Don Alexander
I hope you all had a very merry Christmas. And may 2013 be your best year ever! I did and I will. Last year wife Gayle was in a coma on Christmas and had her worst health-day on New Year’s Eve and day.
But this year she shopped for (mostly on-line) and wrapped all the presents after being home after her four-month hospital stay. She came home on March 19. To say it was “nice” having her back and going to daughter Dixie’s for our family Christmas Eve thing is an understatement. A year ago I honestly didn’t think it would ever happen again. But it did and she continues to astound us all with her miraculous recovery.
So, what did you get for Christmas and the holiday season? A friend of mine has eight days of celebrating. Wow! That sounds neat. Does everyone get eight presents? I know guys who have a great deal of trouble buying one. I can’t imagine.
I was so happy not to get that vibrating football game again this year. My family knows I don’t like it so they bought it every year until 2012.
I do have one complaint. Gayle and I bought this nice pearl for Gayle in November and said it counted as a Christmas gift to her. Dixie said it doesn’t count as a Christmas gift. I had to do some quick gift buying. Dixie helped me. Thank goodness.
I got some cool USC stuff. I know my brother-in-law got this tote bag full of USC items as a freebee at his host-sponsored USC-Notre Dame game bit it’s the thought that counts.
I was going to give my UCLA-fan nephew a USC shirt but Gayle wouldn’t let me. He’s the guy with the USC wife. So I keep their kid in USC shirts. Wife’s happy. By the way, Gary is also a hockey Kings fan. The Kings won the Stanley Cup last year and poor Gary can’t celebrate anything. I do feel sorry for him, even if I am a Duck’s fan.
I loved the cake with a football field on it. And I ate one of the candy-cane goalposts. The baseball cupcakes were good too. Not wild about the red stitching icing, however. Funny, no hockey stuff!
Baseball ice cream is okay, except for that hard “core” every fourth bite or so. I think it was frozen cookie-dough. I’m not sure.
As a tradition, I pick up mini-sandwiches at Jay’s Catering. Their business appeared to be really hopping this year. That’s great. That’s how I judge and predict the economy: Jay’s business.
Okay, I better get some sports in this column to make it legitimate. How about this story!
“San Clemente surfer Greg Long took a beating down in Mexico at Cortez Bank. He got pounded after taking off behind another surfer on a big one, and ultimately suffered a three-wave hold, blacking out near the end. He was pulled to safety and is OK.”
All right. I have no idea what any of that was. It was in a surfing column written by Laylan Connelly. But I wanted to get in a surfing item before the end of the year. This sport was called a fad in 1962, by me! I still say it will never last.
Tonight (Thursday) is a good chance for UCLA to end up on a winning note against Baylor. It is a virtual “pick ‘em.” It should be a high-scoring great game.
USC plays plays Georgia Tech, Monday night, and is favored by 10 even though we don’t know who will quarterback the Trojans. The game is in El Paso, Texas. How do they get fans in Texas to get excited about these two teams? Will someone let me know?
I predict UCLA (basketball) will lose no more than one game in the Pac-12. The Bruins are just too good.
Well, I have to get ready for over 25 football games in the next few days! I’ve got my baseball ice cream and Gayle. What more could I want?
Contact Don Alexander at Journaldon@aol.com.
