Christmas Lists

When I was a kid there were two things that were always on my wish list: A new stuffed animal and "lots of surprises." I made sure to end with the surprises so Santa wouldn't forget: I like to be amazed.

As an adolescent, I always wished for Super Bowl tickets...that one never happened.

Then, as a young adult, I began a wish which continues to this day: New Year's Day in Pasadena. I hold out hope that one day this one might come true. I mean, what a perfect day: The most awesome parade in the nation--The Tournament of Roses Parade--followed by a game in the Rose Bowl. How awesome! I'd get there a few days ahead of time so that maybe I could stop by some float barns and check out the last minute work. I'd stake out a cool spot on Colorado Avenue for viewing the parade. I'd enjoy the beauty, the weather, the smells of all that flora...I'd hope for Stanford or Cal or Colorado to play in the game. It would be magical.

Until that happens, I do have a few other lists to share, for there are three things I enjoy way too much right now and three things which I detest in an unnatural fashion.

Three Things I Enjoy Way Too Much Right Now:

1. The DISH Network Xmas commercial: I LOVE the dude who belts out "Good Tidings for CHRISTMAS", 'cuz he really puts his heart into it. Look forward to him every year.
2. The song in the current Heineken commercial: Thought I'd never hear it again after whatever office commercial it was that used it before went away. It makes me happy. I do not know why.
3. The Holiday Remix satellite music channel's Christmas Classics set to electronica. So smooth!

Three Things I Abhor With An Unnatural Disdain:

1. Football players watching themselves on the Jumbotron.
2. The Smarty Had a Party commercial: Die, vile ad!
3. The "new" LifeSavers Sweet Storybook: When I was a kid, I always enjoyed getting the Storybook which held several sleeves of the candy in various flavors inside a book that opened like an actual book. Half of the candy was on one side, the other half on the side opposite. They were displayed in the local grocery near the magazine racks by the registers and I got a new one every year. It became a part of our family tradition. The Storybook still exists, cleverly disguised as the genuine article from my youth, but only upon opening the book do you find there is just a thin flap for the lefthand part of the book with candy only on the right. This isn't a Storybook, this is a Short Story Book. It's half of what it used to be. LifeSavers people, could you please either give this incarnation a new name or come out with the old Storybook again. This new thing holds none of the magic, much less the heft, of that lovely little treasure from so long ago.

I'll keep opening Storybooks wherever I see them, hoping against hope that one will prove to be real. Who knows, maybe I'll find the one with the Rose Bowl tickets inside!!