Merry Christmas

I remember growing up in the early 60's. Catholic and blue collar. Christmas was always the best time of the year. A lot of presents under the tree and plenty of food. Ever since I was 7 or 8, every Christmas morning a nagging feeling of guilt or curiosity overcame me. I guess it happened when I stopped believing in Santa Claus. I always wondered what it would be like to be really poor and wake up with no presents. Especially while everyone else was celebrating. Now my own kids are older. My ex wife got smart and unloaded me a long time ago. So now I spend Christmas by myself in my office and get work done. Tonight I will watch Sunset Boulevard as I do every year, drink a bottle of wine or two, and sleep on my couch. Tomorrow, I will hide in my office, try to work, and listen to Mannheim Steamroller and think back to 1962, when it was cold outside, and I got a sled under the tree and a toy machine gun and cartridge belt. For the next week I killed more Germans than Patton and Zhukov combined. We went to church and my grandparents came over. We ate a big dinner and life just seemed a lot better than it is now. Merry Christmans to all!