Christmas Eve Eve...

... and we're still getting ready. I will do a full-fledged Christmas thingie sometime during the 12 days of Christmas, complete with picture of my tree and all the holly jolly you can eat. Meanwhile, the Work Fairy dinged me in the head with the West Shore water main break emergency hearing, and thereby paid for a lot of Christmas cheer. One man's soggy basement is another man's Troegs.

Still Watching The Wheels Go Round

Today is the 28th anniversary of two events I'll never forget: the death of John Lennon and the purchase of my first electric guitar, the Telecaster. I was on my way back from a hearing in Coatesville, planning to stop in Lancaster to pick up the Fender from Jeff Coleman's place, when I heard the news. It still seems unreal to me, senseless and sad, especially when I hear the song "Beautiful Boy." I still have that guitar, and I suppose the best I can do is keep trying to figure out how to play it.

Speaking of playing, it's back in the saddle again at the Dillsburg VFW this Saturday, then next week, the 19th, a rare Friday night at the Lawnton Legion. As always, anyone interested in getting into the Legion to see us can contact me and I can get you signed in.

Stir Crazy

As the 10th of December gets closer, I'm more than ready to get back on the move and be able to go somewhere without having "Mom drive me to the Mall," as I've been putting it. Last Thursday and Friday, I did some workers' comp hearings in Harrisburg. After three weeks plus of laying around in pajama pants, trying to decide whether to watch Robocop 3 or Ghost Rider again, it felt great to put on a suit and go be useful.

I'm expecting the doctor to tell me on the 10th that I can take off the sling and start easing into regular activity. Bill's wife Sandy, who had the same surgery I did, is back to driving, although exercises don't start for her until next week. It looks like this whole process from surgery to recovery is about 16 weeks, and I've got three and a half behind me.

Christmas is a-comin' and the pundits are getting nervous. Do you get the feeling that we have a civic duty to go spend money on crap, mostly made in China, to save our great nation's economy which was more or less date-raped by a gang of greedy corporations and bungling deciders? Again, maybe I've been watching too much TV, but at three in the morning on Black Friday I felt a little guilty for not going over to the mall and pushing someone out of the way to get my very own DVD of Robocop 3 or Ghost Rider for 87 cents (which is still twice what they're worth, trust me). Well, Christmas will come, and at some point we'll reconnect with its true meaning, which I'm pretty sure doesn't involve a made-for-TV movie starring Tom Arnold.

Since I was well enough to go to work this week, I have no excuse for not going to sing with the choir this Sunday morning, so I'm going to go start getting ready. Hopefully by next week I'll be able to play in church again. I'm planning to play with Just Friends next Saturday in Dillsburg. We'll see how that goes.

Break Time's Over...

... back on my head. (I never get tired of that punchline.) Thanksgiving holiday was a success, beginning with Thanksgiving Darts Wednesday evening, in which Greg Gerstner shot his first turkey:

We had the traditional spread and the traditional intrateam feuding, namecalling and file cabinet kicking (I handled that one).

Thanksgiving Day was also a blast, with Andie, Brian and Theo coming over for breakfast, to accommodate their dinner schedule, and then Mary, John and the boys coming to the turkey dinner later. Of course, I slipped into the traditional nod on the chair afterwards while they did the dishes.

I don't have pictures, but Friday evening Joreen and I went to the brewery to see Bill Nork playing with Soulgrass Freedom Junction, a local band with amazing harmonies. The show was great. I don't know about your chances of seeing them in the near future, because their female vocalist is really, really pregnant, like eight months' worth, so their schedule may be subject to change. They're really good, though, and it was good to hear Bill playing live.

And now, finally, today is my last day of goofing off. I have hearings tomorrow and Friday, and I honestly can't wait. I'm pushing it a little because I don't get out of the sling officially until Wednesday, but I really miss work. (There's a phrase I don't type too often!)