Better late than never

Naturally I wait till now to go Christmas shopping.

I went to TJ Maxx after work which, I was surprised it was not a zoo. The music was mercifully soft, and other than one kid with a really piercing scream, the place was pretty quiet. I got a cart and walked around throwing stuff into it. This is the fun of last-minute Christmas shopping! You just say, what the hey, and toss it in.

While I was thus shopping I ran into my Facebook friend Steve Cichon. He was buying an unusual present. I do not want to write what it was in case the recipient is a Leonard Pennario fan and reads this. But anyway, I trailed after Steve Cichon for a while and we talked about TJ Maxx and our families. It felt kind of surreal, trailing around after him. It changed my shopping experience.

Steve is the, ahem, news director for WBEN-AM and when I got home I saw that he had already posted on Facebook that he had run into me. Steve has a million Facebook followers so now I am famous. That is how life is in Buffalo! As is often said it is like one big room.

Now Christmas closes in.

I am going to jot down the few remaining things I need to get and then comes the big Christmas Eve family gift exchange. The big gift exchange, haha. We just give each other little stuff, including stuff we buy at garage sales and Goodwill.

After that comes the big family Christmas Day dinner.

After that comes the getting together with friends for big glasses of wine. Well, I already started that last night with my friend Gary. Howard and I went to Gary's and sat around with huge glasses of wine. The lounge piano sensation Guy Boleri was there too but he was drinking Krupnik. Krupnik is this wonderful Polish honey liqueur. Howard and I have a bottle that was a gift and we treasure it but I have to watch it with it because it puts me on the floor, does that Krupnik.

I am enjoying my yuletide! That is for sure.

Let us pause to hear Jussi Bjorling singing "O Holy Night."



Now that is a voice! Listening to it I find myself reflecting on what the season is all about.

Speaking of which...

Where did I put that Krupnik?