Rant #2,286: Wonderful Christmastime

Well, here we are, just a few days before the big day that we all have been waiting for, which is, of course, Christmas Day on Tuesday, December 25.

And as an aside, as I have outlined in the past, I do look forward to the holiday too, not for its religious implications, not for its gift giving tone, but because it gives me a few days off to exhale.

I am also off from work on Monday, December 24, so I have what amounts to a four day weekend to look back, to look forward, and to try to relax.

This has been a very, very tough year for myself and my family, so just when I thought we would get a breather this year during the holiday, something else happened yesterday that just jumped onto the black cloud that my family has been under seemingly the entire year.

But we will survive, we will make it through this latest crisis, although it certainly will not be easy.

But back to Christmas, the thing that I think I like about it the most is that when you walk around, you see everyone with a pep in their step that they don't have at other times throughout the year.

Maybe it is simply that they are in a rush to buy presents, but whatever it is, people seem to be moving around with a kick in their step this time of year.

And I do mean in their step, and only in their step.

I don't know what it is, but driving this year has been worse than I have ever seen it.

People are doing the craziest things on the roads, and I personally have avoided several accident situations because, well, I happen to be a very good driver.

I have never seen so many people going through red lights in my life, and it is making me think that perhaps every light in my area should be outfitted with cameras, and tickets given to the perpetrators.

On Wednesday, I just avoided not one, but two red light jumpers at the same light, and thankfully, the car behind me was paying attention as I was, because he could have easily rear ended me as I slammed on my brakes to avoid these two fools, one after the other.

And yesterday, somebody simply decided to go through not one, but two lights as I was making a turn at my green light, and somehow, I avoided this dummy too.

A pep in the step I can take, but people who are in such a hurry that they turn their cars into potential death machines ... no, been there, done that, and I don't want to have to go through that again.

So have a "Wonderful Christmastime," as Paul McCartney warbled some years ago in his classic Yuletide song, one of my favorite Christmas songs due to its relative simplicity and theme.

Have a great weekend, a great holiday, and I will speak to you again on Wednesday, which, by the way, is both the first day of Kwaanza and my sister's xxth birthday ... as well as Boxing Day in England.

And it is a workday too! Will wonders never cease?

I guess it is truly a season of wonders, isn't it?