Christmas letter from 6:

Simplicity is what makes our lives fulfilled. This year take a few moments, turn on the lights of the tree find a comfortable spot on the floor and reflect on how simple life really is. 

Does it really matter?

Life gets more complex as each minute passes, we are inundated with information, driving us to a level of perceived happiness that will never be achieved because there will always be more. Each year 6 spends some time thinking about the true meaning of Christmas. This year 6 would like to call it Does it really matter? One night many years ago a child was born under a star in a manger, the savior of the world. The family was all alone other than the animals that surrounded them. After a few days three men followed that star and brought gifts to the new born king. Truly a very simple story with implications that more than any other event changed the world. Fast forward to now. We have taken that simple event and lost the beauty of it simple meaning and unbounded mystery. Does it really matter if he was born in a cave vs. a manger vs. a bottom floor of a house, vs a lean-to or any other of the interpretations of where he was born? Or does it really matter that the three men arrived on the backs of camels, donkey’s or even walked there? Or does it really matter if it happened on December 25^th? For the next 30 years other significant, yet just as simple events took place that were just as changing and simple drove major changes. 6 guess it does, for from one catholic (meaning universal) church the United States now has over 60,000 Christian churches. It just amazes 6 how small details can take something so simple and divide so many. It is no wonder that there are so many people who do not believe at all. Have we missed the simplicity of it all for our own personal self-satisfaction? Let’s move the subject of simplicity to our Gov’t, we have a constitution, which you can buy at the local book store for under 5 bucks, the reason it is so cheap is that it is only 20 pages long! It is based on Judeo-Christian values, in other words the 10 commandments. Today we have millions of laws, all to make things better, in other words we took something so simple, and changed it into something so complex the only freedom we have now is the air we breathe. If we followed what was agreed to in the constitution very simple do we really need all of those laws to protect us?

Christmas letter:

Every year we all talk about doing a Christmas letter but for some strange reason, no one ever does it, so here is mine own personal letter to express what an exciting year 6 had.

It was a cold dark winter, so on about April the sun finally came out and the weather was nice enough to go for a bike rides, he was putting on the miles until the Saturday of Memorial day so idiot, hit him with his car. The good news was he was not hurt, but it really reduce the amount of time he road for the rest of the year. In May (6) accompanied by 4,4A 7 and 71 took a long awaited vacation to Kiawah. It was perfect, Walked every morning, took my bike ride, sat on the beach drank lots of water, drank some Rex… it was a glorious time had by me. 6 had a real treat in June, 62 took him to a Mumford and son’s concert, and it was awesome! It was almost as good as the Led Zeppelin way back in the 70’s! 6 attended a graduation party at 61 house, and had the most wonderful thing happen to him. 62a asked me if he could have 62’s hand in marriage. What an honor, by a true gentleman. The only problem was 6 had to keep that to himself! Over the 4^th of July he had visitors from Pittsburgh, stayed up way to later and as Opie puts it had a snoot full We started with White Rex, went to Fire fly whiskey, moved on to Gentleman Jack and was told by 62 to go to bed. Got another year older, but no wiser for how could 6 improve on perfection. 6 got a big green egg! What a gift, 6 had been saving his pennies for the past 4-5 years in an effort to purchase one. Over the 4 years the savings reached $357, but it all magically disappeared, 6 thinks that 6A and 62 had enough of him complaining about the $357 turning into a few pennies. So they wanted to” "Ta gueule”! 6 attended the good old family vacation or in his case Vacation II. It was perfect, walked every morning, rode his bike, sat on the beach did not drink lots of water, (found out from Vacation I if you drink a lot of water that means many trips back to the condo.) but did drink some Rex. Started a new tradition, meteor watching, whisky drinking, stogie smoking beach night.  Traditions are good! We did have one major event 62a proposed to 62, while the rest of us slugs stood on the pear and watched! So next year we will have a 62A.  6 put in new floors what a pain:  because it was. Thanksgiving then again arrived! 6 and 8 cooked 3 turkey’s (one in the oven, one in the fryer and one on the green egg).  5 o’clock came at 2:00 and dinner was at 5:30, but it all worked out just fine, in the past years we somehow lost the wings of the turkey (0 favorite part) but this year we found all 6 of them, leaving 0 with plenty of food! It was now time to kick off Christmas by watching Christmas Vacation, and Friday attending the annual Lennytown Christmas tree lighting! As 6 sits and waits for his bonus from work (BTW does anyone ever get one), the value of tradition encompasses his every thought, does anyone know when the tradition of putting up your Christmas tree on Christmas eve fall out of favor? 6 means what the heck! The tree is a symbol that had a true meaning (if you don’t know it look it up) and for some reason we now put up the tree a couple weeks before. 6 can only come to this conclusion: The real purpose of Christmas has changed from the birth of Jesus, to the worship of our selves. So does it really matter?   Well that is it!

Words of wisdom: Sit under the tree after Christmas, empty your mind of relativism, and fill your heart with Hope Glory and Joy! Stop all the distractions, and take some quit time for yourself.

the path to Christmas

After a long day, when  6 lay his head on the  pillow, visions of Kiawah fill his imagination, the warm sun beating down on a bald head, three empty glasses glistening on the beach as the sun raises over the horizon,  the sight of empty beach chairs as a wave gently washes a jelly fish across his leg, standing in a line while patiently waiting his turn at the evening dinner, carefully pouring a glass of Rex, as to not alerting the beach patrol while keeping that sand from impeding the bouche of the fine vintage. Then it is off to never-never land and the anticipation of the new day.  Over the course of the year, 6 finds that there are times when events divert his imagination from the beach to current activities: Parties, weddings, anniversaries, funerals, holidays..... Well this is the time of year where visions of sugar plumbs (whatever they are) are dancing in his head. The other night my imagination brought me back to a Christmas 50 years ago. In a simpler time, we had no fear of global warming, religious wars, cyber security, diversity, or common core. We had the fear of a coming ice age, nuclear war, Watergate break-ins, equal rights marches, and school desegregation. (The words change, but the world stays the same)  Dinner, homework, bath, shoes shined, and the family was gathered in the TV room patiently awaiting the premier of a new TV special called “A Charlie Brown’s Christmas”. As of today’s standards, it was not much of an event, but back in the day, it was truly amazing! Little did he know that it would become an icon of the holiday season, just like Mr.Magoo’s Christmas, Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, and every year since he would be mesmerized by the words: “and on earth peace, good will towards men” “Oh Scrooge you have done it again”  “He is going to shoot his eye out”  “Shitter full”. Now lets us fast forward to today. The reason for the diversion from the sun and fun at Kiawah when 6’s head hit the pillow that night was simple: he just watched it for the 50th time, but there was something different this year. The local news was doing a story about Charlie Brown’s Christmas… Did you know when Charles Shultz wrote the story, he was under significant pressure from the studio executives (PC) to take out the part where Linus talks about the meaning of Christmas. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not:" "for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'"  (For all you experts of the word, yes this is from the King James Bible.)They wanted him to do a complete re-write of the story, he stuck to his principles and told them he was not going to change it. I guess he won, because he did not change it and this was the 50^th year it has been on TV. That was just the first part of the story, did you know that our president in 2014 signed an executive order to fine ABC if they aired that show! “The Federal Communications Commission, acting on an executive order issued by Barack Obama, fined the ABC television network for airing A Charlie Brown Christmas, because several overtly Christian references were found to be “potentially damaging, offensive and exclusionary” to non-Christians” They keep airing the show and paying the fine.. So good for them.

The one thing that makes our country different is we are free to make choices, based on natural law. Today natural law has been replaced by environmental law (two completely different things), and political correctness PC. Let’s look at the annual grab bag we have Christmas night, now it is wide open, you have a choice to be in it or not, there is no limitations as to what kind of gift you can put into the pot, so choice abounds. Last year 6 picked a bottle of Gentleman Jack great choice 6 was happy. Now it is 5 years later, you can’t put a bottle of gentleman Jack in the grab bag, because it is no longer PC. What you say?? Well the name itself implies a male, well that is not gender neutral and what man today, wants to be referred to as a gentleman (can’t use that word anymore because it was used in the south 100 years ago). Whisky also contains alcohol which is not a natural substance like grass.   Whiskey is not fermented it is distilled, the process of distillation requires heat, in order to get the heat, Jack Daniels burns charcoal, where does the charcoal come from, trees… so it would not be PC to drink Gentleman Jack because you have to cut down trees, then burn them giving off CO2 which will destroy the ozone layer, leading to increased world temperatures, thus melting the polar ice caps, raising the sea level, causing coastal flooding, turning Kiawah island into the Atlantic ocean. Therefore vacation will be gone in 5 years! 10 years from now, we will not have Christmas because it will be “potentially damaging, offensive and exclusionary” to non-Christians”. It will be holiday day, where smiles will be generated not by how much of yourself you give to others, but by how much you get

Words of wisdom: Stay focused on the path ahead, conquer the impediments along the way.

'Tis the season to be merry!

6 has a little advice for all of those who are going to my house for thanksgiving.. STOP EATING NOW! As of today, we are expecting 7 guests (and no 7 is not one of them) for dinner, who are going to consume 3 birds. 6 was able to bring one home from 8’s house when he was there earlier this year, so no one other than myself will know which one is the wild bird, Vs. the birds purchase from the local bogega.  Now granted the sizes very,, but the combined total poundage is…(drum roll please) 43 pounds! That is ½ a turkey for each person, or 6 pounds each!  Martha Stewart may suggest that might be a little over what she would plan, but then again she was a jail bird! That doesn’t include the mashed potatoes, gravy, GBC, cranberries, stuffing, corn, rolls, sweet potatoes,  brussel sprouts, apple pie, pumpkin pie, vanilla ice cream, cookies and cream ice cream, two types of whip cream, real Rex and fake Rex, and fresh from Firefly Whiskey chocolate pecan pie. All to be consumed, before starting the holiday season,  by sitting back with a glass of you favorite beverage a couple bags of the original Doritos a bowl of sour cream and onion dip  to be consumed at the premiere of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation! BYW did you all hear that Eddie is back in the USA?

One thing that never changes is the food on Thanksgiving Day! Aside from the food, just about everything else is different. Last year at Christmas dinner some innocent person, decide to ask a question of their siblings: How do remember Christmas when you were a child? Man the crap olia was flying at the dinner table that night. So that sent the superior intelligence of 6 into over drive. This year for Thanksgiving, 6 is going to tell the story from another family members view, try and guess who’s view of thanksgiving would go like this.

I was awakened to the crow of the rooster, I just dreaded the thought of getting out of my  warm bed, because  I know what laid ahead of me. Being the responsible person I am, my customers where consuming my thoughts, for I know that they would  love to awaken on this cold snowing Thanksgiving morning to their copy of the Pittsburgh Press and a nice cup of coffee. As the sun was still not up, I stumbled around in my room as to not make any noise so I would not wake anyone.  I opened the door and stepped outside, only to find a stack of new papers that was a tall as me; I loaded up my wagon and slogged my way thru the snow and ice as to not disappoint any of my customers. I soon returned home and 0 and 0A were just coming down to the kitchen to start their day. I asked 0A if there was anything that I could do to help with preparations for the day, she gave me several tasks to complete so off I went so my brothers and sisters could have a pleasant holiday. Among the tasks was to rake the leaves in the yard, but for that I had to wait until the sun came up to melt the snow that had fallen thru the night, I completed my tasks and headed out to the yard to rake leaves, It actually was not a very difficult task because the weekend before I spent two full days picking them up. While putting away the tools, I noticed that the cellar could use a good cleaning, so  as any loving son would do, I I proceed to clean the cellar. When I was completed and went upstairs all of my brothers and sisters were all huddled in the TV room watching  the Macy’s day parade while eating their breakfast, I cleaned up the dishes that they were using, and asked if anyone would like to play football out in the yard. My skill level far exceed anyone’s, but how would they learn if I did not teach them. We had a great football game, but now it was time to get ready for our feast.   The turkey was fantastic, pies perfect, I was a little disappointed because I still had to sit at the kids table, and had to spend the whole dinner making sure the children behaved as to not disturb the adults who were at the main table. I cleared the table, finished the dishes, and knew that if it was not for me, I would not be looking around the room at all the happy faces!

Words of Wisdom: There is no joy like bringing a smile to another’s face.

News From Gator Country

Let’s start out with some news from the island! Does anyone remember all the “junk” we saw on the beach on the beach cam? Well thru some intensive undercover work 6 discovered that they were wax myrtle trees that washed ashore from the erosion on Seabrook Island.  Kiawah Island is expanding, Seabrook is shrinking go figure! The interesting part is Kiawah held a council meeting and determined that they were going to contract Seabrook so that they could come and pick up their trees. 6’s take on this one: Kiawah is so proud of their beaches, they are in the top ten beaches in the USA, so logically one would Kiawah would go pick up a few tree’s (more like big bushes) and dispose of them. No Kiawah Island is too good for that, they contract Seabrook to come and get them. Humm it is peak beach time, Kiawah decides to just leave them there, so all the visitors to the island have to deal with it, and after all they are just renters! Did you know that there are sixty five Hyena’s on the island? They are all tracked by GPS, so someone on the island knows where they are at all times. Instead of spending so much money to track them, all they have to do is ask 4 where they are, she could tell them and they could stop wasting all that money. BTW there were four cubs born this summer. All I want to know is how in the world did the first male and female Hyena, come to find the island. Did they come over on the back of a turtle? Or did they float over on one of the wax myrtles? Either way it is a long way from Africa. Finally they found 295 turtle nests this year, OH now 6 gets it… the hyena’s  come over on the turtles backs and when they laid their eggs the hyena’s ate the eggs, that is why the turtle people put the metal mesh over each nest!

Who brings the chairs, and sits alone…Baby it’s the cigar man.. Well he did not make the news, but looking at the beach today, there is no way he was going to set up his umbrella right in front of us. For the winds are really howling, and the tide is all the way up to the vegetation and most of all there is no way 6A would ever be able to smell the cigar! He makes me think, Kiawah has so many regulations.. no glass on the beach, ride your bike in on the bike trails, don’t ride your bikes on the water,  no lights on the beach after dark,  stop at cross walks, obey stop signs, no towels drying from the decks, don’t feed the gators, it just goes on and on… This brings 6 to Wednesday night at the beach… Several of us, 6,7,8,61,71 and later 62, and 62(A) all gathered at 9:00pm with a fresh bottle of Knob Creek (in a plastic bottle) , glasses (plastic or course), beach chairs and music, to enjoy a fine whiskey, and watch the meteor shower scheduled that night just for us. 6 hopes you all appreciate the trouble he had to go thru to get the god’s in line with his plan. Any way the night started out slow, very few meteors, lots of bugs, we could not get the pill connected to the IPOD, (apple what do you expect) and 7 was complaining about the bugs and lack of meteors, as he said, I saw more meteors last week in my back yard. As the night progressed, we figured out the music, the clouds disbursed, the whiskey became real smooth, the wind drove the bugs away and 62 and 62(A) arrived, equipped with stogies,  the meteors began to show themselves with regularity. Things were great, until the last drop of whiskey was consumed, at this point it was time to pack up and head back to the condo’s, Very successful night!  The next morning came very fast, 6, 6A and 0A headed to the beach for our morning walk to watch the sun, peak it head over the dunes, and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but  a empty bottle of Knob creek and eight empty glasses. Looks like some careless people broke the rules! But then again, down there who doesn’t. So here is my idea for next year… On Wednesday night we will all meet at the beach at 9:00, open the whiskey light the stogies, and just happen to drop a glass of whiskey on the wax myrtle, followed by the match that sparked the stogie. Hyena’s nor bugs don’t like fire,  the fire is not a light we don’t have to worry about the turtles and when the fire goes out we put the wax myrtle back in the water and send it back to Seabrook. Problem solved, who needs the Kiawah council.

Words of wisdom: Keep the little things close to your heart: for that is how we see the world clearly.

How simple it should be

The other night the debates were on, and on all the other stations was re-runs from last year, so 6 was forced to watch Andy of Mayberry, 4 episodes in a row! It was a glorious time, but one thing 6 noticed was the wardrobe budget of that show must have been next to nothing. Andy wore is uniform, Barn his uniform and the same suit, Aunt Bee the dress, Otis the same suit, and Opie the same jeans and striped shirt. 6 Then was thinking about The Beverly hillbillies, they all wore the same thing with one exception, they got all dressed up in their fancy duds for special meals in the bill-yard-room. OK you all give? What the heck does this have to do with vacation… let me tell you! Well 6 will just focus on himself, one could relate this to yourselves if you like, but this is all about 6. The night before we left on vacation , 6 stood all alone in his bedroom wondering what to take on vacation! I opened my closet, it was full, went to my dresser it was full, and was just amazed at all the things 6 has accumulated over the past year. You all are thinking that the reason 6 has so many things is because every Saturday night he has a bottle of Rex and goes to Belk. The just may be some truth to that but 6 really does need all of those things, for he can’t wear the same shirt more than once in a month, and after all there are 4 seasons! 6 wonders how Jed and Andy survived. Packing should take no longer than 10 minutes, that includes finding a suitcase, but it took 6 at least an hour. The reason it takes so long is simple, 6 had to go thru two closets, and 11 dresser drawers to find the same stuff he has been taking on vacation for the past 5 years! 6 won’t bore you all with an inventory of what he took but he had plenty for a week and it fit into a small suitcase! So here is the question why does 6 need 50 dress shirts, 20 dress pants, more shoes than Andy had in a life time, more pairs of jeans than the whole cast of the Beverly Hillbillies and that is all they wore! No this is only the thing that 6 wares to work let alone the polo shirts, short pants, etc… yes 6 has way to much stuff, but that is beside the point. My point is one of the best times 6 has all year is vacation, and in 6’s opinion he looks dapper when he graces the island with his presence. Therefore, one can deduce that Andy/Barn/Jed/Jethro etc. are not defined but what they own, but defined by whom they are.  Do we really need anything other than a roof over our heads and some food in our bellies, to define us? Look around and you will find what is important, and it is not the car you drive, of the shirt you have on your back, it truly is the face that smiles back at you while the mayo falls to your shirt while you take a big bite out of your cheese and liver worst samwich!

Words of wisdom: we all came with nothing, and are going to leave with the same thing. Build memories not things.