HOLIDAY BUNDLE WRAPPED UP TOGETHER

What’s the usual holiday bundle?

Lights, tree, presents.

Add some snow and you’re all done.

But then a day like yesterday adds something extra, something unexpected.

There I was, sitting in a car dealership while my ride was in the garage.

You know the drill?

They say, “It’ll be an hour or two. Will you need a ride, or are you staying.”

I always stay.

This time I took three New Yorker magazines with me to catch up.

My wife got me a subscription since I’m a writer. (Don’t all writers read The New Yorker?)

The magazine comes out weekly with every issue carrying just enough to read for a week.

From multiple book reviews, theater reviews, music reviews, fiction, non-fiction, opinion, and so much tradition, it’s a luxury read.

And cartoons, can’t forget the cartoons.

I was set. But, somehow I didn’t read a thing, didn’t even open one of the three magazines I brought.

 

A Toyota Holiday Bundle

I cruised the waiting room for the right seat and found an empty one across a side table from another customer.

She was a retired nurse.

We spent the next hour and half chatting about family, where we grew up, and where we were going.

It felt like the old days when’d I meet people on the bus, or train, and hit it off until one of us left.

To say it was a comfort zone isn’t enough.

 

Christmas is coming and like every other Christmas I think of my Mom in her young girl days.

I think of her at the same age my kids were when the wife and I made sure things rolled smoothly along.

The last thing I want a part of is a bad Christmas. A ‘No Christmas’ kind of season would bet better than a bad Christmas.

My Mom was the daughter of a single mother in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s after her parents divorced.

Did she have good Christmases? It seems sad.

 

As an adult, before marriage and kids, I had a few non-Christmas years.

How did it feel?

I spent one Christmas on an Army base with the guys who had nowhere else to go.

Some of them decided to ride it out snoozing after they scored codeine cough syrup.

With plenty of free time, they were allowed to stay in bed if they wanted to.

I had two Army buddies, Pak from Korea, and Gedi from Hungary.

They were both black belts in their martial art, which you don’t get from laying in bed.

The same motivation that drove them in training overlapped with life.

They were excited about seeing what there was to see in San Antonio besides Fort Sam Houston.

 

Sitting in the Beaverton Toyota dealership talking with a retired nurse from Chicago who spent time in the Michigan woods felt like an early Oregon Christmas.

Hey, Olivia. Spending time with you was better than any New Yorker magazine.

We were part of the holiday bundle on boomerpdx.

 

Home For The Holidays In Tigard

Wife and I saw a play later in the day.

 

Passengers bussing home to Chicago for the holidays find themselves stuck in Iowa when a blizzard shuts down the highway. Forced to spend Christmas Eve at a deserted bus depot, they make the best of a bleak situation and get into the Yuletide spirit.

This lighthearted revue is a festive pick-me-up for anyone seeking holiday cheer!

 

The Broadway Rose production was as tenderhearted as anything I’ve seen.

It had echoes of my non-Christmas times.

Luckily my wife had a tissue.

It felt odd to sniffle along in the dark until I looked around.

Mine wasn’t the only Kleenex out of the box.

 

The thing that gets me in the Holiday Bundle is how vulnerable we are.

We’re happy for others, but sad not everyone can share the happiness.

“I’m happy to have a Christmas-time birthday,” said no one ever.

I used to say it about my Christmas-time birthday. Not anymore.

Why? Because I have company.

My son was born in November, so was his daughter.

My other son and daughter in-law have a December baby.

Granddad won’t be the whiner in this group.

And my wife is convinced our dog is a December dog.

It all adds up to being the best Christmas ever, if my math is correct.

 

The Finishing Touch On The Holiday Bundle

Took my dog out for last call when I got home from Broadway Rose and saw this.

Okay, not exactly an outhouse with Christmas lights.

I didn’t have my phone on me when I went out, so this pic is from a search, but it’s close.

My neighbor is getting house work done and the Sani-can the crew brought with them had lights.

What else brings the Christmas Spirit to greater heights?

I’ve got a feeling this might be the best Christmas ever.

We’re off to a great start with my kids’ favorite Christmas movie.

I’m counting on you to do your part for your loved ones.

And if you’re going through a non-Christmas?

Take it easy on yourself.

Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.

Lighten up while you still can.

This is the self-help song that ties the Holiday Bundle bow.

And a one, and a two.