Christmas Magic

Maybe Christmas was magic for me as a child because I believed in magic. I believed in Santa Claus, I believed in God (and a nice God at that.... ), I believed that families are forever. I also think that as a child without responsibility that I was also without the awareness that I would grow old, my parents would grow apart, my childhood home would be sold and grandparents would die. But even back in the days of my youth Christmas came with a goodly amount of stress. Would this be the year that I couldn't hold it together long enough to earn my presents? Would Santa's elves catch me misbehaving?
Would I pad out to the living room in my pjs and slippers to find nothing but an empty limp stocking with my name on it? Would I end up in the school presentation of The Nutcracker as a dancing flower with a stupid paper plate flower on my head instead of one of the veil dancers with flowing yards of beautiful silk? Would my bootie of presents look paltry next to the stereos, video games, designer wardrobes, skis and other grand and expensive gifts of my more financially fortunate friends?

Let's just say that this year I will have no Christmas tree, no pile o' presents, no carols, no Santa and above all... no stress. I am looking forward to Christmas. Not for the day or even the memories of Christmas's past. I am looking forward to December 25 for the sheer reason that I will be at home in Tucson with my sweet boy, my sweet sister and my sweet nephew. We will kick back, relax, swim in the pool, lounge in the hot tub, play with the baby, grill some steaks, drink wine, watch movies, laugh, paint, sculpt etc. We will do anything we want to do (without the fear of peeping elves taking notes) and nothing that we don't! And that, is magical!

Miss Hickory

One of my favorite books as a child was Miss Hickory. Miss Hickory was a doll made from an apple tree branch and who had a hickory nut for a head. Miss Hickory accidentally gets left behind when her family goes traveling. She was forced to fend for herself in a bunch of creative little ways. I was entranced by her creating canning jars out of hollow acorn nuts, clothing from birch bark, shoes from lady slipper flowers. She had a magical, although usually solitary, little life and met her fate when a no-good squirrel friend of hers (who hadn't worked to shore up food for winter) eats her head.

I must have read that book a dozen times! It fit right in with my own original fantasies of being very small and living in fabulous bush apartments that I would create with large leaves, empty seed pods, nutshells and flower petals. I think I always used fragrant and velvety soft rose petals as blankets. And it was always a bonus if I could find a milkweed pod, ripe and full of white silky down. I think the world would be a much better place if we were all just 2 inches high. Yep, that is how I would solve all the problems today, shrink everyone down to about 2 inches high.

Just in case...

If I lost my job, had no family or future, I know what I would do. I would live in the back hallways, kitchens and service corriders of a large hotel. Even better would be a mega hotel/casino in Las Vegas. The Riviera is perfect. It is pretty old and has many weird little hallways and rooms and storage areas that are never used. I have even found a hidden little room in the seldom-used mirrored window ballroom overlook. All you would need is a cheap polyester suit, white shirt and a name badge. Everyone would think you were one of the bazillion minions that cook, serve and clean the hotels. You would have access to all the leftover food for the taking.... fresh from the stainless steel Queen Mary carts. And after a party or event there is always a plentitude of wine and spirits left over.... whether it is still pristine from the bottle or pre-tasted and waiting in a goblet rimmed in lipstick.
That is my contingency plan in a nutshell.

I will have my OWN art party!

I felt left out......

PC Ruin "Runs"Rampant

Ok, I am sitting (literally sitting on the floor.... no seats available) in the Phoenix airport waiting for a delayed flight to Dallas (ug!) and I just looked up at the television monitor and saw a visual blurb about a legless football player. Now I believe in following your dreams and all. I also believe in the amazing adaptability of human beings in the face of limiting situations. I also believe that it is an imposition to the rest of the players to allow a legless person to participate in the game of football (I mean ... shouldn't you at least HAVE a foot in order to play FOOTball? Ok, rude, but it had to be said). I feel that in all fairness to the rest of the participants that such an allowance ruins the very nature, spirit and objective of the game. Football is a full-contact sport. How is another player supposed to face this stump of an opponent? Cheer him on as he receives a hand-off and wobbles up the field running an impressive 4:33 40? By the way, that's 4 MINUTES 33 SECONDS! Pick him up and run him into the end-zone and then spike him on the ground? Either way the opposing players and even fellow teammates are prohibited from living up to their true athletic potential as either option leaves them feeling like a pathetic WWJD freak in the former posit or a total dick in the latter case.

By the way.... as an aside to the WWJD..... I hope he would grow the dude a couple of fucking new legs!