Day of the Big Bird

Big dinner with great company, so now it's mellow time (including some serious writing on my current work-in-progress — a short story about a haunted vineyard; dark spirits and all that, don't you know). Kimberly's parents were down from Michigan for the holiday, so we all gathered at Mum's in Martinsville for the Thanksgiving Day feast. Each of us contributed some goodies — I made a pretty dang good pumpkin pie — so it was a monster meal, to put it mildly. I even got a bottle of wine from the top shelf, which is really kind of rare. I have a fair bit of hiking and geocaching slated for the next couple of days, but I don't know that I could put in enough to cancel out today's caloric intake.

I am right now mighty thankful to be in reasonably good health; to have the best girlfriend in the world; to have many other special loved ones in my life, especially my Mum and my daughter; to have three beautiful critters; and to have, hopefully for the long haul, a decent job — with an employer of integrity, that generally shows its employees due respect and gives us reasonable time off, particularly at holidays. I know a lot of people who have to work holidays, and I do find it very distressing that more and more employers feel compelled to open on days that have been traditionally reserved for family and loved ones. I absolutely treasure my holidays; at no time in this life will I ever think, "Oh, my Christ, I wish I had put in extra time at the office!" Our rampant consumerism is steadily eroding traditions such as Thanksgiving that once gave the majority of us just a little more sense of shared experience and perhaps even unity. I, for one, have no need to go out to eat, to shop for bargains, to go to movies, to give money to merchants who have no need to be open other than to try to rake in a few more dollars — especially if the better percentage of whatever they make is only going up the chain to those who don't work on the holiday. For an awful long time in this country, the vast majority of companies have done FINE without having to stay open on one of the very few days during the year that many people actually consider rather sacred. Bear in mind, I'm not talking about providers of critical services; whole 'nuther arena, that. I also know full well many folks do welcome the opportunity to work and make some extra money. Sometimes, you just gotta. But I sure wish it for people that this is for you an option and not a mandate. An employer who offers working as a choice I can at least respect. The latter sort, though, far as I'm concerned, is garbage. I do not and will not support them with my business.

And for God's sake — you stupid ass broadcasters playing Christmas music from Halloween on... cut it the fuck out. Start it tomorrow.

And that's my curmudgeonly rant for today. Accept it or don't. It's all fine.