Today is Sunday, December 18 and there are only seven days until Christmas.  Seven days!  Based on the way things are going, in seven days I will only have two more days worth of things to do to be ready.  I hope you are all doing better than I am.  Today we remember the birthdays of Philipp Dulichius, Wiktor Kazynski and Saburo Takata.  On this day in 1719 Thomas Fleet published “Mother Goose’s Melodies For Children,” in 1839 the first celestial photograph (the moon) was made in the US by John Draper and in 1976 “Wonder Woman” debuted on ABC.  In New Jersey today is Ratification Day, in Niger it is Republic Day and in the US it is National Roast Suckling Pig Day.

As you may recall, I recently went on a rant regarding glitter.  The stuff makes me crazy.  Well, I am sure you will get a kick out of this.  The cards that I bought to send out have glitter on them.  I was tempted to throw them away and go out the next day to get different ones.  I didn’t because I did not have the time to wait to get the cards done.  Needless to say, by the time I was done doing the cards, there was glitter all over.  It was on the table, on me, on my shirt and jeans, I am talking everywhere.  I even had it on my tongue from licking the envelopes!  I truly do not like glitter.  I am considering eliminating the people who sent cards with glitter from my card list next year.

Okay, I have vented yet again regarding glitter.  Now it is time to revisit another rant.  I recently despaired over the ignorance of people during this time of the year.  The other day I had an opportunity to run at least six different people down in a parking lot.  They are lucky that I anticipated their carelessness.  These people came out of stores and just started walking across the parking lot.  They did not even bother to look and see if drivers noticed them, they just walked.  Yes, I know that they are supposed to have the right of way, but common sense should tell them that it wouldn’t hurt to look.  In one instance, I was lucky to have seen a woman walking out of a store.  I stopped abruptly and missed hitting her by about a foot.  She turned and gave me a look.  She is just one more person who should be glad I am not armed.

I understand that when you are driving in a parking lot you should be going slowly, watching out for pedestrians and other cars.  I also understand that oihgoergwkn, sorry I was wiping glitter off the keyboard… but I digress.  As I was saying, I also understand that pedestrians and drivers alike are trying to get a great deal done in time for the holiday, but carelessly walking in front of a car and risking a trip to the ER is not going to make it easier to accomplish everything you need to do.  “So Miss Jones what brings you to the hospital today?”  “I was hit by a car in a parking lot.  I was heading to my car and he just ran into me.  I had the right of way.”  “Well Miss Jones you now also have a broken leg and a broken arm.”

I don’t know about anyone else, but I would appreciate a modicum of caution when walking in parking lots.  People are driving around looking for a spot to park in, they are running their list of chores through their head and they are not always paying attention.  Give everyone a break and watch out when in a parking lot, walking or driving.  Everyone will have a better holiday.

A few days ago I saw an interesting sight that I thought I would share with you.  I live in a relatively rural area and it is not unusual to see dead deer on the side of the road.  However, I saw something that I thought was rather amusing.  I was driving along and up ahead on the side of the road I saw a cluster of turkey vultures.  They were all standing around a carcass, feeding themselves.  Yes, nature in action.  What made it amusing was that there was a secondary cluster of birds off to the side, standing around like they were waiting for the buffet line to move.  The birds by the carcass were just standing there eating, you know, like people at the shrimp table at a wedding reception.  I could almost hear the other birds as they stood there waiting.

“Could they just put some stuff on their plate and move along?”  “I don’t understand why they have to stand there to eat everything.  Why can’t they just go back to their tree and eat?”  “Some birds just have no consideration for those of us who are waiting in line.”  And so on.  I suppose in the strictest sense of things, watching birds eat a carcass is not particularly amusing.  You had to be there, and even then, you might not have been as entertained as I was.

This week our fact tells us that, in general, women are 37% more likely to go to a psychiatrist than men.  Of course!  Men are the ones that send them!  Whenever you are out in public, you can always hear a woman telling her husband that he is driving her crazy.  All you ever get from men is a shoulder shrug and “Whatever.”

Between getting everything ready for Christmas Eve dinner and then going to church, I have decided that I will probably not publish next week.  Having said that, let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas.  Whether you celebrate the holiday or not, I hope the day brings you joy, peace and love.  I hope you have a day of good food and great family.  And, I hope the season takes you into the new year with a sense of renewal and anticipation of great things.

My very best wishes go out to all of you who take the time to read this blog.  I enjoy writing it and I hope it brings a smile to your face as you realize you are not the only ones who see just how crazy people can be.

Merry Christmas!