Keep the Coffee Comimg

Lots to do today. This will be my most ambitious day. The dogs need food, the trash needs dumping and the laundry needs washing. I’m sure by afternoon it will be nap time.

Many houses are already lit for Christmas. Some are extraordinary with the house, trees and grounds covered in lights. My neighborhood has a few houses all ready for Christmas. I need Skip, my factotum, here to do mine. I might need a few new light strands for the front. I do have a few new lights for the railing and the fence in the backyard. I can do those myself, maybe Monday.

I remember one Christmas when I was a kid, the year we got a telegram from Santa. On the telegram there was a picture of Santa riding in his sleigh. The heading was Dear Ryan Children. Santa mentioned he expected we would be good, and he was looking forward to visiting us on Christmas Eve. I still have that telegram. It has yellowed.

I loved our trips to Boston around Christmas time. The store windows were all decorated. Some figures moved. Their heads nodded and their arms moved mostly up and down. I remember two kids with ornaments in their hands reaching to place the ornaments on a tree. By today’s standards the movements were primitive, jerky, but I thought them magical. In Jordan Marsh the Enchanted Village was window after window of holiday scenes with moving figures. The line to see Santa passed by all the enchanted windows so nobody minded the wait. The trees in the Boston Common were all lit with colored bulbs. They shined bright against the bare branches. In one part of the Common were fenced in live reindeer. We’d walk through the Common oohing and ahing at the lights. I remember the nights were crisp cold. I could see my breath.

Sometimes we’d buy popcorn and munch while we walked. On the street in front of the Common men were selling chestnuts roasting over charcoal fires in small wagons. My father once bought some. I thought they tasted awful.

I remember we fell asleep in the car on the way home.

I am glad to be back writing again.

I have spent the last two days being checked and prodded by my dentist and my doctor. The dentist just wanted to check the injuries as my teeth are too painful for any work on them. They took x-rays of the upper teeth. My dentist said they were the most damaged. I’ve another appointment with him next week when, I hope, the teeth will be fixed. My doctor wanted another c-scan so I drove to Hyannis. Everything is fine.

I have black and blues from each corner of my mouth. They go down to my chin. Both of then sort of look like parts of a Fu Manchu mustache.

I am feeling better, still a sight, but feeling better. I do get looks everywhere I go. I wish I had a mask, a Jason Voorhees mask. That would keep people at a distance.

Today is a grey day. It is warm though. Last night it rained. Tomorrow it will rain again. This seems the wrong season for rain though I don’t wish for snow and all it entails.

I have missed my first two uke Christmas concerts and will miss another today. I’m so disappointed, but there are two or three I hope to make next week.

When I was a kid, Christmas never seemed to come soon enough. December was the longest month. The days darkened early so outside playtime was limited. We watched TV in the afternoon and waited for dinner. I remember when the Christmas candle lights were put in the windows on the front of the house. The bulbs were always orange. You had to twist the bulbs to turn them on and off. The picture window had a 5 bulb candelabra. We used to race to see who would turn on the bulbs. My father put lights on the bushes beside the door. The strands were always tangled when he brought the lights from the cellar so for my impatient father cursing was part of the festivities. The bulbs were colored and were big. They got really hot. The outlet for the bulbs was inside the house so one front window was open on the bottom. When it was time to turn off the window lights, we all raced again. The bulbs, lit for so long, had gotten hot we’d have to wet our fingers before twisting the bulbs. The living room always seemed so much darker without the candles.

Today will be short. I am taking a break today and tomorrow. Tuesday after uke practice I was walking to my car when I hit the deck, the paved deck. My face hit the ground first. I just laid there not moving because of the injury. People came out and immediately took care of me. They helped me sit up, provided tissues for the wound and called 911. I was checked in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. One of the guys took my picture with my phone for posterity.

While I was being wheeled into the emergency room, every person looked.

My nose has lost a layer of skin and is so red Santa could have me lead his sleigh if Rudolph needs a rest. My upper lip is missing a bit and is still swollen, and there is damage to my teeth. The doctor couldn’t stitch because of the lip. Nothing broke. I was in the hospital until 1.

The first night was tough, but last night was better. I am heading to the dentist today and my doctor tomorrow. My face is still scary, and it hurts. My friends have rallied. One friend stayed with me at the hospital and drove me home. Another brought ice cream, and he and his wife brought my car home. Today my hospital friend is driving me to the dentist. I’m figuring I can drive tomorrow.

My face is still a bit scary looking, but it does feel better each day. I am on the mend.