Holiday Blues

The holidays are just a tough time for many people.  There are all sorts of pressures.  Parties, shopping, baking, cleaning and entertaining are just the tip of the iceberg of demands in December.  Work and life are all still going on for most of the month, and all of these extra demands are on top of the normal responsibilities.  There is an overwhelming pressure for this time to be special.  Stress and depression get the better of a lot of folks, and the short daylight hours do little to help anyone’s moods.

On top of it all is this Santa Claus business, just wreaking havoc in the lives of parents.  Children make a wish list of things they want.  Children being children, they have no concept of money. how much things cost, or how hard it is to earn.  Santa Claus is magic, just behave yourself a little and all this loot will show up under the tree.  It’s up to the parents to go out and make it all happen.  “Out of Stock” and “Backorder” are not part of the Santa Claus fairy tale.  I can imagine a mother of three children being a little weary at the task of holiday shopping.

T-Bone Walker,  “I Get So Weary”

Some people are alone during the holidays.  Unfortunately,  it becomes a little harder to deal with at this time of year.  A gas station burrito may be just fine for dinner on the run, but eating one alone on Christmas Eve makes one just a little sad.

Freddie King, “Please Send Me Someone To Love”

Other people have lots of loved ones, but they are far away.  Distance can make things difficult, and sometimes a phone call is all you have.

Muddy Waters, “Long Distance Call”

Holiday travel is a nightmare all its own.  Delays are annoying on a regular day, but when there is a holiday time crunch it can be infuriating.

Taj Mahal, “She Caught the Katy”

Let us not forget those fine people who have to work on the holidays.  Police, firefighters, emergency first responders, doctors, nurses and even the staff at the local emergency veterinary clinic.  They all give up their holiday to be there in the time of need for others.  They are hard-working men and women.  Jimmy sings about being a hard workin man in this next tune.

Jimmy Rodgers, “Hard Workin Man”

Speaking of firefighters, can someone explain this Christmas tree tradition to me?  One goes out and chops down a pine tree of appropriate size.  Brings it into an extremely dry house with the furnace running.  Needles falling everywhere.  Wrap cheap electrical wiring around it in the form of lights that have been rolled into a ball and not used since the last holiday season.  Under this we put cardboard boxes wrapped in highly flammable paper.

Does this seem like a fire hazard to anyone else??