The first four Exalano Day announcments are lost in attics and landfills. Collectors have searched high and low but no copies have been found - not even on e-Bay. In the early days, the members of the Exalano Day Committee had no concept of even living another 25 years, so the idea of 'posterity' never came to mind. All that is left are the memories.
The first Exalano Day announcement was made from four blank greeting cards featuring MC Escher prints. The Escher work, as usual, demonstrated how perspective and viewpoint can differ from person to person. The message for that first Exalano Day exhorted it's recipients to march forth from their everyday routine and look at life anew.
1977
The New Yorker magazine provided the basis for the second Exalano Day announcement. To illustrate the value of looking at things differently, the announcement included a whimsical cartoon in which Noah, leaning over the side of the ark, wondered how deep it would be if it had snowed for forty days and nights. The one page photo-copied announcement was distributed to nine people.
1978
1979
The Exalano Day tradition almost ended after two years. Only when reminded by a dear friend of the upcoming holiday did the EDC move into action to generate the third Exalano Day message. This six-page notice was built from Jeff McEnally cartoons. The theme was how to beat the late winter doldrums. It was sent to a dozen people.
1980
The fourth Exalano Announcement went to twenty people and was the only announcement to-date that included no pictures. It was a letter listing some thought provoking quotes from 'The Official Rules'. The most memorable of those quotes was 'Never take anything too seriously, especially yourself..."
