I think I am in the Christmas spirit. At least I can try. It is the day I drag up the big plastic boxes and begin.

First, let me say this:

Hobbes forgot to turn off his blog by signing out, so I inadvertently used his signature to post some comments. It was me, Jondude, not Hobbie. Hobbie is still snoozing on my TV chair.

Now, as for Christmas:

I will run the vacuum in the living room. I already hung and turned on the big wreath last night. I put my big galvanized wash tub on the floor in front of the large front window. I tip it upside=down. On top of that I open and spread one of those throw-away tree sacks, the plastic kind you use to eventually cover the tree when you drag it outside.

Then I place a large round wooden table-top (never inteneded as a table top) on top of the covered wash tub. I put the heavy cast iron tree stand on that. Then I drag in a tree, stick it into the stand, hold it up with one hand and tighten the three screws with the other hand.

Now this is back=breaking work. At that point I always wish that I had children. My cats stand by uselessly and watch me suffer, groan and complain. But I get it done.

But I have to go get our tree, and I plane to do that today. The hardware has a few four foot tall Frazier firs, as I scouted them yesterday. I tagged one as ours.

I'll allow the tree to soften and spread overnight, with its stand-full of water. Tomorrow I will string lights, and that's when it gets interesting. The cats love that part. They play with the strings as I lay them out on the floor and attempt to push them into the tree. Christmas spirit to a cat is that it is toy-time.

The tree will be two feet shorter than the last three. My back belongs to a 68 year old man now.

Useless cats!

A comment about the poor guy who was trampled to death by the shoppers in a Long Island Wal-Mart who broke down the doors yesterday morning...

I lay the blame entirely at the feet of the stores who do this. They encourage such outrageous behavior by having the early morning specials such as an 11 megapixel camera for $39. They should be sued by the guy's family and forced to stop such ridiculous practices. They all do it.

As for the shoppers who killed the guy...

I hope they spend their lives drowned with guilt - but they won't. They are beyond salvation. Anyone who would spend 24 hours camped on a freezing sidewalk to be first in line to buy a cheap camera belongs in an insane asylum.