The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

The song was written in 1963 by Eddie Pola & George Wyle. Andy Summers recorded it first but it's been done by a host of folks. It's definitely not my favorite x-mas tune but it makes such a damn nice title...

Fall, specifically late fall is the time of year I like best. I suppose it comes from growing up in North Carolina. This time of year meant an end to the heat & I never was a fan of the heat.

I like cold weather. I like snow. I like a lot of the things associated with fall & winter. But an odd one (perhaps) is that this time of year I usually start brushing up on my x-mas tunes.

From early January till mid-November there's really no reason to have x-mas tunes down cold. I've never played "Jingle Bells" in July for some reason. But ages ago I had an early December gig where they asked us to play some x-mas tunes. It was a private party & we were there doing R&B & reggae. I ended up being the only instrument accompanying the rest of the band (they could all sing their asses off) & it was all going great till we hit the bridge of "The Christmas Song" (i.e. "...chestnuts roasting on an open fire..."). For some reason the bridge slipped my mind. Train wrecked all to hell. The lead singer calmly reached back & slapped his hand on the neck of my guitar to stop me from trying to find the damn bridge. Not one of my prouder moments in music but one of my funniest.

So since then around this time of year I start brushing up on my x-mas tunes.

Another odd thing about that is I'm not a Christian. I grew up as one but even then I didn't celebrate x-mas. Still I always dug the music. & since x-mas parties usually pay more than most bar gigs my fondness for the genre didn't diminish over the years.

But another aspect of the fall I dig is the excuse it gives for a few of my favorite things (yes; that was a very bad x-mas tune pun tyvm). The cold & often inclimate weather is a very good excuse for staying in & curling up with someone you care about. But since that's not working out for me at the moment there's another justification - reading.

Last weekend I had an ass-load of stuff to do. & no I've never been able to quantify exactly how much is in an "ass-load". It just means a lot, k? So Friday I bust my ass to knock out most of the things on my agenda. I did that so I could spend all of Saturday doing nothing but reading. I hit Barnes & Noble (a vile, evil place to be avoided at all costs) & - well I was only gonna grab one or two books I really needed. Luckily it's my blog so I don't have to tell you how weak I actually was but let's just say I underestimated my need. In any case I read. All day. All night. First time I'd done that in ages. & it was nice.

Course the neighborhood crack ho' knocking on my door at 3 a.m. needing a ride kinda disturbed the mood but I felt so good about things I gave her a damn ride. That'd be in a car. Um while fully clothed. Actually she's a nice person & I'm not positive she's on the rock, but most of the evidence points that way & yes; she's a cute crack ho' but no - I haven't slept with her. Or had sex with her. (It's sometimes difficult writing for an audience that knows me - I really am very selective about who I sleep with. Damn it.)

Still one of my favorite uses for fall is to spend all day lounging around reading. Doesn’t matter what so long as it has my interest for the moment. The only way to improve on that is to have a lady I care for lounging around reading with me. Not only is it kinda romantic in a "you're too bookish" kinda way but sometimes I do need help with the big words. I am from North Carolina after all. When someone asks if I'm really literate I usually reflexive tell them that yes; my parents were married. By the time of my birth at least.

So from now till the tugging of spring negates the excuse I'll look for days when I can open my windows, shake my head, shiver just slightly & stay the hell in with a good book or at least three decent ones.

In the interest of full disclosure I am re-reading The Master & Margerita by Bulgakov, Starship Troopers by Heinlein & am a third of the way through Time Enough For Love by Heinlein. But the two I'm working on most are We Were Soldiers Once, And Young by Moore & Galloway (A third through so far) & Band of Brothers by Ambrose (I haven't started it yet - but soon my precious. soon.).

So just out of curiosity even if you think I know what you like to read leave me a comment or send me a message (I can dig the anonynimity thing) & tell me what book(s) you'd like to spend the whole day reading when the weather gets a little cooler & you can manage the time.