OUT OF TOUCH

Today is Happy New Year day. It is December 31 and everyone is supposed to be in a festive spirit, or filled with spirits. I am depressed. I am not really in a festive mood at all. Things have not gone bad, my life has not taken a turn for the worse; but I feel unfulfilled. There seems to be something lacking.

I have talked with old and good friends today. Felix and I have bought each other decent presents for the holidays; but I seem to feel that life is ready to pass me by. I have so many dreams of things I want to do, places to see, people to meet, friends to make; but none of this is happening. I feel stymied. I am retired;but not happily so. My health forced me to accept the company retirement. I was not ready for it.

Of course, along with retirement comes a cut in income. I am not hurting for money, at least, not at this point; but I think I would be happier and more content if I were working. I had planned to work until I reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 set by the company. I had all my plans, finances, everything set up to retire at 70. Even my credit cards were timed to that achedule. OK, so am I bitching about the financial crunch. Well, not really. Sure, an extra thousand or two coming in each month would be very nice; but I do not think that is the basis for my present feeling.

So, what is it, the lack of sex, the lack of money; what? I have a life that many people would envy. I have friends, I have Felix to attend to my needs, to be with me when I leave the house for the wild, outside world. I have six little kittens that entertain me all day with their funy antics. We have good food, a nice home, many good friends; but for the first time in my life , I do not have plans for the future. Maybe that is what I am lacking, a plan for the future, a reason to live.

Is this a normal feeling or am I in deep doggy doo?

CHRISTMAS PHOTOS

Felix has been under the weather for the past three days and our plans have been stalled in order to allow Felix time to recover. Well, Felix hasn't really recovered; but he did give in to my desire to drive around and take pictures of Christmas decorations with my new Canon 20-D camera.

We went to the "Our Lady of the Snows" in Belleville, Illinois and crossed the river to the headquarters of Anheuser Busch to what I consider the special in Christmas decorations. The Lady of Snows display features over one million miniature white lights with a few colored lights thrown in to enhance the display. We have toured the display every year for the last 15 years and it gets better each year. Naturally, it is religion oriented considering it is owned and maintained by the Order of the Oblate Fathers of the Catholic Church. They, also, run a retirement home and apartment building in the complex as well as a full service restaurant.

The headquarters of Anheuser Busch in St. Louis is a marvelous place to visit any season of the year. It is, I believe, the world's largest brewery. They outline certain of their buildings in white lights and have many trees covered with colored lights. The centerpiece of the display is a 40 foot Christmas tree that slowly changes colors.

Now, to finish this post; I must admit that our first attempt at digital photos of these displays did not turn out as expected. I will not post them here. Corrections to the settings on the camera have been made and if I can talk Felix into going back a second time (that will not be a small feat), I will post the product of our efforts as soon as possible.

FUNNY STORY

Felix came home with an interesting and funny story the other day. Felix had become friends with a lady at his place of employment and she knew of his sexual orientation. It seems this lady was attending a benefits meeting where all the company benefits were being explained, including bereavement benefits. She asked if bereavement benefits were available for employees with same sex partners. The person conducting the meeting was surprised by this question. She replied, "Why do you care, you are married". The answer from the quick thinking lady was, "I have been thinking about a lifestyle change lately".

That brought a round of laughter and a few dropped jaws in the meeting. The answer is; yes, such benefits are given by the company.

FOOLS RUSH IN WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD

Yes, that title is also the title of a song from my youth. However, it is a valid statement for society. George W. Bush rushed in to Iraq with incorrect information. He caused the death of many people, innocent civilians as well as the intended Iraq Army. His invasion of Iraq was an attack on a soveriegn nation. He had no legitimate reason for this attack. In his misguided mind he may think he was right; but history has and will continue to prove that false.

J.F. Kennedy attempted to invade Cuba based on valid intellegence gathered by satellites. We could see the missiles being set up in Cuba. Bush could see nothing out of the ordinary in Iraq. That nation does have different values from America; but nothing was pictured in satellite images that showed any military agression towards the United States.

Who was behind the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center? It sure wasn't Saddam. Presumably it was Osama bin Laden and his al Quadi followers. Those are the people we should have been after. It has been said and nearly proven that Bush was only after the oil fields. My opinion says that the son was attempting to fight the father's fight. Bush's daddy did not eliminate Saddam for a very good reason; but baby Bush decided to be big man in his father's eyes and do the job that daddy did not finish.

Our actions in Iraq have not been actions that showed the morals of America. Our actions have been of the same level as Saddam. Saddam is guilty of torture of civilians in his own country. Not exactly something that our military would look upon as threatening to America. However, we invaded the country and have been guilty of torturing civilians in Iraq. In my opinion, and I am quite sure, the opinion of many other nations; we are looked upon as wrong.

What usually happens to people when they are wrong. Well, when I was a kid and my mom caught me in a wrong, I got my ass beaten. Will it be an ass beating for George W. Bush, or will it be an ass beating for the United States of America? I fear for the future of our country.

WINTER IS HERE

I can tell by the temperature that winter has finally arrived. Flutesnoot on Channel 2 says the temperature will be down to 5 degrees tomorrow night. Now the bald guy on Channel 5 says it will only be 9 degrees.

Then I read Scott-O-Rama and Scott complains because it is down to 60 degrees. I mean, really folks, don't those pansys' out there in the southwest know what cold weather is? Sorry Scott, it has been a slow day in St. Louis.

SHOULD A PHARMACIST REFUSE TO FILL A PRESCRIPTION??

I just read in the St. Louis Post Dispatch that 4 pharmacists at Walgreens Pharmacy's in this immediate area, would not sign an agreement with the company to fill prescriptions for the morning after pill. The State of Illinois has passed a law that makes it illegal for any pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription, yet 4 of Walgreens people refuse to do so. Three have been terminated and the fourth found a new job before the company came down on her.

What do you think about this issue? Should a person allow their personal feelings and/or religion come into play on their job? The Governor of the state says, "NO". Just across the river, in Missouri, the Governor says he will sign a bill that allows pharmacists to refuse to fill any prescription that they have an objection to. Sounds like he is trying to set up a moral judgement that Illinois has less morals than Missouri.

Now, lets take this a step further. A Catholic gay man is dieing from AIDS. The priest refuses to give him the last rights of the church. Is this permissible? I think NOT. The pharmacist is in the same situation. The priest has taken a vow to treat all men equal. The pharmacist should do his job in the same manner.

A doctor writes a prescription. That prescription is treatment for something, maybe a disease, maybe a headache pill, maybe a birth control pill. It makes no difference. Any doctor who writes such a prescription expects it to be filled by a competent pharmacist. He does not expect the pharmacist to play doctor and decide whether to honor what the doctor wrote. What if my doctor wrote a prescription for oxycontin, can the pharmacist substitute Bayer Asperin? Of course not. Any prescription written by a competent doctor should be filled exactly as written by the pharmacist.

Your opinion.

DECORATE THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Tony the Tiger, who lives across the street has his Christmas decorations up. He finally retired the broken animated deer and spiral Chrstmas tree that would not stay upright. Another neighbor, half way down the block, has white lights draped from his flagpole. I guess Christmas is coming to our subdivision.

Some of those outside decorations can really break your budget. I have always wanted to go all out with decorations in our front yard; but by the time I pay the regular monthly bills, there is nothing left over for decorations. Christmas always makes me feel like a little boy. I want to drive around and admire the decorations on other homes. Anheuser Busch in St. Louis always does a beautiful job of decorating their buildings. They have a huge 40' tree that changes colors from red to white. Well, not the tree; but the lights on it. It is all red, then they dim the red lights and bring up the white lights to full brillance. After a moment, they repeat the cycle..

I like to drive through the downtown shopping district of St. Louis and watch the trains in the corner window of Famous Barr. I guess they will have that display again this year. It was always a major hit with me as a kid. You could put your hand on a specially marked spot on the window and make a particular train run. Of course, there was a man behind the display that actually controlled the train. The Miles Fountain in front of Union Station is always decorated beautifully. These are the things that bring back the spirit of childhood in me.

Tilles Park in the Ladue section of St. Louis is decorated with millions of lights. You drive through the display in your car, then pay the $7.00 fee on your way out. You can, also, take a horse drawn buggy ride through the decorated park. I can just imagine what that costs. Oh, one little thing about this display, no religious scenes are pictured. It is a completely secular display. Felix and I will make the trip through Our Lady of the Snows decorated display. This is a Catholic retreat in Belleville, IL that must have well over 5 million lights in the trees, on the animated figures and arches. It is all done with a religious theme. No Santa Claus here. It reminds people what the real Christmas is all about. Again, you are allowed to make a donation on your way out.

There are other parks around the area that put out hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lights on their park trails. They all charge for your little trip through their Winter Wonderland. I think the "Snow Lady" as I call the display in Belleville; is a very beautiful and calming display. It is done in 99% white lights. Honestly, it is worth the time it takes to get in the mile long backup of traffic and inch your way through the display. Allow a full two hours.

Christmas is a time for children. So be a child again and enjoy the spirit of the Holidays. Allow me to be one of the first to wish you and yours a

M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S