It’s Me Again (Part 2)

January 9

Christmas: It’s the only religious holiday that’s also a federal holiday. That way, Christians can go to their services, and everyone else can sit at home and reflect on the true meaning of the separation of church and state. ~ Samantha Bee

Catching up on a few things that happened during the holiday season. The highlight of which was the multiple trips to St. Cloud Hospital for cardiac care – I have now visited St. Cloud Hospital more times than the local hospital (and then only as a visitor) in 21 years of local residency. ~ Me

‘White Christmas’ is the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ of Christmas songs. ~ Stewart Stafford

December 4

Christmas is a box of tree ornaments that have become part of the family. ~ Charles M. Schulz

[Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra with “That Song Called Life”. I need the full symphony photo to begin with for Facebook display purposes . . . ]

I was Christmas shopping and ran into a guy on the street. I noticed his watch and said that it runs slow. He said, ‘So does the guy I stole it from.’ ~ David Letterman

[Brad Lambrecht with his pre-concert Maestro’s notes . . . ]

[With the concert soloist, Clint Sevcik, also on stage . . . ]

We celebrate the birth of one who told us to give everything to the poor by giving each other motorized tie racks. ~ Bill McKibben

It’s always consoling to know that today’s Christmas gifts are tomorrow’s garage sales. ~ Milton Berle

[The crowd was still filtering in . . . ]

 Christmas is such a carefree, low-pressure time—that’s one of the things I love about it. ~ Stephen King

[Greetings from the PAC . . . ]

Sending Christmas cards is a good way to let your friends and family know that you think they’re worth the price of a stamp. ~ Melanie White

[Thank you, Lee, a classmate in Senior College . . . ]

Dear Jesus: For Christmas this year I’d like to try following your teachings without having one of your followers call me a socialist. ~ John Fugelsang

[Well-known patrons on the other side of the PAC . . . ]

The ideal Christmas gift is money, but the trouble is you can’t charge it. ~ Bill Vaughan

[After the concert we came out into the atrium area where we heard some wild cheering. There was a younger boys basketball tournament going on and those not playing were watching the Vikings beat the Jets . . . ]

The office Christmas party is a great opportunity to catch up with people you haven’t seen for 20 minutes. ~ Julius Sharpe

[We were hoping to see the high school carolers but opted out after cookies and cider . . . ]

December 6

I bought my brother some gift wrap for Christmas. I took it to the Gift Wrap department and told them to wrap it, but in a different print so he would know when to stop unwrapping. ~ Steven Wright

[Tuesday Nightclub at the Garden Bar on 6th . . . ]

I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. ~ Maya Angelou

[Joined on this august occasion (in December) by Annie O’Flynn onb the accordion . . . ]

Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip. ~ Gary Allan

[We seem to often appear simultaneously at the same venues . . . ]

My wife, like many women, actually likes wrapping things. If she gives you a gift that requires batteries, she wraps the batteries separately, which to me is very close to being a symptom of mental illness. ~ Dave Barry

[Ramen, a personal favorite of mine at the Garden Bar . . . ]

Nothing says holidays like a cheese log. ~ Ellen Degeneres

[That looks really good – have to make an appearance here again soon . . . ]

December 7

The hard soil and four months of snow make the inhabitants of the northern temperate zone wiser and abler than his fellow who enjoys the fixed smile of the tropics. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

The very fact of snow is such an amazement. ~ Roger Ebert

Let the storm rage on. The cold never bothered me anyway. ~ Elsa from Frozen

The wind crooned softly as it dusted the snow against the windows, wrapping them in a thick and fluffy cotton blanket. ~ Soheir Khashoggi

Kindness is like snow. It beautifies everything it covers. ~ Kahlil Gibran

It snowed last year too: I made a snowman and my brother knocked it down and I knocked my brother down and then we had tea. ~ Dylan Thomas

December 8

No one looks at your hands to see how much they shake when you are interviewed to be a surgeon. The physical skills required are no greater than for writing cursive script. If an operation requires so much skill only a few surgeons can do it, you modify the operation to make it simpler. ~ Atul Gawande

[On the way to St. Cloud Hospital (an hour and a half trip) at O-dark-thirty to have the debris in my right carotid artery removed . . . ]

You can teach somebody how to be a brain surgeon, but you cannot teach them how to walk on a stage and make people laugh. ~ Ron White

[On the outskirts of St. Cloud with the skyline of St. Joseph in the distance . . . ]

I wanted to be a brain surgeon, but I had a bad habit of dropping things. ~ Gilbert Gottfried

[Temperature one degree above zero . . . ]

I do know that detachment is important. A surgeon can’t be weeping into the open wound. ~ Randa Haines

[At the hospital, on the banks of the Mississippi River . . . ]

December 9

I met the surgeon general – he offered me a cigarette. ~ Rodney Dangerfield

[The view from my hospital window. Ruthie stayed in the decorated building on the far side of the street . . . ]

She got her looks from her father. He’s a plastic surgeon. ~ Groucho Marx

[Still alive and but not kicking (that would involve oethopedics). Many thanks again to Dr. Ojo and his team, and to all the others involved from pre-op to post-op. A very professional operation . . . ]

I’ve got nothing against plastic surgery at all. I know lots of people, young and old, who’ve had it. The point about good surgery is you can’t see it. The important thing is not to go crazy – and not to go to a bad surgeon. ~ Suki Waterhouse

[Thank goodness Nimoy (“live long and prosper”) was here for caregiving when we got home!  The PA’s said I could go to the girls b’ball game that night, but the supervisor said I couldn’t.  Will be walking Monday though . . . ]

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!’ ~ Dave Barry

Merry Christmas to EVERYONE, including the Radical Left Marxists that are trying to destroy our Country, the Federal Bureau of Investigation that is illegally coercing & paying Social and LameStream Media to push for a mentally disabled Democrat over the Brilliant, Clairvoyant, and USA LOVING Donald J. Trump. ~ Oy

Up Next: Still catching up . . .