Insert Generic Holiday Greeting Here

I spent the day painting a couple of rooms inside the house, unpacking some books, and unwrapping some paintings we last saw when we packed ’em up for the move from Italy to the Shallow South. I did get to sleep in a few hours, which was nice. Now I’m waiting for the painkillers to start working their magic (climbing up and down ladders is moderately taxing for a someone with a bad leg).

We no longer do the whole holiday thing. We send a gift to friends or relatives whenever we think about it, we don’t wait until it’s a holiday. I also send out a holiday email every year to a few people who matter to me. Our primary observance of the christmas season is to stay at home with the TV off.

I’ve managed to avoid most of the usual christmas drakh on TV by not watching TV. We rarely go anywhere near malls or other shopping outlets during the rest of the year, and the panic-stricken frenzy of the mindless hordes during “the most wonderful time of the year” turns rarely into never. Those hordes- and the predators who hunt among them- do make a large adjustment in my behavior: from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, I carry a gun whenever we go out. Why is it that the holiday season brings out the worst in so many people?

Those of you who celebrate Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza/Yule without being obnoxious about it deserve better than the orgy of consumerism which afflicts this country during the holidays. I, for one, appreciate your restraint.

Current status: Sore and tired

Current music: Mercy Street by Peter Gabriel