Over the River and Through the Woods

Christmas is just around the corner. People are smiling and humming Christmas jingles. Me, I am really into the Christmas Spirit. 

This afternoon a wonderful lady opened her home to a big bunch of us that are friends and friends of friends. We all brought potluck in the early afternoon and stayed for a rousing singalong of ALL the old time Christmas Carols. This wonderful family spared no expense. She hired a professional musician to lead the singing, play a wonderful portable electronic piano and provide song lyrics. The fun thing is that not all of us knew everyone else as the afternoon began, but by the time the song were over, we were more than familiar with everyone, we were family. What is better than family at Christmas time? You are right, Nothing!

Another thing significant was that we did not have to shy away from the songs that Celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Who knows what Religion, or non-religion any of us held dear. But, without exception everyone sung with gusto. I am proud to claim Christ as my Savior. My singing loudly the familiar songs did not negatively affect anyone that might not Claim Christ. My delight does not fly in the face, at all, of those that do not share my happiness. 

I sure wish some of the people in charge of schools, public places and courts could understand the difference between State sponsored Religion and freedom of worship. No one could tell me to sing the songs with gusto and make me sing with passion. It effervesces. It is from within. No one can tell me to stop humming songs in my mind. It would probably make the song more durable. 

I just know that we had a wonderful time tonight. We stopped at times to define "lowing". A smart phone to the rescue. We joked about some of the times the author used poetic liberty to make something rhyme instead of make perfect sense. We had a wonderful evening. The very most fun for me was singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas". A different person volunteered to sing each of the twelve verses. I spoke up for "Five Golden Rings". I threw my whole being into the song. 

Merry Christmas everyone,

Kayak Bandit

A Long Silence

I used to write a blog nearly every day. What happened two years ago to let me stop so abruptly? I say, many things. The most likely cause was my OCD tendencies. When I get interested in something, I spend most of my energy working on that. The problem with this is sometimes something else captures my interest. It does not mean, necessarily, that the new interest trumps the old one(s), It just means that by nature of the beast, I start the cycle of spending most of my energy working on the newest one.
About the same time as I stopped blogging, I discover, I also quit Letterboxing. Now, I still like all that drew me into the later hobby. So what is going on here. Maybe it is that while I was running out of topics to write about for my blog, I was also working hard to secure my future retirement. It was quite a rude thing to discover myself fired from a job that I had been employed at for eighteen years. At times I liked the new winter freedom while disliking the lack of certainty for the future.
I suppose there are lots of people wishing they had it as good as I do, but I still think fair play should have dealt me a better hand. I had worked harder than almost anyone else in government. I had only been late to work a few times, and never without calling to say how late I would be. I had tried to enforce the rules and policies. I often ask myself if I am bitter. I always think it should be true that honesty and hard work prevail. So, I would say that I am not bitter, exactly. I would say I am jaded.
I hope this blog gets noticed by those that used to follow it. I also hope that I will again make regular posts. The task of composing my thoughts often help me to understand the subject myself.
I see by the calendar that Christmas is just around the corner. Merry Christmas to everyone. And remember, Jesus Christ is the Reason for the Season!

Winter Break

I dislike using the term "Winter Break" to describe what we have always called "Christmas Break'. To me, if we take a break because we want to drink a cup of coffee we should call that a "coffee break". If we need to go to the bathroom, should'nt we call that a "potty break"?
Okay, then. If we celebrate the birthday of the most influential person to ever live, let's call it Christmas!
I say this to lead into talking about my "winter break". I am layed off from work over the winter. I call this a winter break. I have lots of fun things planned for my winter break. I will celebrate Christmas for an extended time at my family's homes. I may even put up Christmas lights this year.

First Best Friend

There was another dog in my life before Bandit. Bear came to live with us over a period of time. He started showing up one fall. Most days, I would pet him and then send him away, saying "Go home." He would disappear.
When he was not hanging around at our house, you could often see him across the main road at the park. He would gallop over to someone and stand a short distance from them and look at them. I sensed a bit of disappointment in him, when he would get close enough to someone to get a good look, or sniff, as the case may be. It was as though he saw the person from a distance, and so he would run to them to see if they could possibly be his lost master. When he would get up to them, he would get the answer that he dreaded. No it is not my lost master.
Over time, Bear would not leave when I told him to go home. He would get up from where he was and move onto the neighbors driveway and lie down there. He had this way of crossing his front feet and resting his chin on his legs. He was so likable when he was laying there. I could not resist a pat on the head as I walked by.
Sometimes when I was working on a project and needed to think about something. I would go over to Bear and pet him while I thought. It usually had good results. It is amazing how much better a man can think when he is stroking his best friend.
Well, fall turned to winter. Bear still hung around. I don't remember feeding him, but I am not sure. Then it was Christmas Eve. There was a wet snow falling and Bear was laying there watching me as I walked past him. His very black coat was such a contrast with the white snow. I passed him, but could not continue. I turned around and looked closely at him. His face was dusted with the snow and a couple very large flakes were resting on his eye lashes.
I brought him to the back door and set a bowl of food for him and found a rug for him to lie on. I explained that he could stay inside since it was snowing and because it was Christmas.
Bear was very well behaved. When I called the Humane Society after Christmas to report I had a stray dog, the lady on the phone agreed to take down the lost pet information. But, she remarked that it seemed the dog was where he wanted to be, so why would I be calling? It just seemed, to me, that one should try to find an owner if they could.
Bear never lost his habit of running toward people and checking them out. I felt sad that someone possibly dropped him off at the park. It showed me how much loyalty a dog can have for an owner. Truly "Mans Best Friend!"
Kayak Bandit '(*!*)'