Monday Morning Blues

Merry Christmas!

Yep, it’s that time of year again. Already. Maybe it’s the cold, or the snow, or just winter in general, but Christmas sure comes around a lot more often these days. It seems like just weeks ago we were celebrating Christmas but apparently, it’s been a year. Funny, when I was a kid, it seemed like there was at least a decade between them.

Actually, as I write this, it’s Christmas Eve. Everyone, including the dogs, is asleep at my house—except me of course. Not that I’m staying up to wait or anything, I’m just a night owl and can’t go to bed until well after midnight. And I’m definitely not a morning person.

I’m sure my wife will be up bright and early though, getting things ready for when the children, and the grandchildren, arrive. She’s one of those (strange) morning people. But not the annoying type; she doesn’t think that just because she’s up everyone else in the world has to also be up. Unless there’s a good reason, she usually lets me sleep.

Unfortunately, I believe Christmas falls under the category of “good reasons.” So, I guess I better wrap this up and get it posted and then TRY to get some sleep because apparently, on Christmas, I have to be a morning person.

Oh well, Merry Christmas anyway! ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

Wasted Endeavor

Well, we finally got our Christmas shopping done. And with a week to spare! Okay, I’ll admit, this is mostly my wife’s thing but I did help. A little.

Now comes the wrapping part. This is almost worse than shopping for me. It’s not that I can’t wrap packages; I used to wrap 15-20 packages every day when I worked at the dental lab. I learned to do it well and fast. That might be why I don’t really like wrapping now, too much like work. Or maybe it’s the thin paper as that prevents me from going as fast as I’d like. Whatever the reason, I usually avoid wrapping gifts. (Although I do end up doing a few here and there).

Thankfully, my wife comes to my rescue every year. This year was no different. She informed me tonight that the gift-wrapping is all done. That was nice to hear, especially since I haven’t wrapped any of them. But they did look nice, all piled up in the corner.

My wife will also be doing most of the cooking for Christmas. And since she is a great cook, I of course, will let her. I’ll be there for moral support though.

I know: I don’t like shopping, avoid wrapping, get out of cooking, so what exactly do I contribute to this Christmas celebration? Well, my job comes later. After Christmas. As you may know, I haul garbage for a living so it only makes sense that I would be in charge of getting rid of the huge pile of boxes and wrapping paper that a typical Christmas morning produces. All that pretty paper, that’s no longer so pretty, and all the food that no longer appears appetizing; it’s up to me to clear it out of the house and take it away. So, while my job may not be the most esteemed or prestigious—or even difficult—it is, by far, the trashiest! That’s gotta count for something, right? ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

The Way I Heard It

When I was a kid one of my favorite pastimes was lying on the floor, right next to the stereo speaker, listening to music. My mom would put on a stack of records, five or six albums, and my brother and I would stay there listening until the last song played—and then mom would turn the records over and we’d listen some more. Yes, we spent a lot of time just listening to music.

I loved the music, the singing; I loved it all. But one particular song used to bother me every time I heard it. In the song, it said “...and defeat is one word I don’t use.” What I heard though, instead of “defeat” was “the feet.” I remember always thinking that’s not one word, it’s two. And, I wondered why in the world did they say they wouldn’t use the word, or words. To make it worse, earlier in the same song, there was a line that said something about “my feet.” So, I wondered, why was “my feet” okay but not “the feet?” It was all so confusing. Keep in mind that I was only two or three years old at the time.

I must’ve gone a year or more agonizing over all this. Finally, I decided to ask my mom. After she explained it, it all made sense, except...

I still took issue with the fact that in saying they didn’t use the word, they used the word. In later years, I realized that from a songwriting standpoint, it was a great line—and still it bugged me. Still does.

Some of you may know that I like to record songs these days (in my “spare” time). A while back, I recorded the aforementioned song. Strangely, or ironically, I had a little difficultly with the recording equipment not cooperating during that session. But I’m patient, or stubborn, and I persevered (for several hours) until I got the song done. Why? Well, because “the feet” is one word I don’t use. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.

Not Going To Work

Vacation! My yearly winter vacation is underway. And, what does a truck driver do on vacation? Well, as typically is the case for this truck driver, I’ll be driving. But not far—just a quick trip to take my wife to the airport. Yep, I’m getting rid of her for a week.

Due to my job, and a few other factors, separate vacations happen quite frequently for us—but usually not on the same week. We didn’t really plan it that way this time either; it’s just the way it worked out. So, while she is jetting around the country, I’ll be here just taking care of the dogs. And working on, well, stuff. After all, what is the point of a vacation if a guy can’t get a few things done?

I know, I look at things a little differently than most. But having a job that requires me to be gone most of the week, I look forward to having some free time at home—to work on things that I want to do. And I have a busy schedule lined up: recording, writing, and fixing a few things around the house.

You’d think that staying busy would keep me from thinking about my wife being gone but as I know from experience, that doesn’t really work. I’m not sure what the difference is, some weeks, I don’t see her from Monday to Friday anyway, but there definitely is a difference. When I was younger, and managing a restaurant, I’d tend to fire people when she was gone. I no longer do things of that nature (because I do not manage anything these days) but the older I get, the more I miss her when she goes away. I suppose that’s a good thing.

In the future, we may have to reconsider this separate vacations thing. But for now, that’s the way it is. Maybe next year we can try pretending to be normal. Yeah, that probably won’t work. ~

Bruce A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey, Miscarriage Of Justice, The Lana Denae Mysteries, and The Wynn Garrett Series. Available in ebook at www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS and paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million. Bruce A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.