morning

I'm not quite sure what happened during the twenty minutes while I slept, but I completely missed all of the "wide-eyed wonder". Slipping through the shredded packaging and spent cap gun shells on my path to the coffee maker, I thought I heard someone shout out "Wow! Thanks!" but I can't be sure. By the time I settled in front of our pink tree [to luxuriate in that new 'permanent tree' smell] plans were already being made to have this returned, that repaired, and the other phone call placed for tech support. Santa brought my two children the Rolls Royce of 'Dust Buster's which is [in real time] being used to clean up a broken mirror. I can't decide if this means Huckabee will be assassinated well into his second term or I'll be graduating from night school with a Masters degree in something useful. Michael is modeling his new underwear for me. As always, underwear models loom prominently in my 'happy place'. With earbuds plugged into his new 'nano', A. (again in real time) is rapping a [somewhat breezy] proof-reading over my shoulder. (The dog is napping- tuckered out from her new chew toy, or her face would be in mine as well). You might never have known my power of concentration would be so tested but, rest assured, this is generally how I 'compose'. As Michael and I both observed last night, the "....happiest time of the year" is- Spring!; the heater gets turned off, the mailman changes into shorts, what bulbs those damned squirrels haven't eaten offer their display, crafty 'black ice' is replaced by honest mud, and at the earliest possible date, we all head off for the beach. It's also the time when most of the things now littering our floor will be knee-deep somewhere in a landfill. I kinda feel bad about that- but can you put a price tag on five animals in one house being happy all at the same time? ( "Just dig them deeper!"). I offer these condolences; elephants de-forest at a higher rate per capita than human beings; despite winning a Nobel Prize, an Oscar, and the popular vote, Al Gore is still irrelevant; and this year at least, I have not [knowingly] killed or financed the killing of a tree. (My last word on that topic, I promise). My greatest hope is that this society will boil down to some delicious mix of asphalt, Kentucky Fried carcasses and pooped-in plastic diapers. Perhaps future societies paying $100. a gallon for this melange will wish we cared less..., who knows. If I still had a tail it would be wagging quicky between my legs like I just found duck innards in my kibble-(real time again) Mom-Mom gave me... what?!, a 'nano' of my very own! I don't know what color to turn! For me, it's a gigantic push in the direction of... well, piracy. I admit while that holds a great allure, I will download with only a clear conscience- songs I've already paid for on vinyl or [that shiny stuff] (I'm one of the last still out there 'browsing' through the bins). I could go off on how "The Man Who Fell To Earth" this device looks, who could resist wanting one no matter what it does. The bad news is that between everyone in the house downloading from i tunes, visiting game cheats, and managing the busy lives of five webkins, I have to fight for my time in this chair. So quickly, my Christmas message is this; You want to be socially conscious, to hope that swapping out light bulbs will make a difference, to hope that we are not all ultimately defined by how much trash we generate. But it all kind of goes out the window this time of year. Consumption becomes more conspicuous, and let no deadly sin go unrealized. To care too much about the shallowness of our desires would bring us all down. I accept my shallowness and I accept it in others. There are too many more days in the year to be harsh in our judgements. There is only one way (that I know of) to attone for our selfishness. That is to earnestly pray for the health and happiness of everyone everywhere. No bequeath, no hour of service, no amount of self-deprivation can accomplish more. Peace.