MERRY FREAKIN' CHRISTMAS

It's already here. The holiday season has run up to meet us and it's lugging all of its normal baggage. It seems like as a child I was eagerly anticipating Christmas from the very moment that I began washing the Halloween makeup off of my face. Now I dread it. It's not the day that I hate but the days around it. All of the stress wrapped up in colorful boxes and strapped in by bright ribbons topped off with fluffy little bows. The immense weight of these neatly packed presents finds no relief until December twenty fifth as the paper is shredded off and the recipients proudly display the pleasure that you have brought them.

Of coarse there are other sources of holiday stress as well. The planning, the decorating, the planning, the cleaning and, oh yeah, the planning. It has become tradition for everyone to argue over which house to go to and what time to be there. I have a large family that I am very close to and my wife has the same. We're talking about far too many people to have in one place. So we have to go to both places and both groups want to have dinner at the same time. you can see where the stress comes in. Every year we become the Hatfields and McCoys and it takes months to recover.

While I'm on the subject of politics, I mean Christmas, I need to get something off of my chest. " Happy Holidays" is not a bad thing to say. I'm not suggesting we replace "merry Christmas" with it, but lets not throw it out completely. It feels like the battle between Darwinism and theology ( which I also believe coincide, but that's another entry). I think that it's perfectly fine to say happy holidays throughout the holiday season as long as you aren't saying it to be politically correct. In other words, if I run into you on Christmas day and you say anything other than "merry Christmas" then I'm probably going to lose some respect for you But then I'll return a loud and thunderous "MERRY CHRISTMAS" !