A Belated Merry Christmas

Here it is, almost a week after Christmas and I have yet to write anything about it. You would think that as hectic as it was, I would have a lot to say, but oddly, I don't. Don't get me wrong, it was great. Leaving aside getting a tree and wrapping presents, it started at 3:44 AM the day before Christmas with a text from Rachael saying that she was at the Louisville airport, and ended more or less two days after Christmas with me texting her at 11:30 PM to make sure she was safely back in Louisville.

In between, we decorated the tree, made cookies, watched a movie, opened presents Christmas morning, had Christmas dinner, baked, watched another movie, went to Amherst, baked some more, and did a whole bunch of other stuff- stuff that I may remember given time.

We squeezed a lot in, though we didn't have time to decorate the pine cones that Sam and I had collected a few weeks back (the picture above is from a couple of years ago). But that's OK, it gives us the excuse to do it some other time. We did plenty of of other things, and most importantly, we were all healthy, and we were all together.

Here are a few photos that I think convey the feelings of the four day span...

Letter to Santa

This year's letter from Sam...

My Early Christmas

There's nothing better than being in the kitchen preparing food for the family, while hearing the "kids" talking in the next room.

That's all I need.

Winter Ride

Sam and I have had several occasions to run nighttime errands these last few weeks. Along the way, we play Christmas carols and we usually take some detours to look at Christmas lights. I’m really enjoying this.What I really like are two things. First, when I ask him to go, I don’t have to ask him twice. He’s up, getting his shoes and jacket on, and pulling his tight wool hat down over his head- all before I have the chance to get my sneakers on. No convincing needed.

The other thing I like is, even though he doesn’t say a whole lot, other than the occasional “Wow” or “It looks like there are some down there.”, he sings to himself on some of the songs and he taps his feet in time to the music. Jingle Bells, Rudolph, Must Be Christmas, these seem to be his favorites.

His voice has changed since I last heard him sing. Of course, that was years ago, when I would rock him before bedtime. Back then, our three nightly standards were You Are My Sunshine, Sleep My Child, and Jingle Bells. This went on year round for at least a couple of years.

Now, with the deeper voice, the notes become a general target that he’s trying to hit. I don’t say much to him because I don’t want him to be self conscious about it, but it’s pretty fun, in one of those quiet, typical Sam kind of ways.

Friday Night Video

 Here's yet another repeat from a past post, this one from a year ago. I don't have much to add other than to reiterate that I really love this movie.  Next week, I'll try to post something new... but no promises.

Today's Rant

I had the occasion to take Sam to speech last night. I always enjoy the ride there and back with Sam, but when I'm there waiting, I never know what to expect. Often times, in the past, there's been a group of Moms there who take advantage of their sons being in a session, by treating the waiting room as a ladies club. Once their sons have disappeared into the other room, it's time to cue the spotlight. One at a time, they take turns talking at the other women, droning on and on about God knows what. The other women feign thoughtful expressions, occasionally nodding, looking distressed, or smiling- or whatever the appropriate reaction should be for the current performance. I'm pretty sure that none of them are really listening to whomever is doing the yapping, but rather, they are rehearsing their lines for when it is their turn to take the stage. This noise carries on, non-stop for the entire hour and barely a breath is taken.

Last night it was just me and one of the dads (not counting the receptionist behind the glass doors). This guy is a teacher and apparently he had a bad day. I've seen him several times before and I get the sense that the only kind of days he has are bad ones. He has a lot of opinions and expresses them forcefully, and that always makes me uncomfortable. But it's pretty hard to avoid a conversation when you're the only other one in the room. Luckily, the receptionist stepped into it and took up some of the slack.

One of the many things he was commenting on, besides his students and what a bunch of lazy ingrates they are (my words. I'm paraphrasing), were video games. He's against them it seems. It appears he's also against TV. I'm not sure how he feels about the radio or electric lights, but I know he drives a car, so I'm guessing he's ok with that. He railed about kids who have smart phones but can't afford to buy a notebook. How can you argue with that?

This guy is quite intelligent, which also makes me uncomfortable. He eventually directed his rant to the Internet (surprise!). But it wasn't really the Internet per se, it was more about social media. His wife apparently is on Facebook- and makes the mistake of not logging off. He "happened" to see her page at one point where one of her "friends" was complaining about her marriage, and she was commenting to everyone within her circle, or whatever you call it, thinking that it would somehow go no further. He was worked up about this. This, to him, was nuts.

As much as I hate to admit it, he had a point, and I've been kind of thinking about this myself lately. I write a lot of drivel here (present post included), but my motivation is usually not for an audience, it's just for the heck of it. Maybe it's just to get it off my chest. Mostly, it's just because something happens to be on my mind. But the thing is, I don't really care who sees it or who doesn't- as long as I don't have to interact with them. There's nothing here that would embarrass me- other than my bad grammar and inept punctuation. And even then, if someone doesn't like it, that's their problem.

I think with some people though, probably many people- they get lulled into some sense of intimacy and privacy, where none really exists. They will post intimate things about themselves that they would never think of saying or showing in any other forum. Maybe they'll post an intimate picture on Facebook or on Instagram or one of the millions of other sites, and they'll think that because there is the thin curtain of a password, that only a select few will ever see it. Yet it's an illusion. Once it's out there, it's out there and it's only a matter of time before the veil either slowly or quickly drops away to reveal a billboard of information or photos or whatever; things that they would never have even considered sharing if it were face to face. Yet, that is what happens. It ends up getting "shared" with the world, including eventually the people they would be most embarrassed to show it to- family, future employers- you name it.  It's only a matter of time before these things get around. I don't know why people don't think about what might happen.

Anyway, this guy was on a tear. He worked himself up into such a lather that he finally had to step out into the below freezing night and go for a walk.

I hate when guys like that have a point. If I agree with them, then I feel like they want me to agree with them on everything they've been saying, and I can't do that. People like that, or this guy anyway, sees things in black and white. This seems pretty black and white to me too, but for everything else, I see too many shades of grey. Plus, I don't have the energy or inclination to argue. I don't even have the energy to listen. This situation is almost worse than having to listen to the din of the women's group clucking away. At least their act didn't require audience participation.

So, when Other Dad returned from his walk and started complaining about the speaker wires that were poking through the wall and how he bet those weren't up to code, I pretty much kept my mouth shut and pretended to read my months old magazine and waited for Sam to finish so we could enjoy the quiet ride home together.

Coming Events

Even though her arrival is five days away, I've taken to carrying Rachael’s flight itinerary around in my back pocket. This is after having printed it out at least three times previously. If I didn't fear I would jinx things, I would mention how much I am looking forward to the whole family being together. But I don’t want to admit it, even to myself- especially to myself, for fear that something will go wrong.

I’m not sure why this is or where it comes from, but I have a pretty good idea. In fact, I've written about it more than once, but have never gone through with publishing it. It’s too much of a downer and doesn't fit well with the “tone” of this blog (such as it is).

For now, I’ll keep sitting tight with the growing knot in my stomach, while trying to convince myself that it’s no big deal and continue to lie to myself that I’m taking things in stride.

Perfect Timing

The coldest day of the year and the car's heater gives out on me on the way to work this morning. Now it's starting to snow.

Friday Night Video

Boy, Friday already! My already spotty posting is becoming even spottier (is that a word?). I'll blame it on the upcoming holidays, for lack of a better excuse.  And to make matters worse, I'm reposting something from last year... or maybe that was the year before. Who can keep track?

Anyway, in honor of the coming storm, here's a short clip from "The Snowman"...

Friday Night Video

When I was a kid, there was a local TV show on weekday mornings called Captain Bob. Captain Bob chatted with us from the other side of the screen and he played cartoons- pretty much like most kid show hosts. But there was something a little different about him. I remember he was a soft spoken guy who was pretty good at drawing, and he would take the time to teach us to draw with him. That held a certain kind of appeal for me.

And I remember that Captain Bob read the funnies on TV during a time when there was a newspaper strike. He kept referring to the character Charlie Brown by calling him "Peanuts". I thought it a little strange for someone I considered a pretty smart and well read guy. But that was OK.

I had intended to post one of the cartoons that Captain Bob would play, which was Felix the Cat. But in searching for the cartoon that I wanted, I came across the video below. He's a little older here than when I watched him, but otherwise it's pretty much exactly what I remember.

I'll get to Felix the Cat some other time.

Tech Report

I'm pretty sure the "Geniuses" in the Apple Store were impressed by me making a phone call on my Tracfone LG 840G- at least they were, judging by their expressions.

That's right Geniuses, that's an actual touch screen! Pick your jaws off the floor!