Key West Lou / T’WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS…..HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT

Christmas Eve Day. Santa’s on his way.

Blog short this morning. One of those mornings where everything is going wrong. Nothing serious. A big pain, however.. It is 10:30 as I start the blog. I have been trying since 7.

Observed something yesterday that was scary. Very.

I was in the golf course complex driving to my home. All of a sudden I saw a baby running around crazy. Looked like a little girl. One to one half years old. Clad in only a diaper. Barefoot. Long curly blond hair.

Running around screaming on the road, grass and into and out of the woods.

A man was chasing her slowly. Everytime he got close, she screamed louder and took off in another direction. Obviously not her father. A good samaritan, however.

I stopped. As I did an SUV coming in the opposite stopped and everyone got out. All running towards the child. Obviously the baby’s family.

By this time, I had to move on. I did so with a sense of relief.

What a horrible feeling for the parents. Somehow the child found a way out. She will never be out of their sight for years to come.

I have shared in recent days happy Christmas stories from my past. Today, though funny a not so happy one.

The children were young. We were living in our first home. I had built on a large family room. Forty feet by 20.

It was where the Christmas tree stood.

One thing I disliked was trimming the tree. Refused to do it. I left the headache to my wife and children. They enjoyed it.

It was a saturday morning. I was home alone. Wife and children off somewhere doing something Christmas.

The tree was in one corner of the room. I sat in an easy chair on the other reading the morning paper.

The tree was large width wise. Probably 8 feet height wise. Loaded with bulbs and lights.

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the tree move. It was. Slowly bending getting ready to fall. I leaped for the tree. We met in the center of the room. My right hand successfully grabbed the trunk.

Everything still intact on the tree. For whatever reason, I could not push it back up in place. I needed help. The telephone was 15 feet on the other side of the room. No way could I reach the phone without the tree going down.

There was no way to call anyone for assistance.

I stood there holding the tree with one arm for two hours. First laughing. It was funny. However as time moved on, it became a pain.

Finally after two hours, my wife and children came home. The first thing my wife did was shout at me: “What did you do?” I think that question began the road to my divorcing her 40 years later.

A visit from St. Nicholas. Otherwise known as T’was The Night Before Christmas. I close today’s blog with the last line from the poem: “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.”

Enjoy the day!

 

TO WIN YOU MUST FIRST BE A LOSER

Posted: 23 Dec 2021 07:07 AM PST

Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime.

On this day in 1888, suffering from severe depression, he cut off part of his left ear with a razor. Today, Van Gogh masterpieces sell for record breaking prices.

A quote attributed to Van Gogh’s life: “Success is sometimes the outcome of a whole string of failures.”

Some must wait till after death to be appreciated. Others, during their lifetime.

The overall point being made is that most have to first lose before becoming a winner.

Failures reveal to a person their wrongs so next time they will not be repeated.

I know. I lost my first 13 trials. Learned. Then became a winner on the road to a successful career.

The Vatican has reaffirmed its support of COVID-19 vaccines reiterating Pope Francis’ insistence that getting vaccinated is “an act of love.”

A Citizens’ Voice Comment to the point: “The planet Earth has a holding capacity and so does Key West. Too many people means bad quality of life for all. It’s not whether rich or poor, it is whether they are about our custom and environment.”

The tune…..”The weather outside is frightful.”

There is snow in many parts of the U.S. Never in Key West.

Cold, however. Sixty during the night. When I opened the front door at 8 this morning to see if a package had arrived, I was greeted not with a blast of hot air. Rather a cold one. It was 64 degrees. The high today will only be 70.

The beginning of winter for us southern folks.

Merry Christmas!

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