Another Christmas classic: a special version of "Silver Bells"

I haven't mentioned this one in a few years, so I feel it's time to point you once again to this classic song.  The intro gives you all the background you need.

In case you're wondering, yes, this one is funny at times and both vile and funny at other times, so don't listen if you're seeking only happy Christmas sentiment.  (Do listen if your sense of humor is like mine and you want to laugh a lot.)



Enjoy.

A glimpse of the PT seasonal celebration crowd

We took this group photo at the party.  It's not everyone who was at the party--participation is entirely voluntary--and not all of our staff was able to make the party.  Each employee may bring one guest to the party, so it does include some guests.

Blow it up and go widescreen to be able to see it well.

If you can find me, you may notice that, with the encouragement of Mary, I am indeed doing the sorority squat.  Yes, I already knew how to do it.

No need to ask why.

Cone Man auditioning

Cone Man wants to star in a nighttime, outdoor, dramatic version of the classic film, Taxi Driver.  Here, he's delivering the classic Travus Bickle line,

You talkin' to me?

Click the image to see a larger version.

If we proceed with the staging--and that is a very big if at this point--I think he gets the part.

It really is getting mighty festive up in here.

Three views of a Christmas tree

This year's tree, debuting in its spot.

Click an image to see a larger version.

Now with lights, courtesy of a hardworking crew.

Despite the help of many, we did not hang all the ornaments, because we have a lot of them, but we did make a good start.

It's definitely getting festive up in here.

Appropriate sadness

Not that long ago, I was at a party, chatting with a group of folks, and the subject of our mothers came up.  I mentioned that mine had died some years back and that periodically I was still sad at the loss.  A therapist in the group offered to prescribe something that would help me stop feeling sad.

I hadn't said I was depressed, much less clinically depressed.  I'd said I was sad.

Since when did being sad become a bad thing?

Some sadness is, to me, entirely appropriate.  Feeling sad at the loss of my mother is, to me, part and parcel of honoring her and her memory.

I don't want to give up my sadness.  I don't want drugs to stop me from experiencing the full range of my feelings.

Please don't take any of this to mean that I'm saying that depression isn't real, or that drugs aren't important aids to many depressed folks.  I'm talking sadness, not depression.

I wandered yesterday across a picture of my mother, sitting in a chair in the living room of the house she and Lloyd shared, her head covered by a stubble of hair growing back after her most recent cycle of chemo.  I felt so much in the instant I saw that photo:  fondness, love, joy at her survival, loss at her death, sadness.

I want all of those feelings.  I want my heart to feel it's going to burst trying to contain all that I'm feeling.  I never want to give them up, even if sometimes some of them hurt me to the core of my soul.

So, I'm going to keep on feeling sad sometimes, and feeling happy, and feeling lost, confused, in love, in fear, all of it.  I want all of it.

So why am I posting a Christmas song?

I do actually like quite a lot of Christmas music, but that's not the reason I'm putting this song here for your enjoyment.

No, I'm doing this because the band singing this version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is Delta Rae, a group I love and that I'm going to see Sunday night in a sold-out acoustic show at the Lincoln.



Enjoy.

In the great ham debate

on which side do you fall:  honey-baked, or country?

Though I see the appeal of both, and though I do from time to time crave a good piece of salty country ham, I am squarely on team honey-baked.  The mixture of the moist meat and the sweetness along the edges makes every bite delicious.

As winter comfort food, a plate of very basic macaroni and cheese and some honey-baked ham is hard to beat.