here we go again...
Just a few holiday season thoughts.
First, Thanksgiving is behind us. For me, it was a bit rushed, as we had many things to do on that particular day, separated by a considerable amount of driving time. But we got through it all. Most of the family, (actually, this is my in-laws), gathered at the home of my wife's dad, in order to compare notes on how things are going and how the immediate future was shaping up. There was talk of school, pre-school, kindergarten, high school and college, (we have a demographic age gap between the youngest grandchild, aged 16 and the oldest great-grandchild, who is about to turn 6. The oldest grandchild is in a Masters program in ancient languages).
Anyway, we gathered, we cooked, we ate, we watched some basketball and some football, went out to the pasture and shot at some skeet, then gradually parted company until the next reunion, about one month hence...
My family and I made the tweo hour trip home in time for the youngest recluse to go and watch the lighting of a rather large Christmastime display in an upscale shopping district, (a local tradition since the late 1940's...). I was told that some 350,000 pedestrians were in that vicinity for the event. My wife, Mrs Recluse and I spent took in what is hoped will be a Thanksgiving tradition, (that is, hoped for by the business entities behind the idea--not me), a semi-pro football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Bronco's. The Chiefs won, the fans were happy, (owing to the large volume of alchohol in the place, I'm sure---had they lost I am sure that the fans would have been complacent and just as drunk). There was a very abbreviated halftime performance by John Fogerty, who appeared enthusiastic, at least from a distance. Didn't get to hear Proud Mary though.
Today is the traditional opening of the Christmas shopping season, the time of year when merchants of all stripes jack up prices and crank down inventory in order to see the fiscal year end on a positive note. I hate this time of year. Hate it. I am thankful for the Christmas season, and what is quaintly known as the Christmas spirit, but this is a lot like walking a tightrope over the Grand Canyon. In sandals. Carrying a couple of suitcases and a steamer trunk. I will be really happy when this holiday passes.....
On the political front, Nancy Pelosi is, by her actions and inactions, turning her party into the new GOP on Capitol Hill. The impression that she is leaving on me, a nominal supporter of that party, is that we are about to see two more years of the same king (or possibly queen) building, political nest-feathering that made Tom DeLay so popular. She is, by many reports, considering using her prerogative as Speaker to bypass the normal rules of the House to elevate a crony to the chairmanship of an influential committee. It hurts all the more that the leading candidate for that chair is Ms Pelosi's political rival, (just not strident enough to suit the speaker-to-be), and this committee nis more than likely going to be the lynchpin of credibility for both parties in the 2008 election, this is a serious issue. I will hold my judgement until this, (among other things) is resolved, but it is quite possible that Ms Pelosi, (in my own view), will turn out to be Newt Gingrich in drag, an anchor on a progressive agenda, and more of the same old crap that we have become accustomed to...
Stay focused.
First, Thanksgiving is behind us. For me, it was a bit rushed, as we had many things to do on that particular day, separated by a considerable amount of driving time. But we got through it all. Most of the family, (actually, this is my in-laws), gathered at the home of my wife's dad, in order to compare notes on how things are going and how the immediate future was shaping up. There was talk of school, pre-school, kindergarten, high school and college, (we have a demographic age gap between the youngest grandchild, aged 16 and the oldest great-grandchild, who is about to turn 6. The oldest grandchild is in a Masters program in ancient languages).
Anyway, we gathered, we cooked, we ate, we watched some basketball and some football, went out to the pasture and shot at some skeet, then gradually parted company until the next reunion, about one month hence...
My family and I made the tweo hour trip home in time for the youngest recluse to go and watch the lighting of a rather large Christmastime display in an upscale shopping district, (a local tradition since the late 1940's...). I was told that some 350,000 pedestrians were in that vicinity for the event. My wife, Mrs Recluse and I spent took in what is hoped will be a Thanksgiving tradition, (that is, hoped for by the business entities behind the idea--not me), a semi-pro football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Bronco's. The Chiefs won, the fans were happy, (owing to the large volume of alchohol in the place, I'm sure---had they lost I am sure that the fans would have been complacent and just as drunk). There was a very abbreviated halftime performance by John Fogerty, who appeared enthusiastic, at least from a distance. Didn't get to hear Proud Mary though.
Today is the traditional opening of the Christmas shopping season, the time of year when merchants of all stripes jack up prices and crank down inventory in order to see the fiscal year end on a positive note. I hate this time of year. Hate it. I am thankful for the Christmas season, and what is quaintly known as the Christmas spirit, but this is a lot like walking a tightrope over the Grand Canyon. In sandals. Carrying a couple of suitcases and a steamer trunk. I will be really happy when this holiday passes.....
On the political front, Nancy Pelosi is, by her actions and inactions, turning her party into the new GOP on Capitol Hill. The impression that she is leaving on me, a nominal supporter of that party, is that we are about to see two more years of the same king (or possibly queen) building, political nest-feathering that made Tom DeLay so popular. She is, by many reports, considering using her prerogative as Speaker to bypass the normal rules of the House to elevate a crony to the chairmanship of an influential committee. It hurts all the more that the leading candidate for that chair is Ms Pelosi's political rival, (just not strident enough to suit the speaker-to-be), and this committee nis more than likely going to be the lynchpin of credibility for both parties in the 2008 election, this is a serious issue. I will hold my judgement until this, (among other things) is resolved, but it is quite possible that Ms Pelosi, (in my own view), will turn out to be Newt Gingrich in drag, an anchor on a progressive agenda, and more of the same old crap that we have become accustomed to...
Stay focused.
posted by eccentric recluse at 10:13 AM
3 Comments:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Although I agree with Woozie that we shouldn't be feasting the beginning of a genocide, I'm glad your family gathering went well. I hate going into stores during the Christmas season too, it's brutal, but I love driving around looking at lights. Thanks for your kind comments on my blog. You're so nice.
...Newt Gingrich in drag... *shudder*
I don't know if I agree that the plight of the native Americans was a genocide, I see it more as a conflict of cultures with the larger population overrunning the smaller, and the smaller population making no effort to accomodate the larger regime, thus preserving to some extent their own heritage. It does not make it right or fair, but it also does not make it an intentional pogrom of elimination.
Anyway, thanks for coming by today.
I am taking a few deep breaths before wading out into the frenzied crowds of shoppers...
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