“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert.” –J. Robert Oppenheimer
Welcome to the Open Thread! Wow, December is almost gone. We’ve decorated our homes, wrapped gifts for friends and family, partied with our buddies, and lent our hand to charitable efforts. We spent Christmas with loved ones and now, we’re headed for the “down week”, the week where nothing gets done. It’s a great time to make phone calls to those who were important to you in the past year, clean out a closet, plan a garden for spring, or get a headstart on taxes…. but it’s still too early to take down the tree.
Get the menial chores out of the way and clear the deck for 2020, because we will be busy in an ELECTION YEAR!
Don’t you wish the election was tomorrow? We know we’re voting for President Trump. We could save the USA economy BILLIONS! Just schedule the election, RIGHT NOW!
Please feel free to comment. We have a new policy, starting 20191110. Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.
Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven. We have a new board – actually a new SITE – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation. NOT HERE. This board will remain a REFUGE for those who need civility, either some or all of the time.
Also remember Wheatie’s Rules:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Don’t forget, it’s our job to DRAIN THE SWAMP, and that means LOCALLY, too. Make a commitment THIS YEAR to attend a local council or school board meeting. At least let them know we are watching!
Our movement is about replacing a failed and CORRUPT political establishment with a new government controlled by you, the American People. Candidate Donald J. Trump
Time to shop for the Baked Ham and Black-Eyed Peas for New Year’s, it’s supposed to be good luck for the new year.
If you live in a red state, we’re all headed to the Fireworks store this week.
Cuz, ya’ can’t do New Year’s without a few fireworks, right? And we have so much to celebrate this year. Might have to buy a few extra…..
For those of you dealing with snow and miserable weather, we empathize. Take a look at the snowstorms which hit Iceland recently, and dumped 30 FEET of snow.
But that’s okay, hang on, because SPRING isaround the corner!
Our daffodils have already broken ground.
Let’s not forget to be thankful for an incredible 2019. The USA is doing well.
Along with the preparation of Thanksgiving nibbles, last minute business, unexpected visitors, I read today where Dep had major power outage. In the background, we see “bomb cyclones”, two of them, working their way across the states. Hope you guys are okay, safe and sound, with family.
But it reminded me of all the travel escapades around the holidays. Years later, we look back and laugh, although at the time, we were in what seemed like dire circumstances. Eventually, we muddled through, and arrived at our destinations…. with a great story to share.
The very first travel nightmare I recall was picking up Dad at O’Hare Airport. Mom was “world’s worst driver”. O’Hare was under construction, as it always is. The snow was stacked and brown-gray making everything monotone, except Mom’s turquoise blue Comet.
I remember counting, waving to my Dad 8 times, as we rounded the circle again, and again, because Mom was too skittish to change lanes in the snow. It was my first hint of problems traveling in winter weather.
The long car rides and airport delays were another issue entirely, as we became adults. Rushing to visit with extended family, presents and/or food in the car, adds tension. These are the best stories. Please feel free to add stories of YOUR family adventures.
The best story I have about holiday travel was over Christmas, and thus I will schedule this story to publish on Christmas Eve. We were leaving Logan Airport in Boston, returning to Memphis Airport on Christmas Eve. Gunner was 7yrs old.
Here we go, and a Very Merry Christmas to you all:
Big T and I were dating, still in the midst of prolonged divorces, fighting with our exes, but we were happy. Gunner and I were in Boston from Dec 17th -24th. We had Christmas with the girls, hosted and attended several parties, night at Boston Ballet, everything was terrific. I was mandated to return Gunner to his Dad, late on Christmas Eve, as all the out of town cousins n Dad’s side were in Mississippi and waiting on him for their festivities. Sounded like a good plan. We had it worked out well in advance.
We booked the 2:30pm flight out of Boston, a flight we had taken dozens of times before, direct, no problem with chance of delay on a layover. Our plan was to drop off Gunner when we returned and attend a Christmas Eve HUGE gourmet dinner at a girlfriend’s house. Big T bought a 6lb live lobster, and pounds of white asparagus for the occasion. We were bringing the “surf” for the “surf and turf dinner”. I had a clothing bag with Big T’s tuxedo and my gown. We were perfectly organized…. when everything went downhill.
To close up the little house in Boston was a bit of a process. We cleaned out the fridge, washed all linen, moved some furniture, as we would not be back for months. Goodbyes to all the neighbors and we left for the airport.
Along the way, we realized Gunner would come home on Christmas Day and we had no “Santa” presents for him at the Mississippi house, only presents wrapped from family. We made a last minute stop at Toys R Us, and somehow distracted Gunner to buy a few items, and munchies for his stocking.
At the airport, we breezed through checkin and settled into the boarding area. There was a 30 minute delay, but we boarded the small plane, ready to taxi out. We were sitting in our seats when the announcement came.
The problems started. Our flight crew came in from Indianapolis and exceeded legally allotted flying hours, so they could not take us to Memphis without permission from corporate. We had to disembark the plane, with no luggage. Northwest assured us another flight crew was coming, small delay, same plane. An hour passed, no flight crew. Gate agent was frustrated and claimed “no one is answering at ‘home office’ because it is Christmas”. Well, about 40 people whipped out their cell phones at the same time. We would be happy to call the President of NW Airlines on Christmas Eve.
Eventually the flight was cancelled, but there was ONE MORE flight out. We all raced back to the main gate agents to scrounge for seats.
…..Which meant I had to call my ex-husband and explain why Gunner would not be there at the appointed time, for Christmas Eve dinner. I dreaded the phone call. He was a jerk, of course, and blamed me, taking the opportunity to be truly despicable. I listened to him drone for a while, then snapped, and reminded him that if he had not come home with a sexually transmitted disease, I “probably wouldn’t be in effing Boston this Christmas“…. furthering challenging him to explain THAT ONE to his cousins. Dead silence.
Girlfriend who was hosting the elaborate dinner was gracious and understood completely.
With Big T still back at the plane trying to retrieve our luggage and Gunner the 7yr old running through the concourse like a wild kid, I approached the ticket counter to try to book seats on the remaining flight. It was bedlam at the counter.
The ticket agent was at her wits end, but I was ready to shoot the messenger. Tension at an all time high, and I did not handle it well. She shot her mouth off and me and my eyes narrowed. I was so close….. A manager finally stepped in. All he could offer me was a flight the next day…… and an overnight room at the Airport Hilton…….. on Christmas Eve……… with a 7yr old…… waking up to Santa Claus on Christmas morning……. at an Airport Hilton.
I damn near fainted….. and started to cry…. and I hardly ever cry, but I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume, the confab of events, beyond my control.
Through my teeth, sneering at the manager, “Santa Claus doesn’t come to an Airport Hilton!”
About that time, Big T rounded the corner with a cart piled high with 7 suitcases. He needed 12 arms to keep it all together as he was moving fast and swinging wide. Be damned if that perishable box wasn’t perched on top for the Lobster. It was funny. He looked funny….., and changed my mood entirely. Big T does that for me, centers me, one of the reasons I love him so much.
The emotions of my fellow travelers in line were swinging like a wrecking ball on a crane. Compared to those around me, I was the calm one. In a flash, I accepted the situation and was already thinking about what to do next. How were we going to salvage Christmas? We needed a miracle.
Gunner joined Big T and helped with suitcases. Big T was concerned because he thought I was crying…. He was still breathless and stressed, but I had already moved on to the next step. I leaned in and whispered, “I’m working it. I want more credit.” He took a few steps back and looked at me, perplexed. I think he was almost scared of “manipulative” me at that point. But I had the manager, dead to rights, and I wanted blood…. in the form of free tickets.
An overnight airport hotel would never work for my 7yr old expecting Santa. “Over my dead body!”, I said at one point. We agreed to go back to the Boston house. Northwest called us a cab, paid for, but the luggage would not fit. We waited for a BUS to take us home…… to our closed up house.
Driving through the empty streets of Boston that Christmas Eve was surreal. By 8:30-9:00pm, everything was closed. We rode in silence for a long time, Christmas lights blinking in the windows and the occasional “whoosh” of tires hitting melted snow. It was cold and the windows were fogged up.
Finally, Gunner chimed in and said, “Hey mom, how will Santa know where I am? Won’t he expect me to be in Mississippi tomorrow morning?” Sheer terror went through me, from zero to 120mph. I only had 3-4 presents for him from Toys R Us, and chances were, he saw them. I couldn’t kill Santa Claus! Plus, we had no food in the fridge, I even gave away the eggs, the opened wine, liquor, everything.
Big T had a moment of divine inspiration. He turned to me and said, “You’ll have to call 1-800-Santa and reroute your presents.” I nodded, catching the drift of what he said. I pretended to call Santa’s workshop, “pressing “1” for English”. Gunner was fascinated but satisfied. He settled back into his bus bench, drifting off to sleep for the remainder of the ride. The back and forth of the windshield wipers were like a lullaby.
I called a girlfriend, to borrow liquor, and whine to her about my troubles. We stopped at an all-night doughnut shop so at least we had doughnuts for Christmas morning…. with our 6lb lobster. What the heck were we going to do with a 6lb lobster?
We arrived home, to our cold house, and Big T gingerly put Gunner to bed. The babe was exhausted. For some unknown reason, the Christmas tree was still up, and fully decorated. Good thing…. I plugged in the lights, praying for inspiration from Mrs. Claus.
And then, something magical happened.
We were standing at the kitchen peninsula, looking at each other, trying to figure out how badly we were screwed. Two girlfriends from down the street arrived in full Santa costume, with a LOT of liquor. They had been partying and wanted to share. Word of our troubles, a la George Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life, had spread through the neighborhood.
And they started coming, and they kept coming. By midnight, there were at least 30 people in the house. We cooked and ate the lobster, others brought extra food. Some, brought presents from under their kids trees, so Gunner would have presents from Santa……..
Wow. I’ve never been more grateful and humbled.
Best Christmas Eve, ever…….
The party didn’t break up until almost 3:00am. The guys took over a portion of the enclosed porch and assembled cart tracks, electric scooters, a grill, etc., smoked cigars and drank odd brandy until late into the night.
Christmas morning, Gunner beat me downstairs by two steps. He ripped into his packages, and Big T and I were just as surprised at what he received. Gunner loudly proclaimed, “It’s everything I ever wanted.” … like we planned it that way.
Neighbors dropped in with more food and gifts. It was a perfect clear blue sky morning in Boston. The kind of day which makes you squint your eyes but also makes your nose run. Another friend invited us to their Christmas luncheon as our flight would not leave until 2:30pm. After luncheon, we closed up the house again.
Big T and I were standing in the kitchen, Gunner in the bus with suitcases all ready to go. We were surveying the house to make sure everything was good, one last check. And as if God was watching and needed an exclamation point….. the Christmas tree fell over. It was eerie and it fell in slow motion. We looked at each other but didn’t speak. No time to clean it up. We closed the door and headed to the airport.
Flight went without incident until we got to Memphis.
There was an ice storm in Memphis and that airport is a huge hub. Suitcases were stacked all over the airport, and we could barely get out of the boarding area. To this day, I’ve never seen anything like the towers of suitcases which were everywhere. Temps had not risen and the ice was still on the ground. We had a heck of a time getting home, skidding on bridges. I later learned my in-laws totaled their car the night before, on the same bridge.
That was the year of endless Christmas for Gunner. He had Christmas with the girls, Christmas morning in Boston, Christmas with Dad’s side, and Christmas at our house.
I have no idea what I received that year, and Big T wouldn’t remember either, ……… but I’ll never forget my neighbors who were so kind when we were in need. They really came through when it mattered. I’ll carry that memory to my grave.
So, if you find yourself in a strange travel situation this year, take a breath, be kind. We barely remember the presents we receive, yet we do remember the actions of others.
Our well laid plans may go awry. When faced with no alternative, embrace the bedlam. Sometimes, not being in control allows better things to happen.
Good Morning, Q Treepers! Merry Christmas! I promised Plain Jane a recipe for her Prime Rib, but thought the recipe might get lost in the comments, meaning she would not see it. Therefore, a post might grab her attention. Yet, we can use this post as a recipe thread for all kinds of wonderful tidbits to share. Please feel free to post away and include your family favorites.
Here’s the Prime Rib
This is for Plain Jane – “How to cook the Prime Rib, from Karl, the old Milwaukee Butcher.” I received this recipe in the early 90’s, and we’ve done it this way for decades in our home with great success. Tried and true recipe = no fear.
The size of the roast makes no difference. Have Rib Roast at room temp; season well. Place in a preheated 375 degree oven and roast for one hour. Then, turn oven off.
DO NOT open the door for any reason.
Roast may sit this way for 4-5 hours. Turn oven back on when ready to serve. Roast 30 minutes for rare, and 40 minutes for medium rare.
Carve and serve at once.
Note: I take the Prime Rib out of the fridge, season with salt and pepper and fresh minced garlic….. then spray well with PAM, which seals juices and makes a nice crust. I let the roast stand on the counter for about an hour to rise to room temp, THEN put it in the oven on a rack with pan underneath. That way you get a crust, all the way around.
This is a good story about community spirit, appropriate for our Christmas season at Q Tree. Curl up with a hot coffee and join me.
Because we have a B&B, our annual holidays are little different than most families. Years and years of retirement parties, birthday celebrations, weddings, corporate events, etc., meant that the townspeople viewed our house as THEIR house, they are personally connected.
It set up a strange situation, both good and bad (not really ever bad). I live in a “goldfish bowl” where everyone knows my business, but on the other hand, “almost” everyone helps me to succeed… and often at the strangest times and in odd ways… because it’s “their house”, too. Does that make sense?
Our home is next door to the town’s school, and it’s the biggest house in town, a real beauty built at the turn of the last century. Yet, the house was abandoned for 24yrs when we bought it. Thus, a generation of townspeople wondered about the house, a grand dame, but dark and cold (and maybe haunted)…… until we moved in……. and ALL the lights were turned on.
After 6 months of a massive renovation, we opened for business in late September, with Christmas approaching. Yet, decorating such a large home was a monumental task. Women began to approach me, offers of help, wanted to work for me, because I needed help. I kept resisting, thought I couldn’t afford it, because I couldn’t afford it. Members of my local bank board licked their chops like a hungry wolves, quarreling amongst themselves, waiting for my pipedream to go bust, so they could buy my lovely home at a bankruptcy…. which only made me more determined to succeed.
There came a point were several women had …. what can only be described as….. “an intervention” …..with me. They forced their way into my lives and became a coven of girlfriends, staff members, aunts to my kids, a shoulder when I needed it, and a sort of sorority, a fierce clan of protectors. But it wasn’t just women, it was the men as well. If I needed something…. anything……. all I had to do was whisper……. and the word went out like a quiet firestorm, and suddenly….. that item would appear, often from a kind stranger, who became a friend. It was amazing, and would NEVER happen in large cities, but it did happen in small town Mississippi. I never really got used to the wonderment of it all, the kindness of strangers, but it happened over and over again.
Women bringing me things became commonplace. For instance, an old experienced gardener would show up, compliment my specific flower bed, but insist it needed “XYZ” flower in a corner, which she brought to me, usually in a WalMart sack. BECAUSE it wasn’t just my house, it was her flower bed as well, and she wanted to make it perfect. Stuff like that happened all the time.
But it was the men who were most surprising. The gentle giants surrounded me but were often silent. Cornstalks, cattails, fieldstone, river rock, cotton, clumps of daffodil bulbs as big as washtubs, Birdhouses, pumpkins, fresh field corn, and thousands of pounds of peaches, plums, beans, blueberries, and tomatoes, would suddenly appear from the ether, sometimes with a note if I wasn’t home. The bounty of their generosity and impeccable timing was astounding.
Yesterday, I told the story of the mistletoe. Mistletoe grows high up in oak trees and has to be shot down. My grandparents always had a sprig of mistletoe between the kitchen and dining room when I was a kid. Grandpa swept grandmother into his arms to dip her, and kiss her, to great fanfare at the most inappropriate times. She pretended to protest but loved it. Of course, we needed a sprig of mistletoe. It turned into an annual town hunt, at the opening of deer season, with presentation trophies (old trophies from the high school), for the biggest piece of mistletoe, which would be ceremonially hung with a big red velvet ribbon from the keystone on our wooden arch.
What I didn’t know was that the men became competitive about the Mistletoe Hunt. Mr. Elton had the biggest horse stables in 3 counties, huge farm. For months, he eyed one tree with what he was sure was a grand prize winning piece of mistletoe. His daughter told me the story…… He shot at the piece a few times and missed, but he was more afraid it would fall apart and lose berries. Mistletoe is fairly fragile. He sent a farmhand high up into the tree to manually cut it down, but that didn’t work. So, he chopped down the whole tree….. Mr. Elton won that year, an old repurposed golfing trophy, and he could not have been more proud. We took his picture. He became a legend.
One year, we were working on Halloween, and I was upset with the high prices of colorful Indian corn in the grocery store, 3 ears for $2.99. We needed hundreds of them for what we wanted to do. I whined and moaned, but was grumbling about something I could not afford. We ended up doing something else. The following year, a local farmer brought me a truckload….. he planted 5 acres of the most beautiful Indian corn, small raspberry corn as well, and bushels of brightly colored gourds. Total surprise to me. He stayed for hours, and ate chicken salad, drinking iced tea, while the girls and I fussed all over him, and assembled the front door decorations. Mr. Ralph was thrilled and told everyone in town about “his” corn. Every now and then, strangers appeared on my front porch…… to see “Mr. Ralph’s corn” and take autumn pictures with their kids.
Another year, we planned a back to school party for the local teachers. I thought a front door surround of sunflower heads would be pretty. We thought about using artificial silk flowers but that was cost prohibitive…. We mulled over our options looking for something creative, we were stuck for a good idea. Three days later, the farmer’s co-op called, it was my buddy “Pork Chop”. He said, “Your sunflower heads are here……”. Huh? I never ordered any. I didn’t know there was such a thing as ordering sunflower heads. From Pork Chop, “Well, they’re here. Do you want to come and get them or do you want me to send him to your house?” We dropped everything and rushed down to the co-op.
We were twelve women, hugging and loving on a kind farmer, genuinely grateful, and our affection was a powerful force. Again, a whisper of a request went out, and a benevolent farmer, another county over, brought in a whole truck load, ready to dry, with seeds, and still had yellow petals. It was a gold mine….. and the birds… loved them. Walking through the door was like a Disney movie with all the birds around. When his wife died a few years later, the girls and I made the flowers, returning the kindness.
Sometimes we needed strange things. Once, we needed BIG acorns, for Christmas wreaths and decorations, preferably with the caps on, like the thumb-sized ones when I was a kid. Our house is surrounded by oak trees but we have small puny acorns. I mentioned it casually…. and forgot about it. About two weeks later, I was standing in the kitchen when one of the girls came back and said, “There’s a bunch of men here to see you.” I wiped my hands and went out front. In front of me were six of the dirtiest Marlboro-looking-men I’ve ever seen. They were so handsome they practically took my breath away, tall, rugged, strong men, but they were FILTHY and the image of them standing in our pristine parlor was a perfect picture of contrasts.
The smallest one, who was probably 6’2″ with deep blue eyes, spoke up, “Are you Miss Daughn?” I nodded, and could hear the girls giggling behind the archway like they were still in high school, looking at the guys….. He grabbed my arm a little too tightly and leaned into me in a whisper. For a flash of a moment, the thought of being ravaged by this man in my parlor was strangely appealing…… He said, “We found your tree.” I was confused. “What tree?”, I said. He replied, “Your tree with the big acorns, it’s a white oak. I looked it up, and we found one, plenty of acorns for you.” Shaken from my trance, I was thrilled, “Really?!??” The girls came out from behind the arch to join us. He was a lumberman and they were clear-cutting land nearby.
He said, “You have to come now though, because they’re cutting this afternoon. We’re only in town for lunch.” From one of the girls…. grinning from ear to ear……”We’ll be happy to make you boys some lunch and then follow you out to the land where the tree is.” And…… we did….. baskets of acorns, enough for years of supply.
The whole thing was bizarre. Six lumberman, completely unknown to us, removed their boots to dine at my table….. They looked like Knights of the Round Table who just completed a quest, for BIG acorns…… The chance of our meeting was even more noteworthy. Not only had our desire for big acorns gone out into the wind like a quiet firestorm, but strangers, handsome lumbermen, took the time to look up the SPECIFIC KIND of tree needed, and then, spent weeks looking for the particular tree we needed. Amazing…..no, THAT would never happen in Manhattan.
But nothing was better than the Yew, Holly, and Douglas Fir delivery.
I had it in my head that every corner where your eye falls, there should be something which was Christmas related but not overly fussy. With over a dozen artificial Christmas trees in the house, we still needed another layer, the fresh greens, rosemary, and the smell of Christmas. We did baskets of fresh greens, dozens and dozens of baskets, big and small. To get enough greenery, we cut down an overgrown boxwood at Grandma’s house, pilfered her magnolia tree with minivans full of greens, raided her neighbor’s holly bush, stripped another neighbor’s nandina berry bushes, cut down a 60′ tall cedar tree…. but we really needed Douglas Fir, mixed pines, and more holly. We needed the kinds of conifers which don’t grow in Mississippi.
Buying fresh Christmas trees was too expensive, but we went to the tree lots to negotiate. One lot manager told me to come back on Mondays. They often had a stack of branches, from trimming the trees up, and I could have a little bit. Back home, the parties we booked were requiring our raw materials, but the house was only about 1/4 finished. We needed MORE pine boughs, the pretty stuff, …. when Mr. Fred’s semi-truck arrived.
Mr. Fred was an over-the-road truck driver, the kind of wonderful man I would never have met in my former life. He was in his mid-50’s and had a Santa Claus belly. His wife was the aunt of one of our staff members. He returned from a run to…. I can’t remember where, but he came home “empty” which was unprofitable and unusual for a truck driver. Therefore, he brought us trees and bushes. Some were chopped down, but some still with the dirt on their roots. When he opened the back doors of the truck, small birds flew out. It was a miracle.
For days and weeks, we used the greenery Mr. Fred brought us. We had enough to be lavish with our stash. For years, Mr. Fred brought me pinecones, long and thin ones from California, big fat ones from Florida, and reindeer moss from the side of the road in Missouri, because he thought we would have fun playing with them. Mr. Fred was our Santa Claus.
In later years, Big T, hoped to replicate the bounty of natural greens for Christmas. Yet, he was returned to our home by a local constable with a good sense of humor. The forefathers frowned on trimming of their trees in local Boston, but allowed him to keep the boughs…. and they were beautiful. He loved me….. best Christmas gift, ever.
Is it odd, that as the years tick by, the Christmas gifts of gold and diamonds fade into the background? Yet, I long for the gifts of Indian corn, pumpkins, BIG acorns, rosemary, holly, and evergreens.
Indeed, the kindness of strangers is simple, heartfelt, long lasting, and priceless.
People are nicer during Christmas. Strangers hold a door open a little longer, we give of ourselves a little more freely. We more kind to each other. Even poorly mannered children say “Please” and “thank you” because Santa is watching. I wish it was that way all year long. The world would be a better place. It’s the Christmas spirit, a chance for rebirth during our holiest season. It’s hope for peace, health, and prosperity in a new year.
Christmas Story: I have this magical “thing”. Not sure what it is, but at this point, well into my 50’s, it is undeniable that I possess “it”. I consider it a gift. I have Christmas “spirit”, and it oozes out of me and gently covers everyone around me with love and joy, cinnamon and peppermint. It’s impossible to be around ME, during Christmas, and not sing and dance, or decorate something.
Every year, someone crosses my path who is a Scrooge, a lost soul, torn and wrecked because of personal trials or disappointment, and who has lost the spirit of Christmas. It’s easy to lose the spirit of Christmas, but there is nothing like that feeling of rebirth. Personally, I think it is the best gift I could ever give.
One year, Dad was dating a cute lil’ sprout of a redhead named Pam. She was in her mid-40’s, an ICU nurse, had grown children, and 3 grandchildren. I was in my late 20’s, just cashed out from the firm in Miami, and moved home to resolve my mother’s problems. I was living with Dad that year. As Christmas approached, Dad and I made the annual trek to the tree lot, and brought home the big tree for the living room, and regular 8′ ones for the family room and dining room. We were putting them up, trimming a few boughs, and Pam was sitting at the bar, nursing a bourbon and water. I was mildly annoyed she wasn’t helping us because Dad and I needed 12 arms each.
I went to grab another pair of snips, walked past her when she said, “I haven’t seen a Christmas tree in the house since I was 7yrs old.” I took a few more steps, slowing down like an aircraft carrier, and turned to her, “What did you say?” She told me the story…… Horrible childhood. No presents that year when she was 7yrs old, and she actually received coal in her stocking. I had heard the legend of people who received coal but never met ANYONE who actually received coal in a Christmas stocking. She did. At that time, she still believed in Santa and Santa brought her… coal. Her father was cruel and left her mother the following day, December 26th. Her mother, feeling the loss, never put up another Christmas tree, and died young, when Pam was 14yrs old. Pam carried the loss into her adulthood. Her kids and then grandchildren, never had a Christmas tree. Pam was an accomplished woman, no one would have ever imagined the pain underneath……..
Between the Bourbon and the tears, I finally said to her, “So, you mean to tell me, you’ve been carrying around that $hit baggage for almost 40yrs, anxious about the month of December, hating on Christmas…… full of old dred?” She nodded. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “For 40yrs?”, I asked. “Yeah”, she admitted. “Well, don’t you think 40yrs is long enough?”, I proposed. It was time to pack the old crap up and throw it away, especially for the kids and grandchildren. She admitted she thought about breaking up with my Dad, “since we were such a big Christmas family”. I looked at her like she was crazy, “You mean, you would rather hang on to 40yrs of weird misplaced grief, than spend Christmas with a guy you love?” Just talking it out, realizing the oddity of it all, saying the words, gave her a little bit of hope. She agreed to……….. try.
Dad, the Marine, has a “thing” for Christmas. He decorates the outside to the hilt. People drive by his house to see his lights. So, he goes to garage sales all year long to buy stuffed toys, comes home and launders them (some don’t make it but most do). Then, he dresses up in a Santa suit, every night, in front of the house, and gives stuffed animals to the kids in the cars who have driven by his house to see the lights. THAT was Dad. Pam didn’t know if she could handle it and was anxious.
Well, she turned into a Christmas elf. Don’t get me wrong, I could have been Mrs Claus, but for Pam, it was 40 yrs worth of pent up Christmas spirit all coming out at the same time. It was slow at first. But she was always over for dinner and we were always doing something related to Christmas. Pretty soon, I was the right hand and she was the left hand. We worked together beautifully. One night, I came home from a late class, and there was a 6′ tree at the end of the kitchen peninsula. She was humming in the kitchen. I motioned to the tree, teasing her, and said, “You want to explain..?” She looked guilty, “It was on sale, and I thought we needed another one.” I nodded…. we did….. and it was beautiful!
We made Christmas stockings for her kids and grandkids….. they didn’t have any.
We MADE peppermint that year (I’ll never do that again), popcorn balls, peanut butter balls, fudge, and all kinds of breads and casseroles. One night, we sat on the kitchen floor, still making meatballs at 2:00am…….. it was her mother’s recipe……. which she had saved but hadn’t made in 40yrs. We made enough for a diabetic coma! She had the nurses over for a party – she had never done anything like that before. I was so happy for her…. in the lead. She was a natural, and I swear, you could SEE the light shining from inside her. She glowed like an angel.
On Sundays, we usually had her kids over for a big lunch. Her son cornered me and asked about “the Christmas thing”. I told him the story Pam told me. He never knew the real reason why his mom hated Christmas. She had never spoken about it.
A few nights a week, Dad slipped over to Pam’s apartment to spend the night. Mid December, out of the blue, Dad hugged me bigly. She had told him of our conversation. Pam’s apartment was decorated to the hilt……. overblown Christmas explosion. Dad was exhausted though, no sleep for him, Pam insisted on sleeping with all the Christmas lights on.
Middle of December, Pam decided we had to “make a trip to the country for pine boughs”. Okay fine, a trip to the grocery store is fun for me. Dad was supposed to go but for some reason, he couldn’t make it at the last minute. Pam was sad at the prospect of canceling. “No problem, we can do it.”, I said. Off we went. We drove almost 100 miles into Mississippi before finding “adequate” pine boughs and cedar…… one of the best days of my life. Pam was beaming, brimming with Christmas spirit. We came home loaded with clippings and ANOTHER tree, tied to the rooftop, for the deck. We then decorated the BACK yard.
We went to church on Christmas Eve as one big family. Pam didn’t have a church but that was okay, our’s was big enough for spares. She softly cried most of the way service, raw emotions right at the surface, especially when it came time to sing. Dad kept trying to hold her hand and ask her what was wrong. I already knew. Happy tears, and bittersweet for all the years she lost. She was back, among the living.
And along the way, she kept inviting people to Christmas dinner. We had 24 that year for Christmas Eve. It was GREAT! And our living room was small, but by the time Christmas morning rolled around, there were so many presents, you couldn’t get INTO the living room…… grandkids……. you know how it is!
And that was the year Pam got her Christmas spirit back.
So, this year, if you find someone who is in need of a little Christmas spirit, give them some of yours. If you need spirit, find it. We only have so many years on this earth, don’t waste a single one…… by holding onto the sadness of years gone by. Cast out the dred. Let it go. Warm your cold old heart. The year 2020 looks to be a promising one for us all.
Welcome to the Open Thread! Wow, December is flying by quickly. We’ve decorated, wrapped gifts for friends and family, and we’ve partied with our buddies. This weekend, right before Christmas, is our most holy. Take a moment for remembrance and charity. Give of your time or your money. It means so much.
This Justice Is Coming December open thread is VERY OPEN – a place for everybody to post whatever they feel they would like to tell the White Hats, and the rest of the MAGA / KAG! / KMAG world.
Please feel free to comment. We have a new policy, starting 20191110. Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.
Please feel free to comment. We have a new policy, starting 20191110. Keep it SOMEWHAT civil. Our rules began with the civility of the Old Treehouse, later to become the Wolverinian Empire, except of course that Q discussion is not only allowed but encouraged, and speech is considerably freer in other ways. Please feel free to argue and disagree with the board owner, as nicely as possible.
Please also consider the Important Guidelines, outlined here in the January 1st open thread. Let’s not give the odious Internet Censors a reason to shut down this precious haven.
We have a new board – actually a new SITE – called The U Tree – where people can take each other to the woodshed without fear of censorship or moderation. NOT HERE. This board will remain a REFUGE for those who need civility, either some or all of the time.
Please keep the President, his family and team in your thoughts and prayers. If you run into the President, SPEAK THE FIVE WORDS BOLDLY. “I AM PRAYING FOR YOU!“
TIME TO….
DRAIN THE SWAMP
Our movement
Is about replacing
A failed
And CORRUPT
Political establishment
With a new government controlled
By you, the American People.
Candidate Donald J. Trump
Also remember Wheatie’s Rules:
No food fights.
No running with scissors.
If you bring snacks, bring enough for everyone.
Years ago, I joined a Fortune 100 company. As the newbie, I was drafted to head the toy drive for a migrant camp for the following year, but first, I had to attend the ceremony for the present year. Our office brought in SIX gifts. What? That’s right, six gifts – not even wrapped – from over 500 people, plus a big check. Standing next to the Annual Drive Chairman, at the ceremony, I was humiliated in front of the Marines, who were Toys For Tots. My Dad was a Marine. Next year, we had over 8000 gifts, and we wrapped them all. It was supposed to be about the kids, Christmas, and giving, …..not just a check.
The Marines do a terrific job with Toys for Tots
Have a girlfriend who does this every year. It’s become a family tradition.
And don’t forget to chip in your handiwork at Church. Order a poinsettia and help decorate.
One year, a very adept church member put my grandmother and my mother-in law in charge of Christmas decorations. Yeah, I got the call, but it was respectful, gorgeous, and we had a great time.
Please be patient with our Police and Fire Departments this year. They’re kind of busy with the crazy people.
And yes, I know, I know, but it would not be Christmas without a little bit of Elvis. You can sing along, it won’t hurt too much.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9-ifPTvy0M
Merry Christmas, QTreepers, from our house to your house!
Pushed to make a stand by rabid behavior of Lawfare Dems and Nancy Pelosi, Mitch sheds his RINO NeverTrump skin, and takes to the podium in the well of the Senate. What followed was the speech of a Statesman.
McConnell Remarks on House Democrats’ Impeachment of President Trump
‘This is by far the thinnest basis for any House-passed presidential impeachment in American history… The prosecutors are getting cold feet in front of the entire country and second-guessing whether they even want to go to trial… It will be an unprecedented constitutional crisis if the Senate agrees to set the bar this low forever.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding House Democrats’ impeachment vote:
‘Last night House Democrats finally did what they decided to do long ago: They voted to impeach President Trump.
‘Over the last 12 weeks, House Democrats have conducted the most rushed, least thorough, and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history.
‘Now their slapdash process has concluded in the first purely partisan presidential impeachment since the wake of the Civil War. The opposition to impeachment was bipartisan. Only one part of one faction wanted this outcome.
‘The House’s conduct risks deeply damaging the institutions of American government. This particular House of Representatives has let its partisan rage at this particular President create a toxic new precedent that will echo into the future.
‘That’s what I want to discuss now: The historic degree to which House Democrats have failed to do their duty — and what it will mean for the Senate to do ours.
‘Let’s start at the beginning. Let’s start with the fact that Washington Democrats made up their minds to impeach President Trump since before he was even inaugurated
‘Here’s a reporter in April 2016. Quote, “Donald Trump isn’t even the Republican nominee yet… [but] ‘Impeachment’ is already on the lips of pundits, newspaper editorials, constitutional scholars, and even a few members of Congress.”
‘On Inauguration Day 2017, this headline in the Washington Post: “The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.” That was day one.
‘In April 2017, three months into the presidency, a senior House Democrat said “I’m going to fight every day until he’s impeached.” That was three months in.
‘In December 2017, two years ago, Congressman Jerry Nadler was openly campaigning to be ranking member on House Judiciary specifically because he was an expert on impeachment.
‘This week wasn’t even the first time House Democrats have introduced articles of impeachment. It was the seventh time.
‘They started less than six months after the president was sworn in.
‘They tried to impeach President Trump for being impolite to the press… For being mean to professional athletes… For changing President Obama’s policy on transgender people in the military.
‘All of these things were “high crimes and misdemeanors” according to Democrats.
‘This wasn’t just a few people. Scores of Democrats voted to move forward with impeachment on three of those prior occasions.
‘So let’s be clear. The House’s vote yesterday was not some neutral judgment that Democrats came to reluctantly. It was the pre-determined end of a partisan crusade that began before President Trump was even nominated, let alone sworn in.
‘For the very first time in modern history we have seen a political faction in Congress promise from the moment a presidential election ended that they would find some way to overturn it.
‘A few months ago, Democrats’ three-year-long impeachment in search of articles found its way to the subject of Ukraine. And House Democrats embarked on the most rushed, least thorough, and most unfair impeachment inquiry in modern history.
‘Chairman Schiff’s inquiry was poisoned by partisanship from the outset. Its procedures and parameters were unfair in unprecedented ways.
‘Democrats tried to make Chairman Schiff into a de facto Special Prosecutor, notwithstanding the fact that he is a partisan member of Congress who’d already engaged in strange and biased behavior.
‘He scrapped precedent to cut the Republican minority out of the process. He denied President Trump the same sorts of procedural rights that Houses of both parties had provided to past presidents of both parties.
‘President Trump’s counsel could not participate in Chairman Schiff’s hearings, present evidence, or cross-examine witnesses.
‘The House Judiciary Committee’s crack at this was even more ahistorical. It was like the Speaker called up Chairman Nadler and ordered one impeachment, rush delivery please.
‘That Committee found no facts of its own and did nothing to verify the Schiff report. Their only witnesses were liberal law professors and congressional staffers.
‘There’s a reason the impeachment inquiry that led to President Nixon’s resignation required about 14 months of hearings. 14 months. In addition to a special prosecutor’s investigation.
‘With President Clinton, the independent counsel’s inquiry had been underway for years before the House Judiciary Committee dug in. Mountains of evidence. Mountains of testimony from firsthand fact witnesses. Serious legal battles to get what was necessary.
‘This time around, House Democrats skipped all of that and spent just 12 weeks.
‘More than a year of hearings for Nixon… multiple years of investigation for Clinton… and they’ve impeached President Trump in 12 weeks.
‘So let’s talk about what the House actually produced in those 12 weeks.
‘House Democrats’ rushed and rigged inquiry yielded two articles of impeachment. They are fundamentally unlike any articles that any prior House of Representatives has ever passed.
‘The first article concerns the core events which House Democrats claim are impeachable — the timing of aid to Ukraine.
‘But it does not even purport to allege any actual crime. Instead, they deploy this vague phrase, “abuse of power,” to impugn the president’s actions in a general, indeterminate way.
‘Speaker Pelosi’s House just gave into a temptation that every other House in history had managed to resist: They impeached a president whom they do not even allege has committed an actual crime known to our laws. They impeached simply because they disagree with a presidential act and question the motive behind it.
‘Look at history. The Andrew Johnson impeachment revolved around a clear violation of a criminal statute, albeit an unconstitutional one. Nixon had obstruction of justice — a felony under our laws. Clinton had perjury — also a felony.
‘Now, the Constitution does not say the House can impeach only those presidents who violate a law.
‘But history matters. Precedent matters. And there were important reasons why every previous House of Representatives in American history restrained itself from crossing this Rubicon.
‘The framers of our Constitution very specifically discussed whether the House should be able to impeach presidents just for “maladministration”— in other words, because the House simply thought the president had bad judgment or was doing a bad job.
‘The written records of the founders’ debates show they specifically rejected this. They realized it would create total dysfunction to set the bar for impeachment that low.
‘James Madison himself explained that allowing impeachment on that basis would mean the President serves at the pleasure of the Congress instead of the pleasure of the American people.
‘It would make the President a creature of Congress, not the head of a separate and equal branch. So there were powerful reasons why Congress after Congress for 230 years required presidential impeachments to revolve around clear, recognizable crimes, even though that was not a strict limitation.
‘Powerful reasons why, for 230 years, no House opened the Pandora’s box of subjective, political impeachments.
‘That 230-year tradition died last night.
‘Now, House Democrats have tried to say they had to impeach President Trump on this historically thin and subjective basis because the White House challenged their requests for more witnesses.
‘And that brings us to the second article of impeachment.
‘The House titled this one “obstruction of Congress.” What it really does is impeach the president for asserting presidential privilege.
‘The concept of executive privilege is another two-century-old constitutional tradition. Presidents starting with George Washington have invoked it. Federal courts have repeatedly affirmed it as a legitimate constitutional power.
‘House Democrats requested extraordinary amounts of sensitive information from President Trump’s White House — exactly the kinds of things over which presidents of both parties have asserted privilege in the past.
‘Predictably, and appropriately, President Trump did not simply roll over. He defended the constitutional authority of his office.
‘It is not a constitutional crisis for a House to want more information than a president wants to give up. It is a routine occurrence. The separation of powers is messy by design.
‘Here’s what should happen next: Either the President and Congress negotiate a settlement, or the third branch of government, the judiciary, addresses the dispute between the other two.
‘The Nixon impeachment featured disagreements over presidential privilege — so they went to the courts. The Clinton impeachment featured disagreements over presidential privilege — so they went to the courts.
‘This takes time. It’s inconvenient. That’s actually the point. Due process is not meant to maximize the convenience of the prosecutor. It is meant to protect the accused.
‘But this time was different. Remember: 14 months of hearings for Richard Nixon… years of investigation for Bill Clinton… but 12 weeks for President Trump.
‘Democrats didn’t have to rush this. But they chose to stick to their political timetable at the expense of pursuing more evidence through proper legal channels.
‘Nobody made Chairman Schiff do this. He chose to.
‘The Tuesday before last, on live television, Adam Schiff explained to the entire country that if House Democrats had let the justice system follow its normal course, they might not have gotten to impeach the president in time for the election!
‘In Nixon, the courts were allowed to do their work. In Clinton, the courts were allowed to do their work. Only these House Democrats decided due process is too much work and they’d rather impeach with no proof.
And, they tried to cover for their own partisan impatience by pretending that the routine occurrence of a president exerting constitutional privilege is itself a second impeachable offense.
The following is something that Adam Schiff literally said in early October. Here’s what he said:
“Any action… that forces us to litigate, or have to consider litigation, will be considered further evidence of obstruction of justice.”
‘Here is what the Chairman effectively said, and what one of his committee members restated just this week: If the President asserts his constitutional rights, it’s that much more evidence he is guilty.
‘That kind of bullying is antithetical to American justice.
‘So those are House Democrats’ two articles of impeachment. That’s all their rushed and rigged inquiry could generate:
‘An act that the House does not even allege is criminal; and a nonsensical claim that exercising a legitimate presidential power is somehow an impeachable offense.
‘This is by far the thinnest basis for any House-passed presidential impeachment in American history. The thinnest and the weakest — and nothing else comes even close.
‘And candidly, I don’t think I am the only person around here who realizes this. Even before the House voted yesterday, Democrats had already started to signal uneasiness with its end product.
‘Before the articles even passed, the Senate Democratic Leader went on television to demand that this body re-do House Democrats’ homework for them. That the Senate should supplement Chairman Schiff’s sloppy work so it is more persuasive than Chairman Schiff himself bothered to make it.
‘Of course, every such demand simply confirms that House Democrats have rushed forward with a case that is much too weak.
‘Back in June, Speaker Pelosi promised the House would, quote, “build an ironclad case.” Never mind that she was basically promising impeachment months before the Ukraine events, but that’s a separate matter.
‘She promised “an ironclad case.”
‘And in March, Speaker Pelosi said this: “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country.” End quote.
‘By the Speaker’s own standards, she has failed the country. This case is not compelling, not overwhelming, and as a result, not bipartisan. This failure was made clear to everyone earlier this week, when Senator Schumer began searching for ways the Senate could step out of our proper role and try to fix House Democrats’ failures for them.
‘And it was made even more clear last night, when Speaker Pelosi suggested that House Democrats may be too afraid to even transmit their work product to the Senate.
‘The prosecutors are getting cold feet in front of the entire country and second-guessing whether they even want to go to trial.
‘They said impeachment was so urgent that it could not even wait for due process but now they’re content to sit on their hands. It is comical.
‘Democrats’ own actions concede that their allegations are unproven.
‘But the articles aren’t just unproven. They’re also constitutionally incoherent. Frankly, if either of these articles is blessed by the Senate, we could easily see the impeachment of every future president of either party.
‘Let me say that again: If the Senate blesses this historically low bar, we will invite the impeachment of every future president.
‘The House Democrats’ allegations, as presented, are incompatible with our constitutional order. They are unlike anything that has ever been seen in 230 years of this Republic.
‘House Democrats want to create new rules for this president because they feel uniquely enraged. But long after the partisan fever of this moment has broken, the institutional damage will remain.
‘I’ve described the threat to the presidency. But this also imperils the Senate itself.
‘The House has created an unfair, unfinished product that looks nothing like any impeachment inquiry in American history. And if the Speaker ever gets her house in order, that mess will be dumped on the Senate’s lap.
‘If the Senate blesses this slapdash impeachment… if we say that from now on, this is enough… then we will invite an endless parade of impeachment trials.
‘Future Houses of either party will feel free to toss up a “jump ball” every time they feel angry. Free to swamp the Senate with trial after trial, no matter how baseless the charges.
‘We would be giving future Houses of either party unbelievable new power to paralyze the Senate at their whim.
‘More thin arguments. More incomplete evidence. More partisan impeachments.
In fact, this same House of Representatives has already indicated that they themselves may not be done impeaching!
‘The House Judiciary Committee told a federal court this week that it will continue its impeachment investigation even after voting on these articles. And multiple Democratic members have already called publicly for more.
‘If the Senate blesses this, if the nation accepts it, presidential impeachments may cease being once-in-a-generation events and become a constant part of the political background noise.
‘This extraordinary tool of last resort may become just another part of the arms race of polarization.
‘Real statesmen would have recognized, no matter their view of this president, that trying to remove him on this thin and partisan basis could unsettle the foundations of our Republic.
‘Real statesmen would have recognized, no matter how much partisan animosity might be coursing through their veins, that cheapening the impeachment process was not the answer.
‘Historians will regard this as a great irony of this era: That so many who professed such concern for our norms and traditions themselves proved willing to trample our constitutional order to get their way.
‘It is long past time for Washington D.C. to get a little perspective.
‘President Trump is not the first president with a populist streak…Not the first to make entrenched elites uncomfortable. He’s certainly not the first president to speak bluntly… to mistrust the administrative state… or to rankle unelected bureaucrats.
‘And Heaven knows he is not our first president to assert the constitutional privileges of his office rather than roll over when Congress demands unlimited sensitive information.
‘None of these things is unprecedented.
‘I’ll tell you what would be unprecedented. It will be an unprecedented constitutional crisis if the Senate hands the House of Representatives a new, partisan “vote of no confidence” that the founders intentionally withheld, destroying the independence of the presidency.
‘It will be unprecedented if we agree that any future House that dislikes any future president can rush through an unfair inquiry, skip the legal system, and paralyze the Senate with a trial. The House could do that at will under this precedent.
‘It will be unprecedented if the Senate says secondhand and thirdhand testimony from unelected civil servants is enough to overturn the people’s vote.
‘It will be an unprecedented constitutional crisis if the Senate agrees to set the bar this low — forever.
‘It is clear what this moment requires. It requires the Senate to fulfill our founding purpose.
‘The framers built the Senate to provide stability. To take the long view for our Republic. To safeguard institutions from the momentary hysteria that sometimes consumes our politics. To keep partisan passions from boiling over.
‘The Senate exists for moments like this.
‘That’s why this body has the ultimate say in impeachments.
‘The framers knew the House would be too vulnerable to transient passions and violent factionalism. They needed a body that could consider legal questions about what has been proven and political questions about what the common good of our nation requires.
‘Hamilton said explicitly in Federalist 65 that impeachment involves not just legal questions, but inherently political judgments about what outcome best serves the nation.
‘The House can’t do both. The courts can’t do both.
‘This is as grave an assignment as the Constitution gives to any branch of government, and the framers knew only the Senate could handle it. Well, the moment the framers feared has arrived.
‘A political faction in the lower chamber have succumbed to partisan rage. They have fulfilled Hamilton’s prophesy that impeachment will, quote, “connect itself with the pre-existing factions… enlist all their animosities… [and] there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstrations of innocence or guilt.” End quote.
‘That is what happened in the House last night. The vote did not reflect what had been proven. It only reflects how they feel about the President.
‘The Senate must put this right. We must rise to the occasion.
‘There is only one outcome that is suited to the paucity of evidence, the failed inquiry, the slapdash case.
‘Only one outcome suited to the fact that the accusations themselves are constitutionally incoherent.
‘Only one outcome that will preserve core precedents rather than smash them into bits in a fit of partisan rage because one party still cannot accept the American people’s choice in 2016.
‘It could not be clearer which outcome would serve the stabilizing, institution-preserving, fever-breaking role for which the United States Senate was created… and which outcome would betray it.
‘The Senate’s duty is clear. The Senate’s duty is clear.
