Late night, then early morning. Despite being tired all day, I was busy. Off to Jacob's to help with some Christmas day prep and (more importantly) get some face time in with nephew JP. Then a trip to two grocery stores to pick up some supplies for the next couple of days. On the way back, I told Cara that when my friend Matt and I would go to Atlanta to visit his relatives at Christmas, there were some radio DJs who would call people, tell them how crappy their lives were, and then give them $100 and a turkey to make it better. The best part was always the recitation of all the horrible things the person had gone through with syrupy music in the background. We heard it three or four years in a row, and it became a running joke about winning a crappy prize for having the worst year ever.
We all went to Mass for the Vigil of the Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ at St. Gerard in Baton Rouge. The church was full, and the Mass was well celebrated.
On the way home, we heard the DJ talking to Vicki about her friend Tina whose husband died of a heart attack at a young age. "Can we call Tina?" says the DJ. The sappy music starts playing, the DJ recounts to Tina how horrible her life has been, how Christmas for the four kids and her will be tough, and asks her how she feels. To make it better, he says, we got you a $200 gift certificate to Wal-mart. Don't get me wrong, I feel sympathy for Tina and those who have suffered misfortune. I object to the radio station making such a public display of the family's dire circumstance and making such a big show of providing such a paltry gift that does little to ease the hurt. And it so predictable once the call starts that it is funny.
Once we got back home, we had mom's gumbo and family fellowship with folks from both sides. Most importantly, my uncle (Ph.D. in Psychology from Florida State) drew a green penis on the John Deere logo on the shirt I was wearing. Of course I asked him to sign it.
No comments:
Post a Comment