A Skillet

My 3rd son, the little boy, came home from the North Pole last week. He eloped with his fiance (I think there must have been some pressure from her side of the family about how/where to have a wedding.) and is now a married man. He brought his wife up to visit. I gave them Fr. Lawrence Farley's book about marriage and the square cast iron skillet my grandmother gave my mother on her wedding day. On Saturday we went to dinner at Flemmings (It's not very good. What crazy person puts sugar in Brussel's sprouts?)) with him, Basil, Athanasia, and his new wife Tiffany. On Monday Anselm and Tiffany went golfing with my wife and her son. I had to work. Anselm and Tiffany are going back to San Diego today.

Snow and a Baseball Season Opener

The rain woke me at about 3 o'clock this morning. When the Sun rose and I drove to work I saw snow on Mount Hamilton and the rest of the Diablo Range to the east and on Mount Umunhum to the south. It made me happy.

Work today was just a meeting with the headmaster and the other teachers. We were through by half-past one in the afternoon. He commended me for all the work I've done since June getting ready for WASC accreditation inspectors later this month. Now I have off the next 9 days from work.

Tonight Kathleen and I went to the season opener of the San Jose Giants. We lost to the Fresno Grizzlies but it was still fun. I always feel patriotic at minor-league baseball games.

Old Guns

My two oldest guns are worn out and broken but I can't find parts. I took them to a gunsmith but he can't find parts either. He said that if I really want to use the guns I would have to go to a machinist and have parts made, because no one has made parts for either gun since the 1970s. I think I'm just going to trade them in at one of those "gun buy back" events. Maybe, I'll get baseball tickets for them. One is a 50 year old pistol I bought used for $85 when I was 24. When I was homless or living in one of San Francisco's Tenderloin flop houses in the 1990s I used to sleep with it duct taped in my hand. I used this gun to teach my two oldest sons to shoot in my Uncle Fred's (Link to every mention of my Uncle Fred.) eucalyptus grove.

The other is a 80 year old double barrel shotgun. My fiend Jeff's dad bought it during WWII. When he died about 13 or 14 years ago Jeff's mom sold it to me. I used it to take my first two turkeys and to go clay target shooting with Kathleen, Anselm, and Basil.

I am sad to be losing both of these guns.

Coast to Coast

I was leaving the gym the other night (I like the steam room) and accidently hit the "search" button on my steering wheel. The next thing I know, I'm listening to Coast to Coast but it wasn't Art Bell (He's been dead for 20 years.)it was some other guy talking about the Rothschilds and global conspiracy.

I remember the first time I heard that show. It was sometime in 1997, '98, or'99, and I was driving down the San Juaquin Valley on Hwy 99 to see my parents. (I just found out that my Uncle Fred's place out near Ivanhoe where my parents spent some of their last years, before they got too old and sick, is vacant. I'm thinking about making an offer.) It was captivating. Over the years the show talked about space aliens, Atlantis, the CIA plot to kill JFK, and dozens of other conspiracy theories. It was nuts. The one thing I liked about Art Bell was that he was never critical of his guests. He would just let them say whatever their bizaare theory was and act like they weren't crazy but were, really, scholars and experts. It was a lot of fun. I'm glad the show survived it's founder.

The Boys and a Shooting Club

Basil has been accepted by all of the universities to which he applied but he is really only interested in two: Cal Maritime (business/logistics) and San Jose State (accounting). Personally, I hope he chooses Cal Maritime. The student body and the teachers seem much less radicaly leftist than the student body and teachers at San Jose State. Maybe the accounting department won't be too yucky. But I think he is looking at the cost of housing at Cal Maritime as opposed to living with me or his mom here in San Jose.

Anselm is under the arctic ice right now. (I got a notice from the commander of the pacific submarine forces.) He's been at sea for a month and won't be back until April.

Today during the meatfare lunch after liturgy Fr. Basil said he wants to go shooting with kathleen and I because he inherited all his dad's guns and hasn't shot them in years and years. So I asked when. He said after Pascha. And a whole bunch of other people said they want to go, too. And someone suggested a parish shooting club, and Fr. Basil said "YES!". So it looks like we are going to have a parish shooting club.

Oh! That reminds me, Kathleen bought a new gun a couple of weeks ago. It's a Sig Sauer P365.

A Debt

In 1997 or 1998 I was managing the door at at SF Weekly's music awards show at Bimbo's 365 Club. A bunch of people, the "entourage" of one of the bands being honored, tried to get past me. I said something like, "I'm sorry. You don't have tickets. You can't come in." They said something like "We're going in, anyway." Annie Jensen, the girl with me at the door was scared and I told her to stand back as I braced myself for what I knew was going to be a horrible fight. Honestly, as much as I used to enjoy fighting back then, I didn't think I was going to win this one. They were a dozen and I was only one. Then a 7 foot tall black man stepped up behind me and asked, "Is there a problem here?" I didn't know he was working for me (No one told me). I didn't even know he was there but my boss had hired him to protect me as I protected the door. He saw a problem and was willing to fight for me. With that question, "is there a problem here", and a terrifying glance he made the threatening throng at the door evaporate. A few years ago I heard he died. I wish I knew his name. I am wondering, do any of my old friends (Wendy Fairbanks, Catherine Draper, Troy Larkin)from SF Weekly know his name? A super tall nightclub bouncer in SF? I understand he usually worked at Slims, Bimbo's, Voodoo Lounge, Utah, DNA Lounge, the Fillmore, and the Cat Club. Before I am too old to remember I'd like to pray for him since he rescued me that night.

Christmas on Madison Avenue

As you know, from 1997 to 2004 I was an advertising executive. And though it has been 20 years since I worked in the industry I do still enjoy a good Christmas commercial. (Raise your hand if you have fond memories of Santa riding the Norelco shaver through the snow, the ringing of the Andre commercial, or the weirdness of the Harvey's Bristol Cream ads.) In my opinion, these are the top ten English language Christmas ads of 2023, not counting ads that are promoting charities.

10. There are two ads on this list that feature slippers. This is the first of them. Macy's "For After Work"

9. Amazon "Joy Ride". The older I get the more weepy I get when I see old people remembering their youth. Amazon "Joy Ride"

8. There is no snow in this ad because the company only operates in Florida. I especially love that the dog knows where to go to get fed. And, gosh, look at that crown roast of pork! Publix "Merry Christmas to you and yours"

7. Puppies and kittens. Enough said. Pet Smart "Make Merry Memories"

6. Beautiful people driving beautiful cars to beautiful places to be together. Mercedes-Benz "With Love"

5. Now, it is true that this advertisement came out five years ago but I only saw it running on FaceBook a couple of weeks ago. The number one thing an ad should do is make the viewer want to buy the product. After seeing this ad I thought, "Oh, I should wear cravats." And then I thought, "Oh, those little flat hats and those slippers would be perfect for cold winter nights." And then i thought, "Crikey, I think I need everything in that ad!" Peter Christian "Spirit of Christmas".

4. OMGosh! Is that really John Travolta playing Santa Claus?

3. If you know much about Michael Bublé you will chuckle at the little jokes in this ad. Also, browned butter. That was funny. Asda "Career Change"

2. "Who gives presents to Santa?" It is the question that launches a mother daughter giving trip. Boots "Give Joy"

1. A friend of mine, a very old woman named Charlotte had dementia. At Christmas parties she would sit someplace quiet in the house. I would sit by her at those parties and let her talk about things and people I knew nothing about. She died in 2023. This ad made me think of her and the Chevy Suburban, one of the best cars ever made in America. Chevrolet "A Holiday to Remember"