Jim Warman Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Sad to say, my loving bride and I "lost" Xmas this year... not sure where it went or how it got there... but I looked up and there it was - GONE. Oh, we did the Santas Anonymous thing, like always... and the food bank donations are something we try to do every time we go to the grocers.... but something conspiredagainst us this year and that true Xmas spirit was spirited away. And, truth be known, nothing was 'out of the ordinary' this year. True to form, I was in the shop well after supper time Xmas Eve trying to do something with a towed in/no start. Shoulda-coulda-woulda turned into didn't (has to be that conspiracy thing, again) but his truck will be ready for tomorrow (Monday) morning.... I guess half-assed warm and fuzzies are better than no warm and fuzzies. Add that we'll finish up on a rad replacement today... this is on a young fellows work truck - he's 40ish and we consider him a family member - a son, if you will (did I mention that I could hold my family reunion in a phone booth.... whoa!! I'll bet some of you guys don't even know what a phone booth is - it's been that long since I've seen either phone booth or "pay phone"). Family members that are "chosen" in this manner are much 'worse' than family members that happen through accidents of parentage.... We are hopelessly bound together through lifes experience rather than some tenuous "Aunt Molly's second cousin twice removed gene pool syndrome". So... the old guy "lost" Xmas... what does that mean? In the grand scheme of things, squat. Tomorrow morning, the sun will rise - with or without any one of us. 'Carpe diem' (along with a healthy dose of 'illegitimi non carborundum' (don't let the bastards grind you down). In the mean time, I will continue to embarass myself by writing what I hope are thought provoking, inciteful, common-sensical (if not eccentric) and sarcastic 'sound' bites. If nothing else, I hope most of you find something amusing in some of my rantings even if the existing rhyme or reason ascapes you. The entire world is in a state of flux.... Lennon proclaimed "another year over and a new one just begun"... 2009 is going to be a tiger... all we can do is grasp it firmly by the tail and pray like hell we can hang on for a mere 365 and a quarter days. Whooo-eeee... this could be one fuck of a ride, gents. In the PS department.... if some of you guys on InFord could start throwing my name around (in a good way), they might re-instate me on message board.. I promise not to call Ralph a wiener - honest.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Browning Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Aww cheer up Jimmy. Things aren't so bad as they cant get worse. At least you are still alive and kicking. If you enjoy Christmas and the holidays then you have something to look forward to next year. Some of the Christmases in the last few years haven't all been great for me so I think I know how you feel. This year however was a nice holiday for me. Shared a lot of the time with family and friends and there was snow on the ground - YES! In New Jersey! Today it is 48 degrees and windy, most of the snow is now gone but it was nice to have a cold white Christmas for once. There is always something magical about having small children in the house during the Holidays - and a new kitten to liven things up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 Don't get me wrong, Keith.. it isn't that the holiday was without it's pleasures.. but there were aspects that seemed to pale - some with and some without explanation (no matter how feeble some of those explanations could be). Certainly Xmas isn't Xmas without the glee and wonder of small children.. but we survived many years without having little ones under foot (isn't that an odd way to express endearment). No idea of when grandchildren may enter the picture... I see me giving them sweets and noisey toys and then sending them home /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif <SIGH> even my cooking was uninspired this year (I am the 'fancy dinner guy' in our house)... Oh - everything was tasty - I accomplished much but, for some reason, without the feeling of accomplishment. Even my pumpkin pies - they made everyone else feel they way THEY were supposed to feel... but they didn't make me feel the way they usually make me feel... I fell into a trap I warn others about..."be thankful for what you have instead of sad for what you don't...". I have everything I need.... (well, except for an Electra-Glide Classic) and I can't think of anything my life is lacking... <SIGH>... If I had to sum it up.... Xmas is all about "peace on earth - good will towards men...." maybe the lack of those basics made my pies pale in the face of life... That I feel this sort of sadness about some "missing" thing - don't feel badly for me - tomorrow will be a new and better day. Instead - appreciate those things that you have all the more... An odd observation.... I do santas anonymous at Xmas... I do food bank all year 'round... lately, I see these as a "duty" rather than a "passion"... I am ever so thankful that I don't rely on these things... but giving to them has somehow lost a bit of it's "lustre"... I have gone from feeling blessed that I don't need these things to feeling privileged that I can donate to them. Lucky to pompous in one easy lesson.... While I am no longer sure of why I made my initial post - commiseration wasn't something I was hoping to ellicit. Certainly, there is some sort of "missing thing" - a hole that isn't quite a hole in my Xmas... but it hasn't made the season a waste... I've done the "good" that I usually do - albeit without the passion I usually feel. A lesson in life? A vision of Xmases yet to come (apologies to Dickens)? An old guy looking for something that wasn't there to begin with? What is important is that each and everyone of us can look back at our Christmas and say, without reservation, "that was good". Odd as it may sound... I can do that this year.... It WAS good.. next year, the plan is for GREAT. Life is a lot like a pick up truck.... after a while, the paint fades and picks up a few rock chips.... but it's still pretty good transportation... Life is what you make of it.... some days you grab it by the horns.... some days by the tail.... grabbing it (carpe diem) becomes the important part... I'm in a philosophical mood of late.... Coalition dictatorship is the operative phrase.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastendpowerstroke Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Quote: I promise not to call Ralph a wiener - honest.... /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/readthis.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rofl.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grampy-jim.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/icon_crazy.gifThat goes right into the list of all time greatest liesI love you This won't hurt a bit The check's (cheque's in Canadian) in the mail I was just going to call you I swear I won't !@#!?$! in your mouth Of course I'll respect you in the morning We have a really challenging assignment for you I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you I'll be right back.I promise not to call Ralph a weiner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 "The parts are on the truck" "Just the tip, I promise." /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rofl.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARRY BRUDZYNSKI Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Quote: Life is a lot like a pick up truck.... after a while, the paint fades and picks up a few rock chips.... but it's still pretty good transportation... That's true, but most old things can be made new again. Paint job, tune up, hell even hop it up. Maybe you just need a overhaul, maybe go out and get the Electra Glide you want. You can't put out to everyone all the time, sometimes you have to take some time for yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony302600 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 "It was boxed wrong I didnt order the wrong one" "It was like that when i got it" "Not Mine" "This is my first time too" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredsvt Posted December 31, 2008 Share Posted December 31, 2008 I hear these a alot "You're a mechanic, you can make it fit" when you get a wrong part from a vendor. "what do you mean?" after telling a customer that she's riding on bald tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Warman Posted January 3, 2009 Author Share Posted January 3, 2009 I can always depend on you lot for some encouragement... But, we are past the holiday... and, this afternoon, I will be past the beginning of my year.... When I started this thread, I had a foreboding, I guess... but I can't even be sure it was that.... All I knew was that it just "wasn't Christmas".... Yesterday, I attended a funeral... Larry Battenfelder and I had always meant to ride to Hogg Flatts together - this is a celebration of motorcycling held every year near Athabasca - but we never did - and now we never will. Today, I am about to attend a funeral... a man that was one of the first to befriend me when I moved to Slave Lake in the very early 80's... we had nothing in common and rarely saw one another... but we still had a "bond". Do not feel sorry for me.. that is not the intent of this fucking ordeal.... Look deep in your life.... Is there something you've been meaning to say to someone? Is there something special you always want to do or a place you wanted to go with someone? Is there someone that you've deep down had the need to forgive for a slight or a misunderstanding... big or small? My mother died in the early 90s.... During the very last conversation I ever had with her, we argued and I never got the chance to apologize.... Life is NOT about YOU..... life is about the people you affect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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