December 2008 Updates

Christmas Cactus sighting leads this year have been slow, as they usually are through the spring, summer and fall, making these off-seasons prime research periods for the CCIB staff. As leads begin to pick up in frequency (4 last week and 8 this week already!) we are beginning to enter that very small but exciting period of a few brief weeks when things move very quickly. When a lead is reported and validated, we have only precious hours to reach the site and confirm the presence of the mysterious Christmas Cactus, and apprehend the perpetrators of this most mysterious shenanigan. This means we must be on our toes, so to speak.

As we await leads eagerly, I will be scanning a couple of newly-discovered documents that our research department uncovered over the course of the year and sharing those that seem to be legitimate references to this ghastly and dangerous prank. Last year's very close encounter with the cactus ended in disappointment, but we acquired exceptional data, images and clues in last year's botched attempt. At least we actually SAW the cactus for once and snapped an actual photo (see it below), the only one known and confirmed photo of the cactus in its present form. My Great Uncle Derick, crack research assistant for the CCIB, discovered that there may be more than one Christmas Cactus being thrust upon unwary families, but this remains to be confirmed.

Ernie called from the Houston area where he is on station at a local motel, awaiting orders. He said it is rainy and cold, it even snowed, yet his spirits seemed high. However, he has unfortunately had to put Field Unit Van #2 in the shop to replace the water pump. The shop guy said 3 days because he had to order parts, so hopefully this minor setback won't foil our prudent attempts to station a unit in a likely location for this year's hoped-for appearance. This will seriously cut into our meager budget for field operations (T-short sales only go so far in the world of investigation), but we will remain optimistic.

As always, if you have any information leading to the discovery of the Christmas Cactus, or to report a sighting, please email us at legendofthechristmascactus@gmail.com.

-Mister E.