of many years past...I can still see the sparkle in her eyes...the radiant smile of her face...and I know that it was meant for me. A precious time we shared so very briefly a long time ago...in a place far, far away.

This is a Western Chuckwalla. This is a female about 9 inches long. She should get another up to another 6 inches or so. Most adults are vegetarians. This particular specimen came from the San Diego, California area. They are a desert member of the iguana family.