A Ghost of Christmas Past
Maybe it was the glass of Baker’s Bourbon or the glass of Johnny Walker Blue, or maybe even it was that last glass of Blood Oath – but something has got me feeling a little nostalgic tonight. First off, if you are going to have an enjoyable family dinner and drinks afterward, any of the aforementioned libations are a good choice. But it wasn’t the drinks or even the company tonight that made me get all nostalgic since I was spending the day with my wife’s side of the family but had a flashback to a Christmas past with my own blood. For some reason, I remembered a certain Christmas when I was just a pup and was overjoyed when I opened one of my presents to discover my much yearned-for present of a camouflage outfit, complete with the pants, t-shirt, and matching vest. I can remember, clear as day for some reason, opening the box, seeing the clothing and exclaiming, “Oh, Boss!! This is so Boss!” My sister, Lisa, could not understand where my term “boss” came from, or even what it meant. I just remember that I was an avid viewer of the program Riptide at the time, and one of the characters uses that phrase on a regular basis, I believe to mean how cool or awesome something was. It is a common thing, a child finds something in a program or movie that he thinks is cool and incorporates it into his own, whether to try and be cool like the characters or just because that is what kids do. I remember my mother, who basically just let me be the quirky kid I was, trying to explain to my sister that it was just me being me, and that was good enough. Even more incredible was the fact that my parents let me wear this outfit to church that day. I remember kneeling in the pew in all my camo glory, thinking I was pretty badass, or boss, that day. But where I am going with this little tangent? Have I imbibed just a bit too much and started drunk-blogging? Well, I can assure you I am nowhere near the level of intoxication it would take to drive me to randomly type my inebriated ramblings upon this site. No, this is me, harkening back to a more innocent and happy time, when life was much simpler and it was still fun being a geeky kid whose aspirations were far more shallow. It is this time of year, when I am blessed with the family I was born with and the ones I married into, those who make the holidays occasions filled with love, laughs and true joy that make the memories sweet and give me reason to smile. So, from the bottom of my heart, I wish all of you a very Merry Christman and a Boss New Year!!