A Blog for the People... + one.
They hear a choir sing a song;
the music seem to come from afar...
Hark now hear the angels sing
a king was born today
and Man will live forevermore
because of Christmas day.
~Boney M.*
If it weren't for kids, have you ever thought
there wouldn't be no Santa Claus
or look what the stork just brought,
thank god for kids.
...
Do you ever stop to think, or wonder why
the nearest thing to heaven is a child...
If you haven't heard of Sidney Crosby, don't bother with this one. If you have, check out this headline and have a chuckle:
With Crosby disregard, NHL obviously endorses genital walloping
...
When it comes to analyzing the NHL's system of discipline, it's foolhardy to play the "if Player X had done Action Y, then he would have received Punishment Z" game of hypothetical comparisons.
One, because acts of hockey violence are like snowflakes, in the sense that no two are alike and they quickly melt from memory by the time the next one arrives. But also because it's pointless to pretend that justice is blind to reputation, renown and fundamental political biases.
...
Again, just to reset the scene: The biggest star in the National Hockey League was caught on video going Jack Dempsey on another player's groin ... from behind. I know it's not a fashion magazine intern making a sex joke in the locker room, but doesn't Crosby's behavior affect the image of the game (and that of its poster boy) in some negative way? Even a little bit?
Please don't read this as anti-Crosby. I think this incident is actually the kind of thing that the NHL needs from the kid, who works better as a heel than he does as a hero. (I've made the comparison before, and once more with feeling: Crosby as a fan-favorite is like The Rock when he was Rocky Maivia; Crosby as the whiney, quasi-cheater is like The Rock as The Rock -- immensely more compelling and charismatic. Avery's rant about needing villains? No one works better than Crosby.)
But a punch to store is still a punch to the store. It deserved more than a roughing call. And if Crosby isn't going to get more than that, then the NHL's system of discipline continues to be ... ahem ... "tainted."
If feels so much better when it's been a long week, and -- as John Houseman used to say -- you've earrrrrned it.
It's been cold here -- below zero temps, and when we got up into the teens, you could really feel the warm up. Rice Lake missed out on all the snow that went south of here -- our Madison office has been closed twice now this season, as we follow the school closing calendar. (They're closed; we're closed.)
But with so much work to do on behalf of clients, it's a good thing that snow went south and we're still open.
I have been travelling a bit -- day trips: ie, Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, Barron. And the winter really is a different beast when you're out of the urban area. Better, to me. I like it. More places to truck the snow instead of the piles at the curb, and there's less pollution to blacken it so soon.
In fact, that's the blessing I'm gonna count right now. Clean water, clean air. The cold, I can handle. The stress from so many neighbors and city residents trying to drive and compete in/with the stuff... not so much for me.
I can do the work, that I know. And I can even spartanize my lifestyle, as needed, to get through anything really... It may not be a selling point, but then personally, I'd prefer to do the work and let somebody else worry about the selling, so make of that what you will. Those agents, they earn their pay, right?
Betcha they won't come running through the soybean fields, though, to t.p. his house anymore...
"Cause he was (only) giving what he got..."
*The comments are good at that last one ("how did he get the fox to urinate in the squirt gun??") -- seems more folks support the property owner than the mischevious teens. But for more details, check out this story in the Pioneer Press.
Hell, it's one of those songs you can find whatever you want in there. Why not call it a Christmas song today?Welcome to Mars!
It's open all hours.
Bill's in the back and Fred's on the phone, sayin,
"What are we doing here?"
Oh, he was sayin you are never alone in the Twilight Zone.
What are we doing here?
Waiting. For. Mary.
Waiting. For. Mary.
Waiting. For. Mary.
Oh.
I oughta know but my memory is goin.
As bad as it seems maybe we're dreamin.
Don't mind the stares we've paid for these chairs.
And keep up that smile, it might be awhile.
What are we doing here?
Waiting. For. Mary.
Waiting. For. Mary.
Waiting. For. Mary.
Oh.
Oh, I.
Won. Der. Why.
She. Can't. Be.
On. time. Ever?
What do you know, it had to be snowin!
I'm down on my knees.
I'm beggin you please.
Oh, what do you see?
Why, it had to be me, sayin, What?
What are we doing here?
Now, one at a time or all in a line, say it:
Waiting. For. Mary.
Waiting. For. Mary.
Waiting. For. Mary.
Oh.
En. Joy!
Was your Thanksgiving holiday happy? Did you consume enough spiritually, with family, to hold you over through the dark hours until the solstice? Until it turns from getting darker... to getting brighter? Does fresh fallen snow make you ... sad? (And you're not even out there shoveling the stuff??)
Do you see the lights and the celebrations as symbolic of the gift we'll be given -- if in our hearts we choose to accept it -- this coming Christmas?
In my faith, Advent and the kickoff of a new liturgical calendar began last weekend. Here we go again...
I suspect some people would say they are "bored" by Catholic Mass and teachings. They can't grapple with bigger, brighter ideas -- instead of being creative and really listening, it's like counting angels on the head of a pin. Maybe years ago, you might have included me in that group. I found other things to keep my mind entertained during Church, every (yep, every) Sunday.
But the funny thing is ... as I've "grown up" (and that's not a chronological or physical thing, imo) and gotten to see a bit of the world outside my comfortable circles, I love learning and life, even more so than before. I'm less critical of others because I'm more comfortable with me -- if you don't like today's culture, find what you do like. It's all still out there; nobody is limited by the offerings available to them, nope -- nobody. Find what it is you need, and then go out and get it. It's not a pricetag thing...
People who get morose when the skies darken, who get sad from ... snow, who don't really understand the true gift of what Christians are celebrating ... I feel sad for them. It's like they can bring themselves to the party, but can't give themselves over to it. I'm not surprised that would make you feel more empty than if you hadn't tried to participate at all.
No, this isn't a blog post trying to convert anyone. It's really written to cheer those who are still looking in their lives, still trying to do for others -- to impress, to "one up" -- yet who for all their advanced age and achievements don't understand the bottom line = their purpose for being here today. (I won't link to the particular blog I am thinking of...)
If you're looking and missing, if you're sad and not satisfied, if you've been left and all the birdies have flown the nest, consider God. He believes in you, even if you still don't see the immediate benefit in believing in him.
And if you're a happy atheist or agnostic, nope this one isn't written for you. If you're content with your own life and faith, not for you either. This one... this one is for those I mentioned back at the top: who don't understand that darkness is essential to celebrate light. That snow brings the beauties of spring. That you're never really walking alone ... nope, not even you. If a Christmas tree stand exites your heart, imagine what a taste of good old fashioned spirituality, shared in communion with others -- other living, creative, thinking and surviving people in your very own community -- can do to up your happiness levels, all through the year.
Busy at work; posting will continue to be light, but I do hope, dear readers, that however you're spending your free time, you're happy and doing it for ... you!
"Nothing you can do that can't be done. Nothing you can write that can't be run..."
