My Christmas Stocking

I guess I would be regarded as one of the poor souls who is subject to loneliness and depression during Christmas, but this year that characterization does not ring true.
Admittedly, the previous five years have found me in a dark struggle with the negative elements associated with this wonderful commemoration, and it may be I have been blessed as well to come out of each one relatively safe and sound mentally. However, these last few weeks through Advent and particularly the last two days I have been calm and content.
Comfortable might even be the best descriptive.
In the recent past I have joined the churchgoers for services where candles blaze and carols abound, been the token lonely single guy at holiday meals, you know...the one who arrives early and leaves late but always leaves, sat in agonized sadness over what Steve B. calls the 'wounds I have made', been burdened by the state of mankind, been one who lashes out over the mostly self-imposed circumstances that have left me alone in the season of hope, been more and more depressed with each cheery phone call I made or received and every smiling handshake I have shared.
Okay...before we all start to think of hanging ourselves, let me tell you about this Christmas.

I have spent this year in reflection of God. I have followed the Advent calender for the first time ever. With the exception of one Advent service, I have stayed home...not even joining the services of Eve or Morning. I even skipped the Queens message. I gave very few gifts and they were modest to say the least.

Now here's the thing...this whole time I have been showered by intimate love and overwhelming kindness.
These incredible gifts have come from my God and Saviour and one of his creations...a woman. Neither has been here in body yet both have been abundantly here in spirit. Certainly there is a good argument that it is all God's work...including the woman...and of course I would second that proposition. And no doubt it is the Holy Spirit alive in me that is a major contributer to my happiness, making me understand such love so freely given and able to accept it and return it in kind. These two loves, both earthly and divine, have fashioned an island of contentment. An island the three of us share. A place where I want for nothing and the storms of life and thought do not reach me. I feel as swaddled as a new born baby. For days I have not needed to think of this world, only rest in the warmth inside me and the love that keeps it there. It has been days since I ventured out. I have been alone and never alone. Yes, there is good work to do, but for now I am content and happy.
It may be the calm before the storms, but I am surely able to weather them after this wonderful period in my life. I am comfortable being me...right here, right now...in this very moment. Praise God for entering my life. Praise God for bringing Lois into my life. Let's face it...it's all God.

Get thee behind me...(Observations)

Once again maybe it's just me, but...

I would rather have Satan in front of me where I can see what he's up to.

Why would people in glass houses keep stones around?

If you look closely you can clearly see moss on Keith Richards.

Long distance love assures unwanted pregnancy. (New England Journal of Medicine)

A stitch in time won't even stop a cheap watch. You will need at least eight more.

Hearing loss is the greatest single factor in preserving marriages. (NEJOM)

The average 60 yr. old Volvo is in the same shape as the average 30 yr. old Canadian.

Smokers are a dying breed.

Apathetic owls really don't give a hoot.

Living hand to mouth leads to living wrist to mouth which leads to forearm to mouth etc...

Most hamsters are addicted to endorphins.

Dream girls have been proven to be the cheapest dates. (NEJOM)

One Holy Night won't get 'er done.

While the cat's away the mice will play...baseball.

Eating one bad apple can save a whole bunch.

Telling certain South Seas women you can hold your breath for twenty minutes is senseless.

Whale watchers are contributing to their declining birth rate.

A true back seat driver will be pulled over on average...four times a day.

SEX is the best medicine, laughter is great if things don't go well. (NEJOM)

The great white bears migrating south have turned out to be Bi-Polar.

Anyone considering marriage should be committed.

A rose by any other name is still a flower.

'Its bark is worse than its bite' applies to all trees.

Is letting sleeping dogs lie teaching them the wrong thing?

Even nine lives won't help most cats outlive a teenager.

Apologizing beforehand is not considered effective foreplay. (NEJOM)

My average blog takes one pot of coffee.

Is the world spinning or is it just me?

Wal-Mart is open for business 24 hours a day until Christmas. Right here in Dryden! The mind wobbles.
So let's add these up. Tim's, Seven-11, The Husky, and now Wally World are keeping this schedule. It seems insanely 'urban' for this pinprick on the Trans-Canada highway, although I should probably wait for the first armed robbery in the wee small hours of the morning before declaring our dusty little whistlestop yet another in the long line of "Naked Cities with a Million Stories." Come to think of it, I'm not sure we even have a building with over three stories. I am technically allowed to call it a whistlestop because the Christmas...oops Holiday Train does make a stop here once a year and provides we locals with a half hour concert from some up and coming pop rock star. (We got Valdy this year) For practical reasons the concert is kept fairly short as donations to the Food Bank are always encouraged and it only takes so long in our frigid temperatures before the non-perishables become the perished. Apart from this once a year appearance of a human on a train, the railway depot remains vacant and passenger service is now conveniently routed through Sioux Lookout, roughly an hours drive to the North. Freight trains do pass by to the tune of about thirty-five a day. I can attest to this as I lived about fifty yards from the tracks for two and one half years in a shall we say...'experienced' Hotel which shook perilously with each passing and would surely put whitecaps in one's glass of beer.
For those unfamiliar with the layout of Dryden I should point out that the town...oops city (Hee; must be a Fed funding thing) lies hidden away and is accessed at either end by an under or overpass.
There is grave concern over rumours of a by-pass being built and the devastation that would have on the downtown business economy. The downtown businesses are collected in about a one block square area and consist of almost equal numbers of active shops and For Lease signs. In the five years I have lived here I can honestly say I have seen more deer downtown than tourist plates, so I am not sure why all this by-pass fuss. I can see where there might be losses for the retail strip along the Trans-Can, which includes such uniquely Northwestern Ontario businesses as Wal-Mart, The A & W, McDonalds, Tim Hortons, Pizza Hut, Canadian Tire, Robins Donuts, Seven-11 etc...Oh, there are a few car outlets as well and no doubt they are going to miss those Wisconsin people who often stop in on a whim to pick up a new vehicle, munching furiously on donuts, sucking hot coffee and wondering what the hell a litre is. I will say this about the residents however. They have charitable hearts and seem impervious to the cold. And they love fishing.

Back to the spinning world.
I was panhandled the other day and when I asked the person how much they needed, they texted someone for an answer. Is it just me?
I spotted what might be the first 'scraper kid' doing windshields at a stop sign the other day. Brilliant!
I called the local Post Office to enquire about what tapes were allowed on packages and they told me to call some long distance number so quickly that I had to call back three times to get it all jotted down. Speedy service gone wrong.
I tried a new latte at Tims. Ordered the large and it came half full because I didn't want any sugared flavourings or whipped cream or sprinkles. "We have to leave room for those," the weary service representative told me. They are always either trying to kill us or ripping us off, let's face it.
A friend commented that Subway Shops always seem to smell like urine, so she won't eat there. I am now in hot debate myself.
Several people, make that several friends have suggested that I am perhaps a tad cynical.
"Its just because everything is so screwed up!" I retorted, more than a little indignant over the comment. Sheesh!

Is having no Complaints still a Complaint?

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I have no complaints.
Mind you it is very early in the day and something may come up later.
In truth I am often a whiner (that's whiner, not weiner) and will bombard any listeners' ears with a myriad of pitiful problems at a moments' notice.
But this morning, I just don't have anything much to complain about.

I suppose I could complain about my health problems, but they are self-inflicted.
"Don't complain to me when you are a full blown medical mess!"
A loved one used to say this to me with some real fervour, and as it turns out I don't complain to her. Okay, I can't, but that is a long involved story which will have you complaining long before I reach its already predictable end.
I could lock step with the rest of my fellow Canadians and complain about the weather, but it has been wonderfully mild for weeks, and mild in December is certainly a bonus track on the winter weather pathway.
I could complain about my love life but that would not be warranted. I am in love as never before so where's the beef?
I could complain about my beloved bumbling Leafs, but so far they are having their best season in decades.
Let's see now...what else is there?
>Mail delivery is prompt and they even pick up outgoing right in my building.
>I no longer have a vehicle so gas prices don't wear on me.
>My instruments are paid for.
>I just had a visit from my son and some dear friends.
>My moustache is coming in nicely.
>I have new glasses.
>I have a pet companion (new)and as cats go she is a fine one.
>I still have two shirts that fit.
>My God loves me.
Wait a minute!
I think that last one should uninstall my complaint department.
Hmm, maybe I should take on complaints from other people. Naw, I would end up complaining about the way they'll complain about how I handle their complaints and really who needs it?
An elderly fellow in Tims, a man I have never met, made conversation with me by saying he didn't realize 'how fast he was going downhill'.
I said 'enjoy it while you can...it tends to stop all of a sudden.' His wife laughed, which pleased me as she looked like a woman I would like. I wonder if she was pleased I stopped his complaining for a moment, mild and cheery tho it was.
Oh my...look at the time! It's getting away on me. Not that I'm complaining.