Last week, I fairly innocently began this column by noting: “The cover is supposed to mean whatever you want it to mean. My take is that the future is full of surprises and what once was lost, now is found. I think it is about symbols and how they make meaning. In these most troubled times we’re headed into the heart of family, the true warmth of the holiday season.”
It turned out not to be so simple. A lot of people hated the cover, though they didn’t seem really sure as to why. Different people took it to mean different things, though almost all of them were negative. I heard it was talked about on at least two different radio stations. My son caught a bit of it on KLBJ one morning and seemed quite amused that our cover was being trashed. Many people called up quizzically to ask what it meant, though their tone clearly indicated they didn’t think they were going to like the answer. They were pretty sure this was evil; they just wanted to make certain by asking us. The mail was hostile (see “Postmarks,” below).
There was a gift guide. It was the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. In a flood of ideas about the cover, it was an idea that emerged that more of the staff liked than other ideas. It really has no meaning in terms of encapsulating an editorial idea. I think of it as out of old pulps, Howard Waldrop and the birth of the 21st century. But I bet if you asked most staffers at the meeting, they would each have a different idea. This being the Chronicle, a few of them would decline comment because they hated the idea (but I suspect some of this is just the staff’s contrarian nature — you’d get a split vote on world peace).
A weekly newspaper is finite. Thus, this discussion floats off. I thought the cover was whimsical and disturbing.
‘Tis a season of uncertainty. The end of the year and the beginning of the holidays, the ongoing war and the threat of more terrorism — who knows where things will end? 
This article appears in December 14 • 2001.