Patterico's Pontifications

12/25/2019

Merry Christmas!

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 8:17 am



Hope you all have a great Christmas. Thanks to Dana and JVW for everything they do, and thanks to longtime readers and any newer ones.

18 Responses to “Merry Christmas!”

  1. And a Merry Christmas to you, and thank you for the gift of music that consistently reminds us of the enduring power of beauty and love.

    John B Boddie (0fa0b7)

  2. You’re thanking little old me?

    Oh, wait . . . .

    The Dana who isn't an attorney (a9ea87)

  3. The gift of music

    https://youtu.be/1SE0t2cS65A

    harkin (3e2319)

  4. Merry Christmas! I hope you have exactly the level of peace vs activity that you prefer on xmas day.

    Nic (eb3e86)

  5. Merry Christmas to you Mr. Patterico, and to all!

    Matador (03e82b)

  6. Harkin – Thank you.
    Even when the visuals are wrenching, music steps in to make us smile.

    John B Boddie (0fa0b7)

  7. Merry Christmas, Patterico. Glad I stumbled into your blog in January 2004.

    Tom Ryberg (9bed35)

  8. “Even when the visuals are wrenching, music steps in to make us smile.”

    I don’t monkey around boy.

    harkin (13f927)

  9. Belated wishes for a great 2nd-12th Days of Christmas. May your true love not disappoint you. Enjoy the New Year.

    pouncer (df6448)

  10. Best, best wishes to you and your family, Patterico.

    Simon Jester (9ac1a0)

  11. Thank you for this blog. May you and your family have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

    Stuart Makagon (52fdfe)

  12. Merry Christmas to you to Patterico, your co-bloggers and to all readers.

    whembly (c30c83)

  13. Merry 2nd day of Christmas and Happy 5th day of Hanukkah, everybody!

    felipe (023cc9)

  14. I went out to eat on Christmas Eve, just me by myself. Chili’s was pretty empty, as one would expect, so I sat at the bar. The young bartender/waitress wore antlers. Some sort of festive costume, I guess. I ordered ice water, a Heineken, black coffee, a 10 oz. garlic-buttered sirloin (medium) with grilled shrimp, stuffed baked potato, and steamed broccoli.

    This older woman came in and also sat at the bar, a few stools over to my left. She ordered a bowl of soup and some sort of fruit cocktail, then started making phone calls.

    Her soup and cocktail arrived quickly. When my plate was served, she was off the phone, so I turned to her and said, “How are you on this very merry Christmas Eve?”

    “I think I’ve been stood up.”

    “Welcome to the club. I’m home alone this Christmas.”

    “At least you’re having a nice meal.”

    “Yeah, well, after the way the Dallas Cowboys played on Sunday, I need a consolation dinner.”

    That was the extent of our conversation, lasted less than two minutes. Then she got up and left. I finished my meal alone, it was delicious, and when I asked the bartender/waitress for the bill, she smiled under her antlers and said, “She paid your check.”

    ?! This mystery woman, I never met her before, don’t know her name, wouldn’t recognize her if I ever met her again, and she buys me a $30 dinner after a two-minute conversation? On Christmas Eve, no less. Talk about random acts of kindness from complete strangers. I just shook my head dumbfounded, and gave the bartender/waitress an extra large tip.

    The next morning, my mother came over and said, “Merry Christmas!” Merry Christmas to you, too. You know, the strangest thing happened last night. . . . She laughed and said, “It’s the season of giving!”

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  15. Did you die? Where is the post x-mas stuff?

    asset (84eabb)

  16. @14. Great story, GG. Merry Christmas all.

    JRH (52aed3)

  17. @JRH

    It’s a true story. It really, actually happened. I went out to eat alone, sat at a bar, and ordered a meal. This woman comes in and sits a few stools over. We had a brief conversation, and she buys me dinner?

    I’m still freaking out about that. My mother is still laughing about that.

    Who was this woman? I don’t know. Never met her before, don’t know her name, wouldn’t recognize her if I ever saw her again.

    ?! It’s the reason why I donate to St. Jude’s, the Salvation Army, and Wounded Warriors, Paralyzed Vets.

    Random acts of kindness by strangers, that is what life is about.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  18. GG – Here’s how I would understand the act of kindness:
    She appears to have suffered an injury or insult (“I think I’ve been stood up.”) and was feeling low, not just about the Cowboys. But she thought: “I can still be nice to other people, and no one can take that power away from me.” Maybe she paid the tab because at some level she thought she should have spent longer chatting with a lonely person.

    Even if many things are out of your control, or you fail at this or that, or people disappoint you, no one can take away your power to be nice. It isn’t that hard, and it doesn’t necessarily cost anything either.

    Radegunda (39c35f)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.1023 secs.