So, What Did You Get For Christmas And?

I got the usual, tropical calendar, 50$ gift voucher and some chocolates!

Although my brother got me a Tom Baker, Dalek, Doctor WHo, series, box set. Much better than the modern crap!

Well, l got slightly fatter than usual, but that will change when l eat the rest of the Xmas pudding?

And the almond, dark chocolate bar.

And the Ferro Rosher, 5 pack!

This was a very happy and meaningful Christmas for me. I received a card with a surprisingly heartfelt message from a person I had a falling-out with almost 40 years ago. He was one of my best friends, growing up and his reason for ostracizing me placed him in the penthouse of my personal pantheon of world-class douche bags, for eternity. I read the message and checked the return address three times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

What took the cake was after of all of his reminiscing, he wrote the following; "I also want you to know that because of you I had one of the most exciting events of my entire life, outside of family and that was the Flyer's 1973-74 run to the Stanly Cup. I'll never forget the day I got out of the Army and you met me and said, "We're going to a hockey game." Next thing I knew our crowd had season tickets and we were on a magical ride to the ultimate goal. What fun that was. I still get chills thinking about that day, May 19, 1974. You even correctly called the score. You are responsible for creating my love of the game of hockey which is still a part of me to this very day. I could never thank you enough for that. It has added so much to my life. Too bad you became a Rangers fan. I do miss all the laughs."

I cannot tell you how much that card meant to me. I was beyond shocked. I think he realized that we're both getting up there in years and that he was being a decades long douche-nozzle. lol The best part of it was that with all the things he might have thanked me for, nothing could have made me happier than his appreciation for turning him on to professional hockey. I know that a lot of you nimrods just don't get it - but that's OK. Those that do get it just smile, knowingly. :-)

The next thing that made this a special holiday season for me was that I felt so good from receiving that card, that I decided to reach out to one of my best friends that I had stopped communicating with when Baby died. He hadn't done anything, it was just that I shut down and while it didn't bother me that I had ended contact with everyone else, it really bothered me that I had stopped writing him. He lives in England and I would only see him when he visited the US for a catfish convention or to give a talk at a tropical fish club that would fly him over. He would always add a couple days to his stay to spend with me. You would think that our similar personalities would have us constantly at each other's throats, but we were kind of all we had. Neither of us played well with others. lol

I was determined to get this monkey off my back before heading into 2016, so On Christmas Eve I wrote him a very personal and honest accounting of the events that had shaped my life over the past 4 years. I honestly believed that I would not hear from him because what I did to him was beyond crass. Lo and behold I wake up Christmas morning to the warmest email that I know he was capable of writing. I was stupefied. It was like the 4 years never transpired. He picked-up without missing a beat. No anger, no recriminations - not a single negative word. He did mention that his dog, 'Frankie' that he had for 15 years had recently passed on. I'm quite sure that give him some perspective as to what I endured after losing Baby after 14 years. Regardless of the reason, having him back in my life as if nothing untoward had ever taken place has actually made me feel something inside that you humanoids might refer to as 'Christmas spirit.' It's not that bad. :-)

Although it has been warm, the sun has not been out for 6 days. This is my first holiday season without my VA shrink at my side. I should be frantic right about now from the gloom. Instead, I feel like a million $$.

So, while I did not get anything in the way of wrapped gifts, under my non-existent tree, this was one of my best Christmas' ever and I am very much looking forward to seeing two old friends in the coming new year.

Cheers. - Frank

Great news to hear that it can be fixed easily, I'm afraid the Braille section of the forum has been seriously neglected in recent months.

You must tell us more about this "Universal Healthcare System" you speak of. It sounds quite interesting.