THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE THE GROCERY STORE FOR THE HOLIDAYS

I just placed that call home that I have dreaded all Christmas season.

I called to see if there was anything…

I COULD PICK UP AT THE STORE ON THE WAY HOME!  AARRGGHHH! 

Once there, I shall find my fellow men, equally dispatched to find that last item—or two, or three if you get a text, to bring home for the preparation of Christmas dinner.  We lost souls, seeking out the nearest, endlessly patient store clerk to determine the aisle and shelf location of a jar of beef.  I kid you not. 

Then the question becomes shall I self-scan or wait in line for a clerk.  It’s a tough call, really.  Sure, you’ll wait in a longer line for a clerk, BUT if you screw up the self-scan, the light goes on and alerts the entire store to the fact that you are a moron who can’t even complete what seems to be a simple task.  And then you REALLY have a wait.  And don't even think about buying beer at the self-scan.  I think my problem is that I try to race the machine.  I try to scan the next item before the last one has made it down the rollers or into the bag.  I love to have my card swiped, payment method selected, and PIN code entered before the automated nag in the machine tells me to.  And then, just to show me who is really the boss, the machine stops, the light goes on, and I am instantly the world's most hated man.

But it’s all worth it!  Teresa is a great cook and has a gift for organization.   She engages in a weeks-long effort of planning and re-planning every last detail of the meal and it’s presentation.  You should see all the legal pads she fills up with notes on the who, what, when, where and why of the meal.  The people on the Food Channel have nothing on her.

And that gets me to thinking about the marriage of food and television.  Sorry.  It's the A.D.D.  One of the big shows on TV this year - besides the Ducks...was My Strange Addiction on TLC.  They highlighted people with strange addictions that were willing to be profiled.  One of my favorite episodes featured a woman who ate deodorant sticks.

-Apparently her secret recipe...involves Secret. (bada bing)

And while I will be stuffing my face with pumpkin bars and pasta (a non-traditional menu planned),  a woman in New Zealand set a new world record - running 310 miles in 86 straight hours.  Ultra-marathoner Kim Allen started running last Thursday and ran through Sunday night non-stop....although she did slow down to a walk the final few laps.  After she accomplished the 500 kilometer record....her family took her home to sleep.  Wow!  I got a blister - just reading her story!!

And finally, on this date in 1968 - While orbiting the moon - Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from the Book of Genesis.

           Wow - couldn't do that anymore.

Merry Christmas to all, thank you for your unending support for what we do here at the station.  And I hope everyone gets their power back on before tomorrow!  We should all go hug a Consumer's Energy worker.