Christmas 2005 -- it was a blast !

Christmas was bizarre and fun all in one package and will stand out in my memory unlike any other. I had the fortune of spending Christmas Eve night and day with prima amiga Clare in Atlanta. K had family obligations and I worked Christmas Eve night until 8:30 so it was a late start, but once I got to Clare's house the fun began. We listened to my many Christmas compilations (see memorable Christmas songs below for selections) and had a celebratory Christmas toddy followed by some late night Atari 2600 games. Christmas Day began with the three wise beagles getting out of the fence and hightail wagging it down the road. After an expert fence rigging job we secured the beasts, Junebug, Charlie Brown and Minnie Pearl (the first two pictured above right), and began on our Christmas feast that included roasted capon, mashed potatoes and a couple of cheeseballs (and I mean that literally). Even in the massive Norcross, Georgia commercial lexicon we found no grocery stores open so Circle K became our last hope for forgotten items like milk and butter. After dinner with Clare's grandmother, Ma Rust, we packed up a dinner and took it to Clare's mother, Barbara, who had to work the evening shift at a nearby hospital. She is a nurse at a rehabilitation hospital in Snellville.

Everything was going hunky dory, happy Christmas evening until we got back in the car and about five miles from Clare's house a wave of nausea hit me like a NFL defensive end. I could barely get the car window down before I transformed into a human projectile fountain. Fortunately most of it made it outside of the car, but I was smothered and covered including my hair, my shirt, my cap and even my glasses. It was as funny as it was completely revolting. I power sprayed Clare's car after we got home, washed my clothes in hot soapy water and took a very long shower hoping to be done with the incident, but that was just the beginning. I don't think any more details are necessary to illustrate what happened to the rest of my holiday except that I went to bed on Sunday night and was either there or the bathroom for the next two-and a-half days. I really couldn't have been camped out at a better place since Clare (a.k.a Dr. Clare Louise Vance, pharmacist-at-large) was able to get my doctor in Birmingham to prescribe anti-nausea drugs (good stuff) while she was at work at Target and also snagged Gatorade and ginger ale.

I slept so much that I lost all concept of day and night. I would take what I thought was a two hour nap and wake up six hours later. Chills followed sweats followed shear weakness where a trip downstairs took every ounce of energy I had. After being doped up on the anti-nausea drugs I slipped on the fourth to last step and fell down the rest of the stairs, but I was so drug numb and the steps are carpeted so I did nothing but laugh. Clare provided us with plenty of trashy tabloid magazines and I watched endless movies and episodes of "Six Feet Under" and "The Sopranos" so all and all -- it was actually a pretty good time. I learned a lot of completely useless details about Angelina and Brad and Jessica and Nick (so sad ... NOT!) and other celebrity trash. Those rags are such a guilty pleasure -- the spray cheese of the publication world and I love how they all have basically the same stories and photos, just in different order.

I am sorry I missed my family Christmas in Nashville with Mom, Dad, my sister, aunt, uncle and grandmother, but we all knew I was in no shape to drive from Atlanta to Birmingham and from there to Nashville so I stayed put until Wednesday and came back here for a marathon present wrapping and house cleaning. Mom, Dad and Lindsay came to our place tonight for present opening and dinner and it was very nice. The pictures that follow below illustrate the highlights. The lowlights are hopefully over as it seems this gastrointestinal storm has passed. This was the first Christmas I have ever spent with Clare in our 15 years of friendship and although there were some humiliating and very uncomfortable moments, the joy, revelry, laughter and always excellent companionship were the most important parts of this holiday and one I am really grateful for.