Howdy, come on in, pull up a chair. Would you like a glass of wine, or something a little stronger. Say, a pomegranite and leechi nut martini or my own holiday favorite, a quadruple Dewar's on the rocks? I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, or a happy holiday of your choice. It's the great lull before New Year's Eve, a good time to gather to chat about just about anything.
We just pulled into the farm in game-rich Andes a few hours ago, after having spent Christmas in Easton, Md. and Washington, D.C. They were predicting a paralyzing snow event the day after Christmas, which would have made our lives a little tougher than expected, because we were traveling from my in-laws to my friends Paul and Ingrid in D.C. that day. But the snow never happened. The only drama materialized when I almost had an eye put out by a nasty salt nugget fired from the back of a D.C. salt/plow truck preparing for the blizzard that never came.
Our dog, Buck, had a fine time with Paul's blue-eyed sled dog, Angie. And we all saw True Grit, which comes as close to cinematic perfection as I can imagine, topically as well as execution-wise. Some of it was a bit graphic for my 8-year old, Luke, but he can handle it - I'm definitely of the school that doesn't believe in overly sheltering children from certain realities, while protecting them from others. I heartily recommend the movie, especially for those of you who are besotted with the romance and larger-than-life realities that shaped the American west.
When we returned to New York, the city was still digging out. I love it when it snows in New York, for all sorts of reasons. But one of the most practical if not most romantic is knowing that my four-wheel drive truck is built to handle the conditions in a way typical city sedans are not. I can just barge into parking places others can't risk trying, and I can get out without ever having to swing a shovel or recruiting passers-by to push. Glory!
Well, it's 4 pm, so I'd better post this. . . I'll be around most of the afternoon and evening if you feel like saying hi.
-- Pete