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The Christmas Meme
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer paper. I resort to bags.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Though I prefer real, I hate dealing with the needles. Susan and I have always had a fake tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? Whenever Susan tells me too! Usually, when she clears a space of toys.
4. When do you take the tree down? ASAP! By the time we get all the kid’s presents home from three different opening locations, we really need the room!
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes! Uncle Ade’s recipe (now duly made by Aunt Ginny) is the real deal. I’ve opined about its loveliness on many occasions. The downside is, his version is so delicious, nothing else comes close. Remotely close. Same city close.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? It’s hard to pick a favorite, but the real memorable ones would be the drum cases I received from my family, the bass drum microphone from Mom and Susan, and the .22 from Father. I still have all of them. The drum cases, especially the snare case, get used frequently. The mic gets used weekly.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Mom.
8. Easiest person to buy for? My boys. (I just get them the cool toys I’d like!)
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I don’t. Susan does.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can’t think of one. I can think of the worst one I’ve ever given, though!
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? “A Christmas Carol.” I like them all, but some versions are better than others. I’m searching for an old B/W version I saw as a child at my grandfather’s house. I haven’t found it yet.
13. When do you start shopping? About Thanksgiving.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes. This year, even!
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peanut butter bon bons. Those ones in the gold wrappers you get at Wal-Mart.
16. Lights on the tree? Yes. I like them multi-colored. I don’t like them to play music.
17. Favorite Christmas song? Nat Cole’s version of “The Christmas Song.” Or maybe “While By My Sheep.” Or maybe “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” It’s hard to choose.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel. I don’t like traveling far, though.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Not only can I name them, I can name them in Latin!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? It doesn’t really matter, but we have a star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve? Christmas? Both!
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The business.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don’t have one.
24.Favorite Ornament on tree? See a post or two below.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Oh, this and that.
26. What was your most memorable magical Christmas memory from your adulthood? Probably the year Julia got the doll that talked, and she just couldn’t take her eyes off it!
27. Have you ever been involved in a Christmas gift prank? I was the butt of a prank once. I learned some important lessons. 1) Don’t expect to get anything at Christmas. The gifts you receive are gifts–they’re not things you deserve. 2) If you don’t get what you want, don’t be disappointed. You could hurt someone’s feelings.
28. Favorite Christmas Cartoon? The Grinch, I guess.
Flair and Facebook
I may not have mentioned it, but I joined Facebook a few weeks ago. I must’ve mentioned it, ’cause I mentioned finding Heather Armstrong. Anyway, on Facebook, you can send people flair. Flair, for those of you not in the know, are the little things that waitstaff wear on their uniforms to make them personal. Well, at least according to Office Space. Anyway, you can send people little pieces of “flair” they can add to their profile. Here’s mine:
One of them I really, really like. Well, Lots of them I really like. But one is particularly “me.” See the one that says “Coffe, p.o., prn”? Anyone have any idea what that means? Leave me a comment with your guesses.
The Christmas Ornament
I mentioned in my Friday Fill-In about my most treasured ornament. This pink ornament came from a set my grandmother has. There is still on her tree two mates that go with this one: a white one with pink writing, and a blue one with white writing. Every year, Ma let me put this one on the tree. Several years ago, she gave it to me. I still put it on the tree every year. To stay safe, it goes near the top.*
*Ma has another very special ornament. I’m not sure about its origins, but it’s an old, clear glass ornament with three (I think) colored stripes on it. I remember that when we kids decorated Ma’s tree, we were never allowed to touch that one. Only a grown-up could put that one on the tree. In my memory, I only remember Dad putting it up, but that may not actually be the case. In any event, my pink ornament follows that same tradition: the kids don’t touch it, and only I am “allowed” to put it on the tree.
Friday Fill In #101
1. Snow is supposed to fall in our area on Sunday.
2. I’m looking forward to spending time on the beach with Susan!
3. Mac OS-X is the best OS ever!
4. One of my favorite old tv shows is Emergency.
5. I’m done with cruising the bars, looking for hot chicks. (I found one, and married her!)
6. The most enjoyable thing around the holidays is the joy of finding the perfect for someone, and watching their expression as the open it.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to playing a gig in Brunswick, tomorrow my plans include playing a gig in the morning and going to a “Walk Through Bethlehem” in Camden, and Sunday, I want to have enough free time to work on my neighbor’s computer!
And then, 20 minutes later…
So I’m on my way out the door. Nat is eating his English muffin, which his brother has conned him into sharing. As I’m about to step out Matthew says “I want to give you a huggey.” Nathaniel says to me “That’s how he says “hug” in French.” And Matthew corrects him: “Brother, we don’t live in French!”
Early Morning TV With Nat
I had a little extra time this morning, so I snapped on the Tivo. There wasn’t much there waiting for me, but there was an episode of Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods. (Or, as my boy’s call it, “The dirty foods guy.”) He was in Turkey, exploring the local culture. There, they participate in oil wrestling. Guys put on tight, water buffalo leather pants. They then cover themselves in olive oil, and wrestle. Now Mr. Zimmern is built like I am. They couldn’t find a pair of pants that fit him. They ended up having to call in guys to help him put his pants on, and they also oiled the inside of the pants. At one point, Nathaniel said “Daddy, we should try that!”
I’m afraid not, Son. I’m afraid not.
Heather Armstrong Has Been Found!
For years, I’ve been trying to find Heather Armstrong. All through middle and high school, we were in home room together. (Her last name starts with A, mine with B. Melissa Baker fell in between us!) On graduation day, Susan, Heather, Chris Clayton, and I drove to Perry’s Nut House and hung out for the day. And then, after graduation, she fell off the face of the earth. No one could find her. When the time came ’round for the 10th class reunion, no one could figure out how to find her. And so, I kept posting about Heather hoping that she would some day find me–since I couldn’t seem to find her.
Fast forward eighteen years. Allison has been trying to get Susan to join Facebook. So Susan joined up. And guess who she found?! Seems Heather DID go to Johnson and Wales, got married, had a few kids (one quite recently), and joined Facebook. So Susan asked to be her “friend” or whatever on Facebook, and they messaged each other like three times yesterday! It was nice to know she’s doing well, and is somewhat close by. Heck, she mentioned the irony of me gigging down in Boston (where Heather lives now) last weekend. She invited me to stop in the next time I play down that way.
She also wanted to know what happened to Scott Ballard. And as I thought about that, I realized “I haven’t heard anything about Scott since graduation!”
Paging Scott Ballard, where are you Scott? 🙂
No Ghostesess!
A couple days ago, Susan was working with the boys on writing their names. She wrote their given names on one side of the paper, then their nicknames (Matt & Nat) on the other side. She then had them practice writing their letters on top of hers. At some point, Matthew decided to make a sign with his paper. He scribbled some stuff on the paper, and Susan asked him what it said. He said “It says ‘No ghostesess allowed in my room!'”
On the Death of Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell was the drummer for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. I first got into “The Experience” when I was in high school. And because I really started playing the drum set in earnest about the same time, he became one of my big influences. Notably, Mitch combined both rock and jazz drum styles into one. He, along with Ginger Baker, really set the benchmarks for drummers in the late ’60s/early ’70s. Keith Moon (The Who) had lots of bombast, but not much finesse. Ringo and Charlie Watts (The Stones) has taste, and the ability to play the “exactly right” part for the song, but weren’t great technicians. Mitch had it all. “The Experience” was a trio. When you play drums in a trio, you have the room to play more without getting in the way. And Mitch could fill up the space, but do so with finesse, taste, chops, and great sounding drums.
Check out the drum solo in this cut, about 3:30 in. Check out that snare roll with the tom accents. Right out of Jazz. Dig the cymbal crashes within the rolls; if you know what Max Roach’s drumming sounds like, and I played just that little bit for you, you couldn’t tell the two players apart. Heck, I even remember where I was when I first heard that solo! I was in the parking lot of Pen Bay Hospital for some reason, listening to the new CD I had just received. To that point, I had never heard any of the live BBC stuff. That solo came on and I was floored! No one, I mean no pop drummer of that day, had ever played a solo like that. At least, none that I had heard. Even today, I haven’t heard many solos from that era that rival it.
Rest in peace, Mitch. Know that your influence still resides in the hearts and hands of drummers all over the world.