I know, kind of crass for this time of year. There's an explanation i wrote years ago on the Suncitiestoday blog and i thought i would share it with you here: The Most Wonderful Time of The Year…Bah Humbug! I can’t help myself, i hate the holidays. Seriously, i just want them over. Hardly the way to start out a post where the backdrop is a 50-year-old Christmas tree, but stay with me and hopefully you will begin to see why and where i am going with this. Pictured is the old aluminum Christmas tree we put up and decorate every year at the Del Webb Sun Cities Museum (sorry, but the tree wouldn't post). It is a timeless classic. It is pathetically simple and remarkably sturdy. Some would say it is woeful, while i would argue it is exactly perfect. It represents most everything that was right with the country years back and accentuates just how far we have gone awry in the past 50 years. When Sun City first opened, it was a study in simplicity. Life didn’t need to be complicated, it wasn’t about excess, it was about finding a place where we could be happy, contented. Even as time marched on, life inside the walls stayed lost in the dimension of a timeless pace where we grew older less quickly and could savor each day with as little or as much as we needed to do to feel fulfilled. More often, less was more. Then a funny thing happened outside the walls; life started moving more quickly. Having more became the symbol of American happiness. Enough was never enough and that breakneck pace began to creep into Sun City and change how we lived, what we wanted. Success was defined more by what we had accumulated than by how we felt about ourselves or how much we loved or cared about those around us. Sad in my opinion. My apologies to all you who love the holidays. By no means do i want this post to be a downer. I just think we have lost sight of what Christmas was intended to be. For some it’s a holy day, for other’s it’s a holiday, and for still others it’s a day to get and give gifts; to gather and over-indulge. None of those things are necessarily bad, for me it’s a time of memories that are laced with ugly behavior and actions i would just as soon forget. I imagine by now you get the picture, i’m not perfect; i was a drunk and the holidays were filled with behavior i would sooner forget than remember. While that was years ago, the memories have spoiled any sense of good times and celebration. I tend to eat too much, withdraw within myself and just long for the new year to begin. I love the idea of starting anew each year with new goals, inspired attitudes and looking forward to having a better year. The hardest thing is defining the word “better.” Funny because those six single letters create an entire kaleidoscope of ever-changing wants and needs. It’s the old proverbial moving target and hitting it becomes an exciting prospect as i grown in both age and hopefully wisdom. Sorry to get so esoteric when most of you are rushing about getting ready for that “most wonderful time of the year.” For me, i’m just counting the days till they are over and i get to burst forth with unlimited opportunities to do better and be better. Let me just conclude with my wishes for each and every one of you to have a great holiday season, a merry Christmas and a safe new year. And like that wonderful old Christmas tree adorning the page above…keep it simple (stupid…that one’s for me; something i always need remind myself).
In spite of the constant barrage of crap on this site from "whomever," happy holidays and Merry Christmas to all of you out there reading this.
"Better...those six single letters create an entire kaleidoscope of ever-changing wants and needs."...Truly inspiring words. We bought a kaleidoscope in Jerome last year. I am going to look through it when I ponder on how I should live my life in 2024. I agree that it is exciting to start a year anew. As an educator, I realized I had three "new starts" each year. January 1, the end of the school year and the beginning of the next. That suited me just fine!
La, la, la, la, la! Nobody wants to hear it? Can't you understand that?? Don't need to know your personal problems. How about riding that porclian-bus to some other blog site where you might actually find somebody who gives a shit?
Bill and Janet, I’m ready to start anew in 2024, too. Rod Stewart - Auld Lang Syne (Live at Stirling Castle)
“We’ll take a cup o’ Kindness yet” Yes, Bill, all who choose to join this tradition of raising a glass, or a cup o’ kindness, with “good will, friendship and kind regard” and in remembrance of “noble deeds,” are welcome to bend an elbow to even “better” in 2024!
While the spammer, hacker or troll playing the games on this site is not invited to the party...i will be praying for your much needed recovery.
