10 Days to Go!

OK, boys and girls!  ONLY TEN DAYS UNTIL THE RETURN OF HNT! And really, even less than that, with Christmas just before then. In other words...plan ahead! And remember--if you're no longer blogging, or don't want to post anything half-nekkid anymore, I'll be opening up OHNT to host pictures. Just don't wait until the last minute!  And a personal request--if you want to send in stuff for OHNT, if you could get pics in by the end of the weekend, it will help me time-wise...

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I had a whole post in mind about the shootings in Connecticut.  But what can be said that hasn't already been said.  Over and over and over...  Frankly, the misinformation from the media; the vitriol shown on FB between friends on both sides of the gun control issue; the ridiculous postings of Morgan Freeman's "quote" that 1) was not his quote, and 2) somehow seemed more noble because he supposedly said it; and the fact that it happened so close to Christmas--all these things have taken a toll on all of us.  I've got nothing more to add.

Except three things.

--I went to a Christmas brunch this morning with all the family.  To my pleasant surprise, the CT events were not discussed AT ALL.  Not even a request to not discuss them.  But I caught myself watching a little girl following her mother into the next room where Santa was holding court.  Cute as a bug, wearing her Christmas best.  And it hit me--she was probably 6 or 7 years old.  A sobering moment for sure.

--For as horrific as this was, the age of the teachers and probably most of the parents is under 30.  And to an old fart like me, they're still kids too.

--For the really old-time HNTers around here, you might remember Spinning Girl.  She's a junior high teacher in CT.  Whenever I hear about anything about CT, I automatically think of her.  So I emailed her on Friday, to let her know I was thinking about her as a fellow educator.  She replied that she actually attended grade school at Stony Hook Elementary, and the principal that was killed was a close friend of hers.  Sorta brings it home...

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Christmas cards are coming in!! With any luck at all, I might get to reciprocate!

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I think I'm going to do the Three Wishes non-HNT this Thursday. Just because we're not half-nekkid anymore, doesn't mean I can't make some wishes! I'll probably re-post the Favorite Christmas Movies and Music lists with updates. I can feel Christmas coming at me full force!