Under Siege

Mostly New Yorkers feel like they are under siege.  They are stuck inside their apartments with little opportunity to 'get out'.  It's hard for the rest of the country to understand the residents of the five boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, & Staten Island) feel the most comfortable in the hustle and bustle.  Watching the street carnival as it passes by is a constant source of entertainment and comment.  Now streets filled with small businesses and usually filled with pedestrians look like this.

People use the parks.  They shop at the outdoor markets.   In good weather New Yorkers eat on tiny tables precariously placed on the sidewalks.  (Everyone can see what you're eating and sometimes even comment on it!)  People in New York congregate in any outdoor space - their back garden of a few hundred feet, the rooftops of their buildings, and even on their front steps.  (Sitting on the front steps is something Cedric already enjoys as he comments on the dogs walking by, the gray squirrel scurrying up a tree, or the birds flying by.) 

New York City is actually made up of some of the smallest towns in America.  Some of these unofficial towns are only a couple of blocks long, and a couple of blocks wide.  You actually know by sight everyone in the neighborhood.  Block parties where the street is closed and the neighbors mingle are common in the summer.  You know the crossing guard at the corner.  You know the dry cleaner, the restauranteur, the guy who owns the corner deli, the corner grocery store clerks, the owner of the $.99 store, and the checkers at the supermarket.  You know the people on the floor of your building or those who live above and below you in your brownstone.  [These were originally one family residences which are now three or four family residences.]  You know your bus drivers, and the delivery people who bring you take out food and groceries.

The supply chain for 10 million people is highly visible.  Each street is always filled with trucks of every size - often double parked as every conceivable object is off loaded and hustled into a small store.  Then, we have the national guys:  postal trucks, FedEx trucks and the UPS guys.  Grocery trucks delivering groceries are also buzzing around the neighborhoods.  Fresh Direct may not be a national  grocery chain, but everyone in New York knows their colorful delivery trucks.  There are ambulances, fire trucks (three different sizes), police cars, garbage trucks and street sweepers.  There are the individual car owners - (All cars in New York are mostly either black or white - don't ask me, I don't know why.)  Usually, there is a lot of frustration vented via the car horn when someone isn't paying close enough attention, or a truck has been double parked too long.

Now, the main noise of New York is people leaning out of their windows at 7pm yelling, cheering, and banging pots and pans.  The 'excuse' for this behavior is to visibly thank the front line responders to this crisis.  Everyone is acutely aware how dangerous it is to be medical person, and the support staff in a medical facility are in real jeopardy.  I think the real purpose of the 7pm exhibition is most New Yorkers miss their neighbors, and it's a way to connect.

Streets are silent.  Car and truck traffic is almost non-existent.  Here's Flatbush Avenue, one of the busiest streets in Brooklyn at 8:00 a.m.  That's prime commute time.

There's one car and a handicap transport bus waiting at the traffic light.  Normally, there would be cars/buses/trucks backed up through the intersection as well as 50 people using the crosswalk on any given morning. 

Here's a subway station which would normally have people streaming into it.  It's rare we see even one person coming or going from this subway station.  The bus we normally ride to and from work instead of being standing room only is populated by less than five people, all sitting as far apart as possible gloved and masked.  I'd probably be trying to ride the bus, but it's far too risky.  Our family goal is to stay healthy, so we walk the 2.2 mile roundtrip between our apartments.

This 'Citi-Bike', a bike sharing business with bike racks all over the city, would normally be virtually empty at this time of the day (morning commute) instead of almost full.

Ordinary streets are also deserted.  Here's a street we use to walk to work - it's 90% empty.  (Only the dog walkers are out.  Don't get me started about New York dogs - I'm thinking euthanasia to any dog that uses the street as a toilet.  The dog people insist on taking up ALL the sidewalk.  Drake and I dart into the street to avoid their inconsiderate owners, so we can maintain the 6 foot social distance.  And, today, I saw a St. Bernard mix - oh yeah, such a practical city dog.  Way way too many large dogs suffering in small apartments.  OK - dog rant over.)

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Space is such a premium here.  People live in the most minuscule apartments you can imagine.  A generous second bedroom is often 10x8, and it's common to see apartment ads which boast each bedroom having a closet!  We each live in gigantic apartments by NY standards:  1100 square feet.  (By contrast - my Texas house was 2200 square feet, and it was considered on the small side compared to some of the McMansions in Plano.)  Sarah and Jay's first permanent New York apartment - in a new high rise - was 650 square feet.  Their current apartment is actually only three rooms (not counting the one bathroom).  I won't tell you the monthly rentals for these tiny homes. I don't want the top of your head to blow off.

People here have been 'home' in these very small spaces with only a little outdoor time since mid March.  The shelter order has been extended in the city to May 15th.  Now, the few people on the street (like us - essential workers - since we do child care) all wear masks.  I've found it amazing how much compliance there is in the city to these shelter in place measures.  It feels like everyone here is actively doing their part.

There's also a growing sense of 'I don't want it to get the virus' as more and more terrible side effects of having even a relatively mild case are being revealed.  That's certainly our goal.

One small upside has been our opportunity to enjoy the flowers and trees of springtime in New York.  Here's an amazing tree we walk under each day as we head to work.  Sights like this help control our anxiety over so many issues, and reinforce that this too will pass.

 

What is Exponential and What Does it Have to do With a Kitten Video?

I wrote a fairly mild post about the virus last week.  Brooklyn is a place where the virus is exponentially growing.  If you're not sure what exponential means, think of this phrase:   'That kitten video went viral' - meaning it started with a few people watching, who then sent it to their friends, who sent it to their friends and it just snowballed.)  That's the danger of the coronavirus. 

We keep focusing on the wrong number:  True fact:  Only about 20% of people who get sick will need to be hospitalized.  So if 100 people get the virus, then 20 will need to be hospitalized.  OK - no problem.  However, if we don't know how many people actually have the virus (another true fact), then think about this.  If 10 people in your town/area have been tested and shown to have the virus, the true number of people WITH the virus is much higher.  Harvard Medical School/Mass General Hospital think the number of PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY HAVE THE VIRUS could be 50 times the number of confirmed cases.  So, instead of 10 people in your town with the virus there could be 500. 

If the virus 'goes viral' over the next few months (like a kitten video), the number of people infected skyrockets by doubling or tripling every day because of social contact, and the true fact that the virus lives for several hours on hard surfaces.  Thus, we have the 'curve' everyone keeps talking about.  SOCIAL DISTANCING HELPS BREAK THE UPWARD CURVE.

If you are still having trouble getting this, think about the penny exercise.  Start with one penny.  Double the number of pennies you save each day. 
Day 1 = 1;
Day 2 = 2;
Day 3 = 4;
Day 4 = 8,
Day 5 = 16
Day 6 = 32
Day 7 = 64
Day 8 = 128
Day 9 = 256
Day 10 = 512 pennies you need to save

Now, let's do it with the virus.  Let's be conservative & say there are 3 times as many cases of people with the virus  in your town:
Day 1 = 10 known cases in your town multiplied x 3 = 30 people who actually have the virus.  (Remember: A big percentage of those 30 will have no symptoms.)  If the number of people with the virus doubles every day this is what happens:

Day 2 = 60 people who actually have the virus
Day 3 = 120
Day 4 = 240
Day 5 = 480
Day 6 =  960
Day 7 = 1920
Day 8 = 3840
Day 9 = 7680
Day 10 = 15,360

If  20% of the Day 10 people with the virus need to go to the hospital, we have 3,072 people who are going to need to be hospitalized in a town that started with 10 known cases less than 2 weeks ago. 
 
Here's another problem:  Hospitals are already 65-95% full.  This leaves even fewer beds for coronavirus patients. What about people who don't have the virus who need a hospital bed? Know somebody who needs an operation?  How about that terrible car crash or accident that happened in every city or town last night?  Know someone with cancer who needs chemo?  Know someone with acute diabetes?  All the normal reasons someone needs a hospital bed or intensive care or a ventilator is going to have their treatment compromised or unavailable.  Some of these people are going to die who under normal circumstances would recover.

Now you know why our family has been practicing social distancing since March 5th.  We don't go anywhere except to walk back and forth between our two apartments.  We give a wide berth to people we pass on the sidewalk.  We Lysol door knobs, switches, toilet handles, etc. in both the apartments right before we 'switch' each day.  Our goal is to help break the curve by coming into contact with as few people as possible.

We wash our hands 20 seconds at a time with soap and water several times a day since we do have food and other supplies delivered to us.  My grocery store that delivers is just around the corner.  When I put away that can of soup (hard surface),  I think,  "Who touched it?"  When Drake uses the laundry in our building, he uses gloves.  We Lysol our door knobs.  I use a stylus to punch the elevator buttons.  I use my shoulder to open the outer doors of our apartment building.  I try to protect our essential workers (like the guy who delivers our groceries) by staying 6 feet away and carrying in our own stuff. 

Now, you're probably thinking, oh those numbers must be false.  Again, think about this:  If you have no symptoms, but you are infected, and you are still out and about, every person you handed something to, and everything you touched has exposed a lot of people to the virus.  Someone an hour later bought the can of soup you picked up, decided against buying, and put back on the grocery shelf.

Social distancing only works if it starts EARLY.

Hand washing is a way of showing concern for yourself and others.

Limit the number of places you go and people you socialize with.

Rise to the occasion.

Nothing Travels Faster than Bad News

"Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the exception of bad news 

which obeys its own special laws."  (Douglas Adams) 

Isn't that just how life has felt for the last few weeks?  If you deal in reality rather than wishful thinking, the bad news would have already been with us for a few months, and it’s going to be bad news for some unforeseen time.  However, you can't change the past no matter how hard you try to turn back time.  Everyone is positive they know who is responsible for the pickle we are in, so I won't infuriate you or allow you to commiserate by stating who I think should be held accountable.

What really matters is how do we go forward?   How should that be?

I've been trying to write this blog for four days.  Each day brings new information.  The 20 somethings who are acting like they are immune or will just get the 'sniffles'?  Well, new data says they are going to be occupying a significant number of our scarce hospital beds, and their cavalier attitude is going to result in exponentially spreading the virus.  Seniors are going to become more isolated, and that isolation will take its emotional and mental toll.  Stresses between family members is magnified.  If we are really trying to be good citizens, we are staying home.  There is certainly going to be more reliance on the internet and the connections between people it can facilitate -both good and bad.  

Will this pandemic crisis work lasting changes in our everyday lives when it subsides?  That always happens with every crisis.  Think about the changes in air travel as a result of 9/11.   Not all changes have to be bad or unpleasant.  Perhaps telecommuting can really take hold and give families more flexibility as to where they live.   

What is the most difficult thing happening to you personally right at this moment?  For me, it's physical - my entire body hurts, and it has nothing to do with the coronavirus.  Yesterday, I was appalled to discover I walked over 10,000 steps.  My feet hurt, my legs ache, and my shoulders are adjusting to carrying a light backpack.  Otherwise, it's nice to be outside when the weather isn't frigid or swelteringly hot. 

As you all know, I'm living in NYC which is trying to flatten the coronavirus curve by taking drastic measures.  I've been quite surprised how calm New Yorkers seem to be.  Most seem to be initially taking 'social distancing' seriously.  Drake and I are walking back and forth between our house and C's house - thus my 8 - 10,000 steps a day.  His parents are working on-line at our house while we are keeping C at his house.  It's a 2 mile round trip.  Until we get a 'shelter in place' edict, this is our plan.

There's already lots of 'delivery' here.  Most people here shop that way for almost everything.  I suspect the delivery services already in place will help us over the crunch.  Buses are almost empty.  I haven't braved the subway or the bus since this started because there's no place to go.  No school, no movies, no bars, no restaurants, no museums, no performances, and worst of all for the NYC economy:  No tourists.  

That's where NYC is going to really feel the pinch.  Tourism is a huge industry here.  All the 19th century factories have been converted to white collar business space or living space.  We don't 'make' anything in New York.  We handle money and credit for the rest of the country, and we show off our entertainment industry, our cultural industry, and our landmarks.  As of today thousands of people have been fired.  These people work in businesses who are doing no business.  So many, in fact, the NYC Unemployment website started crashing yesterday. 

What's so extremely striking is how quiet it is in Brooklyn.  There's little or no commerce happening.  Outside C's apartment there's always an unending stream of cars, school buses, delivery trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, and construction vehicles.  They honk and they play loud music, and there's always just basic traffic noise.   The day after the drastic closures took effect, the lack of traffic is really noticeable.  Drake estimates it's down 80%.   The silence of the city is eerie.  I’ve also noticed the streets seem cleaner.  There’s less litter.

There are a few people like us out on the streets walking.  New Yorkers have never been shy about using their legs, and this crisis is going to get everyone in even better shape.  People seem to be choosing their own foot power whenever possible. We took C for a walk today and the few people out gave us a wide berth

Another good thing is even though the schools are closed for instruction, the cafeterias are remaining open for the normal breakfast/lunch meals.  The elementary school we walk by was open today from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm.  It's a 'grab and go' situation, and the crossing guards are on duty.  Word has been slow to get out to the poorer communities, and I also think as the end of the month approaches more kids will appear for food.  During the few months we were food insecure, the last weekend of the month sure seemed like a good weekend to go visit my parents.  I suspect middle schoolers are going to have to be chased out of school since they are going to miss their peer groups intensely.  New York public schools are going to be starting on-line instruction next week.

I think the necessity of public school students having access to computers/internet at home is going to be something which comes out of this emergency.  It's going to be obvious big heavy textbooks should be a thing of the past, and every public school student needs an inexpensive laptop.  Teacher 'lessons' should be videoed so they can be directly accessed by students from home.  How much easier would homework time be if you could review what the teacher taught that day?   (I advocated for this approximately 20 years  ago, and I always met with a brick wall and a chorus of 'we can't do that'.)  I think the time has come for teachers to rethink their instruction techniques.  I think it's time for lessons to be less about facts and more about collaboration and how to think. 

Another outcome of this pandemic is we are finally going to have to face up to the inadequacies of our health care system.  Granted, if we can't flatten the curve of the number of coronavirus cases, then any healthcare system would be overwhelmed.  That said, we've been robbing peter to pay paul in every hospital.  Corners have been cut.  Expenditures have been cut to the bone and nothing is stockpiled.  If we can't flatten the curve, one health care professional I personally know related to me the number of ventilators at his hospital is inadequate for the probable need.  There will be rationing as well as turning people away who arrive for treatment.  He’s fatalisticly certain he’s going to contract the virus because he can't count on the type of protective gear he needs during treatment and care of patients.  May I cynically suggest it's not going to be the 1% who are denied treatment.  

When this crisis passes, needed changes in the healthcare system will become obvious.   The question is will we be able to assess and make changes.  It's my opinion we will finally have to admit we have a tiered healthcare system which is very unfair, poorly administered, and being driven by insurance companies whose only real concern is the bottom line.  If we want true healthcare which is more equitable and smarter, we should listen to the people on the front lines of  treatment and caregiving rather than to the insurance companies, the bean counters, and the politicians. 

One feature of every crisis is there are some 'winners'.  Who are they?  Streaming services.  Board game manufacturers.  Kindles.  People rediscovering their public libraries.  Delivery services.
  

And there are Losers:   Movie theaters.  Malls.  Big Box stores with weak internet/delivery presences.   It's the in-between people who will be struggling to regain and regroup:  Hair dressers/barbers or anyone else who provides a personal service.  Sit down restaurants.  Bars, of course, will be able to reopen their doors if they have a bartender.  Any business who relies on the walk-in customer, is in danger of bankruptcy.  You can re-open, but it's very hard to come back from bankruptcy.  I don't think the live performance industry whether entertainment or sport has faced a shutdown of this duration across the entire spectrum.  It will be interesting to see how it's handled.   

There’s no way to pretend you’re not affected by this crisis. There’s really no “us” and “them”.  We are all in this together.  Kindness is going to go a long way.  We need to dig deep and find our altruistic natures.  You can shrug this off in a selfish manner with the attitude that this virus won’t affect ME.  Witness the teens and twenties partying together and still heading to Florida for Spring Break.  Perhaps they won’t get sick (but odds are some will, and they will spread the virus across their hometowns).  Their parents and grandparents will fall ill, and some of those people will die.  I wonder if having beers with buddies is justifiable.

In the ways that count, our entire country is fighting an enemy that many of us will never see.  However, we will all know someone we will see it, and we will all know someone who dies.  Isn't that really what World War II was like?  It affected everyone.  Sacrifice was asked.  Our response 75 years ago was to pull together and rise to the occasion.  Now, we are all being asked to rise to the occasion.  I don't want to be thought of as a profiteer, a slacker, or a danger to my friends and neighbors.  What about you?

2020 Texas Ranger Guide

I didn't think I would see enough Texas Ranger action to give my Ranger fans a comprehensive guide to the 2020 Rangers.  However, the coronavirus, which is menacing us all, has given me some extra time to watch the final weeks of Spring Training.  (We are being homebodies in NYC thanks to the virus.)  Here is my (and Drake's) analysis of this year's Texas Rangers.

First, there was a completely different feeling in the air and on the field this year.  For the past two years, you could just see the team was nowhere near ready to contend.  One year we started Spring Training with 10 losses!  This year, however, the pitching has been outstanding and the hitting has been lights out.  The Rangers have the highest batting average in the Cactus League, and a winning record in Spring Training.

Some of the hitting changes from last year:  Let's start with Odor.  We were all so exasperated last year.  He lived below the Mendoza line.  He repeatedly struck out or hit the ball directly to the fielders in the shift.  You can't have that kind of batting performance from a crucial hitter in the center of your lineup.  This year I've seen Odor hit the ball repeatedly 'where they're not' as well as remind us he's a great power hitter.

Gallo looks better and better at the plate.   He's solidifying the trend he began last year.  Fewer strikeouts and more walks.  His power looks even more solid.  His big arm is making itself felt in the outfield. 

The big time hitter this spring was  unlooked for:  Isaiah Kiner-Falefeh, freed from trying to become a catcher, arrived at camp looking like he'd put on 15 pounds of muscle in his upper body.  He has hit the cover off the ball including hitting home runs for the first time in his entire career.  (So far, his home run number is only "4", but that's a start for a player who's NEVER hit a home run.)  He looks more than competent at 3rd base, and he's a lock for this team.

Todd Frasier, our acquisition for 3rd base, is a baseball professional.  He's methodically getting ready to play.  He's hitting and his fielding has been impeccable.  As a journeyman, he's our place holder until either Kiner-Falefah or, and here's a newish name, Nick Solak seizes the job.  Solak is a young infielder we acquired in a trade.  He made us all sit up and take notice last year when he was called up in September.  He's been absolutely solid this year.  He's even been working out in the outfield.  [He's more naturally an infielder.]

Willy Calhoun, who hit 269 last year in his first opportunity at extended play in the major leagues, and who was slotted to be the left field starter, was hit in the face a few days ago while batting.  It was totally an accident.  (The pitcher is a close friend of Calhoun, and he was devastated.)  The news was bad, but not as bad as it could have been.  First, he has a broken cheek bone, but his jaw wasn't dislocated.  So, he will be out several weeks, but at least his jaw isn't wired shut.  This opens up a starting position in the outfield.  Center field will be Danny Santana (having a good spring), Gallo will play right field, and according to Drake, Heineman and Garcia will make the team with Garcia starting in left field.  Garcia is a Cuban who is a mature player.  He's hit the cover off the ball this spring, but Heineman has also hit well.

One element which will be a determination as to whether we can be good enough to capture a wild card spot is whether Guzman can hit left handed pitching.  Early returns from Spring are encouraging.  Elvis is playing/hitting with his usual abandon.  Choo looks more relaxed in his role as a team leader and as a professional DH.  Robinson Chirinos is back anchoring the plate.  The other serious injury during Spring Training happened to our young catcher, Trevino.  He fractured a bone, and he's out for some undetermined time.  We'll probably see Mathis make the team as Chirinos' backup.   

Whether we are 'also ran' this year or whether we can capture a wild card is the pitching.  I'm here to report the pitching has been outstanding.  Even in the games where we changed pitchers every single inning, the hallmark of the pitching staff was they were all throwing strikes.  The pitchers have been consistently ahead of the hitters all Spring long.  I haven't seen that kind of performance in the spring by the pitching staff for years.

Lance Lynn and Mike Minor have both looked very solid.  Kluber, an "A" level pitcher we acquired from Cleveland, spent last year recovering from a broken bone, and we have lots of hopes pinned on him.  He's looked good this Spring.  Our other major signee, Jordan Lyles, is an open question.  We also need LeClerc to return to his 2018 form. 

The bullpen is up for grabs.  I've seen a lot of good contenders for those slots this year - again, it's been strikes on top of strikes all spring long across the pitching board. Those facts about the pitching give me more hope for this team than I've had for the past two years.

Better than average pitching paired with our lights out offensive punch could propel this team to a wild card spot.  We need a hot start to get us pointed in the right direction, and to allow a positive team chemistry to form naturally.  Even if the Astros are booed in every away game, I think they are a lock for the American West division winner.  However, this can be the type of season for the Rangers we had in 2008 and 2009 - a really fun team to watch and root for, and if lightening strikes this year, we could have a playoff team.   

 

2020

I just read a book called, The Floating Feldmans by Elyssa Friedland.  It's a book about the inter-generational relationships in an extended family.  The portrayals struck all sorts of chords with me since the matriarch in the book is on the verge of celebrating her 70th birthday.  (That's me this year!)  It started me thinking about relationships in my own family.  (Don't worry, I'm not going to share.  A collective "Thank, God" just went up among my family!)

The book brought up issues of health, money, and the varying emotional places of the different generations.  Emotions are so different depending on where you are on the age scale.  Our one year old is just now discovering his interior emotions.  Ironically, teens are doing the same thing!  Twenty somethings are busy proving to themselves and others they are really adults now.  Thirty and forty somethings don't have time for emotions.  In their time starved lives, each day feels like another mountain climbed.  Fifty somethings are mourning their lost youth.  Believe me when I tell you 50 is not the new 30.  Sixty somethings are wondering if they are over the proverbial hill.  And, when 70 looms, there's no doubt.  You can't even see the top of the hill anymore.  Ninety somethings seem to live totally in the present. 

I've been wondering if I have anything of substance left to say in this blog.  "Going back to work" also called nannying C, the baby in our family, has thrown Drake and me back to the place where there's no time for anything extra.  C's journey as he starts his life seems infinitely more interesting than mine which is winding down.  I hit both health lows and highs this year.  I battled pneumonia and also got glowing reports on the state of my overall health from our doctor just a month later.

We are also doing what we call the A-B lifestyle for the first time.  It's not very balanced yet since it's divided up 10 months/2 months currently.  Drake and I both miss the transitory life we've led for the past 10 years.  At the same time, I like the lack of frenetic activity of the actual 'moving' every few months.  I do miss criss-crossing the country.  It's really quite fun and strangely relaxing to road trip. 

I will be making a decision in the next few months as to whether or not to either close down this 10 year writing experiment, or to refocus and revamp it.  Whatever I decide, I won't just 'vanish' since I know there are people who read my drivel. 

Cheers, and Belated Happy New Year.  (BTW and apropos of absolutely nothing - it's really fun to type "2020".)

Here we are:  The oldsters, or the curmedgeons,
or just us after over 50 years together

 

     

The Infamous Christmas Carol Quiz

Some people got snail mail cards this year.  If you weren't on the snail mail list, well, you either moved and didn't send me your new address, or you stopped sending ME cards, or you were never on my snail mail list for some other reason.  I sent out an all time low of 25 cards this year.  Drake claims I keep the post office in business not just for my Christmas cards, but also because of all the snail mail letters I write.  It's usual for me to send out an annual Christmas letter tucked into my cards.  I don't care if people make fun of those of us who send out the annual missive, I LIKE opening a Christmas card which contains either a printed letter or a handwritten note.  However, if you read blog, well, you know everything already.  

So, back by popular demand, is a family Christmas game:  The Infamous Christmas Carol Quiz.  I must confess here and now, #1 is a bit of a trick question since technically it's not a Christmas carol, but it IS Christmas music.

So, here's a repeat of the questions along with the answers.  And, yes, there's no #3.  I rearranged the quiz, and somehow #3 got lost in the shuffle.  Get over it.  Ho. Ho. Ho.

Christmas Carol Quiz

1. The two room apartment of a psychiatrist. 2. May the Deity bestow an absence of fatigue to happy male humans 4. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis. 5. A B C D E F G H I J K M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z. 6. Present me naught but dual incisors for this festive Yuletide. 7. The smog-less bewitching hour arrived. 8. Exuberance to this orb. 9. 288 Yuletide hours. 10. Do you perceive the same longitudinal pressure which stimulate my auditory sense organs. 11. The December mythical being is due in this burg. 12. Stepping on the pad cover. 13. Four legged boozer named for silent film heart throb. 14. Far back in a hay bin. 15. Leave and do an elevated broadcast. 16. That exiguous hamlet south of the holy city. 17. Hitherward the entire assembly who are loyal in their beliefs 18. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully. 19. A joyful song relative to hollow metallic vessels which vibrate and bring forth a ringing sound when struck. 20. As the guardians of little woolly animal's protected their charges in the shadows of the earth. 21. Frozen precipitation commence 22. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals. 23. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas 24. Boulder of the tinkling metal spheres 25. Vehicular homicide was committed on Dad's mom by a precipitous darling 26. Tranquility upon the terrestrial sphere. 27. We are Kong, Lear, and Nat Cole 28. Cup-shaped instruments fashioned of a whitish metallic element 29. Natal celebration devoid of color, rather albino, as a hallucinatory phenomenon for me. 30. Our fervent hope is that you thoroughly enjoy your yuletide season 31. Parent was observed osculating a red-coated unshaven teamster 32. Diminutive Percussionist 33. Oh small Israel urban center 34. Behold! I envisioned a trio of nautical vessels.   35. K.O. the aisles STOP READING - THE ANSWERS ARE NEXT! ANSWERS 1) Nutcracker Suite 2) God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen 4) Silent Night 5) Noel 6) All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth 7) It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 8) Joy to the World 9) 12 Days of Christmas 10) Do You Hear What I Hear? 11) Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 12) Up On The House Top 13) Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer 14) Away In A Manger 15) Go Tell It On The Mountain 16) Oh Little Town of Bethlehem 17) O Come All Ye Faithful 18) Hark The Herald Angels Sing 19) Jingle Bells 20) As Shepherd's Watch Their Flocks At Night 21) Let It Snow 22) Frosty the Snowman 23) Oh, Holy Night 24) Jingle Bell Rock 25) Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer 26) Peace on earth 27) We Three Kings 28) Silver Bells 29) I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas 30) We Wish You A Merry Christmas 31) I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 32) Little Drummer Boy 33)  O Little Town of Bethlehem 34) I Saw Three Ships 35) Deck the Halls

Happy Holidays

Well, it's Ho, Ho, Ho time again, or Bah, Humbug depending on your attitude.  I'm an HHH person while my ever lovin' is a BH guy.  It's still a wonder to me that any woman isn't Bah, Humbug by December 26th.  I think it's because we don't have the luxury.  Let's face it:  Christmas wouldn't happen without us.  Let's take a little quiz:  In your family.....

1) Who's buying the gifts for:
                                              a)  the kid(s)
                                              b)  the in-law's or parents
                                              c)  the other relatives
                                              d)  the teacher(s)
                                              e)  the co-workers
                                              f)  the friends (oh scratch that -
                                                   most men don't have friends)

2)  Who's planning the holiday menus?

3)  Who's doing the lion's share of the decorating?

4)  Who's making holiday travel plans?  Who's packing for the  kid(s)?

5)  Who's sending out any Christmas mail?

6)  Who's wrapping almost everything?

I think I've made my point.

I will accept many of these jobs have gotten much much easier since the advent of delivery and the INTERNET.  You will not hear a single peep against that wonderful tool by any woman old enough to remember the bad old days.  Hit the rewind button...

It's 1980.  Need to Christmas shop?  You have two choices:  Go to the store/mall with your handwritten list (if you were smart) and make your shopping chores one massive all day event with several trips to your car to stash the loot.  At the end of the day with aching feet and a splitting headache from the constant Christmas tape in the mall, you promise yourself you will not buy another gift.

A second strategy was to have a crystal ball in July and attempt to get your Christmas shopping out of the way, so you wouldn't be so freakin' crazy in December.  This plan was about 75% effective.  I was an early shopper, but even I realized you just couldn't get ALL your gifts for Christmas during the summer - wrong clothes for one thing.  However, you did get bragging rights.   On December 10th the dialogue could go like this:  "How much do you still have left to do for Christmas?"  "Oh, I've been ready since July."  Then you would get a look of pure hatred.

Another little hitch in the early shopping strategy was if you started early enough, you had to resist all the catalogs which would begin to pour into your house beginning October 1st.  Sometimes I would have forty or fifty different catalogs by December 1st. The more people you bought gifts for, the more catalogs you would wind up getting in the mail.  I had professional friends (who made money in their jobs) who would collect over a hundred during the holidays.

Just to clarify:  To order out of a catalog, you could fill out the paper order form in the center of the catalog, cross your fingers and snailmail the form. OR you could call the toll free 1-800 number and deliver all the catalog item numbers together with names, addresses, etc by phone.  An 800 number was important because no one ever called long distance voluntarily unless someone was born or died.  Ma Bell (what we used to call AT&T when they were the one and only phone company) charged through the nose for long distance calls. 

Hickory Farms as well as Harry & David pioneered catalog food.  Hickory Farms was heavy on meat and Harry and David were heavy on fruit wrapped in gold tin foil.  Every grandmother who had out of town family would wind up with summer sausage and tiny blocks of cheese in four flavors together with those little strawberry hard candies and/or four rock hard pears wrapped in foil.  Considering the food gift wasn't more bath cubes (yes, those were a 'thing'), well 99% of these grannies were happy women.
 
Want to send flowers to someone in 1980?  Well, telephone your local florist or stop by and laboriously print out all your addresses from your paper address book you toted around everywhere beginning Halloween for them to screw up as they relayed the orders around the country via land line telephone calls to other florists (AKA:  FTD).

Surprisingly, Christmas tree purchase and decoration are still pretty much the same as 40 years ago.  You go to 'your' Christmas tree lot, pick one, and tie it onto the top of your car, or if you live in NYC, you recruit someone and the two of you carry it home by hand.  The crazy tree lights are still the same except they are miniaturized.  In 1980, you could still find a string of lights in your cardboard Christmas boxes with bulbs the size of a newborn baby's fist.  These came in a tasteful variety of primary colors.  They would also generate enough heat to allow you to lower the thermostat.  You might even find original 'bubble' lights in your box which only had a 50/50 chance of catching fire - but boy, they made a statement on your tree.  In 1980, you did see a big uptic in fake Christmas trees.  They had evolved enough, so if you squinted, they actually looked like real trees.

I think women created more home made gifts in 1980.  This is just anecdotal, but my reasoning is there were fewer women in careers and more in jobs.  You left a job and never gave it another thought until you had to punch in again.  Also, women with careers make MONEY, and thus, while they have less time off work, they have more income to buy gifts and don't have to create them.  When I was teaching, I worked in a school with fourteen teachers, three administrators, one custodian, three cafeteria people, and three support staff.  So, of course, one December I made 25 jars of homemade jelly.  Zounds!   It only took me two years to brighten up and figure something else out on the work gift front.   

There were also Secret Santa gifts, Angel Tree gifts, Girl Scout gifts, Teacher gifts, and Advent gifts at church.  There was money for the paperboy - yes, everyone read a newspaper which was delivered to your door.  There was money for your postman, and depending on your town's custom, for the garbageman.  No, I am not kidding.

Then, there was the holiday food you were expected to take to a plethora of parties:  office, neighborhood, church, and school if you had kids.  Mostly, it had better be homemade or very, very well disguised, so it looked homemade because in 1980 women were still apologizing for WORKING OUTSIDE THE HOME.  To this day I can still make ten kinds of holiday cookies.  I used to set aside an entire Saturday in December to just make cookies.

Shall we talk about snail mail?  One Christmas chore was 'going to the post office' usually multiple times and mailing both gifts and Christmas cards.  At my peak I sent out over 100 Christmas cards.  And, until 2000, I hand wrote a letter for any card that went 'out of town'.  Each card was hand signed, hand addressed, and you still licked stamps.  GRRGH - what your mouth tasted like after licking a zillion stamps.

Gradually, my Christmas chores have lessened as we have all come to the realization we have too much 'stuff'.  We try for consumable gifts in our family which simplifies shopping immensely.  I'm consciously trying to not just cover Cedric in presents.  As any grandparent knows, saying 'no more' is truly hard.  I'm also happy to say this year my charitable contributions will come close to equaling my other purchases.

When I look back, I ask myself what should I have done differently?  Mostly, concentrating more on being 'in the moment' instead of being obsessed with meeting other people's expectations.  Now, I'm always going to have a checklist and a schedule because I'm a classic Type A, but the internet and delivery allows me to simplify both.  I can send flowers, food, presents and anything else with much much less effort.

I've learned it's not the end of the world if it's not homemade, so I save my craft skills for stuff I get pleasure making - like a Christmas tree shirt using yoyos and buttons for Cedric.  I have an inflexible policy every child gets at book for Christmas and birthdays.  I shop for calendars and special greeting cards like other people shop for diamonds.  My Christmas card list is whittled down to people who really care they get a snail mail card.  I love e-cards with a special message for the rest of the world.  A wonderful Christmas is going to happen because I put out a lot of effort, but nowadays not so much effort that I'm frazzled for much of December.

Even in this age of the internet, rethink.  Simplify your holiday routines, and I guarantee you will enjoy yourself more.  Happy Holidays!