Holiday Prep

“Deck the halls…”

It is once again that time of the year.  I am not sure why, but this is the time of year we are supposed to be jolly, put on a happy face, and celebrate.  For 11 months, we work hard for this time of year.  Everyone goes on vacation, runs to various parties and wear those crazy sweaters.  Black Friday, Cyber Monday and other selling catch phrases invented for this time of year have the mothballs dusted off of them and are paraded in front of the masses hungry with excitement for this time of year.

I look at my calendar and my time is pretty full for the rest of this year.  Work still has to be done, the synagogue where I am president still has activities and meetings, food still has to be put on the table…you get the picture.  Believe me, I get the enjoyment of holidays, days off and extra family time – those days are listed on the calendar as well as everything else.  From my point of view, I would rather maintain that happy spirit throughout the year instead of saving for a single month.

“…gonna find out if your naughty or nice…”

Pretend it is January 1^st and the entire year lies before you.  You close your eyes, take a deep breath and let your mind drift off into the year ahead.  The images begin to come to you in a flash – you see the things that you want to accomplish, you have a vague understanding of how you are going to get there, and then you open your eyes.  I am pretty sure that at this point, you know if you will be naughty or nice.  15 or 20 days before a jolly being descends with a bag of gifts, the ledgers of life have already recorded you a naughty or nice quotient for the year.

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…”                                                          

I am 57 and believe it or not, I do not look forward to having inches of snow dumped on me in December or any other time of the month.  Many years ago, we had the fortunate of taking a family trip to Australia.  We landed in Brisbane on Boxer Day – it was 110 degrees, the thought of dressing up in a beard and a heavy red winter outfit was far from the minds where we landed.  The person that wrote the classic song, White Christmas (Irving Berlin), definitely lived in the northern hemisphere.  I realize that the image of Santa Claus as a large, jolly person coming to every house from the North Pole wearing heavy winter red has become global.   While flying over the equator I hope he has a good A/C onboard his sled.

OK, so there are plenty of contradictions when it comes to the Holiday season.  And, yes, it is fun to have various celebrations for various reasons.  Of course, everyone is nice (it would be even better if this was year-round).  I plan to enjoy the holidays as much as the next person.  Be safe, be smart in your decision, remember that the world does not stop at this time of year (as some might think) and enjoy.  “Christmas comes but once a year,” sang the great B.B. King.  As he continues later in the song, “Let the good times roll.”  Enjoy your Holidays, however you celebrate!

Do You Have A Vice For Me?

I like to project a clean cut image.  Don’t we all?  I have worked on myself by cutting my hair, engaging in personal development and taking on some responsibilities where the goals I wish to achieve and projects are plausible.  To use the phrase from the Bing Cosby / Andrew Sisters song, “You have to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch onto the affirmative and don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.”  In other words, play up the positive and play down the negative.  A vice, though not necessarily a bad thing, can have the perception of not being good. And, I am not referring to an addiction.  The difference is that an addiction is all-consuming and has a physical dependency, while a vice, sometimes categorized as immoral (value judgment), is something we can enjoy. 

I like beer.  There, I said it.  I do not mean give me a 12-pack of ice cold Bud and I am tickled pink.  I mean tasting and trying different beers.  About 27 years ago, I was happy with Bud.  Then I changed jobs and was introduced to a beer-tasting club by a guy the club referred to as Ace.  Not the name I called him, but his nickname serves my story and protects the innocent.  We would meet every other month and different distributors would bring in the beers they were handling, discuss the flavors, processes and, yes, sample the beverages.  During this time, I was introduced to Anchor Steam, Corsendonk (one of my all time favorites), Rogue (I won a gift set in a raffle), Thomas Hardy’s Ale (I have an anniversary gift pack) and Samichlaus (brewed once a year and at the time the strongest beer).  I never looked back.  I was into Microbrews before craft beers became the rage.  Moreover, I paid it forward.  I had a beer tasting at my parents house the night before my wedding.  I brought my Dad to a beer-tasting event and my brothers.  I have introduced people to “better” beers, who have in turn introduced others.  Wine tastings were always a thing.  I am happy to see beer finally reaching that status.

“Wayne, why would you share this now?”  This is a fun part of me that I felt like sharing (like everything else in my life), a hobby that I have enjoyed for years.  You do not have to drink beer only to get drunk, my friends.  Like wine, beer can compliment food; lighter beer for seafood, heavier (i.e., stout) for meat.  Some beers taste better where it is closer to the breweries, like Guinness – much tastier in Ireland.  For those of you who now think that I am nuts, next time you go out and are looking for the same old beer, try a beer flight, which is a fancy name for a sampler.  You might find out that there are some tasty beverages out there.

Cheers!

 

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