Excuse me Charles Dickens, but since I can never seem to come up with such magical sentences as you then I must borrow your great gifts.
Yes, as Christmas approaches, it now becomes the best of time for me, but yet, the worst.
The best are obvious..... The holiday spirit. The joy of giving. The reuniting with family. Food, food and more food. And of course for those of us who still profess a faith in God, the anniversary of the birth of His son.
But unfortunately it also becomes a time of sadness for me.
Maybe I should blame it on the paintings by Norman Rockwell that used to appear on the covers of Life magazine at this time of year.
Rockwell's paintings always depicted what I thought Christmas should be like, but it never was that way and it still isn't today.
I don't become a Scrooge at Christmas, but just the opposite. I love to give. I love to entertain. And, Lord knows I love to eat.
It's just the melancholy that begins to creep in during these coming days. It has always happened and I am sure it will happen again this year.
I guess I like to picture Christmas surrounded by my family. The lovely wife with her kerchief serving sugar plums , whatever the hell that is. The grandchildren dressed in their nightgowns waiting impatiently to open their gifts. And I, waking up from a long winter's nap with my cap upon my head.
I do remember one of the better Christmas seasons though,............... well I thought I did, but I guess that was just a painting also.
Alas. I guess I'll just watch "It's a Wonderful Life", exchange a gift or two with Pattye. Wait for the kids and grandkids to come by and open their presents, eat and clean up the house.
................See, I told you it is the worst of times.........
Merry Christmas!!
Dec 4, 2005
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
Dear Tom,
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If I see it in your blog, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
I know, I know, this isn't really a letter to me, or in these days an e-mail to me, it's the story of a young girl in 1897 who wrote to the New York Sun asking if there was a Santa Claus after her father was unable to answer the question and suggested she write the newspaper.
But if I may take the liberty I would still like to answer her question.
To all of the Virginias out there and all of the kids from 8 to 80, of course there is a Santa Claus.
He's busy right now with all of his helpers collecting toys and gifts that he will spread under your Christmas tree.
I have seen his helpers standing in line at 5:00 in the morning, braving the cold and wind, in order to get the lowest price for gifts. I have seen his helpers demanding from store clerks to find additional items even though the store has been out of stock for days. I have seen his helpers walking casually by a Salvation Army volunteer avoiding eye contact so as not to have to part with any spare change. I have seen his helpers argue with other helpers in parking lots in order to get a spot closer to the front door of the store to save a few steps. I have seen and heard his helpers cuss about having to hang outside lights in order to celebrate the holiday season.
Yes Virginia, Santa's helpers are out there getting ready for Christmas.
Is this what it has come down to?
Each year we ask ourselves "what has happened to the meaning of Christmas?".
Yet we continue to put ourselves and families through such aggravation and misery that by the time comes around on Christmas morning we have become so frustrated that we have forgotten the true meaning of the holiday.
So, while we have a few weeks left. Let's put ourselves into the mindset of Virginia and all of the kids of the world.
Could you imagine the thrill on your child's face if you took your child to a Toys for Tots drop-off center and offered a gift to a needy family?
Do you think your child might receive some joy in dropping your loose change into a Salvation Army bucket?
Do you think your son or daughter might believe there really is a Santa Claus if they knew they could be one of his helpers and drop off some gifts to a homeless shelter?
I do. And I think it would probably be a Christmas they will always remember.
So, this year, let's try to prove to all of the Virginias that there truly is a Santa Claus!
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If I see it in your blog, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?
I know, I know, this isn't really a letter to me, or in these days an e-mail to me, it's the story of a young girl in 1897 who wrote to the New York Sun asking if there was a Santa Claus after her father was unable to answer the question and suggested she write the newspaper.
But if I may take the liberty I would still like to answer her question.
To all of the Virginias out there and all of the kids from 8 to 80, of course there is a Santa Claus.
He's busy right now with all of his helpers collecting toys and gifts that he will spread under your Christmas tree.
I have seen his helpers standing in line at 5:00 in the morning, braving the cold and wind, in order to get the lowest price for gifts. I have seen his helpers demanding from store clerks to find additional items even though the store has been out of stock for days. I have seen his helpers walking casually by a Salvation Army volunteer avoiding eye contact so as not to have to part with any spare change. I have seen his helpers argue with other helpers in parking lots in order to get a spot closer to the front door of the store to save a few steps. I have seen and heard his helpers cuss about having to hang outside lights in order to celebrate the holiday season.
Yes Virginia, Santa's helpers are out there getting ready for Christmas.
Is this what it has come down to?
Each year we ask ourselves "what has happened to the meaning of Christmas?".
Yet we continue to put ourselves and families through such aggravation and misery that by the time comes around on Christmas morning we have become so frustrated that we have forgotten the true meaning of the holiday.
So, while we have a few weeks left. Let's put ourselves into the mindset of Virginia and all of the kids of the world.
Could you imagine the thrill on your child's face if you took your child to a Toys for Tots drop-off center and offered a gift to a needy family?
Do you think your child might receive some joy in dropping your loose change into a Salvation Army bucket?
Do you think your son or daughter might believe there really is a Santa Claus if they knew they could be one of his helpers and drop off some gifts to a homeless shelter?
I do. And I think it would probably be a Christmas they will always remember.
So, this year, let's try to prove to all of the Virginias that there truly is a Santa Claus!
Nov 29, 2005
"Some lessons I have learned recently"
O.K., Most of you know I have ventured into the world of retail with my new position as Department Head of the Lawn, Garden, Pool, Landscape etc. for a nationally known Home Improvement store with orange colors. (If you have ever noticed before this is how people on "Wheel of Fortune" describe the companies they work for when asked by Pat Sejak. It's because of some legal jargon regarding not being an official representative of the company.)
Sorry, got sidetracked.
Anyway. I have learned some new lessons in life.
One, I can't believe what such a**ho*** some people can be.
For some 20 odd years I have been either self-employed or worked on a contract basis.
This freedom of owning my own businesses has allowed to choose if I didn't like a way a customer was acting or if I found they were difficult to deal with, then I simply explained to them that I chose to no longer do business with them.
I remember one lady years ago when Pattye and I started our pool business that was insistent on having her pool serviced on a every other week basis. Well, what that means is you end up having to do twice the amount of work and are only receiving half the compensation.
Think of it like this. Suppose you have a housekeeper that comes once a week for $60.00. Well, you decide that you want to save a little money and have her come every other week. Naturally, the amount of work is going to increase (double dust bunnies and so forth). Well then, you pay more for the every other week work.
This lady was adamant when I told her that I could not provide the type of service she wanted and that she would have to find someone else. She said, "you have to do this". I said bye-bye.
Well, unfortunately, I don't own the orange-painted home improvement business and I have had to suck up or in one case actually walk away because a customer was flat out rude!!
As much as an ass I have been in my life, I can't think of one time, (okay, maybe one) when I have been a complete a**ho** to the person simply trying to do their job.
So, what happened to cause me to add this new lesson in life was during last week's big Friday after Thanksgiving and we were swamped and this guy wanted to see a manager.
I took the bait and with my smiling face said. "I am a manager".
This guy just started going on and on and saying something to the affect that "you just don't have anything in this store."
My natural instinct from years of owning my own place was to tell him to get the hell out and shop somewhere else and never come back.
Oops. Can't do that any more. So, I politely told him that I am sorry that he couldn't find what he was looking for and perhaps I could find an alternative way of meeting his demands.
He kept bitchin and I walked away. Later he said, "well I do like to shop here and maybe I can find something else that would work.
So maybe during this holiday season when you are out shopping, remember that all of us put our pants on one leg at a time. We are all the same. And if you don't like the service or can't find the products then don't spend you money at that store. And also, try not to be an a**ho**. We have plenty of them in the world already!
Sorry, got sidetracked.
Anyway. I have learned some new lessons in life.
One, I can't believe what such a**ho*** some people can be.
For some 20 odd years I have been either self-employed or worked on a contract basis.
This freedom of owning my own businesses has allowed to choose if I didn't like a way a customer was acting or if I found they were difficult to deal with, then I simply explained to them that I chose to no longer do business with them.
I remember one lady years ago when Pattye and I started our pool business that was insistent on having her pool serviced on a every other week basis. Well, what that means is you end up having to do twice the amount of work and are only receiving half the compensation.
Think of it like this. Suppose you have a housekeeper that comes once a week for $60.00. Well, you decide that you want to save a little money and have her come every other week. Naturally, the amount of work is going to increase (double dust bunnies and so forth). Well then, you pay more for the every other week work.
This lady was adamant when I told her that I could not provide the type of service she wanted and that she would have to find someone else. She said, "you have to do this". I said bye-bye.
Well, unfortunately, I don't own the orange-painted home improvement business and I have had to suck up or in one case actually walk away because a customer was flat out rude!!
As much as an ass I have been in my life, I can't think of one time, (okay, maybe one) when I have been a complete a**ho** to the person simply trying to do their job.
So, what happened to cause me to add this new lesson in life was during last week's big Friday after Thanksgiving and we were swamped and this guy wanted to see a manager.
I took the bait and with my smiling face said. "I am a manager".
This guy just started going on and on and saying something to the affect that "you just don't have anything in this store."
My natural instinct from years of owning my own place was to tell him to get the hell out and shop somewhere else and never come back.
Oops. Can't do that any more. So, I politely told him that I am sorry that he couldn't find what he was looking for and perhaps I could find an alternative way of meeting his demands.
He kept bitchin and I walked away. Later he said, "well I do like to shop here and maybe I can find something else that would work.
So maybe during this holiday season when you are out shopping, remember that all of us put our pants on one leg at a time. We are all the same. And if you don't like the service or can't find the products then don't spend you money at that store. And also, try not to be an a**ho**. We have plenty of them in the world already!
Nov 19, 2005
Well...I didn't read the "News" today, oh boy
I read the newspaper for the second Saturday in a row but I still didn't see my much heralded column (heralded at least by me) that was to appear. Well, so much for the greatest comeback in journalistic history!
I got bumped again by all of the pictures of Johnny and Janey and dogs and cats and Church news and whatever. Ironically, it reminds me of the days when I was an editor and would have to answer calls from my reporters and stringers wondering "what happened to my story?"
Back in the old Linotype days when reporters wore Fedoras (for you under 30, these were Tom Landry hats) with Press Cards sticking out of the hat band, I would have inches and inches of hot breaking news, feature stories, mounds of pictures, announcements and of course ads all of which had to be squeezed into so much space. We lived by the rule of thumb of 55% news, 45% ads. As you can tell by looking at your local newspaper today, this ad ratio no longer exists.
As I was trying to make my deadline of getting the newspaper "put to bed", I would find myself snipping copy, cropping photos and rearranging stories to try and make everything fit. It was the proverbial putting 10 lbs. of s*** in a 5 lb bag. It doesn't fit. And, I got calls about it when so-and-so's mother didn't see the story about Susie that the reporter said would be in the next edition. Even worse was when I would have a picture of 4 people and the person on the end got sliced off before final publication.
I can remember one incident when a person had sworn to his wife that he had been at an event and he would have the evidence to show her when the photo came out in the newspaper. Unfortunately, he was the one on the end and got left off. He called and begged me to contact his wife and tell her he was really in the picture.
It was a lonely job as an editor. Nobody was ever happy. There were reporters who felt like they had the exact number of perfect words for their stories. Stringers, people who were only paid for the number of inches that appeared in the newspaper, were short changed and their only income was reduced. And readers who were expecting their 15 minutes of fame were all angry and disappointed. Alas, I guess what goes around, comes around and I now suffer the same anxiety.
But you know what?. I still have my blog.
I can write and write to no end. I don't have ads that have to be worked around. I can use all of the pictures I want. And, I don't have to answer to ANYONE. I can even say......If you don't like it.....Don't read it!....without any fear of losing revenue.
I can write and edit when I want to. I can even cuss and rant about anything I choose.
"Newspapers? We don't need no stinking newspapers" (restructured quote from Treasure of Sierra Madres ). I can misspell wurds. I can use poor grammar. I can even use the word ain't if I want to. I can even end the sentence in a preposition sort of.
So there. Thanks to the world of blogs, I have everything I want. I'm happy. You're happy and all's right with the world.
Hell, I might even decide to start wearing a Fedora again!!
I got bumped again by all of the pictures of Johnny and Janey and dogs and cats and Church news and whatever. Ironically, it reminds me of the days when I was an editor and would have to answer calls from my reporters and stringers wondering "what happened to my story?"
Back in the old Linotype days when reporters wore Fedoras (for you under 30, these were Tom Landry hats) with Press Cards sticking out of the hat band, I would have inches and inches of hot breaking news, feature stories, mounds of pictures, announcements and of course ads all of which had to be squeezed into so much space. We lived by the rule of thumb of 55% news, 45% ads. As you can tell by looking at your local newspaper today, this ad ratio no longer exists.
As I was trying to make my deadline of getting the newspaper "put to bed", I would find myself snipping copy, cropping photos and rearranging stories to try and make everything fit. It was the proverbial putting 10 lbs. of s*** in a 5 lb bag. It doesn't fit. And, I got calls about it when so-and-so's mother didn't see the story about Susie that the reporter said would be in the next edition. Even worse was when I would have a picture of 4 people and the person on the end got sliced off before final publication.
I can remember one incident when a person had sworn to his wife that he had been at an event and he would have the evidence to show her when the photo came out in the newspaper. Unfortunately, he was the one on the end and got left off. He called and begged me to contact his wife and tell her he was really in the picture.
It was a lonely job as an editor. Nobody was ever happy. There were reporters who felt like they had the exact number of perfect words for their stories. Stringers, people who were only paid for the number of inches that appeared in the newspaper, were short changed and their only income was reduced. And readers who were expecting their 15 minutes of fame were all angry and disappointed. Alas, I guess what goes around, comes around and I now suffer the same anxiety.
But you know what?. I still have my blog.
I can write and write to no end. I don't have ads that have to be worked around. I can use all of the pictures I want. And, I don't have to answer to ANYONE. I can even say......If you don't like it.....Don't read it!....without any fear of losing revenue.
I can write and edit when I want to. I can even cuss and rant about anything I choose.
"Newspapers? We don't need no stinking newspapers" (restructured quote from Treasure of Sierra Madres ). I can misspell wurds. I can use poor grammar. I can even use the word ain't if I want to. I can even end the sentence in a preposition sort of.
So there. Thanks to the world of blogs, I have everything I want. I'm happy. You're happy and all's right with the world.
Hell, I might even decide to start wearing a Fedora again!!
Nov 8, 2005
"Well.......It's either too much or not enough"
Update - Richardson, TX.
For all of my faithful following I thought I would bring you up-to-date on the comings and goings around here.
Pattye continues to build Gathering Eggs both at the store and on-line with EBay. We have gotten to know the UPS delivery person quite well and as soon as I hear the slow rumbling of the engine as he/she pulls up to the front of the house I am at the door waiting to receive our valuable inventory for the day. On the other side of the balance sheet Pattye makes daily deliveries to the Post Office with packages destined for as far away as France and England and of course the U.S.. She really is enjoying her new career and I am really enjoying watching her and helping in her new career.
My new endeavors have gotten off to a great start as well.
I have been asked to write a guest column for the Richardson section of the Dallas Morning News. Apparently the editor likes my style and would like to use my musings, with some localization, for the weekly publication. The first installment will appear in Nov. 12th's edition. It's not much but it's a start and am happy to get back into the business. Yes, I realize in the past I have waged some criticism of the newspaper; however, it was never with the editorial side, only some of the circulation woes that were happening.
And with that, I also have gotten what my kids always used to call "a real job". I have been hired as a Department Supervisor of a nationally known chain of home improvement stores that feature bright orange colors.
Plus, it looks like I will be able to keep my customers with my swimming pool business, Blue Sky Pool Service, as well.
Hey, there's 24 hours in a day, and if you know me, I wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I still get up about 1:30 AM and you can get a lot done at that time in the morning.
So all is well here. I'm no longer under foot at home and I am getting a chance to write again.
So, I guess if I have to choose either too much or not enough......I'll go with the too much. It's a whole lot more fun.
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