Here it is Christmas Eve and I'm getting ready to load up and drive to Animas to make a few phone calls and stop at the little store for some last minute groceries for the dinner tomorrow. It's 8:30 here and the sun is just up over the mountains bringing it's warmth and light to another stunning New Mexico day , clear blue sky , temp is about 60 degrees and thankfully no wind .
While browsing the news off the internet and having a cup of hot green tea , I started thinking about some of the holidays from the past , triggered I suppose by some of the craziness I gleaned from the news this morning .I've seen Christmas where things were pretty lean for my family , a long way back I remember getting bundled up with burlap sacks wrapped around my legs and whatever else to insulate from a bitter Ohio cold to crawl onto a spring wagon , pulled by old Buster the steadiest Shetland we had to make a trek across frozen farms to get enough coal from the local tipple to get us through till after the cold snap broke . This was back in the fifties and I guess we looked at things differently then , there were no sand or salt trucks coming out to the country where we were to bail us out . You did what was needed , and carried on with ther rest of your chores too , the animals had to be taken care of , they depended on us to get them feed and water , they provided us with food and the ability to survive and we did the same for them .
I've seen a Christmas when my family was spread across not only the United States but across continents ,[Europe , Southeast Asia , Spain and the U.S. ] it didn't matter when we got together it was still Christmas because we all were safe and together , the date was kind of secondary . I've seen Christmas when I was so dog tired from working 18 hour days prior to Christmas , I stayed in bed and hardly moved through Christmas day , wound up going to a Denny's and grabbing a couple of cheese bugers for supper and back to bed . The following day was right back to the grind and feeding the tourists and locals and another 18 hour day . I've seen Christmas when I was broke , when I had a lot of money , on foreign soil , from the deck of a U.S. Navy ship at sea and some sitting with my family and extended family[ You know who You are!] it was all good to experience .
Today I see people whining about the various carriers of transportation and why can't they do this , why can't they do that , we deserve to be taken care of , help me , help me , help me ! I have news for these folks these different forms of transportation whether it's air , rail or bus , have about as much control over the weather as we do over the thieves and weasles in Washington . Get over it! Be thankful for wht you have make the best of a bad situation , whenever you do get with family and loved ones , MAKE that Christmas , even if it's in another month ! I'll be heading back across the country soon for a Dr. appointment and stopping along the way to visit my extended family and then to Florida . Guess what ? Whenever I get there it will be Christmas and we share the good feeling of being together and being able to sit down to a good meal and just BE.
I could go on remembering and pointing out some of the falsehoods that have been put upon us by the media and retailers and some of the so called true believers but that would just be another form of whining. So to all of my friends and family , I will see you soon and be well and happy .
For all those who read this and worry about being politically correct , MERRY CHRISTMAS
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