Monthly Archives: December 2009

Purple Snowflakes

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Well I hope this finds this in good health and safe wherever you you are. I’m pretty lazy right now, but here am, writing this on the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth. Possibly a good guy, just getting through the people around him would be a chore.

In any event, on this day of Solstice celebration and what have you, I found myself wondering, was Jesus delivered by a midwife? I mean when you look at, where any of the other participants qualified or even able to deliver a baby?

And with living under Hebraic law, would the messy parts of a woman’s vagina, even Mary’s, be an abomination in their god’s eyes?Yes that was one of the thoughts that floated through my over stuffed mind and belly.

No shame in going back for seconds, or eating just about everything on the table. Last night and this afternoon I ate least had seconds of most everything. Not a gavone but the potential was there. Bill and I arrived in Hillsdale where we promptly sat down and had dinner.

Brian and Karen and Cassie with Hillary and her beau Chris were quite hungry and caution was thrown to the wind regarding the Garfield contingent having had dinner. I hadn’t had homemade lasagne in a while and it was quite good. Even though I rarely eat sausage I indulged myself much to my liking.

That’s where the second helpings came in. Gifts exchanged, everyone satisfied and happy. Ride back to Hoboken where Bill and I exchanged gifts. A few ties and cufflinks from me collected over the year and an excellent electric pickup for my Fender acoustic.

All very nice and pleasant. Bedtime for both of us and I woke up first this morning to see if there were any presents under the tree from Santa, but then I realized we don’t have a tree. No room for it anyway. No tree, no gifts, but that was OK.

Went in the kitchen to make some coffee, and turned on the heater. No heater again. It went out last month on the 25th and now it’s out again. I made an online appointment for the PSE&G maintenance for tomorrow morning between 8AM and 12PM.

That’s fine with me, they’re generally show up in that time frame. Like around 11:55AM.I hope they won’t charge. Last month it took about 5 minutes and there was no charge, so I hope it will be the same situation.

Right now, we got a big pot of water on the stove, getting things warm and damp, but it beats being cold.

This afternoon we had the trip to Garfield to Frank and Elaine’s house. Nice and mellow there, Elaine’s dad on the couch watching everyone have a turn playing Wii which they got for a Christmas present. Corinne, Meg & Rob and I tried my hand at boxing and bowling as did everyone else. More food and gifts and then we were back on the road to Hoboken since the Zipcar needed to be returned by 5PM.

We are now watching the Stephen Colbert Christmas Special. It was originally broadcast last year but I remarkably had some foresight to check it out at the library a week or so ago. Hey, you snooze you lose.

We just watched Iron Man which Bill hadn’t seen. After catching bits and pieces of A Christmas Story, it was fun to point Peter Billingsley in his cameo in Iron Man. So that about sums up Christmas 2009. See ya tomorrow. Happy Crimble!

Me, Frank & Brian

Me, Frank & Brian

I Wanna Be Sedated

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Well here we are, Christmas Eve 2009. An early posting for me. Won’t have time later since Bill and I are expected in Hillsdale, the home of the Relatives of the Powers. Brian, Karen, Hillary & Cassie. Little Brian is away at the moment. Frank, Elaine & Corrine are expected as are Meghan and Rob.

This has been going on I guess, since my mother passed away in 1991. The house in Lodi was more like a tomb at that point and I was no longer welcome in the house where I grew up. I guess we went up to Montvale for that first haunted Christmas without Mom.

My father and I weren’t speaking to each other and I started the first of several years of putting out my hand and wishing him a Merry Christmas only to have him look the other way. One year I stopped and at both Brian and Frank’s insistence I put my hand out once again and once again I was rebuffed.

I then had to chastise both of my brothers, saying in effect, ‘how many times do I have to show that I am the better man?’ . My father came around the year before he passed in 1999. Just a handshake and a hug. No apologies were expected and none were given.

I used to go up with William when I lived in Weehawken. He was welcomed in by my family, but looking back I have to wonder if they thought William and I were an item. I know a few people mentioned they thought we were, but no we weren’t. We certainly weren’t each others type, that’s for sure.

When I started going out with Bill in 2000, Bill replaced William as my companion of choice. And he’s been welcomed with open arms, with a provision that signs of affection between Bill and myself were to be kept to a bare minimum, or better yet, invisible.

That was no problem since relatives of the Powers aren’t known for open displays of affection anyhow.

This year is a bit tighter, tightest since the 1980’s. I tried my hand at homemade presents which over 20 years later I am embarrassed by but find that the original recipients trot them out each year, not to embarrass me, but for sentimental reasons.

Earlier this year when I heard about the Bob Dylan Christmas album I thought it would be nice to get a copy for my siblings. I shopped for the best present and with the fact that all of Dylan’s royalties were going in perpetuity to Feeding America it seemed like the best gift for a tight budget.

I didn’t expect the difficulty I would go through in getting people to merely accept it and perhaps just saying thanks, rather than a lecture and the browbeating that came along with it. Annemarie & Frank have both been told what the gift was so the only one who doesn’t is Brian. Unless he reads this before I get there.

In any event what’s done is done and I’m over it. It is the Christmas spirit to forget and forgive and move on so having written that, I am gone already.

Already did whatever I had to do today, wrapped Bill’s gifts, a walk to the post office. Stopped by the Guitar Bar where I saw Jim Mastro of course, but also Lily & Ruby. Meghan was home, baking cookies and dinner. Or maybe cookies for dinner. I

t was a nice afternoon. Bill should be home soon, he worked today and then I guess we will be off to Hillsdale.

Last night I watched the Paul McCartney performance on the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater from July, when Macca was the guest on the Letterman show. So exciting. I really enjoyed the Fireman album so hearing it live in that situation was pretty cool. Wished I was there, but I wasn’t.

This has been my 1500th posting. Yay Me!

Cranberry Sauce.