On the 3rd Day of Christmas-Christmas Shoes by Newsong

To celebrate the season of Christmas, I will be presenting 12 straight days of posts related to Christmas.  We will call it, for lack of a better term, "The 12 Days of Christmas."  Real original, I know.  Some of the posts will be serious, some will be fun, but all will deal with Christmas in some way, shape or form.

If you ever needed a reminder of what Christmas is all about, stop and listen to the words of this song. I can never listen to this song without tearing up.  On the 3rd Day of Christmas we present Newsong and "Christmas Shoes."

On the 2nd Day of Christmas-Gary Chapman "This Gift"

To celebrate the season of Christmas, I will be presenting 12 straight days of posts related to Christmas.  We will call it, for lack of a better term, "The 12 Days of Christmas."  Real original, I know.  Some of the posts will be serious, some will be fun, but all will deal with Christmas in some way, shape or form.

When I was younger, I used to listen to a lot of Contemporary Christian Music. One of my favorites, it should be no surprise, was Amy Grant. At the time, her husband was Gary Chapman. I enjoyed his solo work as well. Gary Chapman also released a Christmas CD which included this song, "This Gift."  Whenever I have heard this song, I have always thought of it as a man offering his heart to a woman.  That being said, I like the last couple frames of this video set to that song.  After all, it is what Christmas is all about.

On the 2nd Day of Christmas we present to you Gary Chapman and "This Gift."

On the 1st Day of Christmas-A Doggy Christmas Surprise

To celebrate the season of Christmas, I will be presenting 12 straight days of posts related to Christmas.  We will call it, for lack of a better term, "The 12 Days of Christmas."  Real original, I know.  Some of the posts will be serious, some will be fun, but all will deal with Christmas in some way, shape or form.

We have all heard phrases like "it's a dog's life," or "dog tired."  To me dogs are about the best pet one could have.  Nothing against other animals, just a personal preference.  A good friend of mine posted the article below on his blog, Intrepid Ideas.  I thought it was so cute that I had to post it here.  I wonder if they can clean up after themselves?

So, on the 1st Day of Christmas we give to you "A Doggy Christmas Surprise."

Music Monday-Kenny Chesney "Anything But Mine"

Sure, it is the middle of December and everybody is thinking about Christmas and the holidays, but whenever the weather starts to get cold, I like to think of the beach.  To me, you can never have enough "beach music."  Usually for me, that entails listening to a lot of Jimmy Buffett, but I really like this song by Kenny Chesney.  It captures the idea and feelings of a romance at the beach coming to an end as the summer draws to a close.  

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. Rules are simple. Leave ONLY the actual post link here and grab the code below and place it at your blog entry. You can grab this code at LadyJava's Lounge Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.

Early Christmas Vacation

Image via WikipediaI slept a little bit later than I usually do this morning.  Normally, on the weekend, I get up around 8 am.  When my son is home, I usually get up a little earlier because he tends to be an early riser.  This morning, however, I must have been particularly sleepy because I didn't crawl out of bed until 9:30.

I got up and took care of my usual morning business; brushed my teeth, showered, etc.  After getting dressed, I headed downstairs to fire up the old laptop and fix myself a pot of coffee.  I was going to have a couple cups of coffee, and do a little web browsing before heading out to do my weekly grocery shopping.  Then it was going to be a relaxing day of watching football.

As is so often the case in my life, things don't always seem to go exactly as I planned.  Just as I was about to pour my first cup of coffee, Mrs. Dickster comes walking down the steps to inform me that she had just received a phone call from my son's school asking us to come pick him up.  Needless to say, we were somewhat surprised as his Christmas break was not to begin until December 23rd.

I called the school to speak to the person who had made the request.  She requested that we come pick him up and bring him back after the Christmas break on January 3rd.  We were informed that he was being completely non-compliant and was hitting other kids.  My son has had a history of slapping at people in the past, and we definitely do not condone that behavior, but he usually does not go out of his way to hit others. 

We knew it was going to be a difficult transition for him to be living away from home.  However, I do have to say we were completely taken aback by the request to come get him this early.  For the most part, we have gotten positive feedback from the staff at the school and the dorm.  He has been doing well in class, and had been making some strides in the dorm life. 

There have been some concerns about his eating, but for the most part they said he seemed to be adjusting.  When I spoke to somebody earlier this week, they told me that he had been interacting more and more with the other kids.  My wife had to take some medication out to the school on Thursday, and she saw him from a distance and said he looked happy.

Of course, the holidays are a particularly stressful time of year for anybody.  I guess it can be particularly stressful for a special needs child away from home for the first time.  The hope is that after holiday season when things settle down a little bit at school that he will be able to adjust after things return to normal.  I hope so, though getting him back will be difficult. 

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Time for a News Blackout

Image via Wikipedia

Image via WikipediaI am tired.  Exhausted really.  There are a couple of reasons.  Part of it is because for most of the past 20 years, I have worked two jobs.  Not complaining, but you do what you have to do to pay the bills and put some food on the table.  Another part would be dealing with the difficulties of the issues with my son.

Prior to getting into blogging, I was probably your typical American.  I watched the local nightly news, checked out a few websites to be informed of things that interested me, but for the most part didn't get into the details of the happenings in DC.  As long as I was working and doing OK, it just wasn't that important to me.

As I got into blogging, and started looking for subjects to right about.  I had gotten tired of listening to the local sports talk radio station and found a fairly balanced talk radio show in the mornings, that featured three local reporters with both liberal and conservative commentators.  The station eventually switched over from commentary to only Federal news.

I then started listening to WMAL630 with Fred Grandy in the morning.  They were definitely my conservative, but my political views were more conservative to begin with.  It is there that I would also listen to Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.  Frequently, I will hear stories on this station, not always political, that would inspire a particular blog post.

Politically, I consider myself to be a Libertarian, though I am registered as a Republican.  Most of my views would be considered conservative and while I definitely do not always agree with the Republicans, especially on social issues, I do fine myself more in agreement with the GOP, especially when compared with the Democrats.

In addition to WMAL630, I found myself watching a lot of Fox News channel in the evenings.  In particular, The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity, and On the Record with Greta Van Susteren.  In recent months though, I find myself tiring of it, especially O'Reilly and On the Record. Plus several of the more liberal leaning guests on all the shows have a tendency to raise my blood pressure.  It has gotten to the point where I have been considering a self imposed news blackout of sorts.

The idea of the news blackout has really come to a head this past week with all of the hand wringing on both sides of the political spectrum in regards to the deal that Barack Obama announced regarding the extension of the Bush era tax rates.  I actually wanted to give the President some credit for the bipartisan agreement, but he couldn't go without attacking those that don't agree with him.  Of course the more left members of the Democrats and the more right members of the GOP are all attacking the agreement.

For the entire week, I have been listening to Mark Levin blasting the agreement.  He has gone on and on about how the GOP should be holding out for even more concessions from the Democrats, even if it means waiting until they take control of the House in January.  Hannity has been picking up on the theme of holding out, even if it takes a month or two to get a deal and how it would be an "interesting game of chicken."  I actually turned off Levin as he started his opening monologue last night and switched to music in the car.

While philosophically, I am in agreement with their position, the practicality of it leaves me scratching my head.  If the tax rates are left to expire, then folks that are living pay check to pay check currently will really be struggling when the tax withholding goes up on January 1.  It is funny that the very people who want a prolonged battle with the Democrats are the same ones that can afford to have a little extra money withheld from their paychecks.

Meanwhile the Democrats continue their class warfare battle.  They are all up in arms about the tax rates being extended for everybody, especially the evil rich.  They are even more irate at the proposal to have a break in the estate tax. I have never understood the logic of an estate tax.  A man or woman can work hard all their life, pay taxes on everything they earn, and save for their children.  Then when they die, the government wants to confiscate property that had already been taxed.

So now, I say a pox on both their houses.  I am not sure I am going to completely go on a news blackout, but I may cut back considerably.  Plus it is time for the holidays.  Over the next two weeks, I am considering running a 12 Days of Christmas theme where I will post a Christmas related post for 12 straight days, culminating on Christmas day.

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The Death of John Lennon

Image via WikipediaIt was 30 years ago tonight that John Lennon breathed his last.  Lennon has always been and will always be my favorite member of The Beatles.  Not that it particularly matters, but in order my favorites are Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and last would be Paul McCartney.  I liked Lennon and Harrison the best because they were both guitarists, and I played guitar.  There was always something about McCartney that rubbed me the wrong way.

A friend of mine posted on his Facebook page the following question; "Where were you when you heard the news of John Lennon's murder?"  I posted a response to the question on Facebook, but thought that I would talk about it here as well.

I was 19 years old when John Lennon was gunned down outside his home on December 8, 1980.  He had just released his first new music in several years with the release of "Double Fantasy," a collaboration with his wife Yoko Ono.  Half the songs were performed by John, and half by Yoko.  I really wanted to get the CD, but we had a rule in our house that I couldn't buy myself anything prior to Christmas.

I didn't actually hear the news of the tragedy the night that it occurred.  I had to get up early the next morning to go to work, so I went to bed a little early that night.  The next morning my mother knocked on my door to make sure that I was up for work.  It was then that she told me that Lennon had been shot seven times. (He was struck by four bullets, but three passed completely through his body.)  Logic completely escaped me at that moment, and I asked if he was alright.  She told me he had died.

I was devastated.  I got up, and got ready for work, but my heart wasn't in it.  I dressed in black.  The only reason I went in at all was that I had to open the store I was working at and had to get the cash drawers ready for the day.  I told them I was sick and took the rest of the day off.  My mother, understanding my grief, waived the "no purchases before Christmas rule" and allowed me to go purchase the new CD.  I listed to John's portion of the disc and The Beatles the rest of the day.   

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