Merry Xmas one and all.
OK, normally, I can rally around the ol' mistletoe.
But wow. This has been some holiday season.
I have one person shopped for - ONE. O-N-E. He happens to be 11, and is the biggest reason to still believe in the magic of the season. I can get past the crass commercialism, the "HEY! Start playing the holiday tunes in JULY!" and so on.
Then I ordered Sean's gift, and got the note that it would be delivered.
On December 30th.
Grrrrrrrrr.
We add that to a season in which (if you haven't heard) my mother is rehabbing from pretty major surgery (or, in her words, "I almost died." Lovely.), I've been working, essentially, two and half jobs, with minimal personal time, and so on. Stress? Nah.
Believe me, I understand there are people who have it worse, and everyone needs to have a perspective on what they can handle. So yeah, I'm fine. But add it all up, and it can make one, er, grumpy.
So looking at the egg nog as being half full, being busy is good, and Mom appears to be on the upswing.
It's a mixed bag, and it's fine. No, not that mom stuff (that was pretty serious), but hey - a year ago, I was largely unemployed. I was hoping for work. Those around me were hoping for work for me. Like it or not, I got it.
LOTS of it. As such, it took a huge personal toll.
What is that about "be careful what you wish for?"
So the simple bottom line is that I have a date with a store-to-be-determined tomorrow, Christmas Eve. Maybe I can find a few things for Sean to open, along with a few other loved ones.
It shouldn't be about the gifts. Yet, that's all I hear. All I hear about is money.
Yeah, greed is good. Blech.
For me, greed is wanting Mariano to finish off the 2001 World Series so we can have FOUR Yankees Championships in a row. It's about Neil O'Donnell NOT confusing Larry Brown for a Steelers receiver, or Rashard Mendenhall holding onto the ball so that the Black and Gold are 8-0 in the Super Bowl.
That's greed. Money? Meh.
I don't talk about money. I don't - simply put. With anyone. Don't ask me how much I make. Don't ask me about raises and such.
LET ME BOTTOM LINE IT FOR YOU: happiness. That. Is. It.
I once took a job for the money. How did THAT turn out?
Money. The root of all evil since forever.
The holidays should be about being together. It should be about family and loved ones. It should be about the kids. If you are the religious sort, it has a bigger meaning.
It shouldn't be about petty jealousies, who buys the biggest gifts, and other gluttonous ways.
I recently sat in the Danbury Mall, waiting out a snowstorm and working (naturally). I watched children climb into Santa's lap. I watched them smile. I watched them hug him. I saw the unbridled joy.
There, in that moment, I felt the warmth in my own heart.
We'll get through the season just fine in the end. Plenty of good times and bad times (you know I've had my share**). As we turn the page to 2014, there will be new horizons and ch-ch-changes (David Bowie, thanks).
And yes, that's a hint.
**It's been correctly pointed out to me by Dan Arturi (with an assist to Adam "Froggie" Froehlig) that I should have noted my quote of the MIGHTY Led Zeppelin. I did, indeed, quote "Good Times Bad Times" from Led Zeppelin (informally known as Led Zeppelin I). I felt that my mention of the song quote would have been obvious to you, the knowledgeable "Exit 55" reader, but I shouldn't assume. Plus, and let's be honest here, is it ever bad to work in a reference to Led Zeppelin?
Thus, we had a communication breakdown. Yeah. I went there.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go work another 12-13 day, spread over the two and-a-half jobs (No "Press Box" tonight, by the way, as I'm sure some of you will delight in Hofstra basketball in our place).
On Hersam Acorn Radio (via GreenwichPost.com, NCAdvertiser.com, and FCIAC.net), you will hear the Greenwich Cardinals and New Canaan Rams in a fine hockey tilt. Chris Kaelin, John Kovach, Josh Fisher, and I will bring you the action.
Paul Silverfarb might also show. And maybe - just maybe - I won't suck.
"You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch..."
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