Scary Christmas

I found this last January, too. The notes on the YouTube video say this: "Peace on Earth is a one-reel 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon short directed by Hugh Harman, about a post-apocalyptic world populated only by animals." Merry Christmas anyway, right?

Things I have right now because of Christmas

Things I have right now because Christmas was yesterday--things I don't usually--virtually ever--have: 1) ham in the refigerator; 2) turkey; 3) broccoli casserole; 4) apple pie (thanks, Myra!); 5) a new merona wool scarf (thanks, Sarah!).

Observations on a holiday

1) It's always great when Christmas is over (at least for me); 2) The sunshine this holiday was fantastic. Just one more gift; 3) There surely were some odd things about people yesterday; 4) It's always nice to be able to visit with people--family and friends--if even briefly; 5) I have no idea how my daughter knew to come up with the perfect gift for me; 6) The best part of the entire holiday is always--always--the Christmas Eve I get to spend with my daughter. If I can have that, I need no material gift. It's all I want; 7) I always cry at the end of the Christmas Eve church service when, at the end, everyone sings "Silent Night", acapella, each with our own lit candle. It's so beautiful; 8) If the minister knew this year, I think there were plenty in the audience who didn't, how right he was about "people hurting out there." At least he knew.

Silent Night...

God bless us, every one.

The real--and simple--reason why the snow wasn't plowed at Christmas

So I'm at my barber's place today, getting my bi-monthly cut when I see the friend of my barber, in the next chair, just visiting, is a City of Kansas City, Missouri employee. (He had a label on his jacket).

So I asked what department he works for.

He says he works for the "Fleet Department."

He knew I wouldn't know what that meant--he was right--and he said "We're the people who plow the snow in winter."

Ding-ding.

Bells went off for me.

I don't quite remember what he said next but I followed with "Yeah, what was that about at Christmas? How come there was trouble with the streets."

And here it came.

The real reason, so far hidden, as far as I know, as to why the big snow we got over Christmas was such a mess and didn't get plowed well or properly.

You'd have thought it was complicated.

He said it was, as a matter of fact, because a bunch of people were off for Christmas. He said they were still trying to keep it quiet. (So much for that, huh?).

Well, yeah.

Of course.

But maybe that should have been cancelled, once a big snow was forecast to come in???

Sometimes the most obvious answer is also the right and true one.

Message to City Hall: wake up and smell the coffee. Do what we hire y'all to do, especially if it's something important like plowing the streets when it snows.