As I sat on the porch with my 95 year old mother, watching the Christmas star plummet to earth, she suddenly said, “I have waited 75 years for the fall of Capitalism”. Of course my Commie friends are not as complacent as they watch their nest eggs get scrambled. I am just glad I can always fall back on my ART.

And then I think of the black knight on the white house horse who has finally brought us hope. And that old depression ditty spins round and round my brain. “Oh they preach Socialism, but they practice Fascism; just to preserve Capitalism for the bosses.”

Wishing you Peace on Earth and a better world tomorrow.

Jeannie

and from my sweetie, Henri too, all the best in the new year.

We lasted 10 years, had 2 children and then we went our separate ways. About a year later I found Henri and we started to cohabit – but I was ruined for marriage. I didn’t believe anymore. I no longer believed in “forever and ever”.

Henri and I lived together for 17 years before we “tied the knot”. And that was only because we were living in Quebec and they would have taken our inheritance away as we had to prove that we were “as-good-ahs” married. Actually Frank, my son proposed, but that is another story.

The point of this ramble is that I went to a same-sex wedding and I had an epiphany. Marriage is relatively unimportant to me. “Been there, done that”.

But that was not true for Sam and Alijandro.

They were ecstatic. Their joy was contagious. Alejandros mother and brother flew up from Southern Mexico for the wedding and it was a dream come true. They could stand in the church. That edifice of sanctification of our mores and prove to the world that they were more than “as-good-ahs”. It also was a way to protect themselves from the vagaries of the state.

Here are a few photos.

They say their vows

Hitched

The family

The Happy Couple

The presents are another story. Everyone expects a present but nobody in our society of affluence needs anything – so everyone wants money. To avoid the crassness of cash, the push is to give gift cards.

I was thinking it was a good idea until I heard this review on the CBC. The person there talked about the billions of dollars tied up in gift cards and how people could loose the cards, needed to get them verified, etc. The National Retail Federation estimates that gift card sales this year will be nearly $80 billion. About 10 percent of that amount — $8 billion — will stay right in retailers’ pockets, thanks to fees, loopholes and consumer forgetfulness. The man on the CBC suggested we go back to the Government of Canada Gift Card… MONEY. It made sense to me so my family was delighted with their presents.

But now I am trying to figure out a way to eliminate personalized gifts all together (except for the kids of course).

My great grandson says “say cheese, truck.”

I think if we need nothing we should get nothing – after all, I have been spending weeks trying to cut down on my stuff.

Some people should use a shovel to clear out their stuff

We could give to those who do need it. I have my charities as I assume you do too, so let us consider these. Or if you know someone or some third world organization or one of the many organizations that are having trouble due to government cut backs, consider giving to them in your overweight, over stuffed family members name. I know they want the bucks, but it is time for us to cut through the consumer madness created by the ad men in our throw away society.

Henri and I gave each other just what we wanted. We wanted nothing so we got nothing. (We did have a romantic afternoon when the family went to the movies though!)