I enjoy buying gifts for family and friends, and even co-workers. We had a much, much smaller group of folks in our office last year and the year before. I’d only been working at the hospital for a couple of months when my first Christmas there rolled around. Did I know folks well enough to […]
My 2020 Christmas Message, Such As It Is
Dear You Who’s Reading This, Boy, we didn’t see this year coming, did we? I’m not entirely sure, if I’m honest with you, how to sum 2020 up. Perhaps the kindest thing we can say about it is that it’s almost over. I mean, we still have each other, right? Well, that’s not entirely true […]
A Genuinely Heartfelt Christmas Comedy, My Way!
It may surprise some of you to discover I used to write comedy. Now, I know what you’re saying…”Surely not! Not after making us cry and scream with the last three books you wrote!” But, it’s true. And I’ll eventually get around to writing comedy again. It’s a genre I’m quite fond of, and I […]
The Steam Of Self-Esteem During The Holiday
The Christmas season has always been a favorite of mine. Why? That’s an easy one. The decorations, the colors, the effort people go to raise spirits and be a little happier, a little more joyful. At least, that’s how I remember it or choose to remember it, and I admit those memories come from a […]
Christmas In My Family From Then Until Now
My parents weren’t rich. We were comfortable, and we did a lot with…well, not a whole lot. My parents did what kids think parents are supposed to do without realizing we set expectations; they made holidays a little extra special. I was an only child, so I didn’t have to contend with splitting a holiday […]
Remembering The Good
We’re getting closer to the close of 2020, and not a moment too soon. We survived an election, another year under an unfriendly administration (depending on your politics), the passing of friends and family…okay, and a couple of celebrities, and we’re still in the midst of a pandemic. The shit starts to blur together after […]
A Christmas Symphony Charade in Alzheimer’s Minor
My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a little more than 5 years ago and I’ve seen the changes in him from one year to the next. It’s not fun to examine them by any stretch of the imagination, but it is necessary. He was able to walk all the way around the inside of Lakeside […]
Naughty, But Nice and My Token African American Card!
You’ve heard the horror stories about family gatherings and seen the dysfunctional Christmas comedies, but have you ever lived through one yourself? Probably. You’ve just never lived through one with my family. I’ve avoided the phenomena known as the “extended family gathering” on my mom’s side for the past seventeen years. They didn’t invite me […]
Sheerluck Holmes & The Mystery Of The Amazon Christmas Gifts
It was a chilly evening as I walked up my…well, walkway. It sounds redundant to say since I’m walking and it’s a walkway, but I was and it is…as in it was since this was two days ago. I’ve continued walking since–sometimes even on walkways–only I’m digressing because of you. The point is I’d been […]
When Harry & Kage Met Sally & Pookie…You Know, For Lunch
Everybody seems to be on a movie kick lately and I think it’s the holidays that are doing it. Ralph and I used to go and see a lot of movies at the theater. A lot. And we mostly agreed on what we’d see. These days? Either films just aren’t impressing us anymore or we’re […]
