LAST THANKSGIVING & AFTER

 

2022 was a terrible year for a long list of reasons. It was filled with expensive health issues and no insurance along with the deaths of my three remaining cousins.

That November was a warm one. While much of the country was buried beneath feet of snow it was 80 degrees here. Of course 80 degrees in Florida is sometimes referred to as a cold front and it's much more bearable than the summer heat. However the temps climbed higher and I was without air conditioning since my A.C. had died in September.

And now a rare November hurricane was headed straight toward us! I was in a panic with no one to board my windows! Earlier in the season two different men said they would do it, but only for an obscene price. Neither one was answering my calls!

I was anticipating a lengthy power outage and having to throw everything in my fridge and garage freezer out! I was sick at the thought.

Despite the storm coming ashore here miraculously it did little damage and I never lost electricity. This seemed an outright miracle considering the destruction this hurricane did in other parts of the state.

Due to car issues I won't delve into, I was unable to drive to the supermarket Thanksgiving week to shop for my holiday meal.

Thanksgiving Day I cobbled together a meal consisting of everything on hand including items from my hurricane pantry. My holiday dinner wasn't special but it was tasty and I had plenty to eat which I suppose is all that matters.

Afterward I watched a marathon of Homicide for the Holidays on TV. This actually cheered me up.

Black Friday I was debating whether or not to put up a Christmas tree as is my custom; but I just wasn't feeling it. So I went online to my Facebook page.

And there in all capitals some stranger whose friendship request I'd accepted several years earlier wrote: YOU ARE THE DAMN MOST BORING PERSON! HERE'S A NICKEL TO GET A LIFE & DON'T FORGET YOUR TWO CENTS CHANGE! -- I already knew my life had become boring!!!  Health issues combined with a fixed income along with expensive medical bills can do that to a person.

I didn't appreciate some stranger rubbing my face in it like excrement! Had this coward said that to me in person I would have spit in his face! However my holiday spirit was already dead. That guy just added another nail to the coffin.

There would be no tree. I had no joy and looking at one would only depress me further.

But during my life and times I've endured worse holidays. Those were all among family, extended family, & others. Believe me; spending a holiday meal alone isn't always a bad thing! Often it's quite sublime. That in itself is something to be grateful.

This year I'm not giving up Christmas. I'm erecting a tree with all the trimmings. I will count my many blessings and celebrate!!!

THAT FRIDAY IN NOVEMBER

 

This was back in 1963. I was only a couple months away from becoming a teenager. My mother & I were renting a small apartment down in West Palm Beach so I could attend the "special school" for the semester. On weekends we came home which was an hour up the coast.

Every other Friday my father had to work late. On those days I was allowed to leave school 15 minutes early. This allowed Mom & I to catch the city bus to the Greyhound station and from there to our hometown.

That particular Friday afternoon I was putting away my paraphernalia from art class preparing to leave. The teacher had stepped from the room. An older boy from another class came rushing in. He loudly declared President Kennedy had been shot! They had just heard it over the radio.

No one believed him! We figured if this was actually true sirens would be going off and our school would be closed immediately. Or perhaps if the president had been shot, it was only a minor flesh wound, nothing serious. The kid was exaggerating for dramatic effect.

I left before the teacher returned to class and met my mother at the bus stop. I told her the news even though I didn't believe it myself. I could tell she thought I was making up a story since I'd punked her in the past.

The city bus had only a handful of passengers and all were silent. But on the Greyhound we listened to people seated around us stating what a tragedy it was and our President was now in God's hands. However we believed him to be only injured.

Arriving back at our hometown my father picked us up at the station. Naturally we inquired about the president. Both of us went into shock upon learning Kennedy was dead, assassinated! This just didn't happen in our country and it was difficult to process.

After dropping us at home my father returned to work. I switched on the TV to learn more. I was still in disbelief despite everything I was seeing and hearing on the screen. This had to be a dream, a nightmare!

Everything took awhile to sink in.

Thankfully the assassin (or at least a known one) Lee Harvey Oswald was captured and arrested shortly afterward.

I'll never forget walking on the beach behind my neighbor's house and hearing her hollering out: "There's a gun! He's going to get shot! He's going to get shot!" followed by screaming.

I climbed over the seawall and ran straight to her house. I found my neighbor Helen and her sister Jean watching TV. I inquired as to all the commotion.

Helen had spotted Jack Ruby's gun on live television right before he shot and killed Oswald! This was more craziness followed by confusion.

Our world seemed to change quickly and dramatically after that. A strange and different energy filled the air. Nothing was ever the same. The entire planet seemed thrown into chaos. Our life and the lives so many we knew went awry. Nearly everyone's life seemed to be altered permanently in a negative way after that.