Well—the first major holiday of the season is now over and all I can say is how much I am looking forward to Christmas and New Years. About as much as sticking an ice pick in my forehead.
We capped off the Thanksgiving holiday with an exhilarating drive from Columbus, Ohio to Ozona, Florida. We began the trek at 7:00 in the morning and got home at a little after midnight. Usually we go to the airport and pick up my car but I did all the driving and the car could wait until the following day as I was just too damn tired. So—what’s it like being in the SUV with the family after we have pigged out for three days eating all those fat rich foods and deserts? Well, it’s not like going out after a spring rain and smelling how fresh everything is. My son had what might be labeled as a slight case of gas. And so for 17 hours he entertained us with the odor of the hour. He demonstrated his total virtuosity by giving us a sample of everything from turkey to snicker-doodle pie in the form of vapor. We are still not talking to him. Today I must take the SUV in for a complete detail inclusive of vanilla scent for the interior. I have also put all of our clothes into a bag and will be taking them to the cleaners too. Nothing was safe from the “smell”.
Now you ask what is the first thing on the mind of the people I live with. Why-- it’s when do we get a tree and how big should we get? I’m already sick of Christmas. I will now be subjected to watching “It’s a Good Life” 350 times, listening to that awful Christmas Carole music, Christmas Cookies everywhere, along with the constant adjusting of the tree lights. Every major catalog on the planet is now arriving at my mailbox. Christmas cards are already arriving from people I do not know. Even my email box is now filing with spam from people of good cheer trying to part me and my money. The good news is that I am alone a lot because the family makes a career of shopping in the next 25 days.
