Today I received an email from someone I’ve never met in person and really haven’t been in contact with very much. Their comments were sarcastic and borderline rude; and, even though we’ve only exchanged a few sentences here and there, it won’t stop bothering me. I re-read every line to try and figure out if I actually said something erroneous (you know sometimes your tone can be interpreted incorrectly if someone doesn’t know your inner voice), or if I was reading their words in the wrong way, or if maybe they are just a…
How can you describe the phenomenon of a teenage girl falling so deeply in love with a boy solely from watching him on-screen, reading about him in fan magazines, and starring dreamily at foldout paper posters of him tacked affectionately on her bedroom wall? Teen heartthrobs. The infamous December 7th, became even more historically important than it already was when Tiger Beat revealed to me, in one of the many 1982 issues, that C. Thomas Howell was born on that date. It instantly became more significant than the July 4th or Halloween…it was a certifiable holiday that needed…
Put those slippers on your feet, light a fire in the fireplace, grab a cozy blanket and get set because it’s that time of the year, and there is no point in trying to flee from the impending saccharine brainwashing that lies ahead. You know what I mean, the mind engulfing, overly sentimental, sugary sweet carnage that you can’t possibly look away from…Countdown to Christmas on the Hallmark Channel! This year, the festive fun began on October 28th (yes, even before Halloween) and I’ve been wrapped up ever since. Dang you Hallmark. I want to be…
Magic can be found anywhere; you just have to know where to look for it. It’s like that cloud with the silver lining. It is even there for the pessimist, if they are willing to shift their view slightly and open their mind to the possibility. New York at holiday time is a perfect example. Sure you can focus on the negative – the plethora of people jam packed between the cement barriers lining the street and the storefronts in Times Square…don’t kid yourself, it is worse than being a sardine in a can.  …
Why do people feel the need to justify merriment? It’s almost as if maybe they feel bad for those that might not have anything exciting to celebrate, like a birthday, anniversary, new job or anything else that seems a monumental change in life; so, they want to give an explanation for their happiness and wanting to share it. Perhaps they don’t want to be a braggart by boasting about something good that happened to them or their family. Or, possibly they think they need to knock themselves down just a bit, feeling the negative, in order to enjoy…