And then I wrote...

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that you turn your head, and suddenly it’s 2018!

But I am still in 2017, and I wondered as I placed my herbed turkey breast in the oven this Christmas morning, how many turkeys were suffering the same fate in the United States at about the same time. Millions, probably.

Because for some reason, turkey seems to be required at this season of the year ... Thanksgiving through January 1.

I would never think of roasting a turkey for the Memorial Day weekend or the Labor Day holiday. Chicken? Sure. But not turkey.

During the rest of the year, my turkey eating is confined to thin slices along with ham and cheese slices rolled up in a tortilla shell. Or a frozen meal featuring a few turkey chunks so small a magnifying glass is almost needed to identify same.

I once bought a couple turkey burgers, and after tasting the first one, threw the other in the garbage can.

Anyway, along with the passing turkeys, passed the Christmas season.

The president says it is okay to say “Merry Christmas” in public places again. With that in mind, I sort of checked out the Christmas cards I received this year. It didn’t take long. Some say you can tell the age of the individual by counting how many cards are sent out. My own list fits on one page now. But that’s not the whole story. I had an aunt, childless, for whom I was executor when she died in her late 80s, and I sent out 38 notices of her death to those with whom she exchanged cards at Christmas. Some I received this year did, and some did not, use Merry Christmas.

Nothing changed much this season when it comes to Christmas music played on radio stations. Except for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, it is almost necessary to go to church to hear the hymns associated with the holy day.

Pop culture for days ahead usually featured holiday songs such as The Little Drummer Boy or Silver Bells, both of which I like. Or I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus or Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer, which I don’t. Or many others which have nothing to do with the reason why there is a Christmas.

So, it’s a new year.

And it is cold.

Why is it (apologies to Andy Rooney) that as I get older, the winters get colder?

Okay. So statistics probably don’t back that up.

At my age, you never plan on anything in the future. But I am curious what this new year will bring. I won’t count on unity. After all, we are still fighting the Civil War after about 150 years!