Tonight, we had some friends over to watch the Bengals vs. Steelers.  Let me do a little background here.  Most of our friends are Bengals fans.  I have followed the Steelers since I was a pretty little whipper-snapper.  So at times… there can be a playful banter between us.

We’ve been planning this party for a long time… but the game time was changed to the Sunday Night Game.  This is problematic for a bunch of old women who typically go to bed by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m.  A few of our group couldn’t make it because of the sickies.  There are a lot of bugs going around right now…. and we aren’t talking spiders or crickets.

So it was a small group, but a good group.  The game still rages on at this point….. but the party is over.  Everyone left at halftime, after we had eaten the bulk of the pizza and cookies.  Nonetheless, we shared good company and conversation.

But here is the real deal.  The point of all of this.

I am fortunate in the area of friends.  I have a very special few… who I love dearly… and I truly would do anything for them.  They come in all different shapes and sizes, and from all different walks of life.  I was reminded, once again, of my good fortune tonight.

A couple of them… I wish I could scoop right up… and move them right next door.  Cool women… who make me laugh, and think, and engage. This can be a difficult task for introverted me….. but they make me feel easy.  They are very kind to me,  and it truly warms my heart.

While I’ll probably never be a Bengals fan… even though my good pals are… I will always be a fan of these friends.  They are yet another one of life’s joys…. and I am grateful.

And finally….I will be even more grateful if the Steelers can win.

Every time I look at Frances, I am reminded of all the good in the world.  This is the absolute truth.

She is the quintessential good dog.  Again, I kid you not.

For those of you who do not know Frances very well…. she came to us in 2005.  She showed up at Bullen Ultrasonics, and Mary called me to come get her from the Plant.  I did.

Oh, we tried to find her rightful owners.  And when that failed, we tried to find her any owners.  We came close, but it was a series of “high hopes” and subsequent “let downs.”   This was all coming during a very hard emotional time in my life.  Finally, and thankfully, we decided to keep her.

We did not want another dog of this size.  We certainly did not want a black, dog of this size.  But that is what the Universe delivered.  So we accepted.
But the Universe decided to deliver more.

When I took her to her first Vet appointment, the good doctor informed us that the new dog in the family was about 2 years old…. and very pregnant.  And… a couple of weeks later… we had 13 puppies.    We found good homes for all 13.  A big shout out tonight to all of them… from Dashe, to Eddie, to Rudy the Runt.

But back to Frances.   She truly is the epitome of friendship.  She is kind, compassionate, funny, completely dedicated, fiercely loyal, well-mannered, and highly protective.  She is a giver and a watcher.

It is in this complete package, that such a lesson is learned.  On the outside… she was everything we did not THINK we wanted in a dog.  On the inside…. she is everything we could ever have hoped for in the truest of friends.

In our years, we have had many canine pals.  But Frances is by far the best of the best.

When the Universe opens up and gives me a gift… I hope I am always smart enough, open enough, and willing enough… to accept it.

Frances taught  me this.

If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give.  —  George MacDonald

To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.  —  Steve Prefontaine

Little things.

Some of the greatest ideas… can start with the smallest of things.  As the old cliche’ goes… a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.  But it is true.

To reiterate.  A mathematical question was posed to me today.
If it takes six men, to dig 36 holes in two hours, how long will it take one man to dig half a hole.

The answer is… there is no half of a hole.  As soon as the shovel pitches that first bit of dirt… you have a hole.  (Arguably, and I did…. it may not be the size hole which is required for the project… but nonetheless.  I digress.)

The fact of it is…..  some pretty amazing things start with the smallest of seeds.  It just needs to be planted and nurtured.

Otherwise… it is merely bird food.

And this is where it came to me tonight… as I sliced into an apple.
If we want to do something great… it will most likely take a considerable amount of work.  It make take a lot of doing and effort.  But it has to start somewhere… with something.  The smallest seeds eventually turn into impressive trees.  But you can find evidence of such… in the midst of the fruit.

The smallest thing…the tiniest seed….  the first move in the right direction…  and we have begun.

The littlest step.  And there it will begin.

Well….. one thing is for sure.   The Christmas Holiday takes a great deal of preparation for the entertainment segment.  And just like that…. the candles on the dinner table are blown out . …. the roast beast is no more ….the wrapping paper hits the recycle bin… …. and the celebration is over.

But.  I contend that it is all much more than that.  More than candy canes, bows and ribbons, baked hams, and tinsel.

The trueness of the holiday is this.    It is home.  It is our people.  It is our “togetherness”.  The part that we really prepare for is in our hearts.   That takes a lot of time, and work too.  Lifetimes of giving, sharing, honesty, compassion, hope, and loving.   Yet…. long after Santa has flown back to the Northernmost Pole…. and the Elf on the Shelf goes to the Yukon Territory for the summer….  we are all still here together.  Celebrating the blessing of together.  Sharing our lives.

May your candle burn bright now… and always.  May you be a bright light for others… and a place of warmth.  May you all be awesome.  Today and every day.

You know… things happen at the strangest times… and in the most surprising of ways.  Tonight, we all had settled in for the evening.  The family had been here all day, and we shared a wonderful Christmas Holiday.  My Mom, some siblings, and nephews.  We ate and ate.  And sang and sang.   And shared good stories about life.

Anyway… back to tonight.   When we got the dishes cleaned and put away… we decided to head off to bed.  It was quiet in the house.  I had my sleeping cap on.  We were beat.  The dogs were worn out.  Heck… even the mice were tired and I don’t think a single creature was stirring.  I am pretty sure I had started to dream about sugar plums… or something.  Maybe they were Ooompaloompas.

But nonetheless, I heard a noise out on the lawn.  I thought.  It was some sort of clatter.  When I checked it out… through the sash … it looked just like a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer.  And wouldn’t you know….. old  St. Nicholas went right down the chimney and came out with a bound.

No milk and cookies.  Fresh out.  So I gave him some Reuben Dip and those little party rye breads.  It was either that or cheesy potatoes and green beans.  We had a lot of leftovers.

But low and behold, he asked what I wanted for Christmas.  And I told him exactly what I wanted.  “Love, joy, happiness, health, and peace, for my family and my friends.”

Now…. Kirk….my Sock Monkey had been praying to get a new puppy.  Well… Santa left him an “Elf on the Shelf” instead. What the heck?.  It seems that NOW…..  I have joined the ranks of the “Elf on the Shelf” Mothers.

But no matter..  And….. just then….. Old St. Nick winked, and put his finger on the side of his nose… and before I knew it… away he went.

As I look back on the day… I would have to smile from ear to ear.   A beautiful family… and friends… sharing throughout the day.  And of course…. my  happy little monkey with a new pal….. his Elf on the Shelf.  I’m not sure it gets any better than this.

So… with that I say….
Happy Christmas to all… and to all a Good Night.

I would like to suggest a New Holiday.  I’ll get to it here in a little minute.

But first, the Holidays.   A two-sided coin, indeed.  The holidays can bring out the very best in people… and the very worst.

In reference to the latter.  All you really have to do is spend any time in a shopping mall, or grocery store…. a couple of days before Christmas… to see the absolute worst of humanity.  But.  Let’s put that aside and talk about the goodness, shall we?

Yes, the Good.  The Magic.  It is in the air at Christmas Time.  I wonder why this happens right now … this cheer and good will toward men?  Why do people take such notice of this during a holiday such as Christmas?  I wish we all of us,  could do this every day.

The Wonder of the Every Day.  That is my proposal for the New Holiday.

I have a little story about a friend of mine.  I have know her for several years. In years past, we had been nothing more than fleeting acquaintances, really.  But now.  I have gotten to know this person so much more.  And I really like her.  I trust her.  I consider her a true friend.  Probably one of those people I could call in a pinch.

It turns out we like a lot of the same things.  I used to do Food Photography, and she likes photos of Food.  Good photos.

We both love rocks.  Like crazy.  And good music.  And peace, and good will.
At any rate, I am so glad to have her as a friend now.  After a lot of years of just a pleasant “hello” when passing on the street.    She is incredibly kind, and has such a good spirit and energy about her.  She kind of glows.  Not like Rudolph glows… but like bright warm lights glow.

And that… is one of the Every Day Wonders of Life.

These blessings, just waiting to happen… around any corner at any time…. are one of the finest things about life.  Friendships for us to find.  Very cool rocks to discover.  Bowls of tasty ice cream… just waiting for us at Ben & Jerry’s

I truly believe we find what we seek.  It is when we ask… that we receive.  Maybe not what we want… but what we need.   So. Happy Holidays to You.  May the gifts abound.
Happy “The Wonder of Everyday”…. the best holiday of the year.

To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness.  — Confucius

It used to be… when you had a virus… and started hacking… it pretty much meant you had some strain of the flu.  You might get a day or two off from work.  You’d feel like three-day-old-cat poop.  And Tylenol would be your best friend for about a week.

But NOW…. if there are viruses, and hacking… it generally has to do with that screen and keyboard in front of you right.  Yesh.  Yesh… I shay.   Computer Hackershh.

Now… given the topic of recent events… I will tell you this much.  We don’t want to get into a hacking war.  Not with anyone.  Especially a nutty as a fruitcake, off one’s rocker, not right in the head, raving mad, batty, bonkers, cuckoo, loopy, ditzy, loony, bananas, loco, with a screw loose, touched, gaga, out to lunch, Dictator-Maniac.   Yet… here we have it.   Tonight, North Korea’s Internet went out.  All of it.

I will reiterate.  It is a bad idea to start a hacking war. It could be way worse than nuclear threats. Because before you know it, the planet will be dark, and lacking mass communications.

One of my favorite singer / groups, is David Byrne, and The Talking Heads.  And one of my favorite songs is…. “Nothing But Flowers”

It talks about civilization after what may have been a nuclear war, or a major power grid failure… due to… welllll …. you know…. cough, cough, hack, hack.

One of the lines in the song goes….

“Once there were parking lots
Now it’s a peaceful oasis
you got it, you got it

This was a Pizza Hut
Now it’s all covered with daisies
you got it, you got it.”

I hope this doesn’t get out of hand… I do.  Because I like electricity, and heat.  I like getting my food at a grocery, and driving a car… with gasoline in the tank.

By god, I like Netflix and Facebook. And Cheetos.

I say… “Make Love, Not Destructive Code”

Maybe I’ll write a song.

Imaginations are everywhere.  Dreams.  Stories.
I imagine a lot of things.    However…. one thing that is factual is today’s date.  Well… sort of.  I mean… humans devised the calendar to keep track of the days, weeks, months, years.  So, I guess that is a little imagined too.

But this is the day of the Winter Solstice.  A thing of fact…. and of legend.

To define it…. a solstice is either of  two times in the year.  It could be the summer solstice or the winter solstice.   These two days occur when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky at noon, marked by the longest and shortest days.

Now….  at times…. we humans can be pretty smart and observant…. and imaginative.  The earliest people on Earth noticed things.  They knew that the sun’s path across the sky…. the length of daylight….. changes.    They built monuments such as Stonehenge in England ….. or, for example, at Machu Picchu in Peru ….  to follow the sun’s yearly progress.

And the winter solstice has been celebrated as a part of this.  The shortest day of the year.

But since the earliest of times… there have been stories… and legends… and traditions…. passed from one generation to the next.

And with that…  I give you the Yeti.   Or….. as  some of us like to call him  …. The Abominable Snowman .

Now, there have been sightings, time and time again….. of this Yeti… which is an apelike, cryptic creature.  He is said to inhabit the Himalaya region of Nepal and Tibet.  The Solstice is a huge “sighting” day for the Yeti.

I don’t know…. I guess I just think… who is to say it isn’t true?  The story, the legend, has carried on for hundreds, and hundreds of years…

So, with this Winter Solstice… I say embrace the things you believe in.  Our power lies in the power of the mind.  How we think.  How we believe.  Yes.  During this sacred day of Winter…. I say… Embrace the Yeti.  Find the truth in the Big Snowman. Believe in the Magic…  and the Magic will believe in YOU.

“The unreal is more powerful than the real, because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. because its only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. stone crumbles. wood rots. people, well, they die. but things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on.”   — Chuck Palahniuk

Well.  The Big Can Do is a No Can Do.

I don’t have the energy tonight to say a single thing.  So, I decided earlier this evening that I would check my stats for last night’s column.  And, if last night’s “readers” were “below” a certain number…. I would take this night off.

As the horse said to the unicorn… “Just what is the point?”

Or, consider this:  “The best way to communicate with a fish is to drop them a line.”

Today, of all things…… is National “Don’t Waste Time Day.”  Oh…. we need another “day” to celebrate, now don’t we?

The people who make up these days have beat me down.   In light of of that … I succumb to the peer pressure. I shall observe “Don’t Waste Time Day” and offer you the following.

I often collect bits of information.  This seems like the perfect time to share some of those items… since we will NOT waste time.  So.  Here we go.

You can circle the earth 1. 4 times … with the amount of Nutella that is produced in one year.  I am not sure how thin or thick you would have to spread the Nutella for this equation.  That is a mystery to me.

In 1972, a bomb exploded on a plane.  A woman, named Vesna Vulovic,  a flight attendant, was on board that Yugoslav Airlines plane.  Yep.  She dropped 33,000 feet out of the sky and survived.  I am not sure how.  Maybe she landed on the Nutella.  (Incidentally, she was award the Guinness Record Title for the “highest fall without a parachute.”)  I’m sure she was thrilled.

Here is just a funny deal.  In 2005, a guy named Ronald McDonald robbed a Wendy’s.  In New Hampshire.  He broke into the safe at 1:30 in the morning and an alarm went off.  He was apprehended.  What a Bozo.

Since we are talking funny….. here is a scientific fact for you.  Rats laugh when you tickle them.  The guy who figured this out is named Dr. Jaak Panksepp.   He reports that …. “more neuro-scientific experimental work has been done on rat-laughter than of any other species, including humans,” he said.  If those rats figure out we are also poisoning them… I could see some type of lab-rat-rebellion on the horizon.  I can almost hear them laughing.

Finally, continuing on with animals.   Some stray Russian dogs have figured out how to use the subway system in order to travel to more populated areas in search of food.  Now… if only those Russian Dogs lived closer to the equator…. they could have all the Nutella they want.

And it all comes full circle here on “Don’t Waste Time Day”…… because…..  we learned, we learned, we learned.