Rep. Loretta Sanchez and husband Jack Einwechter continue the holiday card tradition after Gretzky's death. (Rep. Loretta Sanchez / December 16, 2011) |
Friends and constituents of Rep. Loretta Sanchez will get one more year of holiday joy from the congresswoman’s fluffy cat Gretzky.
For nearly a decade, Sanchez and the Himalayan cat have co-starred in a wacky holiday card that is mailed each year to friends and voters by the Garden Grove Democrat’s reelection campaign. The ritual seemed likely to end this year: Gretzky died in November 2010, prompting Sanchez to put out a call for new ideas for a “fresh holiday tradition.”
But after posting a poll to her website last month, Sanchez concluded that she had to find a way to bring Gretzky back.
PHOTOS: Sanchez and Gretzky over the years
Voters were asked to choose among a list of options for a theme, including “totally traditional,” “surf’s up,” and “happy trails.”
“There’s one person who said, ‘Just make it crazy like you always do,’” Sanchez said. But the overwhelming response was: “We want Gretzky!”
This year’s card features Sanchez and her new husband, retired Army Col. Jack Einwechter, posing with gifts. Behind them stands a tree decorated with ornaments featuring Gretzky’s downy face.
In a nod to the Occupy Wall Street movement, the card’s message reads: “In this season of giving, may the joy of the holidays occupy 100% of your heart.”
“It’s a new beginning because we’re introducing Jack,” Sanchez said of her new husband, whom she wed in July. “It’s sort of a transition.”
Gretzky has appeared in every card since 2002. The 2008 card – “Cruisin’ into the New Year” – featured Gretzky and Sanchez riding a motorcycle, with Gretzky sporting a bandanna. Gretzky wore a goalie mask in 2007, in honor of the Anaheim Ducks, who won the Stanley Cup that year.
Last year, the holiday card featured a montage of past Gretzky appearances to mark the death of the beloved cat.
kim.geiger@latimes.com
For nearly a decade, Sanchez and the Himalayan cat have co-starred in a wacky holiday card that is mailed each year to friends and voters by the Garden Grove Democrat’s reelection campaign. The ritual seemed likely to end this year: Gretzky died in November 2010, prompting Sanchez to put out a call for new ideas for a “fresh holiday tradition.”
But after posting a poll to her website last month, Sanchez concluded that she had to find a way to bring Gretzky back.
PHOTOS: Sanchez and Gretzky over the years
Voters were asked to choose among a list of options for a theme, including “totally traditional,” “surf’s up,” and “happy trails.”
“There’s one person who said, ‘Just make it crazy like you always do,’” Sanchez said. But the overwhelming response was: “We want Gretzky!”
This year’s card features Sanchez and her new husband, retired Army Col. Jack Einwechter, posing with gifts. Behind them stands a tree decorated with ornaments featuring Gretzky’s downy face.
In a nod to the Occupy Wall Street movement, the card’s message reads: “In this season of giving, may the joy of the holidays occupy 100% of your heart.”
“It’s a new beginning because we’re introducing Jack,” Sanchez said of her new husband, whom she wed in July. “It’s sort of a transition.”
Gretzky has appeared in every card since 2002. The 2008 card – “Cruisin’ into the New Year” – featured Gretzky and Sanchez riding a motorcycle, with Gretzky sporting a bandanna. Gretzky wore a goalie mask in 2007, in honor of the Anaheim Ducks, who won the Stanley Cup that year.
Last year, the holiday card featured a montage of past Gretzky appearances to mark the death of the beloved cat.
kim.geiger@latimes.com
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