"One of the things I had a hard time getting used to when I came to California in '78 was Santa Claus in shorts." ~ Dennis Franz

Mrs. Claus doing her thing!

Hello and welcome to this Tuesday, December 17, 2013. I pretty well have a fix on what little girls and boys want for Christmas, at least out in our general vicinity. Little girls want the American Girl doll named Saige. I asked one young lady why that particular doll was so much in demand this season. She promptly informed me that while I should know, it just so happens that she will be discontinued after Christmas. Santa learns a lot of things. For the boys, even though games like Minecraft are big, it's the remote controlled helicopter that is asked for the most. I see many ceiling fan collisions coming to a home near you. It always amuses me that parents are still unaware of what their kids want for Christmas and they lean in and often ask me to repeat what the child said. Did I ever tell you that children don't always speak clearly? When I can't come up with the right answer, the parent typically glares. Sorry. I could have recommended speech therapy but that would not have been very nice. I suppose I could have told the mom that her little Johnny asked for the American Girl doll Saige. That would have given her something to think about. It's a joke. Lighten up. I'm trying to conjure up some jolly this morning.

Well, well, well! The PolitiFact organization has chosen their lie of the year for 2013. This group is the one that supposedly evaluates what politicians claim and then they rate them True, Mostly True, Half True, False, and the infamous Pants on Fire. They claim not to be ideologically driven, saying they handle all politicians the same regardless of their party or policy persuasion. Nearly everyone takes exception to their ratings if they don't agree with them. I could hardly contain my surprise when I found out they had chosen President Obama's 'You can keep it if you like it' promise as the lie of the year. Wow! My reading of their ratings over time tells me they tend to always give the current administration and its leader the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, this big lie had to be a whopper for them to choose it. I suppose finding out that the Obama team knew all along it was a misrepresentation of the facts may have influenced their choice. I think it's time for me to say I told you so but I'll save it for another day.

Okay. We all need a daily diversion. Right? I typically check out a few cartoons each day that are available on the web. I do love the Dinette Set drawn and written by Julie Larson. It's been around since 1990 and I love her ironic take on middle-class perceptions (and misperceptions) of common, everyday issues as seen through the eyes of a recurring cast of characters. While they are not always laugh out loud funny, they do typically invoke at least a chuckle or two. Several sites carry this one and others too so you might just Google it up and check it out. I do appreciate the need for some humor injected into our daily dealings and I kinda get tired of me, myself, and I being the reason for the joke of the day. But, alas, we find it wherever we can folks, wherever we can. Thanks for tuning in and may God go with us all as we continue our journey here. Amen.   ....More later.