What Would Jimmy Do?

Well here it is 2017 — a fresh start. Hope things are going good for everyone…

The next couple of weeks may well be the calm before the storm…on the morning of January 20, the President-elect, Donald Trump will visit Barack Obama at the White House for coffee, before they share a limousine (Obama will be seated on the right, Trump on the left) for the ride to the Capitol, where the Inauguration will take place — on the west front terrace, at noon.

Trump will be the oldest first-term President in our nation’s history. Trump being Trump, nobody knows what his first actions will be, but I’d guess one of the first things he’ll do is sign a number of executive orders — many of which, will undo some signed by Obama. That’s a fairly easy thing to do to send the message of keeping his campaign promise of things changing on day one. Of course, one promise he made, the promise of radical changes to American immigration in “my first hour in office,” may be a little harder to achieve. Many of Trump’s policy positions are fluid — he has adopted and abandoned, and often adopted again his position on just about everything. One thing is certain — the 115th Congress convenes today… Republicans have control of both chambers, so we’ll see what conservative policies will be at the top of their list. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see… I think Yogi Berra once said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”
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Well, 2016 is coming to a close — about this time every year, I ramble on about the year ending and the year about to begin. 2016 was a really good year for me and I think for our families… like every year, there were ups and downs but a lot more ups than downs and in reality, the downs weren’t really downs, they were just not as up as ups. As always, lots and lots and lots to be thankful for.

So here it is time for a new year to roll in and we all probably have a mental list of things we want to achieve and/or change. There’s no better time than the beginning of a year to start fresh and focus on achieving these goals. As I keep mentioning, and everyone knows, a very low percentage of people that make resolutions really commit to them. So why bother? Other than it’s just one of the things to do on New Years, it gives you a chance to think about areas in your life that you’d like to improve and you can take a few minutes to reflect on your past, present and future. If this reflection reveals areas that you’d like to change, now’s a good time to start. And, who knows, if you make a resolution that really motivates you enough to truly change, some real good can come from this annual tradition.
So what do I resolve to do in 2017?
• I resolve to not send a text to someone sitting in the same room… or even in the same house. I have to admit that I’ve actually done that — I realize its harder and harder to communicate with people these days, but no more texting for me if they’re within a quarter of a mile
• I will take a selfie this year. I may be the only person younger than 95 that has never taken a selfie. I didn’t know how until recently when I found out that my phone had a camera in the front so I didn’t have to bend my neck around to the back… so stand by — I might include the results in the blog.
• I will not save my fortune cookie message in my wallet. I’m not sure why I’ve done this in the past, but I usually find them months later… maybe I think the message is so meaningful that its going to guide me through some troubling time or something…but no more — if I think it’s that important, I’ll take a picture of it on my phone.
• I will not come up with any new cool social media acronyms. First of all, I don’t like social medial acronyms like lol or omg or….whatever — no abbreviations for me — I know how to spell (with the help of spell checkers.)
• I resolve to be accepting. Things are changing… marijuana is becoming legal, gay marriage is legal — people are gay, people smoke pot…I’m not and I don’t but I won’t get in the way of anyone’s lifestyle and I won’t judge. I will accept people, and things, for what they are — guess what, I can’t change them anyway.
• I will not buy bright colored sneakers or tennis shoes or golf shoes — or those with some psychedelic pattern. Sneakers should be white, or black, or maybe gray….
• I resolve, every day, to (try) be better than I was yesterday….  and today.

In many ways, this year has been tough… a brutal presidential election, lots of natural (and man-made) disasters and tragedies here in the US and abroad. So as the New Year approaches, let’s hope for a wonderful year. And don’t forget, to some extent, what the New Year brings to you will depend a lot on what you bring to the New Year.
Happy 2017 to all.
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If you check the entries on this blog about this time last year, you’ll find my annual post about New Years’s Resolutions. I always, or at least usually, make resolutions because that’s the thing to do. I probably will again this year, but before I do, it’s only fair to look back on last year’s and see how I did.
By now, you’ve probably scrolled back a year to check out my last year’s resolutions, so here’s the results…
• I will learn to recite the alphabet backwards in less than 10 seconds. — Fail. Turns out that Emily can do it, and can even sing the Alphabet Song backwards… actually, I can do it, I just don’t get all the letters in the right places.
• I will break a record (not sure which one yet,, it may be a personal record or maybe eve a world record of some sort) — Done!
• I will make a new friend every month — success (even though some of my new friends had to be imaginary…
• I will do something that I normally do, differently at least once a week — Pretty close… I even ventured out to try different flavored Blizzards at the Dairy Queen a few times
• I will not singlehandedly cause global warming — not sure, but think I may have succeeded on this one too
• I will try to do something nice for someone every week — I really did try….
• I also resolve to be less than perfect — this one was really hard, but I mostly succeeded.

So overall, I think I did better on my resolutions for 2016 than I usually do. Of course, as I eventually get around to admitting in this forum, resolutions mostly just don’t work. One reason is that if you make a resolution, that implies that you’re not already trying to accomplish what you’ve just resolved to do (or not do.) Even though it’s fun to make resolutions, they actually are only goals. We’d all be much better off if on January 1 of every year, we focused on our values, not goals. If we list our values and stick to them, goals will take care of themselves. Of course I’ll continue to come up with some resolutions or a wish list like I always have — so check back in a few days for my 2017 version…
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We attended the “Winter” Sing at Emily’s school this week. Despite the title, it was Christmas songs. I suppose they would have shut the school down if they had advertised it as a Christmas Sing.  Anyhow, we had a great time and it seems like Emily knew every word to every song.
One song they didn’t sing was “The 12 Days of Christmas.” I’ve always been curious about that song… it appears to be a song about someone that gets lots of presents from their ‘true love.’ I have to admit that there’s lots of songs that don’t make a lot of sense to me, but I decided to do some extensive research on this one, seeing how it’s Christmas time and all that.

In the real world Christmas Day, December 25th, ushers in 12 days of celebration, ending on January 6 with he feast of the Epiphany. The 12 Days have been celebrated in Europe since before the middle ages and many sources that I checked indicated that each day of the 12 Days celebrate a feast day for a saint and/or have different celebrations. Some of these I’m aware of, or have at least heard of, such as Day 2 (26 December) known as Boxing Day and also St. Stephen’s Day… Day 4 (28 December) is the Feast of the Holy Innocents… and Day 12 (5 January) known as Epiphany Eve. It’s interesting that Day 11 (4 January) celebrates St. Elizabeth Ann Seton — her shrine is just a few miles from our house.

Anyhow, the point is, I guess, that The 12 Days of Christmas is more than just a song. But — the song itself has lots of legends and stories attached to it…. “The 12 Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol. It turns out that from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. One story has it that during that era someone wrote this song that has two levels of meanings. The obvious words of course, but those words supposedly have a hidden meaning known only to members of the Church. Apparently, each verse of the carol had a code word with a religious meaning… for instance, the “True Love” in the song is not a boyfriend or girlfriend, but Jesus Christ, because “true” Love was born on Christmas Day. The partridge in the pear tree also represents Jesus because that bird is willing to sacrifice its life if necessary to protect its young.
According to the story, the symbols mean:
– The two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments
– The three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.
– The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
– The five golden rings represented the first five books of the Old Testament, which describe man’s fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior
– The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation
– Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit — Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy
– The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes
– Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit — Charity, Joy, Peach, Patience, Goodness, Mildness, Fidelity, Modesty, Chastity
– The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments
– The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Apostles
– The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in The Apostles’ Creed
So if there is really a hidden meaning to the song, I suppose it becomes religious… maybe that’s why it wasn’t on the list at Emily’s school. The fact is that this hidden meaning story probably isn’t true, but even if it’s not, it makes for an interesting interpretation and something to think about.

Calvin Coolidge once said, “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.”
For Christmas, I hope our home and yours, is filled with laughter, our lives filled with love and our hearts are full of hope….
Merry Christmas!
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Well, here it is less than a week until Santa arrives… I usually don’t do these things, but I think it’s my duty to alert any of you faithful believers that today’s blog may contain information that Santa Clause may not be real.

I read an article a few days ago about a study that concluded that children stop believing in Santa Claus by about the age of six, but play along to keep their parents happy. Many of the kids in the study said they found out that Santa wasn’t real from older siblings and friends, which has always been the case, but recently a lot found out on social media. One of the conclusions of the study was that the Internet and technology available to children contributed to the early dis-belief and that the information was exposed to the youngsters “too young, too soon.”

Well, of course this study got me to thinking…. Generally, lying to kids is a bad thing. But then, there’s this Santa Clause thing. I think most people, especially parents, think believing in Santa is a normal, and healthy, part of a child’s development. Now let’s be honest, the idea of a man who flies around the world in a sleigh, drawn by reindeers and goes into people’s homes through their chimneys and delivers presents — all in one night is… highly improbable. But if you’re 3, 4, 5 or 6 years old, it seems perfectly logical.

Kids believe, and that’s what’s so great about kids, they believe — in not only Santa, but the Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, imaginary friends and all sorts of fairy-tale creatures. Kids use their imagination all the time, even if they know some of the things they create are fiction. When Emily was little (maybe two or three) she said she was going to have a picnic with her imaginary parents. I asked if her imaginary parents were nicer than her real parents… her response (after looking at me like I was stupid) was, they’re imaginary! So obviously little ones are perfectly capable of keeping real and imaginary separated.

But as kids get older, the Santa story, like a lot of good things, eventually comes to an end. Kids stop believing in Santa at different ages. As the study pointed out, often their friends break the news or they discover it on social media. But kids also figure it out for themselves — when they notice that the story doesn’t quite add up. Questioning what’s real and what’s not is normal. Most parents have a good sense of when their children are ready to accept the truth. I remember that being harder for me than it was for our kids when the Santa story ended in our house. St. Nicholas was a real person and he became famous for giving gifts and money to the poor — it’s those values that’s important anyway. So when the little ones stop believing, parents can (and probably should) tell them about the real St. Nicholas and impress upon them that the spirit of Christmas is real….

For most of us, especially parents, a lot of Christmas is about children, magic and imagination. And when you’re young, lots of that revolves around a fat guy in a red suit. When we have kids, we should hang on to that chubby guy for as long as we can, because when he’s gone, so is some of the imagination and magic.
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Anyone that periodically checks this blog knows that its been a while since it was updated — around Thanksgiving, I think. Lot of reasons, none of which are especially exciting… just haven’t had the few minutes it takes to write anything.

Anyhow, we’re rapidly approaching Christmas and I noticed that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was on TV a couple of nights ago. I didn’t watch it (I have seen it a few times over the years) but it got me to thinking about reindeer. A few years ago we took a family trip to Alaska. And while it was great entertainment, it turned out that it was also very educational. We were fortunate to see a lot of reindeer in Alaska and were able to get up close and personal in some of the “camps” we visited. Something that I learned that I probably should have known is that reindeer and caribou are different names for the same species. Reindeer usually refers to the domesticated variety of the species that are herded by humans and do things like pull sleds. These animals are typically smaller and have shorter legs than the “wild” version of the species. In fact, in Siberia, caribou are referred to as “wild” reindeer.

Even though Rudolph and Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen and that crew are apparently able to fly, we didn’t notice any flying in Alaska, but we did learn that they can run as fas as 48 miles an hour…
Is that fast enough to get Santa around the world on Christmas Eve? I’m not one to judge, I just believe….

Everyone knows that Santa’s reindeers live at the North Pole… and their relatives reside in the cold of Alaska, Canada, Russia, etc. — where they graze on tundra plants. Of course those lucky enough to be chosen by Santa get to share in the cookies and milk around Christmas time. Reindeers are covered with hollow hairs that trap in air and keep them well-insulated from the cold. Plus, their circulatory systems keep the cooler blood in the reindeers legs from drawing heat from the warm blood in their core body.

The only time anyone has heard or been awakened by Santa’s reindeer on Christmas Eve is when they’ve heard their hoofs on the roof. That’s because reindeer are very quite — especially around Christmas time. Female reindeer tend to communicate mainly in the first months after the birth of their offspring in the summer and males vocalize exclusively during the autumn mating season.

Now here’s something that I didn’t know, or never even thought about before our Alaska trip. Ready for this? All the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are girls. How do I know? One of the things we learned in Alaska is that male reindeer shed their antlers at the end of the mating season in early December. But females keep their (thinner) antlers throughout the winter. So if all the pictures I’ve seen are to be believed, it’s an all girl team pulling Santa and his sleigh full of toys through the sky on Christmas Eve.

As usual, there’s really no point to this — if it bothers anyone that a girl reindeer is named Rudolph, just think about it… If Johnny Cash can have a boy named Sue, why can’t Santa have a girl reindeer named Rudolph?
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Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving — we did. All our kids and grandkids were here and there were no meltdowns and everyone seemed to have a good time.

So today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known a Black Friday. I’m not sure if it’s still true, but until very recently Black Friday was the biggest shopping day of the year and generally considered the official start of the holiday buying season. I said until recently… lately I’ve been hearing about “Black Friday” sales since about mid September. The stores used to open on Friday morning, but retailers pushed their opening times into Thanksgiving night and even earlier.

I saw on TV this morning that there have already been a couple of deaths and lots of injuries from people arguing over Black Friday “deals” and being crushed by crowds of shoppers. I have to wonder if we (obviously I’m talking about “other” people here) have become so greedy and uncaring that we just step over the bodies of dead or injured people as we rush to get the cheap xbox, computer, TV, or whatever. How pathetic is that?

I have never gone shopping on Black Friday — I like a good bargain as well as anyone, but to be honest I hate the crowds of people. The last thing I want is to be stuck in a mob of people fighting over trinkets. And  besides that, I’ve noticed that liquor stores never seem to have Black Friday sales. Only in America do people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have….
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Well, here it is time for my almost, sometimes annual Thanksgiving Day blog. Our house is usually unpredictable around the holidays — you never know who, or how many, may be here. Over the years, we’ve had friends from various places around the world as well as local friends and, of course, relatives. This year seems to be the relative year. We’re fortunate enough to have all our kids, grandkids and Chassie’s mom, Roberta. Couldn’t ask for a better group.

I’ve had Thanksgiving in a lot of places, under a lot of trying circumstances and even since being married, Thanksgiving has often been a challenge. I think myself and Claire have only been apart on one Thanksgiving… I remember not having turkey that day but Claire did manage to have a turkey even though there was no power because of a typhoon. (That whole episode is maybe a subject for another blog.)

We always have turkey at Thanksgiving — we have other things, but I don’t ever remember having Thanksgiving at our house without turkey. It seems that turkey has become almost synonymous with Thanksgiving, but after doing my usual extensive research on the subject, it appears that turkey probably wasn’t on the menu for the three-day feast between the pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe, that is generally considered to be the first Thanksgiving…. the meats mentioned were duck, venison and seafood — no turkey. However, in the Thanksgivings that followed, turkeys became popular because it was a readily available meal that could feed a large group of people. Turkeys were also more expendable than other choices — cows and hens were too useful to be eaten because they provided milk and eggs. Turkeys, on the other hand, were usually kept around farms to eat bugs and worms and plumped up enough by harvest time to make a good choice for a feast.

So we should all be thankful all the time, but today is a good day to reflect on things that we should be especially thankful for — my list, in no particular order and far, far from complete….
Our children — and grandchildren
Family and friends
Health
Wine
Cheese
Freedom — despite politics and the entire election process we’ve just gone through, I’m thankful to be an American and living in the U.S.
Today — because it’s another opportunity to do better and another chance to see what a great experience life really is….
So Happy Thanksgiving to everyone — don’t blink because it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas….
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We had a “mini” celebration for Locke’s birthday this weekend. Dave and Chassie decided against a big party this year, and we missed seeing him on his real birthday, because Claire had a cold. So — we when out for lunch/brunch to celebrate a little late.

Locke seemed to be in a really good mood and exercised favorite word (“no”) quite a bit — but it was always “no” with a big smile.

So congratulations Locke — you’ve successfully harassed your parents for another year. They’re probably thinking here come the “terrible twos” but I have a feeling it’s going to be the “terrific twos!”
In the last year since your first birthday, your age and experience has doubled — and so has your cuteness. Happy 2nd birthday, Locke!!!
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Well, it’s over. No matter how you voted, WE have a new President-elect.
I agree with one of the campaign slogans, “stronger together.” Our challenge (every one of us) is to get together. We need to address the issues, not as Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, conservatives, liberals, blacks, whites, or any other color, but as AMERICANS.
Every four years we get a chance for a new start — another chance to “get it right.”
So come January, we look forward to that new beginning — but it is not enough to begin well; we must also end well.
God Bless America…
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