I'm So Confused

     Yesterday, while working a shift as a Monetary Exchange Specialist,* a customer stepped up to purchase some sandpaper, caulk**, and wood putty.

    What he bought isn't important.  In fact, I could have left that part out entirely.  But, that's not how I roll.  I included it because I was able to make a terrible joke about it***.

    Anyway, what's germane about this entire post is what the customer looked like.

Wrong Germane.
NOTE: I know it's spelled "Jermaine."

    He was an older gentleman with a long, graying ponytail.  Look, I'm not a big fan of long hair, earrings, and various piercings for baby boomers.  The way I look at it, by the time you reach

Yes...sigh...my age.

your 60s, you should cut back a little on the youthful hijinks and look/act your age.

Some, of course, refuse to get the message.
Good grief, just make a batch of oatmeal-raisin cookies already, Grandma!

    But, hey, you do you.  If you want to suffer snickers from Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, or whoever's next, knock yourself out. 

Wrong Snickers.
Incidentally, if you threw one of these at me, there'd be no suffering.

    What got me, though, was something seemed a little off about this person.  He was wearing cat-eye glasses, his ponytail was gathered together in the center of his head in a pastel-colored scrunchy, he wore crocs the color of sherbert, and sported lavender yoga pants.  His voice was pretty low, as low as mine.  

    And I'm a manly man.

Clearly.

    Since I thought I may have been dealing with a transgender, I remained as neutral in my speech as possible and was genuinely friendly to him.  

    Hey, as long as you don't mess around with kids, whatever you do is whatever you do.  I don't care.  I may think you're mentally-ill and wonder to whom you're attempting to appeal.

    But, once again, you do you.  I'll keep that to myself.

    One of the services we offer at my store, besides sell "Chuckles,"

"Mmmmm....Chuckles.   Multi-flavored sugar gelatinous goo coming in cherry, lime, pineapple, licorice, and Trump flavors....mmmmmm."

 is cutting keys.  When he/she/they asked to have a couple keys made, my coworker cheerfully called over and said, "I can take care of you here, sir."

Too late to stop him.


    Surprisingly, he/she/they gave no indication that he/she/they was offended.  In fact, as he/she/they turned to leave, I saw that, on the front of his/her/their hoodie was a design of a couple thumbs pointed at, "World's Greatest Grandpa."
 
   And that is why I was so confused.  Maybe he/she/they was really just an old dude with questionable fashion taste.
Once again, my age.

    Or, maybe it was an old hoodie.

    I think I'll just go eat some Chuckles. 















*sounds so much classier than "cashier."  Hey, don't laugh.  I was once an Italian Food Transportation Representative.  For Dominos.

**White caulk.  The brown caulk is twice the size for the same price.

***You looked, didn't you?

New Year's Resolution

 Rather than resolving to lose weight (PFFFT!  I'm 66.  Screw a whole bunch of that.  Plus, I'm still working on my Christmas candy), my New Year Resolution on January 1, 2025 is to still be around on January 1, 2026 (hopefully, with more Christmas candy).

Wish me luck.


Politically Correct Christmas

I wrote a version of this several years (perhaps a decade) ago.  So, I had to tweak it a little.  Interestingly, the line about Joe Biden is just as it was.  That demented muppet was comedy gold then;  he remains comedy gold emeritus.  I included Trump in this updated version, though, because, back in the good old days, he was just a big-mouth wealthy reality television guy.



"Misgender me, you little pricks and everyone gets coal!  Or a Tesla truck."

 

Have a Holly Jolly, Politically Correct Christmas Holiday

By

C. Clement Moore (?)

 With apologies to Major Henry Livingston, Jr.*:

'Twas the Night Before December 25th 

‘Twas the night before December 25th, when all through the house, teepee, shopping cart, sidewalk, or refrigerator carton (who are you to judge?  Hater.).

Not a creature was stirring, not even a transgender rodent (which has every right to live wherever it chooses, you racist).

Government-issued condoms were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes a federal official soon would be there.

 


The children of our illegal immigrant family were nestled, snug in luxury hotel beds,

while visions of non-dairy, non-sugar, non-peanut, non-caffeine, non-fat, non-transfats, non-threatening non-taxed tofu plums danced “With the Stars” in their heads.

My life partner in a hyperbaric chamber and I in my neoprene bubble

had drifted to sleep, with nary any trouble.

 When out on the roof there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed (which I selfishly bought at IKEA while North Carolinians slept in campers), to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I feared that I’d spy

Obama, Biden, or that Maddow guy.

 The moon, on the Britney breast of the new-fallen snow

gave the luster of midday to objects below.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

but a “little people” sleigh and eight height-challenged reindeer.


 
With a stature-limited seasoned-citizen driver, so lively and quick,

I knew it must be that Person of Androgyny, Nikita, Nick...

or some other such prick.

More rapid than CVS looters, her/his/their coursers they came

and she/he/they whistled and shouted and called them by name (though not as subservients; rather as equals in the mutual exchange of commerce).

 “Now Twerker! Lap Dancer!

Lizzo, Prancer and Nixon!

Obama! Ted Danson!

On, Whoopi, Mel Gibson!

To the top of the porch!

To the top of the wall!

Now, dash away, but only if you’re physically able and don’t feel threatened by it all!”


 As dry heaves at drag story hour fly,

or budgets cut because Republicans want you to die,

or on to Ukraine…but Americans?  FU!

with a sleigh full of loot stolen from me and from you!

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, I turned and I saw

Nikita/Nick and her/his/their attorney-at-law.

She/he/they was dressed in synthetic fur, from her/his/their head to her/his/their foot,

and her/his/their clothes were all tarnished with the tracings of soot on her/his/their rump,

a carcinogen and by-product of evil exploitation trees by Trump.

A bundle of toys she/he had tossed in a sack

and I KNEW I was liable if she/he/they busted her/his/their back!

 

But, there was no worry, I had not a care!

Because she/he/they had Obamacare!

Which surely can cure every ouchie

From cancer to pimples, but certainly not Fauci.

 


Her/his/their eyes--how they twinkled!  Her/his/their dimples, how merry!

Her/his/their cheeks like BOTOX balloons, her/his/their nose like a cherry!

It was obvious with him/her/their I should not be alone

this creepy, suspicious, this Biden clone.

Her/his/their droll little mouth was drawn up in a smirk, not a frown

from some anonymous, “tsk-tsking” government clown.

The stump of a pipe she/he/their had just for effect

as she/he/their showed me her/his/their nicotine patch on her/his/their neck.

She/he/they had a broad face and a little round belly

that shook when she/he/they laughed, like a bowl full of KY Jelly.

 (NOTE: the American Medical Association strongly urges a lifestyle which eliminates the existence of “little round bellies”, as they may lead to diabetes, high blood pressure, tourettes, heart attack, an “unfresh” feeling, stroke, erectile dysfunction, skin rashes, halitosis, driving heavy equipment while drowsy, and rickets.  But, hey, be as fat as a hog.  You do you.)


She/he/they were chubby and plump,  a right jolly old fairy/troll/forest nymph/dwarf/Chris Christie/multi-diverse personage of varying-yet valuable-ethnic persuasion/wood sprite/Oprah/elf,

and I laughed when I saw her/him/they, in spite of myself (although, to avoid being sued, I said I was laughing “with”, not “at”, her/him/they).

A wink of her/his/their eye and a twist of her/his/their head

soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

She/he/they spoke not a word, but went straight to her/his/their work

and filled all the condoms, when allowed by her/his/their attorney-the aforementioned jerk.

The gifts, she/he/they explained, were crafted by midgets

Err...”little people” you over-sensitive fidgets.

To insult them, she/he/they knew, will just make them sour

When, after New Years, they return back to work

at McDonalds for $15.00 an hour.


And laying her/his/their finger on the side (not in) of her/his/their nose,

and giving a nod, up the chimney/window/teepee smoke hole she/he/they rose.

She/he/they sprang to her/his/their sleigh, to her/his/their team gave a whistle,

and they mutually agreed in committee to fly as equals away like the down of a thistle.

But, I heard her/him/them exclaim, ‘ere she/he/they drove out of sight.

“Happy Non-Sectarian Day-of-Observance-Which-Has-Nothing-To-Do-With-An-Established-Creed-Or-Dogma-of-Faith-Because-That-Would-Be-a-Heinous-Violation-of-the-Sanctity-of-the-Separation-of-Church-and-State-Because-What-About-the-Children-Dammit!? and to all a mutually-satisfying (as agreed upon in writing. In triplicate. By the ACLU.) with a frosty Bud Light!”    

     *Evidently, Clement Clark Moore is the 19th century equivalent of the New York Times’ Jayson Blair**.  A classic since its 1823 appearance in the Troy Sentinel, ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’ (as it was alternately known) was claimed by Moore as his own in 1837, conveniently after Livingston had passed away.  In fact, Moore, who wasn’t known by any other poem, incorporated the work into one of his own books, Poems, in 1844!  So, the next time you’re tempted to fret and bemoan our lack of journalistic scruples, just remember Moore’s response when asked if he had, indeed, written this most-famous of Yuletide poems:  “Uh, yeah, whatever.”    Or, so I’ve read on the Internet.  Because, after all, if it’s there, it must be true! 

 NOTE:  I wrote this a long time ago (I updated it, but didn’t feel like taking Blair out), so the inclusion of Jayson Blair may leave you scratching your head.  Mr. Blair was pinched for being a plagiarist.  A plagiarist, of course, is someone who tries to pawn off someone else’s work as his own without giving credit to the actual author.  You know, a lot like Joe Biden. 

 

 

  

Have a Holly Jolly Song

 And then make fun of it...

As some of you may know, I work at Ace, Home of the Helpful Hardware Person.  And me.  Trust me, my experiences there are the stuff of books.  Interestingly enough, I'm in the process of writing one, titled "What Can We Help You Find?"

Don't worry, today's post isn't about that.

Although, would it kill you to buy one of the books I've already written?

No, it's about the radio which plays while we work.  It's tuned to an "All-Christmas" station.  

Now, don't get me wrong.  I love Christmas.  The gathering together of friends, the exchanging of gifts, the wondrous colorful displays, the sticking of GI Joe in your sister's EZ Bake Oven*...pretty standard stuff, really.

"It burns!  Dear Lord, it burns! 
My Kung Fu grip is powerless!"

NOTE:  this is a repeat of a picture from my last post.  I had to use it again.  Copying pictures can get expensive.
SECOND NOTE:  Yeah, that's a lie.  I don't pay a cent for these things.
  

No, I wish to complain/comment on all these GD songs, most of which are from my childhood (this has resulted in me changing the lyrics for some of them).  Decades later, I'm still singing them.

Still, it's torture, I tell you.  I'd rather be stuck in an EZ Bake Oven.

"No, you wouldn't."

So, in no certain order**... 

"Deck the Halls"
Comes with two mocking opportunities!

"Don we now, our gay apparel."

Hey, now.

and the part where I change the lyrics..."Deck the Halls With Parts of Molly."

So far, no one has called the cops.

"Jingle Bells" 

A childhood favorite, I'll sometimes sing, "Dashing through the snow in a beat-up Chevrolet..."

But, the all-time favorite version has to be, come on, you know...

I figured you did.
"Winter Wonderland"

"...in the meadow we will find a snowman and pretend he is Parson Brown..."

Upon which they starting talking to the...snowman.  Imagine the kind of psychedelics those two got ahold of.  

How could they tell it was a snowman, you might ask?

Snowballs.

Why was the snowman happy?

He heard the snowblower was coming.

 


"Do You Hear What I Hear?"

Whenever I hear, "A child, a child, shivering in the cold, we will bring him silver and gold," I shout at the radio, "HEY, HOW ABOUT GETTING THE KID A FRIKKIN' BLANKET!  THREE WISE MEN, INDEED!"

"Hippopotamus for Christmas"

Hopefully this kid's parents know that hippos are some of the most dangerous creatures on the planet.  Even if they weren't, IMAGINE how much crap those things put out.  No thanks.

"You've no idea.  Don't let this cartoony appearance fool you."

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"

If this isn't a song which should be on Jerry Springer, I don't know what else.  Not for nothing, Michael Jackson sang it.  And look at what happened to Michael Jackson.  Coincidence?

"Then Santa showed her his Yule Log." 

"Joy to the World"

Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, accompanied by shepherds, angels, donkeys, three wise men***, a couple of camels, mom, stepdad, and a bullfrog.  Named Jeremiah.

Thanks, Three Dog Night!

"Hey, doing what we can to keep the Christmas spirit alive."

"Santa Baby"
This "Whorefest" is, by far, a Christmas song that I hate.  It has nothing to do with Madonna, I swear****.
Although...

"Baby, It's Cold Outside"

Even though this is as much a Christmas song as "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie, I have to point out the sexist, "rapey" nature of this thing.  Plus, it's kind of "ick."

"Come on, man.  It's my favorite!"

"O Come All Ye Faithful"

One of my childhood's all-time classics, we were making fun of this song's title, long before we really understood what we were laughing at.

I think you know why.

In fact, since we were convinced the nuns were on to us, they made us sing the Latin version, "Adestes Fideles."

"You got that right, cheeky boyo.  There'll be no coming here. 
At least with another person. 
Oops, I hope you're nae getting my drift."

Thankfully, though, Christmas will soon be over and the music will switch over to Top 40.  And non-stop Taylor Swift.

Oh, eff.


*to understand what I'm talking about, I invite you to read the post before this.  Don't worry, we'll still be here when you get back.

**mostly because I don't feel like putting them in order.  Saturday night TV's coming on, yo. 

***I know the Magi didn't show up until a couple weeks later.  Don't bother correcting me.  Or did you confuse this with a documentary?

****Yes, I know she sang it way before she destroyed her looks.  But, she was skank then, she's a lizard skank now.

God Bless Us, Everyone

 

Not my house.


Not my house, either.  But closer.



    Christmas was always a big deal at my house.

    Starting immediately after Thanksgiving, we began the run up to the most wonderful time of the year, not counting the last day of school.

    And started to feel sorry for the Jewish kids. 

"Yeah, but we get eight days of Hanukkah while you only get one for Christmas.
And still get two weeks off from school.
So, ya'll can suck it."

    As much fun as getting ready for Christmas was, December 25th was actually what we were all waiting for.

    As the clock struck nine on Christmas Eve, our parents scooted us off to bed.  Warned to stay there all night, we were cautioned not to surprise Santa as he placed gifts under our aluminum Christmas tree.  With its uber-classy color wheel.

Now with all the primary colors!  Plus green!

    OK, we bought into the whole Santa thing.  Then again, we believed in the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy.

And that a nun could fly.
    We tossed and turned all evening.  To pass the time, we mortified our sister by making fart noises under our armpits.

    As midnight approached, we heard the sound of movement downstairs.  Instantly calling a halt to the armpit symphony, we strained to hear what was happening.

    “Santa’s here!” my brother gasped.

    Straining my ears, I heard the muffled sound of rustling paper.  Even so, I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on.  It was only when I heard a sharp bang followed by a string of colorful holiday expressions of goodwill that I knew the magic of Christmas had arrived.

    Reassured, I happily closed my eyes.

    What seemed like seconds later, I was rudely awakened.  “C’mon,” my little brother excitedly cried, “Santa Claus came last night!”

    He seemed genuinely surprised.  Where had he been all these weeks?  Of course Santa Claus came last night!  Who’d he expect, Nixon?

"Ho, ho, ho.  Is that so hard to believe?"

    We bounded downstairs to a dazzling rainbow of presents beneath our garish tin pole.  Quickly diving into the pile, we were brought up short by a shrill, “Nobody opens anything until your father and I get there!”

    Thus admonished, we nervously perched on the edge of our avocado and gold couch.  It seemed an eternity until our parents trudged like zombies into the living room.

    Coming out of her narcoleptic daze, Mom gushed, “Wow!  What happened?  Did Santa come?”  (Amazingly, she sounded as shocked as my brother.  What was it with these people?  Did they all have brain damage?).

    Oblivious to her amazement, my father silently nodded.

Photo for entertainment purposes only.
We weren't nearly this in control.
Neither were we black.
We still aren't.
    Instantly responding, we dove under the tree in a giddy paroxysm of joy.  We were a brood possessed, we were seized with the spirit, we were seagulls descending on a box of French Fries.
 
    After we had torn open our presents, our parents announced that it was time for church.  After all, what says Christmas more than sitting uncomfortably on wooden pews and splashing each other in the face with water from petri dishes disguised as holy water fonts?

    Despite the fact that AOC makes more appearances at Mensa meetings than the Penwassers at Mass, we were “going, goddammit!”  So, after exchanging footie pajamas for swanky “Dad N Lad” ensembles and hideous frocks of a color not found in nature, off we sped in the family Batmobile to church.

     Upon arrival-five minutes late-my father ushered us into the very last pew.  “That way,” he whispered, “we can beat the traffic.” 

    The service was tolerable.  There were a bunch of mumbled carols, a Christmas sermon, and the obligatory offering for starving Vietnamese orphans.  “The ones who aren’t Commies,” Father Karl sternly added.  That was about it.  Oh, and one of my brothers needed the Heimlich maneuver to get that communion wafer out of his throat. 

And hippies.  The little Baby Jesus hated hippies.
    Before you could say “Dominus Nabisco,” we were knocking down old Slovak ladies to get out the door.
Although I think the one in the middle put a gypsy curse on us.

    Once home, we joyfully returned to our toys, although now we wanted to see how creative we could get.  For instance, G.I. Joe didn’t fare too well in the Vietcong EZ Bake Oven.  We also discovered that, if you removed the rubber suction cups, toy arrows sharpen up real nice.

Now with Kung Fu grip!


    Meanwhile, Mom merrily prepared the “Holiday Feast.”  The star of the show was, of course, the turkey, which had been mummifying in the oven the past two days.  Its aroma filled the house with flavor and its burning grease flooded the kitchen with smoke. 

    Besides the turkey, dinner featured food you’d only see one other time:  Thanksgiving.

For instance, I can't imagine Egg Nog Keggers at the 4th of July picnic.

    When presented a choice of turnips, squash, candied yams, deviled eggs, cranberry sauce (always from the can), marzipan, sweet potato souffle, the horrifying blood pudding, mincemeat pie, and the ubiquitous fruitcake, we usually preferred white meat and Hungry Jack mashed potatoes.

To say nothing of marshmallow snowmen.

   

"You're not the kind of fruitcake he's talking about."

    After which, we flung dinner rolls at my sister and the dog, Duke IV.

    Sufficiently gorged, we retired to the living room to strap Barbie to “Revolving Color Wheel of Death” while Mom hosed down the dining room.  Dad, on the other hand, attired in his festive tee shirt and tighty-whiteys, plopped in front of the television and scratched his back with a fork.

    As afternoon dragged toward evening, our eyelids grew heavy.  Our early morning rampage had finally caught up with us and, chocolate-fueled frenzy notwithstanding, we were sliding closer to sleep.

    Through lidded eyes, I remember my father lurching toward the kitchen.  Before I lapsed into a food coma, I heard a faint, “Boy, I sure could use a turkey sandwich with Miracle Whip.”

    Followed by a harsh string of colorful holiday expressions of goodwill as he stepped on one of our pointed wooden arrows.

    “Hey,” my brother mumbled as he drifted off to sleep, “Santa’s back.”

    Let’s see Kwanzaa match those kind of holiday memories.

"Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, one and all. 
No joke!"


A Little Bit of Learning

 The following is just what I remember from being a nerd who read a lot when he was a teenager because he was too shy to date girls.  Little did this bashful teenager know that he would go on to marry three women who shared outrageously low standards in men.

Which always seemed odd to me
as I considered myself a bit of a hottie.



    Steven Grover Cleveland was born on March 18, 1837 in the town of Caldwell, New Jersey, near the New Jersey Turnpike.  His parents preferred to call him "Grover," because they could not agree on whether to spell his first name "Stephen" or "Steven."

NOTE:  This may not be true.


Of course, they may have thought differently
had they been able to see into the future.


NOTE:  This, too, is wild conjecture.

    After serving a term as President of the 1855 senior class at Caldwell High School (home of the unfortunately named 'Fighting Rebels'), young Grover developed a taste for politics.

NOTE:  Yeah, definitely not true.  Why do you keep bothering? 

"Unfortunate because of the coming Civil War."
"Ohhhhhhhhh,  Wanna go cow-tipping?"

    Grover went on to become Mayor of Buffalo.

NOTE:  Although true (surprise!), I don't remember how he went from New Jersey to New York.

    Later, he became Governor of New York.

NOTE:  Also true.  I'm on a roll!

    Finally, he secured the 1884 nomination of the Democratic Party for President and went on to defeat James Blaine.  By doing so, he became the first Democrat to win the presidency since James Buchanan.  
"I apparently set the standard for 'suck.' 
But, hey, I'm dead.  So up yours."

    Unfortunately (well, for him.  I don't care), Cleveland, despite winning the popular vote, lost the electoral vote and the presidency to Benjamin Harrison in 1888.
"Hmm...won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote. 
That sounds familiar."

      However, since Harrison achieved a Buchanan level of suck, Cleveland won the presidency back in 1892.
"Naw, it was the beard.  People hated the beard."

    Cleveland was noted for his views on self-reliance, integrity, commitment to classic liberalism, and fondness for the Daily Jumble in the Washington Post.

NOTE:  Okay, that last bit probably isn't true.  I seriously can't help myself.

    He was an anti-imperialist who was against the annexation of Hawaii because he was allergic to pineapples.
"Plus, I bet he would've hated tiny bubbles.  In da wine."

    He was a strong supporter of the gold standard, was against corruption, and gave his name to an Ohio city on Lake Erie.

NOTE:  Yeah, that definitely isn't true.

    However, the Panic of 1893 plunged the United States into a severe depression.  Whether rightly or wrongly (I can't remember), American voters determined that Democrats should never hold the reins of power again and gave the presidency of 1896 to the Republican, William McKinley.

  Thinking "Screw it," Cleveland left Washington.   

NOTE:  Actually, his health was deteriorating during his presidency.  Fighting cancer, he probably knew he was in no shape to run for office again (he actually could have-restrictions to a president serving more than two terms were many decades away).

    Grover Cleveland died of a heart attack in Princeton, New Jersey (a-ha!  Back to Jersey) in 1908.
Which would explain this on the Jersey Turnpike.


   You may be wondering why I chose to write about a relatively unremarkable president.
Although, compared to Chester Arthur, he was Abraham Lincoln.

    Well, Grover Cleveland was the only man in American history to have been elected to two non-consecutive terms as president.

    Until last week.
"And I approve of this message."

"Beard don't look so bad now, does it?"


Politically Correct Christmas

I'm So Confused

     Yesterday, while working a shift as a Monetary Exchange Specialist,* a customer stepped up to purchase some sandpaper, caulk**, and wo...