Chet Reads & Writes*

Christmas has come and gone again! Another day dedicated to a loving family spirit. Everyone smiles, enjoys the food and exchanges gifts; at least that’s what happens in the Hallmark commercial right? We all have families. Great families, bad families, poor families, rich families, real families, loving families, and delusional families; we all have families. As Dane Cook has put it everyone gathers at the holidays at these hugely awkward dinners that no one wants to be at, but no one will say that they really don’t want to be there. I know I am guilty of this, and so are a lot of you out there. I know that this seems like a bitter way to look at the festive season, but it is truth. Also, I feel that I have plenty of reason to feel this way about the season currently.

“What happened at Christmas at your house Chet?”

Just to clarify, Christmas at my house was awesome. My parents, my siblings, and I all came together in our living room. We exchanged our gifts and smiles with Ghost Rider as the soundtrack. I know, I know what a lovely Christmastime movie! My parents always give us anything we ask for that is within their financial means. I will always be grateful for everything my parents did for me while I was growing up.

“So Chet, where and what happened on your Christmas day that ruined it for you?”

Now you have the right question! Every year for the past…well the past really long time we have gone to my Nannie’s(my maternal grandmother) house for Christmas with my extended family. It’s usually a day filled with great food, catching up, and a lot of pretending that we like each other. Although I do like and/or love most of my family but there is a very very small number that I don’t like. Nor had I ever liked! Anyway this said small number of person decided to cause my family grief this Christmas by starting a fight with other family members. Fortunately for most of us the nuisance left shortly after, luckily for him with little more than a bruised ego.

This basically ruined Christmas day because there was a lot of arguing that happened afterward between associates of the parties involved in the fight. Though for those of us not directly involved we comforted those that were upset and cracked jokes with each other to lighten the mood. My best friend had invited his girlfriend and friend to Christmas this year, and unfortunately they had to witness the redneck-white-trash side of my family coming out to play. They were good sports though. They laughed it off and enjoyed themselves anyway.

I suppose the fight didn’t really ruin Christmas as much as make it interesting but, seeing my grandmother cry on Christmas day did ruin it. It’s a bad feeling to know that she was that upset and stressed out. She did calm down and enjoy the rest of her evening with every after everything was said and done. I was glad to see her smiling again before I left.

So that was my Christmas day. I think it will be a long time before anything happens to “top” it on any kind of negative level.

On a plus side I got a lot of great books to read for Christmas! Although I still haven’t finished reading Ender’s Shadow. At least now I have more Ender books! YAY! I also got some great CDs. I can’t wait to listen to all of them. I have made it most of the way through The Color Fred’s debut album. I also listened to most of Maylene and the Sons of Disaster’s II , I can’t wait to finish it! All in all it was a good day with my direct family.

I am currently in Austin again with my loving girlfriend, except actually I am at her house alone. I don’t know where her parents are, other than out. And she too is “out”. Well while they are out I am enjoying Led Zeppelin Live on VH1 Classic. I love this band! I wish I could have been at their reunion show. Maybe they will market it to DVD like a bunch of “sale-outs”, but who cares because it is Led Zeppelin!

Anyway until next time my friends.

ChetG