Any New Year's Resolutions?

I guess my one and only is to continue my diet. I'm not really sure how much weight I lost this year but I have lost some and my doctors are pleased with my modest progress. Another year of modest progress and "what the hey" I guess I'll have made good progress then.

Last year I resolved to be "more cheerful". All my friends laughed so hard that I just resorted back to my usual irascible self! No sense messing with perfection.

I used to resolve to go to Times Square every year. Although I made it to New York once in my life and I loved it, I never made it back for New Year's Eve. Life kept getting in the way. Now it is out of the question because of my health.

c'est la vie

The Shopping Cart Races

When I lived in Florida I lived at one place where the kids would have shopping cart races. They were hilarious! I didn't even get mad (for the most part) when they would disturb my afternoon nap with them.

They would take 2 shopping carts and fill them with various amounts and sizes of children. Usually the bigger kids would push the carts. They would race them and the best part was when they would hit the speed bump! Kids would go flying in all directions!

Then they would get back up and do it all over again!

Oh, to be as indestructable as a child again.

Our Gazebo

Here is the gazebo that Eddie and I decorated

greetings from my new computer

and my completely FREE wifi

I have a friend in the building with the same computer. I couldn't get the internet at first, but he showed me what to do

ta da

I bought a laptop.

I'm going home to test it out. I have 14 days to return it if I'm not satisfied. It is a toshiba. I checked online and the pricing was good. I guess I'll know about the rest of it in a few days.

I have bought probably 10 different cheap video cameras in the past year and returned them all within hours for various reasons. I am not shy about returning products that don't live up to what the salesman tells me.

I got my laptop at best buy. The salesman was very helpful. I went to Walmart first because my friends told me to get a Kindle Fire but I didn't think it would do what I wanted. The salesman there was decidedly unhelpful so I left. Unfortunately I had opened a Pepsi and I had to stand in a line of about 20 people just to buy it and some hamburger buns. That is why only go to Walmart about once a year!

IT WAS A GOOD CHRISTMAS

I had a good Christmas. It started with Eddie and I attending a local production of "Humbug" back around Thanksgiving. It was really good. I am becoming quite a fan of local productions.

Also my doctor let me put off my stress test until January. Every year for the past 5 years he has given me a stress test right at Thanksgiving. It took me so long to recover that it would mess up both my holidays. Unfortunately I have to take it in January. Not looking forward to it at all.

I have had too much salt as usual but I don't feel like I am at death's door because of it. That's an improvement. I had about 20 free Wendy's breakfast coupons to get the whole meal free. I threw away about 10 of them because I couldn't resist temptation anymore. Also I had about 10 coupons for free Chick Filet sandwiches. Between the two free meals I was getting the sodium was piling on the weight.

I didn't win the free truck again this year, but I had fun trying. Oh well, there's always next year.

I went to my mom's for Christmas. It was pleasurable. I enjoyed myself.

I took Eddie to Logan to see the Christmas in the Park display. It was great! We have one in Charleston but it isn't nearly as good as the one in Logan. We both enjoyed it very much.

I had my dream Christmas Tree of "Silver and Gold". I'll probably leave it up for awhile.

A neighbor gave me enough VCR tapes to fill up a whole trunk. I'll have plenty of movies to what while I hibernate this year.

I had my Chinese feast for Christmas and Thanksgiving. I didn't try the Peking Duck though. Maybe I'll do it for Easter.

My Story was published in the Charleston Gazette on Christmas Day. I didn't know it until the next day though when my aunt and uncle met me at the door telling me how much they loved my story. They gave me their newspaper clipping as well as a whole deer. I left most of it at their house but I will go back soon and give it out in the building and keep plenty for myself.

Eddie and I decorated the gazebo with Christmas lights. It is very pretty and I will post a picture if I can get one. I will leave the lights up until New Years.

I didn't get all my decorations up but I didn't let it bother me. Now I don't have to take them down either. I was able to relax and take it easy and still had a good time. Wouldn't mind doing it all over again.

My Story Was Published in the Christmas Edition of the Charleston Gazette

This is a true story. It happened 5 years ago.

I met a little girl named Heather. She is 8 years old. Heather did not have a Christmas. I don't mean Heather had a bad Christmas, I mean Heather did not have any Christmas. She did not get so much as a candy cane for Christmas. She is a sweet child with long, blonde hair and very quiet and mannerly. She is shy. When you ask her if she wants something she is afraid to say, "yes".

Her mommy is a crack head. Her daddy is a drunk. I met her on New Year's Eve at her uncle's house. She was having a good time playing on the computer and her uncle bought her a personal pan pizza and went to Rite Aid and bought her some play dough. When I walked into the house he pulled me aside and told me what was going on. He did not know what to do for her. I had not planned to have a child in the house so I went digging through my Christmas stuff (I have entirely too much) and started giving her what I could find.

She was appreciative of every little item down to the candy canes that I let her have off the tree. Fortunately I had not taken it down yet. She would run to her daddy and show him every little thing. She was just tickled pink as only little 8 year old girls can be. Her drunken daddy would slur and paw over "my little girl" and go on about how much he loved her. Heather does not know that real daddies don't act like that. I kept her distracted all evening.

New Year's morning I woke up and went to the local dollar store, they had toys half price. I got Heather a few things. In fact I got her more than I could afford and I was afraid I would have to take some of it back. I woke her uncle up when I got home and told him what I had done. He immediately went to his wallet and paid for everything. He was grateful. He said he just didn't know how to shop for a little girl. I wrapped up the presents and we circled them around Heather and woke her up. Apparently Santa had come that night and left her presents there at her uncle's house because he couldn't find her on Christmas Eve.

Heather's eyes were shining and she was laughing and playing. Her daddy got up and cracked open his first beer of the day. She had pumpkin pie for breakfast because everybody knows you can eat anything you want on a holiday. She played for hours with the few toys I got. I know a lot of kids who would throw a tantrum over the little presents I bought for her that day.

Heather was happy.

The next day I went to work. I work at Fruth Pharmacy. The pay sucks but this is the reason I work there. I started to tell my coworkers about Heather. My coworkers are mothers. Within a few hours we had her a smorgasbord of toys - even a few regular customers pitched in some money when they found out what we were doing. When I left Fruth that night I had 4 bags of toys and candy and toiletries hand picked for an 8 year old girl. In a few days there will be some clothes for Heather too. This is not the first time my friends and I have run into a child in trouble and everybody chipped in to help.

Now Heather had a Christmas. It was 10 days late. The hard part is yet to come. I will try to turn her parents in. Not having a Christmas is only a small problem in this child's life. As of today no one has seen her mom since Christmas Eve. It is presumed she is off on a crack binge somewhere. When her uncle took her presents to her, her daddy was still drunk. He has not drawn a sober breath in days. I'm not talking just drunk. I'm talking pissing on yourself, can't walk across the room drunk. Can't even get yourself another beer drunk. I am disgusted I have to do something or I won't be able to live with myself.

prologue

I tried to call Heather's school. The woman I talked to was not interested in even looking for her with the little bit of information that I could provide.

I could not find Heather after that. I don't know where she is now.