“Once again we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice.” Dave Barry
I’m more into saying Merry Christmas than Happy Holidays. For me the latter is too politically correct and saccharin. But for many in fire ravaged Northern California its understandable why folks may neither be merry nor happy. Those that have lost homes, and loved ones, grind through the days. Many of us wish a magic wand would make things better. Friends, press onward. A community supports you.
I’ve been behind since Thanksgiving but still aim to start holiday shopping tomorrow, my annual Saturday cut-off date before Christmas. I’ll make time to watch sappy holiday movies, notably Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, and that tear jerker, Elf. When you break down those plots, the underlying themes are: boy meets girl and finds out who he is. Then by January 2nd he forgets and has 358 days to figure out what happened.
Last year I shared several of my favorite reads (see My Top Three Reads for 2017) to give guys a fighting chance for buying last minute Christmas gifts. Take a look at my list—the stories are just as good this year as last. The most enthralling book I read in 2018 is unfortunately entitled The Big Burn, a true account of wildfires that battered national forests in Washington, Idaho and Montana during the summer of 1910. The plot tracks the politics of Teddy Roosevelt, a guy I think I’d enjoy hanging out with. It’s prophetic we encounter a similar disaster in Northern California 100 years later. I’m not particularly interested in disasters or wildfires but the story writing is phenomenal. Turning the pages was like watching a movie.
More writing projects are lining up for 2019. I’ll continue writing for various magazines and have pages of notes from my recent interview with Leigh Anne Jasheway, the latest profile in my humor project. And I’ve been invited by Nancy’s Bookshelf, on North State Public Radio, to read more stories on air.
Now—if you’re really stuck with last minute gift shopping consider my book “Let Me Tell You a Story” which is available at my Etc. Guy store. It’s a collage of short stories that appeared in several publications, a great read for waiting rooms, traffic jams, or while killing time in the bathroom. It’s also printed on two-ply.
Merry Christmas.
P.S. Visit me on Facebook, let’s share a few laughs.
